Non-volatile dynamically switchable color display via chalcogenide stepwise cavity resonators

High-resolution multi-color printing relies upon pixelated optical nanostructures,which is crucial to promote color display by producing nonbleaching colors,yet requires simplicity in fabrication and dynamic switching.Antimony trisulfide(Sb_(2)S_(3))is a newly rising chalcogenide material that possesses prompt and significant transition of its optical characteristics in the visible region between amorphous and crystalline phases,which holds the key to color-varying devices.Herein,we proposed a dynamically switchable color printing method using Sb_(2)S_(3)-based stepwise pixelated Fabry-Pérot(FP)cavities with various cavity lengths.The device was fabricated by employing a direct laser patterning that is a less timeconsuming,more approachable,and low-cost technique.As switching the state of Sb_(2)S_(3) between amorphous and crystalline,the multi-color of stepwise pixelated FP cavities can be actively changed.The color variation is due to the profound change in the refractive index of Sb_(2)S_(3) over the visible spectrum during its phase transition.Moreover,we directly fabricated sub-50 nm nano-grating on ultrathin Sb_(2)S_(3) laminate via microsphere 800-nm femtosecond laser irradiation in far field.The minimum feature size can be further decreased down to~45 nm(λ/17)by varying the thickness of Sb_(2)S_(3) film.Ultrafast switchable Sb_(2)S_(3) photonic devices can take one step toward the next generation of inkless erasable papers or displays and enable information encryption,camouflaging surfaces,anticounterfeiting,etc.Importantly,our work explores the prospects of rapid and rewritable fabrication of periodic structures with nano-scale resolution and can serve as a guideline for further development of chalcogenide-based photonics components.

Optical Microsphere Nano-Imaging:Progress and Challenges

The optical diffraction effect imposes a radical obstacle preventing conventional optical microscopes from achieving an imaging resolution beyond the Abbe diffraction limit and thereby restricting their usage in a multitude of nanoscale applications.Over the past decade,the optical microsphere nanoimaging technique has been demonstrated to be a cost-effective solution for overcoming the diffraction limit and has achieved an imaging resolution of up to about k6k8 in a real-time and label-free manner,making it highly competitive among numerous super-resolution imaging technologies.In this review,we summarize the underlying nano-imaging mechanisms of the microsphere nanoscope and key advancements aimed at imaging performance enhancement:first,to change the working environment or modify the peripheral hardware of a single microsphere nanoscope at the system level;second,to compose the microsphere compound lens;and third,to engineer the geometry or ingredients of microspheres.We also analyze challenges yet to be overcome in optical microsphere nano-imaging,followed by an outlook of this technique.

Special issue:Catenary optics and catenary electromagnetics

As a natural mathematical form,a catenary is the curve that a hanging chain or cable adopts under its own weight when supported at its ends in a homogeneous gravitational field.This unique shape arises from the balance of forces acting on each segment of the chain,resulting in a curve described by hyperbolic cosine functions.Catenary functions play pivotal roles in describing the electromagnetic field,intensity distribution,and dispersion of structured light on the sub-wavelength scale^(1).

Acousto-optic scanning multi-photon lithography with high printing rate

As a manufacturing method that is focused on end-users,3D printing has gained a lot of attention in recent years due to its unique advantages in fabricating complex three-dimensional structures.Various new micro-nano 3D printing methods have been developed to meet the demand for high-precision and high-yield manufacturing1-9.Among them,multi-photon-photon lithography(MPL) is a promising 3D nanofabrication technology due to its capability of true 3D digital processing and nanoscale processing resolution beyond the diffraction limit.It has been widely used to fabricate microoptics10,11,photonic crystals12,microfluidics13,meta-surfaces14,and mechanical metamaterials15.

Optical scanning endoscope via a single multimode optical fiber

Optical endoscopy has become an essential diagnostic and therapeutic approach in modern biomedicine for directly observing organs and tissues deep inside the human body,enabling non-invasive,rapid diagnosis and treatment.Optical fiber endoscopy is highly competitive among various endoscopic imaging techniques due to its high flexibility,compact structure,excellent resolution,and resistance to electromagnetic interference.Over the past decade,endoscopes based on a single multimode optical fiber(MMF)have attracted widespread research interest due to their potential to significantly reduce the footprint of optical fiber endoscopes and enhance imaging capabilities.In comparison with other imaging principles of MMF endoscopes,the scanning imaging method based on the wavefront shaping technique is highly developed and provides benefits including excellent imaging contrast,broad applicability to complex imaging scenarios,and good compatibility with various well-established scanning imaging modalities.In this review,various technical routes to achieve light focusing through MMF and procedures to conduct the scanning imaging of MMF endoscopes are introduced.The advancements in imaging performance enhancements,integrations of various imaging modalities with MMF scanning endoscopes,and applications are summarized.Challenges specific to this endoscopic imaging technology are analyzed,and potential remedies and avenues for future developments are discussed.

Laser cleaning of steel structure surface for paint removal and repaint adhesion

Paint removal from steel structure is executed for shipyards of marine and offshore engineering.Due to environmental unfriendliness and unhealthy drawbacks of sand blasting technique, laser ablation technique is proposed as a substituting method.By absorbing high energy of the 1064 nm pulsed laser, the paint is vaporized quickly.The ablated debris is then collected by using a suction pump.Initial metal surface of the steel is exposed when laser beam irradiates perpendicularly and scans over it.The cleaned surface fulfills the requirements of surface preparation standards ISO 8501 of SA2.The adhesion is further characterized with pull-off test after carrying out painting with Jotamastic 87 aluminum paint.The repainting can be embedded onto the laser cleaned surface to bond much more tightly.The excellent adhesion strength of 20 MPa between repainted coating and the substrate is achieved, which is higher than what is required by shipyards applications.

Recent advances in optical dynamic metaholography

Holography,with the capability of recording and reconstructing wavefronts of light,has emerged as an ideal approach for future deep-immersive naked-eye display.However,the shortcomings(e.g.,small field of view,twin imaging,multiple or-ders of diffraction)of traditional dynamic holographic devices bring many challenges to their practical applications.Metasurfaces,planar artificial materials composed of subwavelength unit cells,have shown great potential in light field manipulation,which is useful for overcoming these drawbacks.Here,we review recent progress in the field of dynamic metasurface holography,from realization methods to design strategies,mainly including typical research works on dy-namic meta-holography based on tunable metasurfaces and multiplexed metasurfaces.Emerging applications of dynam-ic meta-holography have been found in 3D display,optical storage,optical encryption,and optical information pro-cessing,which may accelerate the development of light field manipulation and micro/nanofabrication with higher dimen-sions.A number of potential applications and possible development paths are also discussed at the end.

Tunable and reconfigurable metasurfaces and metadevices

Metasurfaces, two-dimensional equivalents of metamaterials, are engineered surfaces consisting of deep subwavelength features that have full control of the electromagnetic waves. Metasurfaces are not only being applied to the current de-vices throughout the electromagnetic spectrum from microwave to optics but also inspiring many new thrilling applica-tions such as programmable on-demand optics and photonics in future. In order to overcome the limits imposed by pas-sive metasurfaces, extensive researches have been put on utilizing different materials and mechanisms to design active metasurfaces. In this paper, we review the recent progress in tunable and reconfigurable metasurfaces and metadevicesthrough the different active materials deployed together with the different control mechanisms including electrical, ther-mal, optical, mechanical, and magnetic, and provide the perspective for their future development for applications.

Directional sliding of water:biomimetic snake scale surfaces

Bioinspired superhydrophobic surfaces have attracted many industrial and academic interests in recent years.Inspired by unique superhydrophobicity and anisotropic friction properties of snake scale surfaces,this study explores the feasibility to produce a bionic superhydrophobic stainless steel surface via laser precision engineering,which allows the realization of directional superhydrophobicity and dynamic control of its water transportation.Dynamic mechanism of water sliding on hierarchical snake scale structures is studied,which is the key to reproduce artificially bioinspired multifunctional materials with great potentials to be used for water harvesting,droplet manipulation,pipeline transportation,and vehicle acceleration.

Microsphere femtosecond laser sub-50 nm structuring in far field via non-linear absorption

Creation of arbitrary features with high resolution is critically important in the fabrication of nano-optoelectronic devices.Here,sub-50 nm surface structuring is achieved directly on Sb2S3 thin films via microsphere femtosecond laser irradi-ation in far field.By varying laser fluence and scanning speed,nano-feature sizes can be flexibly tuned.Such small patterns are attributed to the co-effect of microsphere focusing,two-photons absorption,top threshold effect,and high-repetition-rate femtosecond laser-induced incubation effect.The minimum feature size can be reduced down to~30 nm(λ/26)by manipulating film thickness.The fitting analysis between the ablation width and depth predicts that the feature size can be down to~15 nm at the film thickness of~10 nm.A nano-grating is fabricated,which demonstrates desirable beam diffraction performance.This nano-scale resolution would be highly attractive for next-generation laser nano-lithography in far field and in ambient air.

Hybrid metal-insulator-metal structures on Si nanowires array for surface enhanced Raman scattering

Surface enhanced Raman scattering(SERS)is an efficient technique to detect low concentration molecules.In this work,periodical silicon nanowires(Si NWs)integrated with metal-insulator-metal(MIM)layers are employed as SERS substrates.Laser interference lithography(LIL)combined with reactive ion etching(RIE)is used to fabricate large-area periodic nanostructures,followed by decorating the MIM layers.Compared to MIM disks array on Si surface,the SERS enhancement factor(EF)of the MIM structures on the Si NWs array can be increased up to 5 times,which is attributed to the enhanced electric field at the boundary of the MIM disks.Furthermore,high density of nanoparticles and nanogaps serving as hot spots on sidewall surfaces also contribute to the enhanced SERS signals.Via changing the thickness of the insulator layer,the plasmonic resonance can be tuned,which provides a new localized surface plasmon resonance(LSPR)characteristic for SERS applications.

Ultra-high extinction-ratio light modulation by electrically tunable metasurface using dual epsilon-near-zero resonances

The lossy nature of indium tin oxide(ITO) at epsilon-near-zero(ENZ) wavelength is used to design an electrically tunable metasurface absorber. The metasurface unit cell is constructed of a circular resonator comprising two ITO discs and a high dielectric constant perovskite barium strontium titanate(BST) film. The ENZ wavelength in the accumulation and depletion layers of ITO discs is controlled by applying a single bias voltage. The coupling of magnetic dipole resonance with the ENZ wavelength inside the accumulation layer of ITO film causes total absorption of reflected light. The reflection amplitude can achieve ~84 d B or ~99.99% modulation depth in the operation wavelength of 820 nm at a bias voltage of-2.5 V. Moreover, the metasurface is insensitive to the polarization of the incident light due to the circular design of resonators and the symmetrical design of bias connections.

Multifunctional inverse sensing by spatial distribution characterization of scattering photons

Inverse sensing is an important research direction to provide new perspectives for optical sensing. For inverse sensing, the primary challenge is that scattered photon has a complicated profile, which is hard to derive a general solution. Instead of a general solution, it is more feasible and practical to derive a solution based on a specific environment. With deep learning, we develop a multifunctional inverse sensing approach for a specific environment. This inverse sensing approach can reconstruct the information of scattered photons and characterize multiple optical parameters simultaneously. Its functionality can be upgraded dynamically after learning more data. It has wide measurement range and can characterize the optical signals behind obstructions. The high anti-noise performance, flexible implementation, and extremely high threshold to optical damage or saturation make it useful for a wide range of applications, including self-driving car, space technology, data security, biological characterization, and integrated photonics.

Enhancement of laser ablation via interacting spatial double‐pulse effect

A novel spatial double-pulse laser ablation scheme is investigated to enhance the processing quality and efficiency fornanosecond laser ablation of silicon substrate. During the double-pulse laser ablation, two splitted laser beams simulta-neously irradiate on silicon surface at a tunable gap. The ablation quality and efficiency are evaluated by both scanning electron microscope and laser scanning confocal microscope. As tuning the gap distance, the ablation can be signifi-cantly enhanced if the spatial interaction between the two splitted laser pulses is optimized. The underlying physical mechanism for the interacting spatial double-pulse enhancement effect is attributed to the redistribution of the integratedenergy field, corresponding to the temperature field. This new method has great potential applications in laser microm-achining of functional devices at higher processing quality and faster speed.

Functional micro‐concrete 3D hybrid structures f abricated by two‐photon polymerization

Arbitrary micro-scale three-dimensional(3D)structures fabrication is a dream to achieve many exciting goals that have been pursued for a long time.Among all these applications,the direct 3D printing to fabricate human organs and integrated photonic circuits are extraordinary attractive as they can promote the current technology to a new level.Among all the 3D printing methods available,two-photon polymerization(2PP)is very competitive as it is the unique method to achieve sub-micron resolution to make any desired tiny structures.For the conventional 2PP,the building block is the photoresist.However,the requirement for the building block is different for different purposes.It is very necessary to investigate and improve the photoresist properties according to different requirements.In this paper,we presented one hybrid method to modify the mechanical strength and light trapping efficiency of the photoresist,which transfers the photoresist into the micro-concretes.The micro-concrete structure can achieve±22%strength modification via a silica nano-particles doping.The structures doped with gold nano-particles show tunable plasmonic absorption.Dye doped hybrid structure shows great potential to fabricate 3D micro-chip laser.

Realization of laser textured brass surface via temperature tuning for surface wettability transition

Superhydrophobic surfaces have attracted extensive interests and researches into their fundamentals and potential applications.Laser texturing provides the convenience to fabricate the hierarchical micro/nanostructures for superhydrophobicity.However,after laser texturing,long wettability transition time from superhydrophilicity to superhydrophobicity is a barrier to mass production and practical industrial applications.External stimuli have been applied to change the surface composition and/or the surface morphology to reduce wettability transition time.Herein,by temperature tuning,wettability transition of laser textured brass surfaces is investigated.Scanning electron microscopy and surface contact angle measurement are employed to characterize the surface morphology and wettability behavior of the textured brass surfaces.By low-temperature heating(100℃~150℃),partial deoxidation of the top Cu O layer occurs to form hydrophobic Cu_2O.Therefore,superhydrophobicity without any chemical coating and surface modification could be achieved in a short time.Furthermore,after low-temperature heating,the low adhesive force between the water droplet and the sample surface is demonstrated for the laser textured brass surface.This study provides a simple method to fabricate the micro/nanostructure surfaces with controllable wettability for the potential applications.

All-optical vector visual cryptography with high security and rapid decryption

Meta optics-empowered vector visual cryptography at the abundant degrees of freedom of light and spatial dislocation can open an avenue for optical information security and anti-counterfeiting with a compact footprint and rapid decryption.

Reflection tuning via destructive interference in metasurface

Reflection engineering plays an important role in optics.For conventional approaches,the reflection tuning is quite challenging in a loss-free component.Therefore,a simple approach to tune the reflection is highly desired in plenty of applications.In this paper,we propose a new design of metasurface with just one single layer dielectric structure to tune the reflection of an interface by destructive interference in a subwavelength scale.By arranging the orientation of nano-antennas,the reflectivity tuning from 20%to 90%can be achieved at the wavelength of 1550 nm.Moreover,such reflectivity tuning of the designed metasurface works at the tunable wavelength from1500 nm to 1600 nm.This ultra-thin solution can achieve similar performance as the traditional bulky components without diffraction orders,while the design and fabrication are much simple and flexible.The ultra-thin and tunable properties indicate the great potentials of this method to be applied in laser fabrication,optical communication and optical integration.

Remote-mode microsphere nano-imaging：new boundaries for optical microscopes

Optical microscope is one of the most popular characterization techniques for general purposes in many fields. It is distinguishedfrom the vacuum or tip-based imaging techniques for its flexibility, low cost, and fast speed. However, its resolutionlimits the functionality of current optical imaging performance. While microspheres have been demonstrated forimproving the observation power of optical microscope, they are directly deposited on the sample surface and thus theapplications are greatly limited. We develop a remote-mode microsphere nano-imaging platform which can scan freelyand in real-time across the sample surfaces. It greatly increases the observation power and successfully characterizesvarious practical samples with the smallest feature size down to 23 nm. This method offers many unique advantages,such as enabling the detection to be non-invasive, dynamic, real-time, and label-free, as well as leading to more functionalitiesin ambient air and liquid environments, which extends the nano-scale observation power to a broad scope inour life.

Functional nonlinear optical nanoparticles synthesized by laser ablation

Nonlinear optics is an important research direction with various applications in laser manufacturing,fabrication of nano-structure,sensor design,optoelectronics,biophotonics,quantum optics,etc.Nonlinear optical materials are the funda-mental building blocks,which are critical for broad fields ranging from scientific research,industrial production,to military.Nanoparticles demonstrate great potential due to their flexibility to be engineered and their enhanced nonlinear optical properties superior to their bulk counterparts.Synthesis of nanoparticles by laser ablation proves to be a green,efficient,and universal physical approach,versatile for fast one-step synthesis and potential mass production.In this review,the development and latest progress of nonlinear optical nanoparticles synthesized by laser ablation are summarized,which demonstrates its capability for enhanced performance and multiple functions.The theory of optical nonlinear absorption,experimental process of laser ablation,applications,and outlooks are covered.Potential for nanoparticle systems is yet to be fully discovered,which offers opportunities to make various types of next-generation functional devices.