Optical manipulation of gold nanoparticles using an optical nanofiber

Gold nanoparticles are gaining increasing attention due to their biological and medical applications.In this letter,we experimentally demonstrate the optical manipulation of 250-nm-diameter gold nanoparticles along an optical nanofiber（550 nm in diameter） injected by an 808-nm laser light.The nanoparticles situated in the evanescent optical field are trapped by optical gradient force and move along the direction of light propagation due to optical scattering force.The velocities reach as high as 132 μm/s at an optical power of 80 mW.

Optogenetics:a novel optical manipulation tool for medical investigation

Optogenetics is a new and rapidly evolving gene and neuroengineering technology that allows optical control of specific populations of neurons without affecting other neurons in the brain at high temporal and spatial resolution. By heterologous expression of the light-sensitive membrane proteins, cell type-specific depolarization or hyperpolarization can be optically induced on a millisecond time scale. Optogenetics has the higher selectivity and specificity compared to traditional electrophysiological techniques and pharmaceutical methods. It has been a novel promising tool for medical research. Because of easy handling, high temporal and spatial precision, optogenetics has been applied to many aspects of nervous system research, such as tactual neural circuit, visual neural circuit, auditory neural circuit and olfactory neural circuit, as well as research of some neurological diseases. The review highlights the recent advances of optogenetics in medical study.

Spectral polarization-encoding of broadband laser pulses by optical rotatory dispersion and its applications in spectral manipulation

We propose a kind of spectral polarization-encoding(SPE)for broadband light pulses,which is realized by inducing optical rotatory dispersion(ORD),and decoded by compensating ORD.Combining with polarization-sensitive devices,SPE can not only work to control polarization-dependent transmission for central wavelength or bandwidth-tunable filtering,but also can be used for broadband regenerative or multi-pass amplification with a polarization-dependent gain medium to improve output bandwidth.SPE is entirely passive thus very simple to be designed and aligned.By using an ORD crystal with a good transmission beyond 3-μm mid-infrared region,e.g.,Ag Ga S_(2),SPE promises to be applied for the wavelength tuning lasers in mid-infrared region,where the tunning devices are rather under developed compared with those in visible and near-infrared region.

Transverse manipulation of particles using Bessel beam of tunable size generated by cross-phase modulation

We report on a method to achieve multiple microscopic particles being trapped and manipulated transversely by using a size-tunable Bessel beam generated by cross-phase modulation(XPM)based on the thermal nonlinear optical effect.The results demonstrate that multiple polystyrene particles can be stably trapped simultaneously,and the number of the trapped particles can be controlled by varying the trapping beam power.In addition,the trapped particles can be manipulated laterally with micron-level precision by changing the size of J_(0)Bessel beam.This work provides a simple but efficient way to trap and manipulate multiple particles simultaneously,which would have potential applications in many fields such as cell sorting and transportation.

Encrypted optical fiber tag based on encoded fiber Bragg grating array

Optical fibers are typically used in telecommunications services for data transmission,where the use of fiber tags is essential to distinguish between the different transmission fibers or channels and thus ensure the working functionality of the communication system.Traditional physical entity marking methods for fiber labeling are bulky,easily confused,and,most importantly,the label information can be accessed easily by all potential users.This work proposes an encrypted optical fiber tag based on an encoded fiber Bragg grating(FBG)array that is fabricated using a point-by-point femtosecond laser pulse chain inscription method.Gratings with different resonant wavelengths and reflectivities are realized by adjusting the grating period and the refractive index modulations.It is demonstrated that a binary data sequence carried by a fiber tag can be inscribed into the fiber core in the form of an FBG array,and the tag data can be encrypted through appropriate design of the spatial distributions of the FBGs with various reflection wavelengths and reflectivities.The proposed fiber tag technology can be used for applications in port identification,encrypted data storage,and transmission in fiber networks.

Improvements for Manipulating DNA with Optical Tweezers

Recently, numerous biological macromolecular experiments have been conducted with optical tweezers. For the single molecular stretching experiment with optical tweezers, three ways to determine the initial adhesion point of DNA on the coverslip are described in this work. In addition, a new method through analyzing the displacement variance of the trapped particle to obtain the trap height is introduced. Using our proposed methods, the obtained force-extension curve for the operated dsDNA agrees well with the worm-like chain model. These improved methods are also applicable to other related biological macromolecular experiments requiring high precision.

Fabrication and Electromechanical Characteristics of 2×2 Torsion-Mirror Optical Switch Arrays with Monolithically Integrated Fiber Self-Holding Structures

Novel 2×2 torsion-mirror optical switch arrays are fabricated by using the mixed micromachining based on the surface and bulk silicon microelectronics,then are investigated electromechanically in applied direct and alternating electric fields.When the thickness of the elastic torsion beams suspending the aluminum coated polysilicon micro-mirrors of the switches in the arrays is about 1μm,the electrostatic yielding voltages for driving the mirrors to achieve their ON-state are in the range of 270～290V,and the minimum holding voltages for mirrors ON-state are found as 55V or so.Theoretical analysis manifests that the yielding voltage is more sensitive to beam thickness than other design parameters do about the torsion-mirror switch structures.The lifetime can reach 10 8 times.The estimated shortest switching time of the switches at least lasts for less than 2ms.The force analysis on the two kinds of new fiber self-holding structures integrated monolithically in the chip of the optical switch arrays indicates that the structures can feature self-fixing and self-aligning of optical fibers.

Femtosecond laser direct writing of flexibly configured waveguide geometries in optical crystals:fabrication and application

Optical waveguides are far more than mere connecting elements in integrated optical systems and circuits.Benefiting from their high optical confinement and miniaturized footprints,waveguide structures established based on crystalline materials,particularly,are opening exciting possibilities and opportunities in photonic chips by facilitating their on-chip integration with different functionalities and highly compact photonic circuits.Femtosecond-laser-direct writing(FsLDW),as a true three-dimensional(3D)micromachining and microfabrication technology,allows rapid prototyping of on-demand waveguide geometries inside transparent materials via localized material modification.The success of FsLDW lies not only in its unsurpassed aptitude for realizing 3D devices but also in its remarkable material-independence that enables cross-platform solutions.This review emphasizes FsLDW fabrication of waveguide structures with 3D layouts in dielectric crystals.Their functionalities as passive and active photonic devices are also demonstrated and discussed.

Multidimensional manipulation of wave fields based on artificial microstructures

Artificial microstructures,which allow us to control and change the properties of wave fields through changing the geometrical parameters and the arrangements of microstructures,have attracted plenty of attentions in the past few decades.Some artificial microstructure based research areas,such as metamaterials,metasurfaces and phononic topological insulators,have seen numerous novel applications and phenomena.The manipulation of different dimensions(phase,amplitude,frequency or polarization)of wave fields,particularly,can be easily achieved at subwavelength scales by metasurfaces.In this review,we focus on the recent developments of wave field manipulations based on artificial microstructures and classify some important applications from the viewpoint of different dimensional manipulations of wave fields.The development tendency of wave field manipulation from single-dimension to multidimensions provides a useful guide for researchers to realize miniaturized and integrated optical and acoustic devices.

Technologies and applications of silicon-based micro-optical electromechanical systems:A brief review

Micro-optical electromechanical systems(MOEMS)combine the merits of micro-electromechanical systems(MEMS)and micro-optics to enable unique optical functions for a wide range of advanced applications.Using simple external electromechanical control methods,such as electrostatic,magnetic or thermal effects,Si-based MOEMS can achieve precise dynamic optical modulation.In this paper,we will briefly review the technologies and applications of Si-based MOEMS.Their basic working principles,advantages,general materials and micromachining fabrication technologies are introduced concisely,followed by research progress of advanced Si-based MOEMS devices,including micromirrors/micromirror arrays,micro-spectrometers,and optical/photonic switches.Owing to the unique advantages of Si-based MOEMS in spatial light modulation and high-speed signal processing,they have several promising applications in optical communications,digital light processing,and optical sensing.Finally,future research and development prospects of Si-based MOEMS are discussed.

Silicon nanophotonics for on-chip light manipulation

The field of silicon nanophotonics has attracted considerable attention in the past decade because of its unique advantages,including complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor（CMOS） compatibility and the ability to achieve an ultra-high integration density. In particular, silicon nanophotonic integrated devices for on-chip light manipulation have been developed successfully and have played very import roles in various applications. In this paper, we review the recent progress of silicon nanophotonic devices for on-chip light manipulation, including the static type and the dynamic type. Static onchip light manipulation focuses on polarization/mode manipulation, as well as light nanofocusing, while dynamic on-chip light manipulation focuses on optical modulation/switching. The challenges and prospects of high-performance silicon nanophotonic integrated devices for on-chip light manipulation are discussed.

Optical manipulation: from fluid to solid domains

Light carries energy and momentum,laying the physical foundation of optical manipulation that has facilitated advances in myriad scientific disciplines,ranging from biochemistry and robotics to quantum physics.Utilizing the momentum of light,optical tweezers have exemplified elegant light–matter interactions in which mechanical and optical momenta can be interchanged,whose effects are the most pronounced on micro and nano objects in fluid suspensions.In solid domains,the same momentum transfer becomes futile in the face of dramatically increased adhesion force.Effective implementation of optical manipulation should thereupon switch to the“energy”channel by involving auxiliary physical fields,which also coincides with the irresistible trend of enriching actuation mechanisms beyond sole reliance on light-momentum-based optical force.From this perspective,this review covers the developments of optical manipulation in schemes of both momentum and energy transfer,and we have correspondingly selected representative techniques to present.Theoretical analyses are provided at the beginning of this review followed by experimental embodiments,with special emphasis on the contrast between mechanisms and the practical realization of optical manipulation in fluid and solid domains.

Movement of a millimeter-sized oil drop pushed by optical force

We show experimentally that when an unfocused continuous wave（CW） laser beam is obliquely incident onto the surface of a millimeter-sized mineral oil drop on sucrose solution, it will exert a pushing force on the oil drop, making it move forwards along the surface of the sucrose solution. However, after a period of time, the oil drop stops moving. This can be explained as the phenomenon caused by the change of Abraham momentum, the optical gradient force, and friction together.

Optical fiber based slide tactile sensor for underwater robots

In the underwater environment, many visual sensors don’t work, and many sensors which work well for robots working in space or on land can not be used underwater. Therefore, an optical fiber slide tactile sensor was designed based on the inner modulation mechanism of optical fibers. The principles and structure of the sensor are explained in detail. Its static and dynamic characteristics were analyzed theoretically and then simulated. A dynamic characteristic model was built and the simulation made using the GA based neural network. In order to improve sensor response, the recognition model of the sensor was designed based on the ‘inverse solution’ principle of neural networks, increasing the control precision and the sensitivity of the manipulator.

类抛物线形单孔悬挂芯光纤光镊设计与微粒操控

为提高光镊系统中光纤波导耦合度与微通道集成度,实现对微粒的多样操控,提出了一种类抛物线形单孔悬挂芯光纤光镊结构,从双光束聚焦光场机制出发,分析并建立了光镊探针尖端横向和轴向光阱力数学模型,通过出射光场分布仿真模型的计算,探究了类抛物线形悬挂芯光纤中空孔直径、微粒尺寸与纤芯功率等参量对出射光场和光阱力的影响。结合悬挂芯光纤流道的气压控制,利用CO_(2)激光熔融工艺制备了光纤光镊探针,建立了针对直径2、5、10μm的聚苯乙烯微粒操控实验。研究为单孔悬挂芯光纤应用于光纤光镊实现微粒操控乃至输运提供了技术基础,也为光纤光镊提高集成度与灵活性提供了新的思路。

空间相干结构光场产生、传输及应用研究进展

空间相干性是光场除了振幅、相位和偏振以外的一个固有属性,它在理解光的干涉、传输、光与物质相互作用等方面起着重要作用.近年来,对空间相干性的研究已经逐渐拓展至对空间相干结构的构建及特性研究,这是因为具有特定空间相干结构分布的光场展现出了新奇的物理效应,如自聚焦、自分裂、自偏移和自整形传输特性等.这些新奇物理效应的许多潜在应用也逐渐被发现,包括在自由空间光通信中降低大气湍流的负面效应、基于空间相干结构的光学加密和鲁棒光信息传输、光学微粒俘获及操纵等.本综述系统地回顾空间相干结构光场的表征方法、理论构建和实验产生方法、在自由空间和湍流介质中的传输特性和相关应用.首先,利用非负正定条件和相干模式分解理论来表示空间相干结构光场的交叉谱密度函数;然后,讨论理论和实验上构建及产生空间相干结构光场的2种不同策略,一种是基于广义范西特-泽尼克定理,另一种是基于相干模分解理论;接下来,概述特定空间相干结构光束在自由空间和湍流大气中的新颖物理特性;最后,介绍空间相干结构光场在降低大气湍流负面效应、光学加密、复杂介质中的鲁棒光信息传输和光学微粒俘获和操纵等方面的应用.光学空间相干结构不仅为光操控提供了新的自由度,产生的空间相干结构光场在诸多领域也展现出了重要应用价值.

机械介导的声子-光子非互易量子界面

基于传统的腔光力与表面声学谐振腔构建了耦合体系,并利用该模型研究了非互易的声子-光子相干量子界面物理机制。研究表明,该体系实现非互易的量子信息交互的本质原因是干涉效应,且机械振子与辅助光学腔之间的耦合强度及其相位在非互易信息调控方面发挥最关键的作用。

相敏操控对制备低频双模正交压缩真空态光场的影响

本文提出了利用单边带移频光实现非简并光学参量放大器相敏操控的方案,实验研究了在对非简并光学参量放大器相敏操控过程中,单边带移频光注入的方案和信号光注入的方案对产生的低频双模正交压缩真空态光场的影响.实验结果表明,信号光注入非简并光学参量放大器实现相敏操控过程中,压缩真空态的压缩度随着注入信号光场功率的增加不断减小直至消失.而在单边带移频光注入非简并光学参量放大器实现相敏操控过程中,正交振幅和正交位相压缩真空态的压缩度对注入移频光场的功率变化都不敏感,压缩度几乎不变.采用单边带移频光方案实现稳定的相敏操控,非简并光学参量放大器运转于相敏放大状态达30 min,获得了稳定输出的低频双模正交压缩真空态光场,在傅里叶分析频率为200 kHz测量的正交振幅分量的压缩度为(4.1±0.1)dB,正交位相分量的压缩度为(4.0±0.2)dB.

基于相位调制的非互易反射光放大动力学调控

基于光学非互易性的新型光子器件是信息处理的关键,由于信息在传递的过程中很容易减弱,因此如何放大光信号是该领域的研究热点之一。本文提出一种简单的方案实现了非互易光放大。该方案首先利用一个强耦合场和一个微波场控制一个弱探测场构成三能级V模型相干增益原子系统,使探测光信号在透明窗口处能够被放大;再通过控制耦合场强度随位置变化破坏极化率空间对称性,使得探测光从介质两侧入射的反射率不再互易,进而得到放大的非互易反射;最后,通过调制激光场之间相对相位来探究其非互易反射带放大的范围。数值结果显示,相对相位Φ=0,π和3π/2时,只有一个非互易频率域的反射带被放大;而当Φ=π/2时,出现两个频率域内放大的非互易反射带,放大范围为1.25~2.75倍。可见,该系统能够实现非互易反射光放大的动力学调控。

铌酸锂基表面活性剂辅助的水合液滴光伏输运研究

本文提出了一种利用表面活性剂辅助的水合液滴光伏输运方法。该方法通过油/水/铌酸锂界面上非离子表面活性剂(Span 80)的自组装分子层,将光伏电荷隔离。利用表面活性剂分子层提供的强静电操控力、低操控阻力和高操控稳定性,使用微瓦级低功率激光束实现了飞升级单个水合液滴的光伏输运。实验结果显示,水合液滴对光伏电场的响应可分为三种状态:无响应、排斥和吸引。随着表面活性剂浓度的增加,水合液滴的驱动机制从库伦排斥转变为适用于光伏输运的介电泳吸引。光伏电场驱动水合液滴(介电泳吸引)所需的最小激光功率与NaCl溶质浓度有关。