Investigation of photodamage by femtosecond laser to cells via gold nanorods

Usually,only focused femtosecond(fs)lasers at near-infrared(NIR)range can induce photo-damage to transparent cells,making it difficult to treat large amount of cells by such optical methods for photostimulation.In this study,we clarify the mechanism of photodamage to cells that are co-cultured with gold nanorods(GNRs)by fs laser.The pulse duration and repetition rate of the fs laser play a key role in cell damage suggesting that the heat accumulation con-tributes to the major part for the cell damage rather than the high peak power which mainly determines the efficiency of multiphoton excitation.We further show that cellular Ca^(2+)can also be released in this scheme,but the process is more sensitive to peak power.Our results can provide a large-scale GNR-mediated photostimulation for cell signaling modulation.

Compact TE-pass polarizer based on lithium-niobate-on-insulator assisted by indium tin oxide and silicon nitride

An indium tin oxide(ITO) and silicon nitride(Si_(3)N_(4)) assisted compact TE-pass waveguide polarizer based on lithiumniobate-on-insulator is proposed and numerically analyzed.By properly designing the ITO and Si_(3)N_(4) assisted structure and utilizing the epsilon-near-zero effect of ITO,the TM mode is strongly confined in the ITO layer with extremely high loss,while the TE mode is hardly affected and passes through the waveguide with low loss.The simulation results show that the polarizer has an extinction ratio of 22.5 dB and an insertion loss of 0.8 dB at the wavelength of 1.55 μm,and has an operating bandwidth of about 125 nm(from 1540 nm to 1665 nm) for an extinction ratio of>20 dB and an insertion loss of<0.95 dB.Moreover,the proposed device exhibits large fabrication tolerances.More notably,the device is compact,with a length of only 7.5 μm,and is appropriate for on-chip applications.

Generation of few-cycle laser pulses by coherent synthesis based on a femtosecond Yb-doped fiber laser amplification system

We demonstrate a coherent synthesis system based on femtosecond Yb-doped fiber laser technology. The output pulse of the amplification system is divided into two replicas and seeded into photonic crystal fibers of two parallel branches for nonlinear pulse compression. Because of the different nonlinear dynamics in the photonic crystal fibers, the compressed pulses show different spectra, which can be spliced to form a broad coherent spectrum. The integrated timing jitter between the pulses of two branches is less than one tenth of an optical cycle.By coherently synthesizing pulses from these two branches, 8 fs few-cycle pulses are produced.

High-sensitive terahertz detection by parametric up-conversion using nanosecond pulsed laser

A high-sensitive terahertz detector operating at room temperature was demonstrated based on parametric upconversion.A nanosecond 1064-nm Nd:YAG laser was used to pump the parametric up-conversion detector and the upconversion from terahertz wave to NIR laser was realized in a lithium niobate crystal.The minimum detectable terahertz energy of 9 p J was realized with the detection dynamic range of 54 d B,which was three orders of magnitude higher than that of commercial Golay cell.The detectable terahertz frequency range of the detection system was 0.90 Thz–1.83 THz.Besides,the effects of pump energy and effective gain length on the detection sensitivity were studied in experiment.The results showed that higher pump energy and longer effective gain length are helpful for improving the detection sensitivity of parametric up-conversion detector.

Linear polarization conversion of transmitted terahertz wave with double-layer meta-grating surfaces

In this Letter, we demonstrate a linear polarization conversion of transmitted terahertz wave with double-layer meta-grating surfaces, which integrated the frequency selectivity of a split ring resonator metasurface and the polarization selectivity of a metallic grating surface. Since the double-layer can reduce the loss, and the Fabry- Perot like resonant effect between the two layers can improve the conversion efficiency, this converter can rotate the incident y-polarized terahertz wave into an x-polarized transmitted wave with relatively low loss and high efficiency. Experimental results show that an average conversion efficiency exceeding 75% from 0.25 to 0.65 THz with the highest efficiency of 90% at 0.43 THz with onlv -2 dB loss has been achieved.

High-repetition-rate femtosecond laser micromachining of poly(methyl methacrylate)

Investigations are performed to explore high-repetition-rate femtosecond laser ablation effects on the physical and chemical properties of poly（methyl methacrylate） （PMMA）. A scanning electron microscopy （SEM） is used to characterize the morphology change in the laser-ablated regions. The infrared and Raman spectroscopy reveals that the fundamental structure of the PMMA is altered after laser ablation. We demonstrate the cumulative heating is much greater during high-repetition-rate femtosecond laser ablation, supporting a photothermal depolymerization mechanism during the ablation process.

Reconfigurable and nonvolatile terahertz lithography-free photonic devices based on phase change films

High-performance terahertz(THz)devices with reconfigurable features are highly desirable in many promising THz applications.However,most of the existing reconfigurable THz elements are still limited to volatile responses,single functionality,and time-consuming multistep manufacturing procedures.In this paper,we report a lithography-free approach to create reconfigurable and nonvolatile THz components by exploring the reversible,nonvolatile,and continuous THz modulation capability of the phase change material Ge_(2)Sb_(2)Te_(5).As a proof of concept,THz gratings with significant Rayleigh anomalies and diffraction as well as ultrathin THz flat lenses with subwavelength and ultra-broadband focusing capabilities are designed and fabricated on ultrathin Ge_(2)Sb_(2)Te_(5)films using the presented photo-imprint strategy.Moreover,such a method can also be adopted to create more complex THz devices,such as Pancharatnam–Berry phase metasurfaces and grayscale holographic plates.With these findings,the proposed method will provide a promising solution to realize reconfigurable and nonvolatile THz elements.

Meta-optics inspired surface plasmon devices

Surface plasmons(SPs)are electromagnetic surface waves that propagate at the interface between a conductor and a dielectric.Due to their unique ability to concentrate light on two-dimensional platforms and produce very high local-field intensity,SPs have rapidly fueled a variety of fundamental advances and practical applications.In parallel,the development of metamaterials and metasurfaces has rapidly revolutionized the design concepts of traditional optical devices,fostering the exciting field of meta-optics.This review focuses on recent progress of meta-optics inspired SP devices,which are implemented by the careful design of subwavelength structures and the arrangement of their spatial distributions.Devices of general interest,including coupling devices,on-chip tailoring devices,and decoupling devices,as well as nascent SP applications empowered by sophisticated usage of meta-optics,are introduced and discussed.

Mechanically reprogrammable Pancharatnam-Berry metasurface for microwaves

Metasurfaces have enabled the realization of several optical functionalities over an ultrathin platform,fostering the exciting field of flat optics.Traditional metasurfaces are achieved by arranging a layout of static meta-atoms to imprint a desired operation on the impinging wavefront,but their functionality cannot be altered.Reconfigurability and programmability of metasurfaces are the next important step to broaden their impact,adding customized on-demand functionality in which each meta-atom can be individually reprogrammed.We demonstrate a mechanical metasurface platform with controllable rotation at the meta-atom level,which can implement continuous Pancharatnam–Berry phase control of circularly polarized microwaves.As the proof-of-concept experiments,we demonstrate metalensing,focused vortex beam generation,and holographic imaging in the same metasurface template,exhibiting versatility and superior performance.Such dynamic control of electromagnetic waves using a single,low-cost metasurface paves an avenue towards practical applications,driving the field of reprogrammable intelligent metasurfaces for a variety of applications.

Nonvolatile reconfigurable dynamic Janus metasurfaces in the terahertz regime

Metasurfaces,especially tunable ones,have played a major role in controlling the amplitude,phase,and polarization of electromagnetic waves and attracted growing interest,with a view toward a new generation of miniaturized devices.However,to date,most existing reconfigurable devices are bounded in volatile nature with sustained external energy to maintain and single functionality,which restrict their further applications.Here,we demonstrate for the first time,to our knowledge,nonvolatile,reconfigurable,and dynamic Janus metasurfaces by incorporating phase-change material Ge_(2)Se_(2)Te_(5)(GST)in the terahertz(THz)regime.First,we experimentally show the reversible switching characteristic of GST on large areas by applying a single nanosecond laser pulse,which exhibits excellent contrast of THz properties in both states.Then,we present a multiplex metasurface scheme.In each metasurface,three sets of structures are adopted,in which two sets integrate GST.The effective structures can be reversely modulated by the amorphization and crystallization of GST.As a proof of concept,the dynamic beam splitter,bifocal metalens,dual-mode focusing optical vortex generators,and switchable metalens/focusing optical vortex generators are designed,fabricated,and experimentally characterized,and can be switched reversibly and repeatedly with the help of optical and thermal stimuli.Our scheme will pave the way toward the development of multifunctional and compact THz devices and may find use for applications in THz imaging,sensing,and communications.

Spectral filtering effect on multi-pulsing induced by chirped fiber Bragg grating in dispersion-managed mode-locked Yb-doped fiber lasers

We numerically and experimentally investigate the multi-pulsing mechanism in a dispersion-managed mode-locked Ybdoped fiber laser.Multi-pulsing occurs primarily owing to the inherent filtering effect of the chirped fiber Bragg grating.The spectral filtering effect restricts the spectral broadening induced by self-phase modulation and causes extra loss,leading to a decreased pump power threshold for the multi-pulsing state.Numerical simulations show that multi-pulsing emerges at a lower pump power when the spectral filter bandwidth becomes narrower.In the experiment,the spectral width increases as the net cavity dispersion approaches zero.Pulses with wider spectral widths experience more loss from the spectral filtering effect,leading to a decreased pump power threshold for multi-pulsing.Therefore,the net cavity dispersion also has an impact on the multi-pulsing threshold.Based on this conclusion,we devise a strategy to obtain single-pulsing operation with the shortest pulse width and the highest pulse energy.

Moiré-driven electromagnetic responses and magic angles in a sandwiched hyperbolic metasurface

Recent moiréconfigurations provide a new platform for tunable and sensitive photonic responses,as their enhanced light–matter interactions originate from the relative displacement or rotation angle in a stacking bilayer or multilayer periodic array.However,previous findings are mostly focused on atomically thin condensed matter,with limitations on the fabrication of multilayer structures and the control of rotation angles.Structured microwave moiréconfigurations are still difficult to realize.Here,we design a novel moiréstructure,which presents unprecedented capability in the manipulation of light–matter interactions.Based on the effective medium theory and S-parameter retrieval process,the rotation matrix is introduced into the dispersion relation to analyze the underlying physical mechanism,where the permittivity tensor transforms from a diagonal matrix to a fully populated one,whereas the permeability tensor evolves from a unit matrix to a diagonal one and finally becomes fully filled,so that the electromagnetic responses change drastically as a result of stacking and rotation.Besides,the experiment and simulation results reveal hybridization of eigenmodes,drastic manipulation of surface states,and magic angle properties by controlling the mutual rotation angles between two isolated layers.Here,not only a more precisely controllable bilayer hyperbolic metasurface is introduced to moiréphysics,the findings also open up a new avenue to realize flat bands at arbitrary frequencies,which shows great potential in active engineering of surface waves and designing multifunctional plasmonic devices.