Highlights of 2011

In this overview paper the trends in the modern literature concerning the characterization of linear electromagnetic properties of nanostructured metamaterials are briefly discussed. Electromagnetic characterization of bulk and surface metamaterials is discussed. The problem of characterization of metamaterials with spatial dispersion effects is addressed. It is shown that for bulk metamaterials formed as orthorhombic dipole lattices experimental electromagnetic characterization (retrieval of material parameters) becomes possible. However, standard schemes of material parameter retrieval contain pitfalls even for this kind of material. To clarify these pitfalls the concept of characteristic material parameters is suggested which is clearer and more restrictive that the concept of effective material parameters. For a special but important class of metamaterials (called Bloch lattices by the author) bulk material parameters are obtained which probably fit the concept of electromagnetic characterization because they satisfy basic physical limitations. Further, the problem of the violation of Maxwell boundary conditions for a macroscopic field at the physical boundary of the metamaterial lattice is discussed. The role of transition layers (perhaps transition sheets) in the characterization of metamaterials is explained. Finally, a relevant numerical example is presented as an illustration of the theory.

We present a survey of results from various research groups under the unifying viewpoint of transformational physics, which has been recently introduced for the design of metamaterials in optics and acoustics. We illustrate the versatility of underlying geometric transforms in order to bridge wave phenomena (the different 'colours' of waves) ranging from transverse electric waves, to linear surface water waves at an air–fluid interface, to pressure waves in fluids and out-of-plane shear waves in elastic media: these waves are all governed by a second order scalar partial differential equation (PDE) invariant under geometric transform. Moreover, flexural waves propagating in thin plates represent a very peculiar situation whereby the displacement field satisfies a fourth order scalar PDE which also retains its form under geometric transform (unlike for the Navier equation in elastodynamics). Control of flexural wave trajectories is illustrated with a multilayered cloak and a carpet. Interestingly, the colours of waves can be revealed through an analysis of the band spectra of invisibility cloaks. In the context of acoustics, this suggests one can hear the shape of a drum. Alternative avenues towards cloaking based upon anomalous resonances of a negatively refracting coating (which can be seen as the result of folding the space back onto itself), and even plasmonic shells reducing the scattering cross-section of nano-objects are also addressed.

We review several approaches to optical invisibility designed using transformation optics (TO) and optical conformal mapping (CM) techniques. TO is a general framework for solving inverse scattering problems based on mimicking spatial coordinate transformations with distributions of material properties. There are two essential steps in the design of TO media: first, a coordinate transformation that achieves some desired functionality, resulting in a continuous spatial distribution of constitutive parameters that are generally anisotropic; and, second, the reduction of the derived continuous constitutive parameters to a metamaterial that serves as a stepwise approximation. We focus here on the first step, discussing the merits of various TO strategies proposed for the long-sought 'invisibility cloak'—a structure that renders opaque objects invisible. We also evaluate the cloaking capabilities of structures designed by the related CM approach, which makes use of conformal mapping to achieve index-only material distributions. The performance of the various cloaks is evaluated and compared using a universal measure—the total (all-angle) scattering cross section.

We summarize progress in the development and application of metamaterial structures utilizing superconducting elements. After a brief review of the salient features of superconductivity, the advantages of superconducting metamaterials over their normal metal counterparts are discussed. We then present the unique electromagnetic properties of superconductors and discuss their use in both proposed and demonstrated metamaterial structures. Finally we discuss novel applications enabled by superconducting metamaterials, and then mention a few possible directions for future research.

Optical trapping in anisotropic fluids such as liquid crystals shows inherently different behavior compared to that in isotropic media. Anisotropic optical and visco-elastic properties of these materials result in direction-sensitive and polarization-dependent interaction of the focused laser beam with colloidal inclusions, defects and structures of long-range molecular order, providing new means of non-contact optical control. Optical trapping properties are further enriched by laser-induced realignment of the optical axis that can be observed in these liquid crystalline materials at relatively low trapping laser powers. Optical manipulation of particles and defects in these anisotropic fluids is of immense importance for their fundamental study and from the standpoint of technological applications such as light-directed colloidal self-assembly and generation of tunable photonic architectures in liquid crystals. We review the basic physical mechanisms related to optical trapping in anisotropic liquid crystalline fluids and demonstrate how it can be employed in quantitative studies of colloidal interactions and both topological and mechanical properties of defects.

A few years ago the possibility of coupling and inter-converting the spin and orbital angular momentum (SAM and OAM) of paraxial light beams in inhomogeneous anisotropic media was demonstrated. An important case is provided by waveplates having a singular transverse pattern of the birefringent optical axis, with a topological singularity of charge q at the plate center, hence named 'q-plates'. The introduction of q-plates has given rise in recent years to a number of new results and to significant progress in the field of orbital angular momentum of light. Particularly promising are the quantum photonic applications, because the polarization control of OAM allows the transfer of quantum information from the SAM qubit space to an OAM subspace of a photon and vice versa. In this paper, we review the development of the q-plate idea and some of the most significant results that have originated from it, and we will briefly touch on many other related findings concerning the interaction of the SAM and OAM of light.

We report the generation of cylindrical vector beams using a concentric metallic grating fabricated on optical fibers with a period smaller than the wavelength of the incident light. Similar to the wiregrid linear polarizer, such a subwavelength metallic annular structure strongly reflects azimuthal polarization and allows radial polarization to transmit through. Due to the polarization selectivity of the concentric metallic grating, a cylindrical vector beam is obtained when a circularly polarized light is launched into the fiber. Such a device is suitable for the end mirror coupler in an all-fiber laser design to produce radially polarized modes.

Multimode interference power splitters based on hybrid plasmonic waveguides are investigated theoretically. Balanced power splitting is achieved in designed 1 × 3 and 1 × 2 power splitters between a silicon-on-insulator waveguide and several hybrid plasmonic waveguides, with total transmission efficiencies at 76.1% and 78.3% at the wavelength of 1550 nm, respectively.

We consider a novel configuration of plasmonic nanoparticles exhibiting ultra-high sensitivity of the plasmon-polariton resonance to environmental refractive index variations, resulting in a record figure of merit for single-particle sensing. The suggested configuration consists of a metal-coated silica nanorod, whose cylindrical symmetry is broken by a nanosized split resulting in a split-cylinder resonator. Silver and gold nanoparticles are analyzed using two- as well as three-dimensional finite element numerical simulations, revealing that the new nanoparticle configuration facilitates an easy tunability of the resonance and ensures high field enhancement in the split region. Considering single-particle sensing of environmental index variations, we demonstrate that these nanoparticles allow one to achieve record-high figures of merit along with unprecedented spatial resolution.

The straightforward method of transformation optics implies that one starts from the coordinate transformation and determines the Jacobian matrix, the fields and material parameters of the cloak. However, the coordinate transformation appears as an optional function: it is not necessary to know it. We offer the solution of some sort of inverse problem: starting from the fields in the invisibility cloak we directly derive the permittivity and permeability tensors of the cloaking shell. This approach can be useful for finding material parameters for the specified electromagnetic fields in the cloaking shell without knowing the coordinate transformation.

We report a high throughput combinatorial approach to photonic metamaterial optimization. The new approach is based on parallel synthesis and subsequent optical characterization of large numbers of spatially addressable nanofabricated metamaterial samples (libraries) with quasi-continuous variation of design parameters under real manufacturing conditions. We illustrate this method for Fano-resonance plasmonic nanostructures, arriving at explicit recipes for high quality factors needed for switching and sensing applications.

We report on the optical activities of left- and right-handed micro-spirals fabricated in dichromate gelatin emulsions using a holographic interference technique involving six linearly polarized side beams and one circularly polarized central beam. Photonic bandgaps in the visible range are observed. More importantly, opposite optical activities—a polarization rotation of a few degrees and a circular dichroism (CD) of about 20% at the photonic band edges—are observed for the left- and right-handed spirals. Furthermore, the transmittance of circularly polarized light obeys the Lorentz reciprocity lemma for forward and backward incidence. However neither polarization rotation nor CD is observed for achiral split rings and hollow rods fabricated using all linearly polarized beams and six side beams without the central beam, respectively; this indicates that the chiral nature of the spirals is essential for the observed optical activities.

Focused infrared lasers are widely used for micromanipulation and visualization of biological specimens. An inherent practical problem is that off-the-shelf commercial microscope objectives are designed for use with visible and not infrared wavelengths. Less aberration is introduced by water immersion objectives than by oil immersion ones, however, even water immersion objectives induce significant aberration. We present a simple method to reduce the spherical aberration induced by water immersion objectives, namely by tuning the correction collar of the objective to a value that is ∼ 10% lower than the physical thickness of the coverslip. This results in marked improvements in optical trapping strengths of up to 100% laterally and 600% axially from a standard microscope objective designed for use in the visible range. The results are generally valid for any water immersion objective with any numerical aperture.

Micro- and nanostructures were fabricated directly on graphene nanosheets by controlling the conditions of femtosecond laser pulse etching. High quality graphene micro- and nanostructures with a minimum width of 492 nm were obtained as the graphene nanosheets used in our experiments were large-scale, uniform and highly conductive. Various complex patterns were successfully created through femtosecond laser etching. Furthermore, by managing the laser energy, the graphene under the Au electrodes could be completely or partly removed. This technology of direct patterning of micro- and nanostructures on graphene through femtosecond laser technology might pave the way for the integration of graphene-based electronic microdevices.

We experimentally demonstrate that a Bessel-like amplitude modulated spiral phase filter can be used in a real-time spatial image edge enhancement system in optical microscopy for biological sample imaging. Compared with previous methods based on a conventional spiral phase filter, a dark-field spiral phase filter and the Laguerre–Gaussian modulated spiral phase filter, the proposed technique further reduces the imaging diffraction noise. Experimental verifications in edge enhancement are implemented by a phase-only spatial light modulator for realizing the amplitude modulated spiral phase. It is shown that the proposed technique is able to efficiently suppress the diffraction noise and achieve high quality edge enhancement images for biological samples.

Recent insights into the time development of quantum states driven by non-Hermitian matrices, and an exactly solvable model, can be applied to the evolution of optical polarization in a stratified nontransparent dielectric medium twisted cyclically along the propagation direction. The twist is chosen to encircle a degeneracy (branch-point) in the plane of parameters describing the medium. Polarization evolutions are determined analytically and illustrated as tracks on the Poincaré sphere and the stereographic plane. Even when the twist is slow, the exact evolutions differ sharply from those of the local eigenpolarizations and can display extreme sensitivity to initial conditions. Underlying these dramatic violations of adiabatic intuition are the disparity of exponentials and the Stokes phenomenon of asymptotics.

A general complex scalar wavefield in two dimensions contains singularities of phase, namely vortices, saddles and extrema. As an external control parameter is changed, reactions occur between the singularities. We examine here the reaction whereby a single vortex splits into three, and several models that display this phenomenon are discussed. The reaction is essentially the same in all of them, but attention is focused on a model in which two coaxial Gaussian beams of different waist sizes and amplitudes are superposed in antiphase. The saddles are arranged in a pattern that has some interesting features. At the moment of triplet formation a saddle passes through the central vortex and two new saddles are formed below the new flanking vortices. The vortices are nearly degenerate, but not completely so. This property is associated with a factor of 2 in their rate of circulation of phase that is in addition to the primary circulation of 2π around a vortex. It suggests a new integer that characterizes such near-degenerate vortices, and it results in a factor of 2 in the vortex–saddle separations. As the waist of the narrower beam is reduced to less than a wavelength, an unusual reaction occurs in which a new pair of saddles is created apparently from nothing; however, the intervention of phase extrema as catalysts ensures that the Poincaré index remains conserved. The final result after this event is a complete inversion of the original triplet pattern, a feat that is accomplished without the saddles passing through the vortices.

We introduce a new type of electromagnetic cloak, the spacetime cloak (STC), which conceals events rather than objects. Non-emitting events occurring during a restricted period are never suspected by a distant observer. The cloak works by locally manipulating the speed of light of an initially uniform light distribution, whilst the light rays themselves always follow straight paths. Any 'perfect' spacetime cloak would necessarily rely upon the technology of electromagnetic metamaterials, which has already been shown to be capable of deforming light in ways hitherto unforeseen—to produce, for example, an electromagnetic object cloak. Nevertheless, we show how it is possible to use intensity-dependent refractive indices to construct an approximate STC, an implementation that would enable the distinct signature of successful event cloaking to be observed. Potential demonstrations include systems that apparently violate quantum statistics, 'interrupt-without-interrupt' computation on convergent data channels and the illusion of a Star Trek transporter.

We show that the Plebanski based approach to transformation optics overlooks some subtleties in the electrodynamics of moving dielectrics that restricts its applicability to a certain class of transformations. An alternative, completely covariant, approach is developed that is more generally applicable and provides a clearer picture of transformation optics.

Transformation optics allows the creation of innovative devices; however, its implementation in the optical domain remains challenging. We describe here our process to design and fabricate such devices using silicon as a platform for broad band operation in the optical domain. We discuss the approximations and methods employed to overcome the challenges of using dielectric materials as a platform for transformation optics, such as the anisotropy and gradient refractive index implementation. These encompass conformal and quasi-conformal mappings, and a dithering process to discretize and quantize the continuously inhomogeneous index function. We show examples of devices that we fabricated and tested, including the carpet invisibility cloak, a broad bandwidth light concentrator, and a perfect imaging device, known as Maxwell's fish eye lens. Finally, we touch on future directions under investigation to further develop transformation optics based on dielectric materials.

Using the idea of transformation optics, we propose a way to annihilate or re-shape the radiation field of a source through remote manipulation. The manipulation is enabled by metamaterials that correspond to space folding coordinate transformations. It is shown that when two coherent sources with equal magnitudes and opposite phases are placed at equivalent positions in normal and folded spaces, they 'annihilate' each other optically. The folded space also gives the possibility of creating complex multipole sources by placing simple sources separately in normal and folded spaces. These ideas may find applications in areas such as active noise control and antenna design techniques.

The 3D interactive manipulation of multiple particles with holographic optical tweezers is often hampered by the control system. We use a multi-touch interface implemented on an Apple iPad to overcome many of the limitations of mouse-based control, and demonstrate an elegant and intuitive interface to multi-particle manipulation. This interface connects to the tweezers system hardware over a wireless network, allowing it to function as a remote monitor and control device.

Optical micromanipulation stands for contact-free handling of microscopic particles by light. Optical forces can manipulate non-absorbing objects in a large range of sizes, e.g., from biological cells down to cold atoms. Recently much progress has been made going from the micro- down to the nanoscale. Less attention has been paid to going the other way, trapping increasingly large particles. Optical tweezers typically employ a single laser beam tightly focused by a microscope objective of high numerical aperture to stably trap a particle in three dimensions (3D). As the particle size increases, stable 3D trapping in a single-beam trap requires scaling up the optical power, which eventually induces adverse biological effects. Moreover, the restricted field of view of standard optical tweezers, dictated by the use of high NA objectives, is particularly unfavorable for catching actively moving specimens. Both problems can be overcome by traps with counter-propagating beams. Our 'macro-tweezers' are especially designed to trap highly motile organisms, as they enable three-dimensional all-optical trapping and guiding in a volume of 2 × 1 × 2 mm³. Here we report for the first time the optical trapping of large actively swimming organisms, such as for instance Euglena protists and dinoflagellates of up to 70 µm length. Adverse bio-effects are kept low since trapping occurs outside high intensity regions, e.g., focal spots. We expect our approach to open various possibilities in the contact-free handling of 50–100 µm sized objects that could hitherto not be envisaged, for instance all-optical holding of individual micro-organisms for taxonomic identification, selective collecting or tagging.

The widespread application of optical forces and torques has contributed to renewed interest in the fundamentals of the electromagnetic force and torque, including long-standing paradoxes such as the Abraham–Minkowski controversy and the angular momentum density of a circularly polarized plane wave. We discuss the relationship between these electromagnetic paradoxes and optical tweezers. In particular, consideration of possible optical tweezers experiments to attempt to resolve these paradoxes strongly suggests that they are beyond experimental resolution, yielding identical observable results in all cases.

An optical mode is generated in vacuum by the total internal reflection of a beam, at the planar surface of a dielectric on which a metallic film is deposited. When the beam impinging on the surface is a Laguerre–Gaussian (LG) mode, the resulting surface mode with field components in the vacuum region possesses vortex properties, in addition to surface plasmon features. Such surface plasmon optical vortex (SPOV) modes have well-defined orbital angular momentum, residing in an azimuthal phase relative to the propagation direction of the internally reflected light. Significantly, as SPOVs are characterized by a small mode volume, they can strongly couple to atomic or molecular systems in the vicinity of the surface. In particular, SPOVs generated by single or counter-propagating, symmetrically incident laser fields give rise to optical forces that can restrict the lateral in-plane motion of such atoms, thus acting as a trap. Typical atom trajectories, evaluated for sodium atoms initially localized in the vicinity of the metallized surface, exhibit a variety of rotational, vibrational and translational effects, as well as trapping.

Schemes for the communication and registration of optical angular momentum depend on the fidelity of transmission between optical system components. It is known that electron spin can be faithfully relayed between exciton states in quantum dots; it has also been shown by several theoretical and experimental studies that the use of beams conveying orbital angular momentum can significantly extend the density and efficiency of such information transfer. However, it remains unclear to what extent the operation of such a concept at the single photon level is practicable—especially where this involves optical propagation through a material system, in which forward scattering events can intervene. The possibility of transmitting and decoding angular momentum over nanoscale distances itself raises other important issues associated with near-field interrogation. This paper provides a framework to address these and related issues. A quantum electrodynamical representation is constructed and used to pursue the consequences of individual photons, from a Laguerre–Gaussian beam, undergoing single and multiple scattering events in the course of propagation. In this context, issues concerning orbital angular momentum conservation, and its possible compromise, are tackled by identifying the relevant components of the electromagnetic scattering and coupling tensors, using an irreducible Cartesian basis. The physical interpretation broadly supports the fidelity of quantum information transmission, but it also identifies potential limitations of principle.