Near-Field Microwave Imaging Method of Monopole Antennas Based on Nitrogen-Vacancy Centers in Diamond.

Visualizing the near-field distribution of microwave field in a monopole antenna is very important for antenna design and manufacture. However, the traditional method of measuring antenna microwave near field distribution by mechanical scanning has some problems, such as long measurement time, low measurement accuracy and large system volume, which seriously limits the measurement effect of antenna microwave near field distribution. In this paper, a method of microwave near-field imaging of a monopole antenna using a nitrogen-vacancy center diamond is presented. We use the whole diamond as a probe and camera to achieve wide-field microwave imaging. Because there is no displacement structure in the system, the method has high time efficiency and good stability. Compared with the traditional measurement methods, the diamond probe has almost no effect on the measured microwave field, which realizes the accurate near-field imaging of the microwave field of the monopole antenna. This method achieves microwave near-field imaging of a monopole antenna with a diameter of 100 µm and a length of 15 mm at a field of view of 5 × 5 mm, with a spatial resolution of 3 µm and an imaging bandwidth of 2.7~3.2 GHz, and an optimal input microwave phase resolution of 0.52° at a microwave power of 0.8494 W. The results provide a new method for microwave near-field imaging and measurement of monopole antennas.

Observation of quantum nonlocality in Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger entanglement on a silicon chip.

Nonlocality is the defining feature of quantum entanglement. Entangled states with multiple particles are of crucial importance in fundamental tests of quantum physics as well as in many quantum information tasks. One of the archetypal multipartite quantum states, Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) state, allows one to observe the striking conflict of quantum physics to local realism in the so-called all-versus-nothing way. This is profoundly different from Bell's theorem for two particles, which relies on statistical predictions. Here, we demonstrate an integrated photonic chip capable of generating and manipulating the four-photon GHZ state. We perform a complete characterization of the four-photon GHZ state using quantum state tomography and obtain a state fidelity of 0.729±0.006. We further use the all-versus-nothing test and the Mermin inequalities to witness the quantum nonlocality of GHZ entanglement. Our work paves the way to perform fundamental tests of quantum physics with complex integrated quantum devices.

Tip-induced nanoscale domain engineering in x-cut lithium niobate on insulator.

Nanodomain engineering in lithium niobate on insulator (LNOI) is critical to realize advanced photonic circuits. Here, we investigate the tip-induced nanodomain formation in x-cut LNOI. The effective electric field exhibits a mirror symmetry, which can be divided into preceding and sequential halves according to the tip movement. Under our configuration, the preceding electric field plays a decisive role rather than the sequential one as in previous reports. The mechanism is attributed to the screening field formed by the preceding field counteracting the effect of the subsequent one. In experiment, we successfully fabricate nanodomain dots, lines, and periodic arrays. Our work offers a useful approach for nanoscale domain engineering in x-cut LNOI, which has potential applications in integrated optoelectronic devices.

Suppressing the radiation loss by hybrid Tamm-surface plasmon BIC modes.

Tamm plasmon polaritons (TPPs), localized near the boundary of a dielectric Bragg reflector (DBR) and a thin metal film, have attracted much attention for the lower ohm loss and flexible excitation. However, the radiation loss resulting from the direct coupling to the surroundings hinders their applications. Here, we propose and experimentally demonstrate a new type of hybrid plasmonic quasi-bound state in the continuum (BIC) in a Tamm-surface plasmon polariton system to suppress the radiation loss. Leveraging the scattering of the periodic metal array, the TPP interacts with the surface plasmon polariton (SPP) mode and form a Friedrich-Wintgen type quasi-BIC state that originated from the interference of two surface waves with different natures. Through angle resolved reflectance spectrum measurement, the hybrid plasmonic quasi-BIC was observed in the experiment. Our work proposes a new method to design a high Q mode in plasmonic systems, and thus holds promise for applications in the field of light matter interactions.

Wafer-Scale Periodic Poling of Thin-Film Lithium Niobate.

Periodically poled lithium niobate on insulator (PPLNOI) offers an admirably promising platform for the advancement of nonlinear photonic integrated circuits (PICs). In this context, domain inversion engineering emerges as a key process to achieve efficient nonlinear conversion. However, periodic poling processing of thin-film lithium niobate has only been realized on the chip level, which significantly limits its applications in large-scale nonlinear photonic systems that necessitate the integration of multiple nonlinear components on a single chip with uniform performances. Here, we demonstrate a wafer-scale periodic poling technique on a 4-inch LNOI wafer with high fidelity. The reversal lengths span from 0.5 to 10.17 mm, encompassing an area of ~1 cm2 with periods ranging from 4.38 to 5.51 µm. Efficient poling was achieved with a single manipulation, benefiting from the targeted grouped electrode pads and adaptable comb line widths in our experiment. As a result, domain inversion is ultimately implemented across the entire wafer with a 100% success rate and 98% high-quality rate on average, showcasing high throughput and stability, which is fundamentally scalable and highly cost-effective in contrast to traditional size-restricted chiplet-level poling. Our study holds significant promise to dramatically promote ultra-high performance to a broad spectrum of applications, including optical communications, photonic neural networks, and quantum photonics.

Stable Q-switched and femtosecond mode-locked erbium-doped fiber laser based on a CuSe nanosheets saturable absorber.

Stable Q-switched and femtosecond mode-locked erbium-doped fiber laser (EDFL) have been achieved using CuSe nanosheets as novel saturable absorber (SA), where the CuSe nanosheets were prepared by a hydrothermal method. The nonlinear optical properties of CuSe nanosheets were measured using an Z-scan setup, revealing nonlinear absorption coefficients of -3.67 ± 0.22 cm GW-1 at 1560 nm. The prepared CuSe nanosheets were mixed with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) to obtain a CuSe-PVA SA with a modulation depth of 3.8 ± 0.13%, and it was utilized to realize a Q-switched EDFL, obtaining the narrowest pulse duration of 1.29 µs and the maximum output power of 5.96 mW, which corresponds to a pulse energy of up to 103.7 nJ. In addition, CuSe nanosheets were deposited on a D-shaped fiber (DSF) to fabricate a CuSe-DSF SA with a modulation depth of 5.6 ± 0.17%, and it was utilized to realize a mode-locked EDFL. The mode-locked EDFL demonstrated a low threshold of only 42 mW, a pulse duration of 740 fs, and a maximum output power of 9.7 mW. Meanwhile, it exhibited a high signal-to-noise ratio of 72 dB. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time of CuSe nanosheets as SA in EDFL. The results demonstrate that CuSe nanosheets are a highly promising nonlinear optical material with great potential for applications in ultrafast photonics.

Two-dimensional binary phase gratings for zero-order and high-order diffraction suppression.

A two-dimensional binary phase grating is proposed in this paper. Unlike a conventional transmission grating, in theory, the proposed phase grating can simultaneously eliminate the zero- and high-order diffraction along certain axes on the image plane, forming a pure sinusoidal transmission modulation that leaves only the first-order diffraction. The first-ever, to the best of our knowledge, theoretical model for achieving sinusoidal transmission modulation is suggested in this paper; then the theoretical calculation and experiment results are displayed to investigate the physical mechanism of the proposed grating. Moreover, the manipulation on the arrangement of grating design can disperse or concentrate the diffraction energy at a specific axis. Finally, almost first-order-only diffraction is achieved on a single axis by introducing random changes to certain geometrical parameters of the two-dimensional binary phase grating. Our work provides potential applications in optical science and engineering fields.

Bound-Extended Mode Transition in Type-II Synthetic Photonic Weyl Heterostructures.

Photonic structures with Weyl points (WPs), including type I and type II, promise nontrivial surface modes and intriguing light manipulations for their three-dimensional topological bands. While previous studies mainly focus on exploring WPs in a uniform Weyl structure, here we establish Weyl heterostructures (i.e., a nonuniform Weyl lattice) with different rotational orientations in the synthetic dimension by nanostructured photonic waveguides. In this work, we unveil a transition between bound and extended modes on the interface of type-II Weyl heterostructures by tuning their rotational phases, despite the reversed topological order across the interface. This mode transition is also manifested from the total transmission to total reflection at the interface. All of these unconventional effects are attributed to the tilted dispersion of type-II Weyl band structure that can lead to mismatched bands and gaps across the interface. As a comparison, the type-I Weyl heterostructures lack the phase transition due to the untilted band structure. This work establishes a flexible scheme of artificial Weyl heterostructures that opens a new avenue toward high-dimensional topological effects and significantly enhances our capabilities in on-chip light manipulations.

A bio-inspired two-stage bionic drag reduction method.

Reducing the surface resistance of underwater vehicles plays an important role in improving cruising speed and cruising mileage. The epidermis of loaches is not only covered with a layer of scale structure but also secretes mucus tissue with a lubricating effect, which makes loaches swim rapidly in muddy water. Study the morphology and structure of the skin of loach and establish a two-stage biomimetic drag reduction model. Adjust the different structural parameters of the model and select the parameters with the best drag reduction rate for the modeling design. The numerical simulation results show that the optimal drag reduction rate of the two-stage drag reduction structure is greater than 21%. In the flow channel test experiment, the drag reduction rate is slightly lower than the simulation results. Numerical simulation and experimental data show that the underwater drag reduction function can be realized by simulating the microstructure of loach skin. Finally, analyze the velocity gradient, vortices, etc., and search for the drag reduction mechanism. The simulation design of the microstructure of the loach skin can increase the thickness of the boundary layer, promote the vortex structure near the wall surface, change the flow mode of the solid-liquid interface, and reduce the wall resistance. At the same time, the drag reduction model provides key technical support for the practical application of reducing surface resistance, such as in underwater vehicles.

All-in-one, all-optical logic gates using liquid metal plasmon nonlinearity.

Electronic processors are reaching the physical speed ceiling that heralds the era of optical processors. Multifunctional all-optical logic gates (AOLGs) of massively parallel processing are of great importance for large-scale integrated optical processors with speed far in excess of electronics, while are rather challenging due to limited operation bandwidth and multifunctional integration complexity. Here we for the first time experimentally demonstrate a reconfigurable all-in-one broadband AOLG that achieves nine fundamental Boolean logics in a single configuration, enabled by ultrabroadband (400-4000 nm) plasmon-enhanced thermo-optical nonlinearity (TONL) of liquid-metal Galinstan nanodroplet assemblies (GNAs). Due to the unique heterogeneity (broad-range geometry sizes, morphology, assembly profiles), the prepared GNAs exhibit broadband plasmonic opto-thermal effects (hybridization, local heating, energy transfer, etc.), resulting in a huge nonlinear refractive index under the order of 10-4-10-5 within visual-infrared range. Furthermore, a generalized control-signal light route is proposed for the dynamic TONL modulation of reversible spatial-phase shift, based on which nine logic functions are reconfigurable in one single AOLG configuration. Our work will provide a powerful strategy on large-bandwidth all-optical circuits for high-density data processing in the future.

Continuous-wave operation of a tandem optical parametric oscillator up to 5.19†µm based on periodically poled LiNbO3.

A continuous-wave, tandem optical parametric oscillator (TOPO) based on a MgO-doped periodically poled LiNbO3 (MgO:PPLN) is demonstrated. Because the MgO:PPLN is tandemly pumped by the OPO's signal beam, it outputs simultaneously two groups of signal and idler with a single pump source. The entire range spans from 1398 to 1490 nm, 1914 to 2107 nm, 3720 to 4444 nm, and 4849 to 5190 nm, which is limited by periods of the MgO:PPLN and cavity mirror coatings. The TOPO, whose oscillation threshold of pump power exceeds 7 W, can be easily triggered by marginally increasing the pump power as long as the OPO process occurs. The maximum idler powers are respectively 2.6 W (at 3896 nm) and 34 mW (at 4863 nm), and the corresponding signal powers are both nearly 100 mW.

Two-photon absorption flexible photodetector responsive to femtosecond laser.

Integrated on-chip femtosecond (fs) laser optoelectronic system, with photodetector as a critical component for light-electrical signal conversion, is a long-sought-after goal for a wide range of frontier applications. However, the high laser peak intensity and complicated nanophotonic waveguide structure of on-chip fs laser are beyond the detectability and integrability of conventional photodetectors. Therefore, flexible photodetector with the response on intense fs laser is in urgent needs. Herein, we demonstrate the first (to our knowledge) two-photon absorption (TPA) flexible photodetector based on the strong TPA nonlinearity of layered hybrid perovskite (IA)2(MA)2Pb3Br10, exhibiting efficient sub-bandgap response on the infrared fs laser at 700-1000 nm. High saturation intensity up to ∼3.8 MW/cm2 is achieved. The device also shows superior current stability even after bending for 1000 cycles. This work may pave the new way for the application of flexible optoelectronics specialized in integrated fs-laser detection.

Structures and Properties of High-Concentration Doped Th:CaF2 Single Crystals for Solid-State Nuclear Clock Materials.

Thorium-doped vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) transparent crystals is a promising candidate for establishing a solid-state nuclear clock. Here, we report the research results on high-concentration doping of 232Th:CaF2 single crystals. The structures, defects, and VUV transmittance performances of highly doped Th:CaF2 crystals are investigated by theoretical and experimental methods. The defect configurations formed by Th and the charge compensation mechanism (Ca vacancy or interstitial F atoms) located at its first nearest neighbor position are mainly considered and studied. The preferred defect configuration is identified according to the doping concentration dependence of structural changes caused by the defects and the formation energies of the defects at different Ca or F chemical potentials. The cultivated Th:CaF2 crystals maintain considerable high VUV transmittance levels while accommodating high doping concentrations, showcasing an exceptional comprehensive performance. The transmittances of 1-mm-thick samples with doping concentrations of 1.91 × 1020 and 2.76 × 1020 cm-3 can reach ∼62% and 53% at 150 nm, respectively. The VUV transmittance exhibits a weak negative doping concentration dependence. The system factors that may cause distortion and additional deterioration of the VUV transmittance are discussed. Balancing and controlling the impacts of various factors will be of great significance for fully exploiting the advantages of Th:CaF2 and other Th-doped crystals for a solid-state nuclear optical clock.

Perfect Excitation of Topological States by Supersymmetric Waveguides.

Topological photonic states provide intriguing strategies for robust light manipulations, however, it remains challenging to perfectly excite these topological eigenstates due to their complicated mode profiles. In this work, we propose to realize the exact eigenmode of the topological edge states by supersymmetric (SUSY) structures. By adiabatically transforming the SUSY partner to its main topological structure, the edge modes can be perfectly excited with simple single-site input. We experimentally verify our strategy in integrated silicon waveguides in telecommunication wavelength, showing a broad working bandwidth. Moreover, a shortcut-to-adiabaticity strategy is further applied to speed up the adiabatic pump process by inverse-design approaches, thus enabling fast mode evolutions and leading to reduced device size. Our method is universal and beneficial to the topology-based or complex eigenmodes systems, ranging from photonics and microwaves to cold atoms and acoustics.

Large Field-of-View Nonlinear Holography in Lithium Niobate.

A nonlinear holographic technique is capable of processing optical information in the newly generated optical frequencies, enabling fascinating functions in laser display, security storage, and image recognition. One popular nonlinear hologram is based on a periodically poled lithium niobate (LN) crystal. However, due to the limitations of traditional fabrication techniques, the pixel size of the LN hologram is typically several micrometers, resulting in a limited field-of-voew (FOV) of several degrees. Here, we experimentally demonstrate an ultra-high-resolution LN hologram by using the laser poling technique. The minimal pixel size reaches 200 nm, and the FOV is extended above 120° in our experiments. The image distortions at large view angles are effectively suppressed through the Fourier transform. The FOV is further improved by combining multiple diffraction orders of SH fields. The ultimate FOV under our configuration is decided by a Fresnel transmission. Our results pave the way for expanding the applications of nonlinear holography to wide-view imaging and display.

Turnkey photonic flywheel in a microresonator-filtered laser.

Dissipative Kerr soliton (DKS) microcomb has emerged as an enabling technology that revolutionizes a wide range of applications in both basic science and technological innovation. Reliable turnkey operation with sub-optical-cycle and sub-femtosecond timing jitter is key to the success of many intriguing microcomb applications at the intersection of ultrafast optics and microwave electronics. Here we propose an approach and demonstrate the first turnkey Brillouin-DKS frequency comb to the best of our knowledge. Our microresonator-filtered laser design offers essential benefits, including phase insensitivity, self-healing capability, deterministic selection of the DKS state, and access to the ultralow noise comb state. The demonstrated turnkey Brillouin-DKS frequency comb achieves a fundamental comb linewidth of 100 mHz and DKS timing jitter of 1 femtosecond for averaging times up to 56 µs. The approach is universal and generalizable to various device platforms for user-friendly and field-deployable comb devices.

Observation of a Photonic Orbital Gauge Field.

Gauge field is widely studied in natural and artificial materials. With an effective magnetic field for uncharged particles, many intriguing phenomena are observed in several systems like photonic Floquet topological insulator. However, previous researches about the gauge field mostly focus on limited dimensions such as the Dirac spinor in graphene materials. Here, an orbital gauge field based on photonic triangular lattices is first proposed and experimentally observed. Disclination defects with Frank angle Ω created on such lattices breaks the original lattice symmetry and generates purely geometric gauge field operating on orbital basis functions. Interestingly, it is found that bound states near zero energy with the orbital angular momentum (OAM) l = 2 are intensively confined at the disclination as gradually expanding Ω. Moreover, the introduction of a vector potential field breaks the time-reversal symmetry of the orbital gauge field, experimentally manifested by the chiral transmission of light on helical waveguides. The orbital gauge field further suggests fantastic applications of manipulating the vortex light in photonic integrated devices.

Neural network assisted high-spatial-resolution polarimetry with non-interleaved chiral metasurfaces.

Polarimetry plays an indispensable role in modern optics. Nevertheless, the current strategies generally suffer from bulky system volume or spatial multiplexing scheme, resulting in limited performances when dealing with inhomogeneous polarizations. Here, we propose a non-interleaved, interferometric method to analyze the polarizations based on a tri-channel chiral metasurface. A deep convolutional neural network is also incorporated to enable fast, robust and accurate polarimetry. Spatially uniform and nonuniform polarizations are both measured through the metasurface experimentally. Distinction between two semblable glasses is also demonstrated. Our strategy features the merits of compactness and high spatial resolution, and would inspire more intriguing design for detecting and sensing.

Fabrication of 100-nm-period domain structure in lithium niobate on insulator.

Lithium niobate on insulator (LNOI) is a powerful platform for integrated photonic circuits. Recently, advanced applications in nonlinear and quantum optics require to controllably fabricate nano-resolution domain structures in LNOI. Here, we report on the fabrication of stable domain structures with sub-100 nm feature size through piezoelectric force microscopy (PFM) tip poling in a z-cut LNOI. In experiment, the domain dot with an initial diameter of 80 nm and the domain line with an initial width of 50 nm can survive after a storage of more than 3 months. Particularly, we demonstrate the successful fabrication of 1D stable domain array with a period down to 100 nm and a duty cycle of ∼50%. Our method paves the way to precisely manipulate frequency conversion and quantum entanglement on an LNOI chip.