High-Resolution Metalens Imaging with Sequential Artificial Intelligence Models.

An analysis of the optical response of a GaN-based metalens was conducted alongside the utilization of two sequential artificial intelligence (AI) models in addressing the occasional issues of blurriness and color cast in captured images. The optical loss of the metalens in the blue spectral range was found to have resulted in the color cast of images. Autoencoder and CodeFormer sequential models were employed in order to correct the color cast and reconstruct image details, respectively. Said sequential models successfully addressed the color cast and reconstructed details for all of the allocated face image categories. Subsequently, the CIE 1931 chromaticity diagrams and peak signal-to-noise ratio analysis provided numerical evidence of the AI models' effectiveness in image reconstruction. Furthermore, the AI models can still repair the image without blue information. Overall, the integration of metalens and artificial intelligence models marks a breakthrough in enhancing the performance of full-color metalens-based imaging systems.

Angular-insensitive optical filtering based on meta-GMR.

In this study, the optical properties of a meta-GMR consisting of a metasurface stacked on a planar dielectric slab waveguide were theoretically investigated. Two different metasurfaces, namely chiral split-ring resonator dimer arrays with/without a rod-shaped antenna, were investigated and compared. Conventional GMR filters utilize gratings to couple the free-space electromagnetic field to the waveguide. The highly dispersive nature of grating leads to low angular tolerance. Here, the grating is replaced by metasurfaces. The metasurface unit cell can be regarded as a polarizable dipole that couples the free-space electromagnetic field to the waveguide and decouples the waveguide mode to the radiation modes. Based on the localized nature of the resonant metasurfaces, the metasurface/GMR hybrid mode exhibits a superior angular tolerance as compared with a conventional GMR filter. This study can open a new avenue to tailor the optical properties of GMR-based devices.

Lambertian thermal emitter based on plasmonic enhanced absorption.

In this paper, a narrow band thermal emission at 10 µm is demonstrated using a one dimensional metasurface. The proposed metasurface structure provides magnetic resonance mode that enhances the phonon absorption of SiO2. The proposed metasurface thermal emitter shows a Lambertian distribution. Additionally, 5.8-folds enhancement of emissivity is achieved by optimizing the cavity thickness of the metasurfaces. This type of thermal emitter will be useful for IR sensing applications.

Aluminum plasmonic multicolor meta-hologram.

We report a phase-modulated multicolor meta-hologram (MCMH) that is polarization-dependent and capable of producing images in three primary colors. The MCMH structure is made of aluminum nanorods that are arranged in a two-dimensional array of pixels with surface plasmon resonances in red, green, and blue. The aluminum nanorod array is patterned on a 30 nm thick SiO2 spacer layer sputtered on top of a 130 nm thick aluminum mirror. With proper design of the structure, we obtain resonances of narrow bandwidths to allow for implementation of the multicolor scheme. Taking into account of the wavelength dependence of the diffraction angle, we can project images to specific locations with predetermined size and order. With tuning of aluminum nanorod size, we demonstrate that the image color can be continuously varied across the visible spectrum.

A Significance Test for Reverberation-Chamber Measurement Uncertainty in Total Radiated Power of Wireless Devices.

We develop a significance test that determines whether the component of uncertainty due to the finite number of stepped mode-stirring samples or the component due to the lack of spatial uniformity dominates for a particular chamber set-up and stirring sequence, as well as expressions for uncertainty for both cases. The significance test is illustrated with a measurement example comparing unloaded and loaded chambers for the measurement of a large-form-factor machine-to-machine device transmitting the W-CDMA protocol. Based on this example, we illustrate a method that allows users to estimate the minimum number of stepped mode-stirring samples needed to ensure that the component of uncertainty due to spatial uniformity dominates for a given chamber set-up, allowing use of a simplified expression for uncertainty.

Graphene oxide as the passivation layer for Cu(x)O photocatalyst on a plasmonic Au film and the corresponding photoluminescence study.

The contribution of graphene oxide (GO) on photocatalytic effects of Cu(x)O on plasmonic Au is investigated. It is found that the H(2) evolution rate from pure water is enhanced 1.4 fold using the visible-active Cu(x)O/GO photocatalyst, as compared with Cu(x)O without GO. In addition, the intensity of photoluminescence of Cu(x)O/GO can be enhanced as much as 2.85 fold as compared with Cu(x)O without GO. The enhancement is due to the negative fixed charge in GO, which can passivate the surface of Cu(x)O and suppress recombination of minority electrons at the surface. The results from optical characterization in this study can help to prove the proposed mechanism of passivation.

High-efficiency broadband meta-hologram with polarization-controlled dual images.

Holograms, the optical devices to reconstruct predesigned images, show many applications in our daily life. However, applications of hologram are still limited by the constituent materials and therefore their working range is trapped at a particular electromagnetic region. In recent years, the metasurfaces, an array of subwavelength antenna with varying sizes, show the abilities to manipulate the phase of incident electromagnetic wave from visible to microwave frequencies. Here, we present a reflective-type and high-efficiency meta-hologram fabricated by metasurface for visible wavelength. Using gold cross nanoantennas as building blocks to construct our meta-hologram devices with thickness ∼ λ/4, the reconstructed images of meta-hologram show polarization-controlled dual images with high contrast, functioning for both coherent and incoherent light sources within a broad spectral range and under a wide range of incidence angles. The flexibility demonstrated here for our meta-hologram paves the road to a wide range of applications related to holographic images at arbitrary electromagnetic wave region.

Omnidirectional thermal emitter based on plasmonic nanoantenna arrays.

In this paper, the optical properties of a plasmonic nanoantenna array have been investigated. The proposed plasmonic structure presents omnidirectional resonance properties, such as omnidirectional reflection dip and omnidirectional emission peak. In addition, the reflection and emission of the plasmonic nanoantenna array with various metal/insulator/metal cavity thicknesses are theoretically and experimentally investigated. The simulation reveals a fair agreement with the experimental results.

A polarization control system for intensity-resolved guided mode resonance sensors.

In this study, a polarization-control setup for intensity-resolved guided mode resonance sensors is proposed and demonstrated experimentally. The experimental results are in good agreement with the simulation data based on rigorous coupled wave approach calculations. The proposed intensity-resolved measurement setup transfers polarization ellipses, which are produced from guided mode resonance to a linear polarization state under a buffer solution condition, and then suppresses the signals to dark using a polarization-control set. Hence, any changes in the refractive index results in an increase in the intensity signals. Furthermore, no wavelength-resolved or angular-resolved measurement is needed in this scheme. According to the experimental results, a wide linear detection range of 0.014 refractive index units is achieved and the limit of detection is 1.62E-4 RIU.

Surface Plasmon assisted Cu(x)O photocatalyst for pure water splitting.

In this paper, Cu(x)O photocatalyst on plasmonic nanoporous Au film is proposed to enhancing the H(2) evolution rate of pure water splitting. The nanoporous Au film can simultaneously provide surface-enhanced absorption and built-in potential. The reflection spectrum shows that the surface plasmon (SP) assisted absorption wavelength of the Cu(x)O on the nanoporous Au film can be modified by changing the annealing temperature. It is found that the enhancement of the H(2) evolution rate highly depends on the SP-assisted absorption. As the annealing temperature is 220 ° C, the H(2) evolution rate is 58 µmol hr(-1) under the condition that the device area is 0.25 cm(2).

High-efficiency broadband anomalous reflection by gradient meta-surfaces.

We combine theory and experiment to demonstrate that a carefully designed gradient meta-surface supports high-efficiency anomalous reflections for near-infrared light following the generalized Snell's law, and the reflected wave becomes a bounded surface wave as the incident angle exceeds a critical value. Compared to previously fabricated gradient meta-surfaces in infrared regime, our samples work in a shorter wavelength regime with a broad bandwidth (750-900 nm), exhibit a much higher conversion efficiency (∼80%) to the anomalous reflection mode at normal incidence, and keep light polarization unchanged after the anomalous reflection. Finite-difference-time-domain (FDTD) simulations are in excellent agreement with experiments. Our findings may lead to many interesting applications, such as antireflection coating, polarization and spectral beam splitters, high-efficiency light absorbers, and surface plasmon couplers.

Antireflection of optical anisotropic dielectric metasurfaces.

We propose a hetero-nano-fin structure to further improve the efficiency of Pancharatnam-Berry phase metasurfaces. Two hetero-nano-fin types, MgF2/GaN and MgF2/Nb2O5, were investigated. The overall polarization conversion efficiency (PCE) improved from 52.7 to 54% for the MgF2/GaN nano-fin compared with the bare GaN nano-fin. The overall PCE of the Nb2O5 nano-fin was 1.7 times higher than that of the GaN nano-fin. The overall PCE improved from 92.4% up to 96% after the application of MgF2 antireflection. Moreover, the antireflection improves efficiency by an average of 4.3% in wavelengths from 450 to 700 nm. Although the increment of energy seems minimal, antireflection is crucial for a metasurface, not only enhancing efficiency but also reducing background signal of a meta-device.

Forgotten memory storage and retrieval in Drosophila.

Inaccessibility of stored memory in ensemble cells through the forgetting process causes animals to be unable to respond to natural recalling cues. While accumulating evidence has demonstrated that reactivating memory-stored cells can switch cells from an inaccessible state to an accessible form and lead to recall of previously learned information, the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms remain elusive. The current study used Drosophila as a model to demonstrate that the memory of one-trial aversive olfactory conditioning, although inaccessible within a few hours after learning, is stored in KCαß and retrievable after mild retraining. One-trial aversive conditioning triggers protein synthesis to form a long-lasting cellular memory trace, approximately 20 days, via creb in KCαß, and a transient cellular memory trace, approximately one day, via orb in MBON-α3. PPL1-α3 negatively regulates forgotten one-trial conditioning memory retrieval. The current study demonstrated that KCαß, PPL1-α3, and MBON-α3 collaboratively regulate the formation of forgotten one-cycle aversive conditioning memory formation and retrieval.

Polarization dependent light extraction of a GaN light emitting diode using dark field angle-resolved photoluminescence spectrometry.

In this paper, the polarization dependent optical properties of GaN surface relief grating are investigated using dark field angle-resolved photoluminescence (ARPL) spectrometer. The light extraction efficiency with the transverse electric (TE) and transverse magnetic (TM) pumping source represents a TE polarized dominated property. It is found that the TE and TM waveguide modes cannot be simultaneously coupled out, therefore light extraction is polarization dependent. The ARPL spectrum also reveals that the extraction efficiency is relatively high as the dispersion line of the waveguide mode is coincident with the folded free-photon dispersion of the 1D GaN grating.

Sensitive metal layer assisted guided mode resonance biosensor with a spectrum inversed response and strong asymmetric resonance field distribution.

In this paper, a metal layer assisted guide mode resonance (MaGMR) device with high sensitivity is proposed for bioanalytical applications and its functioning is experimentally proved. We find that the reflection spectra present a unique inversed response. The resonance mechanism is also discussed. Numerical calculation results indicate that the high sensitivity performance of MaGMR comes from the strongly asymmetric resonance modal profile and low propagation angle inside the waveguide. There is a one-fold enhancement of the evanescent wave in the analytes region compared to typical GMR. According to the experimental results, the proposed MaGMR achieved a bulk sensitivity of 376.78 nm/RIU in fundamental TM mode resonating at 0.809 µm with the first diffraction angle. Experiment results show a 264.78% enhancement in the sensitivity compared to that of the typical GMR sensor in the same resonance conditions of TM mode.

Plasmon Tuning of Liquid Gallium Nanoparticles through Surface Anodization.

In this work, tunable plasmonic liquid gallium nanoparticles (Ga NPs) were prepared through surface anodizing of the particles. Shape deformation of the Ga NPs accompanied with dimpled surface topographies could be induced during electrochemical anodization, and the formation of the anodic oxide shell helps maintain the resulting change in the particle shape. The nanoscale dimple-like textures led to changes in the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) wavelength. A maximal LSPR red-shift of ~77 nm was preliminarily achieved using an anodization voltage of 0.7 V. The experimental results showed that an increase in the oxide shell thickness yielded a negligible difference in the observed LSPR, and finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulations also suggested that the LSPR tunability was primarily determined by the shape of the deformed particles. The extent of particle deformation could be adjusted in a very short period of anodization time (~7 s), which offers an efficient way to tune the LSPR response of Ga NPs.

Review of Metasurfaces and Metadevices: Advantages of Different Materials and Fabrications.

Flat optics, metasurfaces, metalenses, and related materials promise novel on-demand light modulation within ultrathin layers at wavelength scale, enabling a plethora of next-generation optical devices, also known as metadevices. Metadevices designed with different materials have been proposed and demonstrated for different applications, and the mass production of metadevices is necessary for metadevices to enter the consumer electronics market. However, metadevice manufacturing processes are mainly based on electron beam lithography, which exhibits low productivity and high costs for mass production. Therefore, processes compatible with standard complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor manufacturing techniques that feature high productivity, such as i-line stepper and nanoimprint lithography, have received considerable attention. This paper provides a review of current metasurfaces and metadevices with a focus on materials and manufacturing processes. We also provide an analysis of the relationship between the aspect ratio and efficiency of different materials.

Angle-independent plasmonic infrared band-stop reflective filter based on the Ag/SiO2/Ag T-shaped array.

A plasmonic infrared (IR) filter assisted by localized surface plasmon polaritons (LSPPs) in a Ag/SiO2/Ag T-shaped array was theoretically and experimentally investigated. By using a Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer, an angle-independent LSPP resonant mode caused by a Fabry-Pérot resonance in the structure was observed in agreement with the prediction from the rigorous coupled-wave analysis (RCWA) simulation. The resonant wavelength of the mode can also be controlled by modifying the geometry of the T-shaped structure. Such LSPP property can be used as an IR reflection-type band-stop filter with a single spectral bandwidth and an ultrahigh immunity to incident angles.

Scattering Analysis and Efficiency Optimization of Dielectric Pancharatnam-Berry-Phase Metasurfaces.

In this study, the phase modulation ability of a dielectric Pancharatnam-Berry (PB) phase metasurface, consisting of nanofins, is theoretically analyzed. It is generally considered that the optical thickness of the unit cell of a PB-phase metasurface is λ/2, i.e., a half-waveplate for polarization conversion. It is found that the λ/2 is not essential for achieving a full 2π modulation. Nevertheless, a λ/2 thickness is still needed for a high polarization conversion efficiency. Moreover, a gradient phase metasurface is designed. With the help of the particle swarm optimization (PSO) method, the wavefront errors of the gradient phase metasurface are reduced by fine-tuning the rotation angle of the nanofins. The diffraction efficiency of the gradient phase metasurface is thus improved from 73.4% to 87.3%. This design rule can be utilized to optimize the efficiency of phase-type meta-devices, such as meta-deflectors and metalenses.

Enhanced Heat-Electric Conversion via Photonic-Assisted Radiative Cooling.

In this paper, an inorganic polymer composite film is proposed as an effective radiative cooling device. The inherent absorption is enhanced by choosing an appropriately sized SiO2 microsphere with a diameter of 6 µm. The overall absorption at the transparent window of the atmosphere is higher than 90%, as the concentration of SiO2-PMMA composite is 35 wt%. As a result, an effective radiative device is made by a spin coating process. Moreover, the device is stacked on the cold side of a thermoelectric generator chip. It is found that the temperature gradient can be increased via the effective radiative cooling process. An enhanced Seebeck effect is observed, and the corresponding output current can be enhanced 1.67-fold via the photonic-assisted radiative cooling.