All-Dielectric Integrated Meta-Antenna Operating in 6G Terahertz Communication Window.

Efficient transceivers and antennas at terahertz frequencies are leading the development of 6G terahertz communication systems. The antenna design for high-resolution terahertz spatial sensing and communication remains challenging, while emergent metallic metasurface antennas can address this issue but often suffer from low efficiency and complex manufacturing. Here, an all-dielectric integrated meta-antenna operating in 6G terahertz communication window for high-efficiency beam focusing in the sub-wavelength scale is reported. With the antenna surface functionalized by metagrating arrays with asymmetric scattering patterns, the design and optimization methods are demonstrated with a physical size constraint. The highest manipulation and diffraction efficiencies achieve 84.1% and 48.1%. The commercially accessible fabrication method with low cost and easy to implement has been demonstrated for the meta-antenna by photocuring 3D printing. A filamentous focal spot is measured as 0.86λ with a long depth of focus of 25.3λ. Its application for integrated imaging and communication has been demonstrated. The proposed technical roadmap provides a general pathway for creating high-efficiency integrated meta-antennas with great potential in high-resolution 6G terahertz spatial sensing and communication applications.

Multi-direction bending sensor based on supermodes of multicore PCF laser.

A multi-direction bending sensor based on the 18-core photonic crystal fiber (PCF) is demonstrated in this paper. The design of the sensor is discussed theoretically and experimentally. The PCF serves as the laser gain medium and the sensing medium simultaneously in the fiber laser sensor. The operating wavelength of the proposed PCF laser sensor is about 1032.32 nm. A CMOS image capture system is used to acquire the distribution of supermodes in the PCF laser. Based on the normalized intensity distribution of supermodes, six directions can be measured. The sensor also shows the ability to measure bending radius within 0.11 m. Then, the thermal effects of the bending sensor have been analyzed and the sensing system shows a low temperature crosstalk.

Rapid and noninvasive cell assay by microfluidic-integrated intracavity evanescent field absorption in a fiber ring laser.

BACKGROUND: Highly sensitive and rapid detection of cell concentration and interfacial molecular events is of great value for biological, biomedical, and chemical research. Most traditional biosensors require large sample volumes and complicated functional modifications of the surface. It is of great significance to develop label-free biosensor platforms with minimal sample consumption for studying cell concentration changes and interfacial molecular events without labor-intensive procedures. RESULTS: Here, a fiber-optic biosensor based on intracavity evanescent field absorption sensing is designed for sensitive and label-free cell assays for the first time. The interaction between the cells and the evanescent field is enhanced by introducing microfluidic-integrated intracavity absorption in a fiber ring laser. This strategy extends the range of targeted analytes to include quantification of a large number of targets on a surface and improves the detection sensitivity of the fiber-optic biosensor. The level of sensing resolution could be improved from 10-4 RIU to 10-7 RIU using this strategy. The stem cells were studied over a wide concentration range (from 500 to 1.2 × 105 cells/ml) and were measured sequentially. By measuring the output power of the intracavity absorption sensing system, the cell concentration can be directly determined in a label-free manner. The results show that dozens of stem cells can be sensitively detected with a sample consumption of 72 µL. The response was fast (15 s) with a low temperature cross-sensitivity of 0.031 cells·ml-1/°C. SIGNIFICANCE: The proposed method suggests its capacity for true label-free and noninvasive cell assays with a low limit of detection and small sample consumption. This has the potential to be used as a universal tool for quantitative and qualitative characterization of various cells and other biochemical analytes.

Facile fabrication of an aptasensor for thrombin based on graphitic carbon nitride/TiO2 with high visible-light photoelectrochemical activity.

A novel aptasensor for thrombin with high visible-light activity was facilely fabricated based on graphitic carbon nitride/TiO2 (g-C3N4/TiO2) photoelectrochemical (PEC) composite. Crystallization of TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) and their strong interaction with g-C3N4 sheet were confirmed by high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HR-TEM), both of which contributed to the high photocurrent intensity under visible-light irradiation. Carboxyl functionalized thrombin aptamers were first successfully bound to the g-C3N4/TiO2 modified electrode as proven by photoelectrochemical test and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analysis. Ascorbic acid was utilized as the electron donor for scavenging photo-generated holes and inhibiting light driven electron-hole pair recombination. The specific recognition between thrombin aptamer and thrombin led to the linear decrease of photocurrent with the increase of logarithm of thrombin concentration in the range of 5.0×10(-13)molL(-1) to 5.0×10(-9)molL(-1) with a detection limit of 1.2×10(-13)molL(-1). This proposed low-cost, convenient and sensitive aptasensor showed promising applications in biosensor and photoelectrochemical analysis.