A hybrid achromatic metalens.

Metalenses, ultra-thin optical elements that focus light using subwavelength structures, have been the subject of a number of recent investigations. Compared to their refractive counterparts, metalenses offer reduced size and weight, and new functionality such as polarization control. However, metalenses that correct chromatic aberration also suffer from markedly reduced focusing efficiency. Here we introduce a Hybrid Achromatic Metalens (HAML) that overcomes this trade-off and offers improved focusing efficiency over a broad wavelength range from 1000-1800 nm. HAMLs can be designed by combining recursive ray-tracing and simulated phase libraries rather than computationally intensive global search algorithms. Moreover, HAMLs can be fabricated in low-refractive index materials using multi-photon lithography for customization or using molding for mass production. HAMLs demonstrated diffraction limited performance for numerical apertures of 0.27, 0.11, and 0.06, with average focusing efficiencies greater than 60% and maximum efficiencies up to 80%. A more complex design, the air-spaced HAML, introduces a gap between elements to enable even larger diameters and numerical apertures.

Spontaneous Magnetic Superdomain Wall Fluctuations in an Artificial Antiferromagnet.

Collective dynamics often play an important role in determining the stability of ground states for both naturally occurring materials and metamaterials. We studied the temperature dependent dynamics of antiferromagnetically ordered superdomains in a square artificial spin lattice using soft x-ray photon correlation spectroscopy. We observed an exponential slowing down of superdomain wall motion below the antiferromagnetic onset temperature, similar to the behavior of typical bulk antiferromagnets. Using a continuous time random walk model we show that these superdomain walls undergo low-temperature ballistic and high-temperature diffusive motions.

Direct imaging of coexisting ordered and frustrated sublattices in artificial ferromagnetic quasicrystals.

We have used scanning electron microscopy with polarization analysis and photoemission electron microscopy to image the two-dimensional magnetization of permalloy films patterned into Penrose P2 tilings (P2T). The interplay of exchange interactions in asymmetrically coordinated vertices and short-range dipole interactions among connected film segments stabilize magnetically ordered, spatially distinct sublattices that coexist with frustrated sublattices at room temperature. Numerical simulations that include long-range dipole interactions between sublattices agree with images of as-grown P2T samples and predict a magnetically ordered ground state for a two-dimensional quasicrystal lattice of classical Ising spins.

Site-specific growth of CdS nanostructures.

The authors report the successful site-specific deposition of cadmium sulfide (CdS) using a focused electron beam and a liquid-phase solution of cadmium salts and thiourea as the primary reagents. Nanostructures with a minimum feature size of 84 nm are patterned with little to no extraneous deposition. The composition and phase of the CdS nanostructures is investigated by energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy and photoluminescence spectroscopy. Critically, these results demonstrate one-step patterning of a semiconducting material from a multi-reagent liquid precursor.

Controlled magnetic reversal in Permalloy films patterned into artificial quasicrystals.

We have patterned novel Permalloy thin films with quasicrystalline Penrose P2 tilings and measured their dc magnetization and ferromagnetic resonance absorption. Reproducible anomalies in the hysteretic, low-field data signal a series of abrupt transitions between ordered magnetization textures, culminating in a smooth evolution into a saturated state. Micromagnetic simulations compare well to experimental dc hysteresis loops and ferromagnetic resonance spectra and indicate that systematic control of magnetic reversal and domain wall motion can be achieved via tiling design, offering a new paradigm of magnonic quasicrystals.

Electron-beam-induced deposition of gold from aqueous solutions.

Focused electron-beam-induced deposition (EBID) using bulk liquid precursors is a novel approach to nanofabrication that has shown improvements in purity compared to EBID with gas-phase precursors. Here we report the first EBID of gold using bulk liquid precursors. We study the differences in gold deposited from three different aqueous solutions containing chloroauric acid (HAuCl(4)), sodium tetrachloroaurate (NaAuCl(4)), and the disulfitoaurate complex ([Au(SO(3))(2)](3-)). We also examine the dependence of threshold dose upon precursor concentration and demonstrate high-resolution patterning with a pitch as small as 50 nm. Finally, we show that the purity of gold deposited using these liquid precursors is significantly improved in comparison with deposits from metal-organic gaseous precursors.

Liquid-precursor electron-beam-induced deposition of Pt nanostructures: dose, proximity, resolution.

While electron-beam-induced deposition (EBID) from various gaseous precursors has been known and studied for decades, EBID from bulk liquid precursors is very much in its infancy and the following is only the second report on this technique. Here we present liquid-precursor (LP-)EBID of platinum (Pt) nanostructures from a dilute aqueous solution of chloroplatinic acid (H(2)PtCl(6)). We investigate how the lateral size of Pt nanoparticles (NPs) varies with charge dose, and how already deposited Pt NPs are affected by the subsequent deposition of their neighbors (proximity effect). We also demonstrate LP-EBID of dense arrays of small Pt dots (60 nm pitch, 30 nm diameter) and thin Pt lines (60 nm pitch, 25 nm width), which compare favorably with the typical resolution of resist-based electron-beam lithography.

Spatially selective melting and evaporation of nanosized gold particles.

We have developed an atomic force microscope-tip-based concept to pattern metallic nanoparticles on substrates. This new process has the potential to control the assembly of nanometer sized particles by combining their unique optical and thermophysical properties and is a flexible and low energy method of patterning at the nanoscale. The proof of concept is detailed by preliminary experimental work showing selective melting and evaporation of groups of 50 and 100 nm gold spherical particles.

Dual-mode surface-plasmon-resonance sensors using angular interrogation.

Surface-plasmon-resonance (SPR) sensors are widely used in biological, chemical, medical, and environmental sensing. SPR sensors supporting two surface-plasmon modes can differentiate surface binding interactions from bulk index changes at a single sensing location. We present a new approach to dual-mode SPR sensing that offers improved differentiation between surface and bulk effects. By using an angular interrogation, both long- and short-range surface plasmons are simultaneously excited at the same location and wavelength but at different angles. Initial experiments indicate that angular interrogation offers at least a factor of 3.6 improvement in surface and bulk cross-sensitivity compared to wavelength-interrogated dual-mode SPR sensors.

Optimal self-referenced sensing using long- and short- range surface plasmons.

Dual-mode surface-plasmon resonance (SPR) sensors use both long- and short- range surface plasmon waves to differentiate surface binding interactions from interfering bulk effects. We have optimized the design of these sensors for minimum surface limit of detection (LOD) using a Cramer-Rao lower bound for spectral shift estimation. Despite trade-offs between resonance width, minimum reflectivity, and sensitivity for the two modes, a range of reasonable design parameters provides nearly optimal performance. Experimental verification using biotin-streptavidin binding as a model system reveals that sensitivity and LOD for dual-mode sensors remains competitive with single-mode sensors while compensating for bulk effects.