Nanophotonics: Plasmons, Lasers and Photonic Crystals

A special issue of Nanomaterials (ISSN 2079-4991). This special issue belongs to the section "Nanophotonics Materials and Devices".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 October 2023) | Viewed by 8329

Special Issue Editor

Melbourne Centre for Nanofabrication, Victorian Node of the Australian National Fabrication Facility, Clayton, VIC 3168, Australia
Interests: plasmon-assisted devices; 2D material optics and metamaterials

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Plasmon-assisted functional optical devices are attracting increasing attention, and they have demonstrated great potential for comprehensive applications. Moreover, 2D material-enabled nanophotonics and electronics are emerging as an important candidate for next-generation integrated optoelectronics devices, because 2D materials possess appealing electrical and optical properties with the unique ability of manipulating light at the nanoscale. More importantly, novel optical components tend to be smaller and faster, and nanophotonics applications are vast, leading to new opportunities for future devices.

This Special Issue will offer a comprehensive selection of recent studies, and we invite researchers involved in the nanophotonics community to contribute original research papers or review articles to this Special Issue. Research domains may include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Nanoplasmonics;
  • 2D material-enabled optics;
  • Quantum, nonlinear and nonlocal effects in plasmonic nanostructures;
  • Metasurfaces;
  • Nanoantennas and Mie resonators;
  • Metamaterials, photonic crystals, and nanostructured gratings;
  • Nanowaveguiding devices;
  • Nanofabrication techniques;
  • Single-photon sources;
  • Lasers and applications;
  • Fiber-optic gratings and applications;
  • Ultra-fast photonics;
  • Localized surface plasmons resonance sensors and other applications.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Guangyuan Si
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • nanoplasmonics
  • 2D material-enabled optics
  • lasers and applications
  • fiber-optic gratings and applications
  • ultra-fast photonics

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 9947 KiB  
Article
Flexible Metamaterial Quarter-Wave Plate and Its Application in Blocking the Backward Reflection of Terahertz Waves
by Jinhai Sun, Yong-Qiang Liu, Jining Li, Xutao Zhang, He Cai, Xianli Zhu and Hongcheng Yin
Nanomaterials 2023, 13(7), 1279; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano13071279 - 05 Apr 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1338
Abstract
A terahertz flexible metamaterial quarter-wave plate (QWP) is designed and fabricated using polyimide as the substrate in this paper, with a 3 dB axial ratio bandwidth of 0.51 THz and high polarization conversion efficiency and transmittance. The effect of the incidence angle on [...] Read more.
A terahertz flexible metamaterial quarter-wave plate (QWP) is designed and fabricated using polyimide as the substrate in this paper, with a 3 dB axial ratio bandwidth of 0.51 THz and high polarization conversion efficiency and transmittance. The effect of the incidence angle on the polarization conversion performance of the QWP is discussed by measuring the transmissions at multiple incidence angles. The blocking effect of this QWP combined with a polarizer on the backward reflection of terahertz waves is investigated by terahertz time-domain spectral transmission experiments. By adjusting the angle of the QWP and polarizer with respect to the incident light in the optical path, a blocking efficiency of 20 dB can be achieved at a 20° incidence angle, with a bandwidth of 0.25 THz, a maximum blocking efficiency of 58 dB at 1.73 THz, and an insertion loss of only 1.4 dB. Flexible terahertz metamaterial QWPs and polarizers can effectively block harmful reflected waves in terahertz communication and other systems. They have the advantages of a simple structure, ultra-thinness and flexibility, easy integration, no external magnetic field, and no low-temperature and other environmental requirements, thus having broad application prospects for terahertz on-chip integrated systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanophotonics: Plasmons, Lasers and Photonic Crystals)
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9 pages, 1656 KiB  
Article
Graphene/Ge Photoconductive Position-Sensitive Detectors Based on the Charge Injection Effect
by Genglin Li, Jintao Fu, Feiying Sun, Changbin Nie and Jun Wu
Nanomaterials 2023, 13(2), 322; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano13020322 - 12 Jan 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1257
Abstract
Position-sensitive detectors (PSDs) are of great significance to optical communication, automatic alignment, and dislocation detection domains, by precisely obtaining the position information of infrared light spots which are invisible to human eyes. Herein, a kind of PSD based on graphene/germanium (Ge) heterojunction architecture [...] Read more.
Position-sensitive detectors (PSDs) are of great significance to optical communication, automatic alignment, and dislocation detection domains, by precisely obtaining the position information of infrared light spots which are invisible to human eyes. Herein, a kind of PSD based on graphene/germanium (Ge) heterojunction architecture is proposed and demonstrated, which exhibits amplified signals by unitizing the charge injection effect. Driven by the graphene/Ge heterojunction, a large number of photogenerated carriers diffuse from the incident position of the light spot and subsequently inject into graphene, which ultimately generates a photoresponse with high efficiency. The experimental results show that the device can exhibit a fast response speed of 3 μs, a high responsivity of ~40 A/W, and a detection distance of 3000 μm at the 1550 nm band, which hints that the graphene/Ge heterojunction can be used as an efficient platform for near-infrared light spot position sensing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanophotonics: Plasmons, Lasers and Photonic Crystals)
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12 pages, 5188 KiB  
Article
Highly Sensitive Multi-Channel Biosensor for Low-Interference Simultaneous Detection
by Jiapeng Su, Gongli Xiao, Hongyan Yang, Jiayu Chen, Haiou Li, Xingpeng Liu, Yunhan Luo and Jianqing Li
Nanomaterials 2023, 13(2), 246; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano13020246 - 06 Jan 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1469
Abstract
In this paper, we propose a multi-channel photonic crystal fiber sensor, which adopts dual-polarization and multiple materials to effectively reduce the mutual interference between channels and enhance the surface plasmon resonance, thus achieving simultaneous detection of a multi-channel with low interference. Four channels [...] Read more.
In this paper, we propose a multi-channel photonic crystal fiber sensor, which adopts dual-polarization and multiple materials to effectively reduce the mutual interference between channels and enhance the surface plasmon resonance, thus achieving simultaneous detection of a multi-channel with low interference. Four channels are polished around the cylindrical fiber, and then different metal films (gold or silver) and plasmonic materials (titanium dioxide, thallium pentoxide, or graphene) are added to the sensing area of each channel. All channels detect refractive indices in the range of 1.34 to 1.42. The sensing performance of the fiber optic sensor was numerically investigated using the full vector finite element method. After the optimization of structural parameters, the maximum wavelength sensitivity of channel-1, channel-2, channel-3, and channel-4 are 49,800 nm/RIU, 49,000 nm/RIU, 35,900 nm/RIU, and 36,800 nm/RIU, respectively. We have theoretically analyzed the sensor’s capabilities for partial bio-detection and simulated its detection capability with a wavelength sensitivity of 11,500 nm/RIU for normal red blood cells and 12,200 nm/RIU for MCF-7 cancerous cells. Our proposed sensor has a novel design, can detect multiple channels simultaneously, has strong anti-interference capability and high sensitivity, and has good sensing characteristics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanophotonics: Plasmons, Lasers and Photonic Crystals)
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9 pages, 3950 KiB  
Article
A High Refractive Index Plasmonic Micro-Channel Sensor Based on Photonic Crystal Fiber
by Jiangtao Lv, Tong Liang, Qiongchan Gu, Qiang Liu, Yu Ying and Guangyuan Si
Nanomaterials 2022, 12(21), 3764; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12213764 - 26 Oct 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1284
Abstract
A new concave shaped high refractive index plasmonic sensor with a micro-channel is proposed in this work, which comprises an analyte channel in the core hole. The sensor is elaborately designed to reduce the interference effect from the metal coating. Furthermore, the impact [...] Read more.
A new concave shaped high refractive index plasmonic sensor with a micro-channel is proposed in this work, which comprises an analyte channel in the core hole. The sensor is elaborately designed to reduce the interference effect from the metal coating. Furthermore, the impact of the proposed structure on the sensitivity is also investigated by engineering the geometric parameters using the finite element method. We select gold as the plasmonic material in this theoretical study because it is widely used to fabricate plasmonic and metamaterial devices due to its chemical stability and compatibility. According to wavelength interrogation technique, simulations results show that this sensor can obtain maximal wavelength sensitivity of 10,050 nm/refractive index unit. In view of the excellent indicators of this device, it has important development potential in chemical and biological research fields. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanophotonics: Plasmons, Lasers and Photonic Crystals)
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9 pages, 3908 KiB  
Article
Plasmon-Enhanced Fluorescence Emission of an Electric Dipole Modulated by a Nanoscale Silver Hemisphere
by Jiangtao Lv, Minghui Chang, Qiongchan Gu, Yu Ying and Guangyuan Si
Nanomaterials 2022, 12(17), 3070; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12173070 - 03 Sep 2022
Viewed by 1184
Abstract
The spontaneous emission of a fluorophore is altered by the surrounding electromagnetic field. Therefore, the radiation of the fluorophore can be engineered by inter-coupling with the nanoscale plasmons. This work proposes a nanoscale hemisphere structure that enhances the electric field and further modulates [...] Read more.
The spontaneous emission of a fluorophore is altered by the surrounding electromagnetic field. Therefore, the radiation of the fluorophore can be engineered by inter-coupling with the nanoscale plasmons. This work proposes a nanoscale hemisphere structure that enhances the electric field and further modulates its effects on fluorophores by adjusting the radius of the hemisphere. A full-wave simulation is carried out using the finite element method, and the radiation characteristics of the nanoscale hemisphere are studied in detail. Compared with free space, the structure has generated significant enhancement exceeding 30. Through curve fitting, the relationship between the enhanced peak wavelength and the radius of the hemisphere is obtained. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanophotonics: Plasmons, Lasers and Photonic Crystals)
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9 pages, 3090 KiB  
Article
Topological Resistance-Free One-Way Transport in a Square-Hexagon Lattice Gyromagnetic Photonic Crystal
by Qiumeng Qin, Jianfeng Chen, Hao Lin, Chaoqun Peng and Zhi-Yuan Li
Nanomaterials 2022, 12(17), 3009; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12173009 - 30 Aug 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1198
Abstract
We theoretically propose and experimentally realize a new configuration of a photonic Chern topological insulator (PCTI) composed of a two-dimensional square-hexagon lattice gyromagnetic photonic crystal immersed in an external magnetic field. This PCTI possesses five distinct types of edges and all of them [...] Read more.
We theoretically propose and experimentally realize a new configuration of a photonic Chern topological insulator (PCTI) composed of a two-dimensional square-hexagon lattice gyromagnetic photonic crystal immersed in an external magnetic field. This PCTI possesses five distinct types of edges and all of them allowed the propagation of truly one-way edge states. We proceeded to utilize this special PCTI to design topological transmission lines of various configurations with sharp turns. Although the wave impedances of the edge states on both sides of the intersections in these transmission lines were very different, definitely no back reflection occurred and no mode-mixing problems and impedance-mismatching issues at the intersections were present, leading to topological resistance-free one-way transport in the whole transmission line network. Our results enrich the geometric and physical means and infrastructure to construct one-way transport and bring about novel platforms for developing topology-driven resistance-free photonic devices. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanophotonics: Plasmons, Lasers and Photonic Crystals)
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