9 results
Search Results
Now showing 1 - 9 of 9
- ItemNanostructured In3SbTe2 antennas enable switching from sharp dielectric to broad plasmonic resonances(Berlin : de Gruyter, 2022) Heßler, Andreas; Wahl, Sophia; Kristensen, Philip Trøst; Wuttig, Matthias; Busch, Kurt; Taubner, ThomasPhase-change materials (PCMs) allow for non-volatile resonance tuning of nanophotonic components. Upon switching, they offer a large dielectric contrast between their amorphous and crystalline phases. The recently introduced “plasmonic PCM” In3SbTe2 (IST) additionally features in its crystalline phase a sign change of its permittivity over a broad infrared spectral range. While optical resonance switching in unpatterned IST thin films has been investigated before, nanostructured IST antennas have not been studied, yet. Here, we present numerical and experimental investigations of nanostructured IST rod and disk antennas. By crystallizing the IST with microsecond laser pulses, we switched individual antennas from narrow dielectric to broad plasmonic resonances. For the rod antennas, we demonstrated a resonance shift of up to 1.2 µm (twice the resonance width), allowing on/off switching of plasmonic resonances with a contrast ratio of 2.7. With the disk antennas, we realized an increase of the resonance width by more than 800% from 0.24 µm to 1.98 µm while keeping the resonance wavelength constant. Further, we demonstrated intermediate switching states by tuning the crystallization depth within the resonators. Our work empowers future design concepts for nanophotonic applications like active spectral filters, tunable absorbers, and switchable flat optics.
- ItemMagnetic measurement methods to probe nanoparticle–matrix interactions(Berlin : de Gruyter, 2021) Liebl, Maik; Eberbeck, Dietmar; Coene, Annelies; Leliaert, Jonathan; Jauch, Philine; Kruteva, Margarita; Fruhner, Lisa; Barnsley, Lester; Mayr, Stefan G.; Wiekhorst, FrankMagnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) are key elements in several biomedical applications, e.g., in cancer therapy. Here, the MNPs are remotely manipulated by magnetic fields from outside the body to deliver drugs or generate heat in tumor tissue. The efficiency and success of these approaches strongly depend on the spatial distribution and quantity of MNPs inside a body and interactions of the particles with the biological matrix. These include dynamic processes of the MNPs in the organism such as binding kinetics, cellular uptake, passage through cell barriers, heat induction and flow. While magnetic measurement methods have been applied so far to resolve the location and quantity of MNPs for therapy monitoring, these methods can be advanced to additionally access these particle–matrix interactions. By this, the MNPs can further be utilized as probes for the physical properties of their molecular environment. In this review, we first investigate the impact of nanoparticle–matrix interactions on magnetic measurements in selected experiments. With these results, we then advanced the imaging modalities magnetorelaxometry imaging and magnetic microsphere tracking to spatially resolve particle–matrix interactions.
- ItemMultiphysics simulations of adaptive metasurfaces at the meta-atom length scale(Berlin : de Gruyter, 2020) Meyer, Sebastian; Tan, Zhi Yang; Chigrin, Dmitry N.Adaptive metasurfaces (MSs) provide immense control over the phase, amplitude and propagation direction of electromagnetic waves. Adopting phase-change materials (PCMs) as an adaptive medium allows us to tune functionality of MSs at the meta-atom length scale providing full control over MS (re-)programmability. Recent experimental progress in the local switching of PCM-based MSs promises to revolutionize adaptive photonics. Novel possibilities open new challenges, one of which is a necessity to understand and be able to predict the phase transition behavior at the sub-micrometer scale. A meta-atom can be switched by a local deposition of heat using optical or electrical pulses. The deposited energy is strongly inhomogeneous and the resulting phase transition is spatially non-uniform. The drastic change of the material properties during the phase transition leads to time-dependent changes in the absorption rate and heat conduction near the meta-atom. These necessitate a self-consistent treatment of electromagnetic, thermal and phase transition processes. Here, a self-consistent multiphysics description of an optically induced phase transition in MSs is reported. The developed model is used to analyze local tuning of a perfect absorber. A detailed understanding of the phase transition at the meta-atom length scale will enable a purposeful design of programmable adaptive MSs. © 2020 Sebastian Meyer, Dmitry N. Chigrin et al., published by De Gruyter, Berlin/Boston 2020.
- ItemStrongly coupled, high-quality plasmonic dimer antennas fabricated using a sketch-and-peel technique(Berlin : de Gruyter, 2020) Gittinger, Moritz; Höflich, Katja; Smirnov, Vladimir; Kollmann, Heiko; Lienau, Christoph; Silies, MartinA combination of helium- and gallium-ion beam milling together with a fast and reliable sketch-and-peel technique is used to fabricate gold nanorod dimer antennas with an excellent quality factor and with gap distances of less than 6 nm. The high fabrication quality of the sketch-and-peel technique compared to a conventional ion beam milling technique is proven by polarisation-resolved linear dark-field spectromicroscopy of isolated dimer antennas. We demonstrate a strong coupling of the two antenna arms for both fabrication techniques, with a quality factor of more than 14, close to the theoretical limit, for the sketch-and-peel-produced antennas compared to only 6 for the conventional fabrication process. The obtained results on the strong coupling of the plasmonic dimer antennas are supported by finite-difference time-domain simulations of the light-dimer antenna interaction. The presented fabrication technique enables the rapid fabrication of large-scale plasmonic or dielectric nanostructures arrays and metasurfaces with single-digit nanometer scale milling accuracy. © 2020 Christoph Lienau, Martin Silies et al., published by De Gruyter, Berlin/Boston.
- ItemOnset of charge interaction in strong-field photoemission from nanometric needle tips(Berlin : de Gruyter, 2021) Schötz, Johannes; Seiffert, Lennart; Maliakkal, Ancyline; Blöchl, Johannes; Zimin, Dmitry; Rosenberger, Philipp; Bergues, Boris; Hommelhoff, Peter; Krausz, Ferenc; Fennel, Thomas; Kling, Matthias F.Strong-field photoemission from nanostructures and the associated temporally modulated currents play a key role in the development of ultrafast vacuum optoelectronics. Optical light fields could push their operation bandwidth into the petahertz domain. A critical aspect of their functionality in the context of applications is the impact of charge interaction effects. Here, we investigated the photoemission and photocurrents from nanometric tungsten needle tips exposed to carrier-envelope phase (CEP)-controlled few-cycle laser fields. We report a characteristic rapid increase in the intensity-rescaled cutoff energies of emitted electrons beyond a certain intensity value. By comparison with simulations, we identify this feature as the onset of charge-interaction dominated photoemission dynamics. Our results are anticipated to be relevant also for the strong-field photoemission from other nanostructures, including photoemission from plasmonic nanobowtie antennas used in CEP-detection and for PHz-scale devices.
- ItemPhotomodulation of lymphatic delivery of liposomes to the brain bypassing the blood-brain barrier: new perspectives for glioma therapy(Berlin : de Gruyter, 2021) Semyachkina-Glushkovskaya, Oxana; Fedosov, Ivan; Shirokov, Alexander; Vodovozova, Elena; Alekseeva, Anna; Khorovodov, Alexandr; Blokhina, Inna; Terskov, Andrey; Mamedova, Aysel; Klimova, Maria; Dubrovsky, Alexander; Ageev, Vasily; Agranovich, Ilana; Vinnik, Valeria; Tsven, Anna; Sokolovski, Sergey; Rafailov, Edik; Penzel, Thomas; Kurths, JürgenThe blood-brain barrier (BBB) has a significant contribution to the protection of the central nervous system (CNS). However, it also limits the brain drug delivery and thereby complicates the treatment of CNS diseases. The development of safe methods for an effective delivery of medications and nanocarriers to the brain can be a revolutionary step in the overcoming this limitation. Here, we report the unique properties of the lymphatic system to deliver tracers and liposomes to the brain meninges, brain tissues, and glioma in rats. Using a quantum-dot-based 1267 nm laser (for photosensitizer-free generation of singlet oxygen), we clearly demonstrate photostimulation of lymphatic delivery of liposomes to glioma as well as lymphatic clearance of liposomes from the brain. These pilot findings open promising perspectives for photomodulation of lymphatic delivery of drugs and nanocarriers to the brain pathology bypassing the BBB. The lymphatic “smart” delivery of liposomes with antitumor drugs in the new brain tumor branches might be a breakthrough strategy for the therapy of gliomas.
- ItemDriving plasmonic nanoantennas at perfect impedance matching using generalized coherent perfect absorption(Berlin : de Gruyter, 2021) Grimm, Philipp; Razinskas, Gary; Huang, Jer-Shing; Hecht, BertCoherent perfect absorption (CPA) describes the absence of all outgoing modes from a lossy resonator, driven by lossless incoming modes. Here, we show that for nanoresonators that also exhibit radiative losses, e.g., plasmonic nanoantennas, a generalized version of CPA (gCPA) can be applied. In gCPA outgoing modes are suppressed only for a subset of (guided plasmonic) modes while other (radiative) modes are treated as additional loss channels - a situation typically referred to as perfect impedance matching. Here we make use of gCPA to show how to achieve perfect impedance matching between a single nanowire plasmonic waveguide and a plasmonic nanoantenna. Antennas with both radiant and subradiant characteristics are considered. We further demonstrate potential applications in background-free sensing.
- ItemA fiber optic-nanophotonic approach to the detection of antibodies and viral particles of COVID-19(Berlin : de Gruyter, 2020) Rajil, Navid; Sokolov, Alexei; Yi, Zhenhuan; Adams, Garry; Agarwal, Girish; Belousov, Vsevolod; Brick, Robert; Chapin, Kimberly; Cirillo, Jeffrey; Deckert, Volker; Delfan, Sahar; Esmaeili, Shahriar; Fernández-González, Alma; Fry, Edward; Han, Zehua; Hemmer, Philip; Kattawar, George; Kim, Moochan; Lee, Ming-Che; Lu, Chao-Yang; Mogford, Jon; Neuman, Benjamin; Pan, Jian-Wei; Peng, Tao; Poor, Vincent; Scully, Steven; Shih, Yanhua; Suckewer, Szymon; Svidzinsky, Anatoly; Verhoef, Aart; Wang, Dawei; Wang, Kai; Yan, Lan; Zheltikov, Aleksei; Zhu, Shiyao; Zubairy, Suhail; Scully, MarlanDr. Deborah Birx, the White House Coronavirus Task Force coordinator, told NBC News on "Meet the Press"that "[T]he U.S. needs a 'breakthrough' in coronavirus testing to help screen Americans and get a more accurate picture of the virus' spread."We have been involved with biopathogen detection since the 2001 anthrax attacks and were the first to detect anthrax in real-time. A variation on the laser spectroscopic techniques we developed for the rapid detection of anthrax can be applied to detect the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Corona Virus-2 (SARS-CoV-2 virus). In addition to detecting a single virus, this technique allows us to read its surface protein structure. In particular, we have been conducting research based on a variety of quantum optical approaches aimed at improving our ability to detect Corona Virus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) viral infection. Indeed, the detection of a small concentration of antibodies, after an infection has passed, is a challenging problem. Likewise, the early detection of disease, even before a detectible antibody population has been established, is very important. Our team is researching both aspects of this problem. The paper is written to stimulate the interest of both physical and biological scientists in this important problem. It is thus written as a combination of tutorial (review) and future work (preview). We join Prof. Federico Capasso and Editor Dennis Couwenberg in expressing our appreciation to all those working so heroically on all aspects of the COVID-19 problem. And we thank Drs. Capasso and Couwenberg for their invitation to write this paper. © 2020 Navid Rajil et al., published by De Gruyter, Berlin/Boston 2020.
- ItemThree-dimensional spatiotemporal tracking of nano-objects diffusing in water-filled optofluidic microstructured fiber(Berlin : de Gruyter, 2020) Jiang, Shiqi; Förster, Ronny; Plidschun, Malte; Kobelke, Jens; Ando, Ron Fatobene; Schmidt, Markus A.Three-dimensional (3D) tracking of nano-objects represents a novel pathway for understanding dynamic nanoscale processes within bioanalytics and life science. Here we demonstrate 3D tracking of diffusing 100 nm gold nanosphere within a water-filled optofluidic fiber via elastic light scattering-based position retrieval. Specifically, the correlation between intensity and position inside a region of a fiber-integrated microchannel has been used to decode the axial position from the scattered intensity, while image processing-based tracking was used in the image plane. The 3D trajectory of a diffusing gold nanosphere has been experimentally determined, while the determined diameter analysis matches expectations. Beside key advantages such as homogenous light-line illumination, low-background scattering, long observation time, large number of frames, high temporal and spatial resolution and compatibility with standard microscope, the particular properties of operating with water defines a new bioanalytical platform that is highly relevant for medical and life science applications. © 2020 Shiqi Jiang et al., published by De Gruyter. 2020.