This is a report on a pilot study that tests the feasibility of assembling photonic metamaterials (PMs) using light gradient forces. Following a strategy that works like modular construction, light gradient forces, produced by a tightly focused, 1D standing wave optical trap, time-multiplexed across a 2D lattice are used to assemble voxels consisting of prefabricated, monodispersed nanoparticles (NPs) with radii ranging from 30 to 500 nm into 3D structures on a hydrogel scaffold. Hundreds of NPs can be manipulated concurrently into a complex heterogeneous voxel this way, and then the process can be repeated by stitching together voxels to form a metamaterial of any size, shape, and constituency although imperfectly. Imperfections introduce random phase shifts and amplitude variations that can have an adverse effect on the band structure. Regardless, PMs are created this way using two different dielectric NPs, polystyrene and rutile, and then the near-infrared performance for each is analyzed with angle-, wavelength-, and polarization-dependent reflection spectroscopy. The cross-polarized spectra show evidence of a resonance peak. Interestingly, whereas the line shape from the polystyrene array is symmetric, the rutile array is not, which may be indicative of Fano resonance. So, even with the structural defects, reflection spectroscopy reveals a resonance.

Metamaterials were assembled using the force of a light gradient in a one-dimensional Standing Wave Optical Trap (SWOT) that was time-shared across the 2-D lattice to create a three-dimensional (3D) array of traps, which was then populated with monodispersed dielectric or metallic nanoparticles (NPs). The NP structure was anchored to a hydrogel scaffold, and then the process was repeated to create macroscopic metamaterials. The error in particle position within a voxel (σ=55 nm) was limited by dark time Brownian motion, whereas the error between voxels, (σ=88 nm) was limited by the microscope stage repeatability. Also, compared to a Gaussian beam SWOT, a non-diffractive, pseudo-Bessel beam SWOT produced a longer array due to greater focus-depth and self-healing distance.

Recent years have witnessed an inflow of ideas from quantum field theory and condensed matter physics into the field of optics. In this talk, we describe how notions from topological physics and supersymmetry can be used in designing novel laser arrays with properties that are of interest in some applications. Likewise, such lasing arrangements can be used to emulate a variety of topological and supersymmetric phenomena, beyond what is possible in their respective original platforms.

A non-Hermitian He-Ne ring laser gyroscope (RLG) that operates at an exceptional point is proposed and experimentally realized. Compared to a standard RLG, the device exhibits more than an order of magnitude enhancement in sensitivity.

We present a new strategy for regulating light emission dynamics in high power laser arrays. Our approach is based on engineering the properties of non-Hermitian supersymmetric optical arrays and offers several advantages over previous investigations.

Supersymmetric transformations aim to relate boson and fermions, two different species of particles, and their interactions. In quantum mechanics, the mathematical framework of SUSY can be used to design isospectral potentials. By virtue of the isomorphism between Schrodinger and wave equations, one can use such transformations for designing novel optical systems. In this talk, we review the recent developments in the general area of supersymmetric optics and photonics. We will also discuss the possibility of generating high brightness coherent light in supersymmetric laser arrays.

The size of an ion affects everything from the structure of water to life itself. In this report, to gauge their size, ions dissolved in water are forced electrically through a sub-nanometer-diameter pore spanning a thin membrane and the current is measured. The measurements reveal an ion-selective conductance that vanishes in pores <0.24 nm in diameter—the size of a water molecule—indicating that permeating ions have a grossly distorted hydration shell. Analysis of the current noise power spectral density exposes a threshold, below which the noise is independent of current, and beyond which it increases quadratically. This dependence proves that the spectral density, which is uncorrelated below threshold, becomes correlated above it. The onset of correlations for Li + , Mg 2+ , Na + and K + -ions extrapolates to pore diameters of 0.13 ± 0.11 nm, 0.16 ± 0.11 nm, 0.22 ± 0.11 nm and 0.25 ± 0.11 nm, respectively—consonant with diameters at which the conductance vanishes and consistent with ions moving through the sub-nanopore with distorted hydration shells in a correlated way.

Gyroscopes are essential to many diverse applications associated with navigation, positioning and inertial sensing1. In general, most optical gyroscopes rely on the Sagnac effect—a relativistically induced phase shift that scales linearly with the rotational velocity2,3. In ring laser gyroscopes (RLGs), this shift manifests as a resonance splitting in the emission spectrum, which can be detected as a beat frequency4. The need for ever more precise RLGs has fuelled research activities aimed at boosting the sensitivity of RLGs beyond the limits dictated by geometrical constraints, including attempts to use either dispersive or nonlinear effects5–8. Here we establish and experimentally demonstrate a method using non-Hermitian singularities, or exceptional points, to enhance the Sagnac scale factor9–13. By exploiting the increased rotational sensitivity of RLGs in the vicinity of an exceptional point, we enhance the resonance splitting by up to a factor of 20. Our results pave the way towards the next generation of ultrasensitive and compact RLGs and provide a practical approach for the development of other classes of integrated sensor. A method based on non-Hermitian singularities, or exceptional points, is established and used to increase the Sagnac scale factor and enhance the sensitivity of ring-laser gyroscopes.

Non-Hermitian exceptional points (EPs) represent a special type of degeneracy where not only the eigenvalues coalesce, but also the eigenstates tend to collapse on each other. Recent studies have shown that in the presence of an EP, light-matter interactions are profoundly modified, leading to a host of novel optical phenomena ranging from enhanced sensitivity to chiral light transport. As of now, however, in order to stabilize a system at the vicinity of an exceptional point, its related parameters must be carefully tuned and/or continuously controlled. To overcome this limitation, here we introduce a new family of broadband exceptional points based on unidirectional coupling, implemented by incorporating an Sshaped waveguide in a microring cavity. In active settings, the resulting unidirectionality exhibits unprecedented resilience to perturbations, thus providing a robust and tunable approach for directly generating beams with distinct orbital angular momentum (OAM). This work could open up new possibilities for manipulating OAM degrees of freedom in applications pertaining to telecommunications and quantum computing, while at the same time may expand the notions of non-Hermiticity in the orbital angular momentum space.

A microring laser generating tunable orbital angular momentum states via chiral exceptional points is demonstrated. An incorporated inner S-bend waveguide construct provides an avenue to enforce unidirectional lasing in a predetermined manner. © 2019 The Author(s)

A new scheme for ultrasensitive micro-ring laser gyroscopes based on the physics of exceptional points is proposed. In such systems, the sensitivity to low rotation rates can be enhanced by several orders of magnitude.

At resonance, mircoring resonators tend to support two counter-propagating degenerate modes. By incorporating S-bend chiral elements in each resonator, unidirectional single mode lasing below and above PT-symmetry breaking point is experimentally demonstrated.

Multimode emission adversely affects phased-locked laser arrays resulting in chaotic behaviors. Utilizing optical supersymmetry, we experimentally demonstrate a single mode laser array where a superpartner array eliminates undesired higher order transverse modes.

A multimode, chaotic, and broadband emission is an undesired characteristic of laser arrays which is an adverse effect of supermodes in coupled waveguides. Employing optical supersymmetry, we experimentally demonstrate single mode lasing in arrays of supersymmetric lasers where a superpatner array eliminates undesired lasing modes.

Secreted proteins mediate cell-to-cell communications. Thus, eavesdropping on the secretome could reveal the cellular phenotype, but it is challenging to detect the proteins because they are secreted only in minute amounts and then diluted in blood plasma or contaminated by cell culture medium or the lysate. In this pilot study, it is demonstrated that secretions from single cancer cells can be detected and dynamically analyzed through measurements of blockades in the electrolytic current due to single molecules translocating through a nanopore in a thin inorganic membrane. It is established that the distribution of blockades can be used to differentiate three different cancer cell lines (U937, MDA-MB-231, and MCF-7) in real time and quickly (<20 s). Importantly, the distinctive blockades associated with the chemokine CCL5, a prognostic factor for disease progression in breast cancer, along with other low-mass biomarkers of breast cancer (PI3, TIMP1, and MMP1) were identified in the context of the secretome of these three cell types, tracked with time, and used to provide information on the cellular phenotype.

We present our progress towards the realization of room temperature current-injected coaxial nanolasers. Lasing action is demonstrated in a metallic coaxial resonator up to a temperature of 140 K.

In this letter, we report the unique design, simulation and experimental verification of an electrically tunable THz metamaterial perfect absorber consisting of complementary split ring resonator (CSRR) arrays integrated with liquid crystal as the subwavelength spacer in between. We observe a shift in resonance frequency of about 5.0 GHz at 0.567 THz with a 5 V bias voltage at 1KHz between the CSRR and the metal backplane, while the absorbance and full width at half maximum bandwidth are maintained at 90% and 0.025 THz, respectively. Simulated absorption spectrum by using a uniaxial model of LC matches perfectly the experiment data and demonstrates that the effective refractive index of LC changes between 1.5 and 1.7 by sweeping a 1 kHz bias voltage from 0 V to 5 V. By matching simulation and experiment for different bias voltages, we also estimate the angle of LC molecules versus the bias voltage. Additionally, we study the created THz fields inside the spacer to gain a better insight of the characteristics of tunable response of this device. This structure and associated study can support the design of liquid crystal based tunable terahertz detectors and sensors for various applications.

It is now possible to create, in a thin inorganic membrane, a single, sub-nanometer-diameter pore (i.e., a sub-nanopore) about the size of an amino acid residue. To explore the prospects for sequencing protein with it, measurements of the force and current were performed as two denatured histones, which differed by four amino acid residue substitutions, were impelled systematically through the sub-nanopore one at a time using an atomic force microscope. The force measurements revealed that once the denatured protein, stabilized by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), translocated through the sub-nanopore, a disproportionately large force was required to pull it back. This was interpreted to mean that the SDS was cleaved from the protein during the translocation. The force measurements also exposed a dichotomy in the translocation kinetics: either the molecule slid nearly frictionlessly through the pore or it slipped-and-stuck. When it slid frictionlessly, regardless of whether the molecule was pulled N-terminus or C-terminus first through the pore, regular patterns were observed intermittently in the force and blockade current fluctuations that corresponded to the distance between stretched residues. Furthermore, the amplitude of the fluctuations in the current blockade were correlated with the occluded volume associated with the amino acid residues in the pore. Finally, a comparison of the patterns in the current fluctuations associated with the two practically identical histones supported the conclusion that a sub-nanopore was sensitive enough to discriminate amino acid substitutions in the sequence of a single protein molecule by measuring volumes of 0.1 nm3 per read.

The flexible metamaterials have promised to greatly expand our ability to realize a wide range of novel applications including new methods of sensing and cloaking. In this work, flexible metamaterial absorbers, targeted to operate at terahertz frequencies, have been designed, simulated, and fabricated. The absorber structure consisted of a conducting ground plane, a dielectric spacer, and a frequency selective surface which was composed of two layers of nonconcentric, differently sized, single-ring arrays. Absorber structure was designed and simulated such that absorbers exhibited two distinct resonance frequencies with the strength of absorption for both sensitive to the center-to-center spacing of the rings and polarization. The functionality of the absorbers was seen to be similar both in planar and deformed positions, which promises robustness of the conformal flexible metamaterials device under the deformation and uneven surfaces.

Here, we design, fabricate, and characterize EIT-metamaterials by hybridizing two DSRRs into a single unit cell. First we, develop a method to determine the effective thickness of metamaterials which is crucial in calculating the group velocity of light. Then, we present a novel approach to enhance and dynamically tune the slow light characteristic by twisting the inner SRRs of two hybridized DSRRs in a flexible EIT-metamaterial. The design reduces the speed of light by 0.06 time compared with air.