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Reconstructive spectrometers are a promising emerging class of devices that combine complex light scattering with inference to enable compact, high-resolution spectrometry. Thus far, the physical determinants of these devices' performance…
We study the refractive-index sensing properties of plasmonic nanotubes with a dielectric core and ultra-thin metal shell. The few-nm thin metal shell is described by both the usual Drude model and the nonlocal hydrodynamic model to…
We present a guide for the design and fabrication of a CMOS-compatible metamaterial microstructure as an absorber of visible light with exceptionally high absorption efficiency (~ 98%), for wavelengths 400nm-700nm. The structural parameters…
Optical limiters transmit low-intensity light, while blocking laser radiation with excessively high intensity or fluence. A typical passive optical limiter absorbs most of the high level radiation, which can cause irreversible damage. In…
This paper describes the energy resolution of Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detectors (MKIDs), and models some limiting factors to it. Energy resolution is a measure of the smallest possible difference in energy of the impinging photons,…
The miniaturization of current image sensors is largely limited by the volume of the optical elements. Using a sub-wavelength patterned quasi-periodic structure, also known as a metasurface, one can build planar optical elements based on…
Pixel size in cameras and other refractive imaging devices is typically limited by the free-space diffraction. However, a vast majority of semiconductor-based detectors are based on materials with substantially high refractive index. We…
Modern nanophotonic and meta-optical devices utilize a tremendous number of structural degrees of freedom to enhance light--matter interactions. A fundamental question is how large such enhancements can be. We develop an analytical…
No imaging apparatus can produce perfect images: spatial resolution is limited by the Rayleigh diffraction bound that is a consequence of the imager's finite spatial extent. We show some N-photon strategies that permit resolution of details…
The refractive index of a matter is foundational to quantify the light-matter interaction of the medium. However, the classical description of refractive index is based on macroscopic homogenization and is limited to describing the local…
We report on the development of coatings for a CCD detector optimized for use in a fixed dispersion UV spectrograph. Due to the rapidly changing index of refraction of Si, single layer broadband anti-reflection coatings are not suitable to…
The Rayleigh diffraction limit imposes a fundamental restriction on the resolution of direct imaging systems, hindering the identification of incoherent optical sources, such as celestial bodies in astronomy and fluorophores in bioimaging.…
It is interesting to observe that all optical materials with a positive refractive index have a value of index that is of order unity. Surprisingly, though, a deep understanding of the mechanisms that lead to this universal behavior seems…
We find that stray infrared light from the 4 K stage in a cryostat can cause significant loss in superconducting resonators and qubits. For devices shielded in only a metal box, we measured resonators with quality factors Q = 10^5 and…
Optical materials with vanishing dielectric permittivity, known as epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) materials, have been shown to possess enhanced nonlinear optical responses in their ENZ region. These strong nonlinear optical properties have been…
Birefringence ($\Delta n$) is the dependence of the refractive index of a material on the polarization of light travelling through it. Birefringent materials are used as polarizers, waveplates, and for novel light-matter coupling. While…
In this paper we report on the measurement and modelling of enhanced optical refractometric sensors based on whispering-gallery-modes. The devices under test are optical microresonators made of silicon nitride on silicon oxide. In our…
Metasurfaces provide a compact, flexible, and reliable solution for controlling the wavefront of light. In imaging systems, micro-lens arrays are integrated with pixel matrices to reduce optical crosstalk, enhance photon collection…
Material absorption is a key limitation in nanophotonic systems; however, its characterization is often obscured by scattering and diffraction loss. Here we show that nanomechanical frequency spectroscopy can be used to characterize the…
This article presents an analysis and the resulting limits on light dark matter inelastically scattering off of electrons, and on dark photon and axion-like particle absorption, using a second-generation SuperCDMS high-voltage eV-resolution…