Related papers: Nanoengineered Astronomical Optics
Unlike other switchable mirrors, Mg2NiHx films show large changes in reflection that yield very low reflectance (high absorptance) at different hydrogen contents, far before reaching the semiconducting state. The resulting reflectance…
A fascinating photonic platform with a small device scale, fast operating speed, as well as low energy consumption is two-dimensional (2D) materials, thanks to their in-plane crystalline structures and out-of-plane quantum confinement. The…
Photonic metamaterials are man-made structures composed of tailored micro- or nanostructured metallo-dielectric sub-wavelength building blocks that are densely packed into an effective material. This deceptively simple, yet powerful, truly…
An uncommon double-ray scenario of light resonant scattering by a periodic metasurface is proposed to provide strong non-specular reflection. The metasurface is constracted as an array of silicon nanodisks placed on thin silica-on-metal…
Photochromic materials enable dynamic optical modulation through reversible transitions between distinct absorption states, with broad potential for smart windows, adaptive optics, and reconfigurable photonic devices. Micron-scale…
Recent advances in nano-fabrication techniques allow for the manufacture of optical metamaterials, bringing their unique and extra-ordinary properties to the visible regime and beyond. However, an analytical description of optical…
The aim of this work is to prove that it is possible to realise an optical system which produces as output a light intensity that can be expressed in the same mathematical form of the spin glass Hamiltonian. The optical system under study…
Nonlinear optics is of crucial importance in several fields of science and technology with applications in frequency conversion, entangled-photon generation, self-referencing of frequency combs, crystal characterization, sensing, and…
The material and exact shape of a nanostructure determine its optical response, which is especially strong for plasmonic metals. Unfortunately, only a very few plasmonic metals are available, which limits the spectral range where these…
Microscopy and optical imaging are drastically limited by the inhomogeneities encountered by the light while propagating from the object of interest to the detection system. In this context, adaptive optics and wavefront manipulation are…
We experimentally and theoretically investigate mechanical nanooscillators coupled to the light in an optical ring resonator made of dielectric mirrors. We identify an optomechanical damping mechanism that is fundamentally different to the…
Nanocomposites with tailored optical properties can provide a new degree of freedom for optical design. However, despite their potential these materials remain unused in bulk applications. Here we investigate the conditions under which they…
It is well-known how to control the spatial output from a laser, with most solutions to date involving customised intra-cavity elements in the form of apertures, diffractive optics and free-form mirrors. These optical elements require…
Conventional imaging systems comprise large and expensive optical components which successively mitigate aberrations. Metasurface optics offers a route to miniaturize imaging systems by replacing bulky components with flat and compact…
We discuss the applicability of holographically patterned polymers, polymer dispersed liquid crystals, and nanoparticle-polymer composites as optical elements for cold neutrons. Requirements concerning the spacing, thickness or strength of…
Nanoantennas for visible and infrared radiation can strongly enhance the interaction of light with nanoscale matter by their ability to efficiently link propagating and spatially localized optical fields. This ability unlocks an enormous…
In this review, we present our recent computational work on carbon-based nanostructured composites. These materials consist of carbon crystallites embedded in an amorphous carbon matrix and are modeled here through classical and…
Metallic nanostructures are able to concentrate light into volumes far below the diffraction limit. Here we show, by accurate scattering calculations, that nanostructures obtained from thin films of J-aggregate dyes, concentrate the…
Flexible transparent electrodes, encompassing the combination of optical transparency and electrical conductivity, empower numerous optoelectronic applications. While the main efforts nowadays concentrate on developing wire meshes and…
Active optics is defined as the control of the shape and the alignment of the components of an optical system at low temporal frequencies. For modern large telescopes with flexible monolithic or segmented primary mirrors and also flexible…