Search results for "photonics"
showing 10 items of 802 documents
Neutronic and photonic analysis of the single box water-cooled lithium lead blanket for a DEMO reactor
1998
Abstract The water-cooled Pb–17Li demonstration plant (DEMO) breeding blanket line was selected in 1995 as one of the two EU lines to be further developed in the next decade. In this paper the results of a neutronic and photonic analysis of the `single box' concept is presented. A full three-dimensional model, including the whole assembly and many of the DEMO reactor components, has been developed, together with a three-dimensional neutron source. A tritium breeding ratio (TBR) value of 1.16, with no ports and a Li6 enrichment of 90%, has been obtained and a further analysis has been performed to determine Li6 enrichment that would still ensure tritium breeding self-sufficiency. Selected po…
Helix Inversion Controlled by Molecular Motors in Multistate Liquid Crystals.
2020
Unravelling the rules of molecular motion is a contemporary challenge that promises to support the development of responsive materials and is likely to enhance the understanding of functional motion. Advances in integrating light‐driven molecular motors in soft matter have led to the design and realization of chiral nematic (cholesteric) liquid crystals that can respond to light with modification of their helical pitch, and also with helix inversion. Under illumination, these chiral liquid crystals convert from one helical geometry to another. Here, a series of light‐driven molecular motors that feature a rich configurational landscape is presented, specifically which involves three stable …
Broadband Terahertz Probes of Anisotropic Magnetoresistance Disentangle Extrinsic and Intrinsic Contributions
2021
Anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) is a ubiquitous and versatile probe of magnetic order in contemporary spintronics research. Its origins are usually ascribed to extrinsic effects (i.e. spin-dependent electron scattering), whereas intrinsic (i.e. scattering-independent) contributions are neglected. Here, we measure AMR of polycrystalline thin films of the standard ferromagnets Co, Ni, Ni81Fe19 and Ni50Fe50 over the frequency range from DC to 28 THz. The large bandwidth covers the regimes of both diffusive and ballistic intraband electron transport and, thus, allows us to separate extrinsic and intrinsic AMR components. Analysis of the THz response based on Boltzmann transport theory revea…
Achromatic Varifocal Metalens for the Visible Spectrum
2019
Metasurface optics provide an ultra-thin alternative to conventional refractive lenses. A present challenge is in realizing metasurfaces that exhibit tunable optical properties and achromatic behavior across the visible spectrum. Here, we report the design, fabrication, and characterization of metasurface lenses ("metalenses") that use asymmetric TiO2 nanostructures to induce a polarization-dependent optical response. By rotating the polarization of linearly-polarized input light, the focal length of a 40 micrometer-diameter metalens is tuned from 220-550 micrometers with nearly diffraction-limited performance. We show that imparting a wavelength-dependent polarization rotation on incident …
Quantitative analysis of localized surface plasmons based on molecular probing
2010
International audience; We report on the quantitative characterization of the plasmonic optical near-field of a single silver nanoparticle. Our approach relies on nanoscale molecular molding of the confined electromagnetic field by photoactivated molecules. We were able to directly image the dipolar profile of the near-field distribution with a resolution better than 10 nm and to quantify the near-field depth and its enhancement factor. A single nanoparticle spectral signature was also assessed. This quantitative characterization constitutes a prerequisite for developing nanophotonic applications.
Dielectric-loaded plasmonic waveguide components: Going practical
2013
Surface plasmon propagating modes supported by metal/dielectric interfaces in various configurations can be used for radiation guiding similarly to conventional dielectric waveguides. Plasmonic waveguides offer two attractive features: subdiffraction mode confinement and the presence of conducting elements at the mode-field maximum. The first feature can be exploited to realize ultrahigh density of nanophotonics components, whereas the second feature enables the development of dynamic components controlling the plasmon propagation with ultralow signals, minimizing heat dissipation in switching elements. While the first feature is yet to be brought close to the domain of practical applicatio…
Dielectric-loaded surface plasmon polariton waveguides: Figures of merit and mode characterization by image and Fourier plane leakage microscopy
2008
International audience; Waveguiding of surface plasmon polaritons by dielectric-loaded metal structures is studied in detail by combining numerical simulations and leakage radiation microscopy. These types of waveguides are first numerically investigated using the effective index model and the differential method. We analyzed systematically the influence of the ridge width and thickness of the waveguide on the properties of the surface plasmon guided modes. In particular we investigated the confinement factor of the modes and their associated propagation lengths. These two parameters can be optimized by adjusting the thickness of the dielectric layer. Waveguides loaded with thick and thin d…
Surface plasmon subwavelength optics.
2003
International audience; Surface plasmons are waves that propagate along the surface of a conductor. By altering the structure of a metal's surface, the properties of surface plasmons- in particular their interaction with light-can be tailored, which offers the potential for developing new types of photonic device. This could lead to miniaturized photonic circuits with length scales that are much smaller than those currently achieved. Surface plasmons are being explored for their potential in subwavelength optics, data storage, light generation, microscopy and bio-photonics.
Subwavelength mapping of surface photonic states
2003
We show that the spectral tailoring of optical local density of states (LDOS) may be achieved by lithographically designed nanostructures and that the subwavelength mapping of the spectral variation of the optical LDOS is feasible by varying the driving frequency of the effective dipole used in an illumination mode scanning near-field optical microscope.
Dispersion managed self-similar parabolic pulses
2008
International audience; We describe the propagation of a parabolic self-similar pulse in an anomalous dispersive nonlinear fibre. Given the capacity of a linearly chirped parabolic pulse to retain its typical shape over a short propagation distance, we introduce the concept of dispersion managed self-similar pulses and outline potential benefits in terms of spectral broadening enhancement.