Second-order nonlinear optical interactions, including second harmonic generation (SHG) and sum-frequency generation (SFG), can reveal a wealth of information about chemical, electronic, and vibrational dynamics at the nanoscale. Here, we demonstrate a powerful and flexible new approach, called phase-modulated degenerate parametric amplification (DPA). The technique, which allows for facile retrieval of both the amplitude and phase of the second-order nonlinear optical response, has many advantages over conventional or heterodyne-detected SHG, including the flexibility to detect the signal at either the second harmonic or fundamental field wavelength. We demonstrate the capabilities of this approach by imaging multi-grain flakes of single-layer MoS2. We identify the absolute crystal orientation of each MoS2 domain and resolve grain boundaries with high signal contrast and sub-diffraction-limited spatial resolution. This robust all-optical method can be used to characterize structure and dynamics in organic and inorganic systems, including biological tissue, soft materials, and metal and semiconductor nanostructures, and is particularly well-suited for imaging in media that are absorptive or highly scattering to visible and ultraviolet light.
We demonstrate an efficient dynamical amplification of phase conjugation in the gain medium of a diode-pumped Nd3+:YVO4 solid state laser via excitation of its relaxation oscillations. Consequently, enhancement in the modulated amplitude of the phase conjugate wave is observed with up to +30 dB compared to classical homodyne approach.
We provide a theoretical description of light scattering by a spherical particle whose permittivity is modulated in time at twice the frequency of the incident light. Such a particle acts as a finite-sized photonic time crystal and, despite its sub-wavelength spatial extent, can host optical parametric amplification. Conditions of parametric Mie resonances in the sphere are derived. We show that time-modulated materials provide a route to tailor directional light amplification, qualitatively different from that in scatterers made from a gain media. We design two characteristic time-modulated s…
We show that the modulation of the phases of the laser beams of ultra-short pulses leads to modulation of the two photon fluorescence intensity. The phase modulation technique when used in multi-photon microscopy can improve the signal to noise ratio. The technique can also be used in multiplexing the signals in the frequency domain in multi-focal raster scanning microscopy. As the technique avoids the use of array detectors as well as elaborate spatiotemporal multiplexing schemes it provides a convenient means to multi-focal scanning in axial direction. We show examples of such uses. Similar …
Dual-comb microscopy (DCM), based on a combination of dual-comb spectroscopy (DCS) with two-dimensional spectral encoding (2D-SE), is a promising method for scan-less confocal laser microscopy giving an amplitude and phase image contrast with the confocality. However, signal loss in a 2D-SE optical system hampers increase in image acquisition rate due to decreased signa-to-noise ratio. In this article, we demonstrated optical image amplification in DCM with an erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA). Combined use of image-encoded DCS interferogram and EDFA benefits from not only the batch amplific…
Generalized Conductivity Modeling and Selective Harmonic Amplification in Time-Modulated Graphene Cavities
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki（萨洛尼卡亚里士多德大学）；Sorbonne Université, CNRS（索邦大学，法国国家科学研究中心）；Université Paris-Saclay, CentraleSupélec, CNRS（巴黎萨克雷大学，中央理工-高等电力学院，法国国家科学研究中心）
Phase amplification microscopy with femtometer-level accuracy
The Chinese University of Hong Kong（香港中文大学）；The University of Hong Kong（香港大学）；The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology（香港科技大学）；Huazhong University of Science and Technology（华中科技大学）；Westlake University（西湖大学）
Structured illumination in Single Molecule Localization Microscopy provides new information on the position of molecules and thus improves the localization precision compared to standard localization methods. Here, we used a time-shifted sinusoidal excitation pattern to modulate the fluorescence signal of the molecules whose position information is carried by the phase and recovered by synchronous demodulation. We designed two flexible fast demodulation systems located upstream of the camera, allowing us to overcome the limiting camera acquisition frequency and thus to maximize the collection …
Super-resolved far-field microscopy has emerged as a powerful tool for investigating the structure of objects with resolution well below the diffraction limit of light. Nearly all super-resolution imaging techniques reported to date rely on real energy states of probe molecules to circumvent the diffraction limit, preventing super-resolved imaging of contrast mechanisms that occur via virtual energy states such as harmonic generation (HG). Here we report a super-resolution technique based on SPatIal Frequency modulated Imaging (SPIFI) that permits super-resolved nonlinear microscopy with any c…
Amplification/attenuation of light waves in artificial materials with a gain/loss modulation on the wavelength scale can be sensitive to the propagation direction. We give a numerical proof of the high anisotropy of the gain/loss in two dimensional periodic structures with square and rhombic lattice symmetry by solving the full set of Maxwell's equations using the finite difference time domain method. Anisotropy of amplification/attenuation leads to the narrowing of the angular spectrum of propagating radiation with wavevectors close to the edges of the first Brillouin Zone. The effect provide…
Parity-Time (PT) symmetric wave devices, which exploit balanced interactions between material gain and loss, exhibit extraordinary properties, including lasing and flux-conserving scattering processes. In a seemingly different research field, periodically driven systems, also known as time-Floquet systems, have been widely studied as a relevant platform for reconfigurable active wave control and manipulation. In this article, we explore the connection between PT-symmetry and parametric time-Floquet systems. Instead of relying on material gain, we use parametric amplification by considering a t…
Scanning Microwave Impedance Microscopy (MIM) measurement of photoconductivity with 50 nm resolution is demonstrated using a modulated optical source. The use of a modulated source allows for measurement of photoconductivity in a single scan without a reference region on the sample, as well as removing most topographical artifacts and enhancing signal to noise as compared with unmodulated measurement. A broadband light source with tunable monochrometer is then used to measure energy resolved photoconductivity with the same methodology. Finally, a pulsed optical source is used to measure local …
We present a theoretical analysis supported by comprehensive numerical simulations of quasi phase-matched four-wave mixing (FWM) of ultrashort optical pulses that propagate in weakly width-modulated silicon photonic nanowire gratings. Our study reveals that, by properly designing the optical waveguide such that the interacting pulses co-propagate with the same group-velocity, a conversion efficiency enhancement of more than 15 dB, as compared to a uniform waveguide, can readily be achieved. We also analyze the dependence of the conversion efficiency and FWM gain on the pulse width, time delay,…
As photon mixing is not inherently limited to any specific spectral region, parametric processes represent a compelling solution for all-optical signal processing in spectral windows not easily accessible by other technologies. Particularly, the continuous-wave pumping scheme is essential for any application requiring modulated signals or precise spectroscopic characterization. Highly nonlinear fibers enabled record performances for wavelength conversion and amplification in the telecommunication band, however no waveguiding platforms have yet solved the trade-off between high-nonlinearity, lo…
We present a new two-snapshot structured light illumination (SLI) reconstruction algorithm for fast image acquisition. The new algorithm, which only requires two mutually π phase-shifted raw structured images, is implemented on a custom-built temporal focusing fluorescence microscope (TFFM) to enhance its axial resolution via a digital micromirror device (DMD). First, the orientation of the modulated sinusoidal fringe patterns is automatically identified via spatial frequency vector detection. Subsequently, the modulated in-focal-plane images are obtained via rotation and subtraction. Lastly, …
We suggest a technique to amplify a train of attosecond pulses, produced by high-harmonic generation (HHG) of an infrared (IR) laser field, in an active medium of a plasma-based X-ray laser. This technique is based on modulation of transition frequency of the X-ray laser by the same IR field, as used to generate the harmonics, via linear Stark effect, which results in redistribution of the resonant gain and simultaneous amplification of a wide set of harmonics in the incident field. We propose an experimental implementation of the suggested technique in active medium of C5+ ions at wavelength …
We consider parametric amplification of two-dimensional spatial soliton swinging in longitudinally modulated harmonic and Bessel lattices in Kerr-type saturable medium. We show that soliton center oscillations along different axes in two-dimensional lattices are coupled, which give rise to a number of interesting propagation scenarios including periodic damping and excitation of soliton oscillations along perpendicular axes, selective amplification of soliton swinging along one of transverse axes and enhancement of soliton spiraling.
Taming the single-cylinder scattering through time-modulation -- The role of the modulation phase
Institute of Electronic Structure and Laser, Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas（电子结构与激光研究所，希腊研究与技术基金会）；Department of Materials Science and Technology, University of Crete（克里特大学材料科学与技术系）；Department of Electronics and Nanoengineering, School of Electrical Engineering, Aalto University（阿尔托大学电气工程学院电子与纳米工程系）
Modulating the electric potential on a conducting electrode is presented to generate an optical contrast for scattering microscopy that is sensitive to both surface charge and local topography. We dub this method Electric-Double-Layer-Modulation microscopy. We numerically compute the change in the local ion concentration that is the origin of this optical contrast for three experimentally relevant geometries: nanosphere, nanowire, and nanohole. In absence of plasmonic effects and physical absorption, the observable optical contrast is proportional to the derivative of the ion concentration wit…
Recording of transient absorption microscopy images requires fast detection of minute optical density changes, which is typically achieved with high-repetition-rate laser sources and lock-in detection. Here, we present a highly flexible and cost-efficient detection scheme based on a conventional photodiode and an USB oscilloscope with MHz bandwidth, that deviates from the commonly used lock-in scheme and achieves benchmark sensitivity. Our scheme combines shot-to-shot evaluation of pump-probe and probe-only measurements, a home-built photodetector circuit optimized for low pulse energies apply…
Accelerating imaging speed in optical microscopy is often realized at the expense of image contrast, image resolution, and detection sensitivity- a common predicament for advancing high-speed and high-throughput cellular imaging. We here demonstrate a new imaging approach, called asymmetric-detection time-stretch optical microscopy (ATOM), which can deliver ultrafast label-free high-contrast flow imaging with well delineated cellular morphological resolution and in-line optical image amplification to overcome the compromised imaging sensitivity at high speed. We show that ATOM can separately r…
Birefringence, an inherent characteristic of optically anisotropic materials, is widely utilized in various imaging applications ranging from material characterizations to clinical diagnosis. Polarized light microscopy enables high-resolution, high-contrast imaging of optically anisotropic specimens, but it is associated with mechanical rotations of polarizer/analyzer and relatively complex optical designs. Here, we present a novel form of polarization-sensitive microscopy capable of birefringence imaging of transparent objects without an optical lens and any moving parts. Our method exploits …
Optical tweezers are an invaluable tool for non-contact trapping and micro-manipulation, but their ability to facilitate high-throughput volumetric microrheology of biological samples for mechanobiology research is limited by the precise alignment associated with the excitation and detection of individual bead oscillations. In contrast, radiation pressure from a low numerical aperture optical beam can apply transversely localized force over an extended depth range. We propose photonic force optical coherence elastography (PF-OCE), leveraging phase-sensitive interferometric detection to track s…
Here we report nonlinear focal modulation microscopy (NFOMM) to achieve super-resolution imaging. Abandoning the previous persistence on minimizing the size of Gaussian emission pattern by directly narrowing (e.g. Minimizing the detection pinhole in Airyscan, Zeiss) or by indirectly peeling its outer profiles (e.g., Depleting the outer emission region in STED, stimulated emission microscopy) in pointwise scanning scenarios, we stick to a more general basis------ maximizing the system frequency shifting ability. In NFOMM, we implement a nonlinear focal modulation by applying phase modulations w…
High-resolution optical microscopy suffers from a low contrast in scattering media where a multiply scattered wave obscures a ballistic wave used for image formation. To extend the imaging depth, various gating operations - confocal, coherence, and polarization gating - have been devised to filter out the multiply scattered wave. However, these gating methods are imperfect as they all act on the detection plane located outside a scattering medium. Here, we present a new gating scheme, called 'space' gating, that rejects the multiply scattered wave directly at the object plane inside a scatteri…
