Determining the refractive index, absolute thickness and local slope of a thin transparent film using multi-wavelength and multi-incident-angle interference
We describe a high-speed interferometric method, using multiple angles of incidence and multiple wavelengths, to measure the absolute thickness, tilt, the local angle between the surfaces, and the refractive index of a fluctuating transparent wedge. The method is well suited for biological, fluid and industrial applications.
This paper describes the spherical concave mirror method for measuring the index of refraction of transparent liquids. We derived the refractive index equation using Snell's law and the small-angle approximation. We also verified the validity of this method using the traditional spherical mirror and thin-lens Gaussian equations.
Increasing the refractive index available for optical and nanophotonic systems opens new vistas for design: for applications ranging from broadband metalenses to ultrathin photovoltaics to high-quality-factor resonators, higher index directly leads to better devices with greater functionality. Although standard transparent materials have been limited to refractive indices smaller than 3 in the visible, recent metamaterials designs have achieved refractive indices above 5, accompanied by high losses, and near the phase transition of a ferroelectric perovskite a broadband index above 26 has been…
This work demonstrates the existence of both negative refraction and a negative refractive index in an optical uniaxial absorbent medium that can be characterized by ordinary and extraordinary refractive indices. Negative refraction occurs in any absorbent uniaxial medium if the real part of the extraordinary index is less than its imaginary part. The refractive index is negative when the incident medium is sufficiently dense and the incident angle exceeds a critical angle that is defined here.
In light refraction between two transparent media, Snell's law describes the relationship between the incident angle and refraction angle. The refractive index is usually determined from Snell's law using the minimum deviation angle through a prism. A medium that partially absorbs light has complex permittivity (or permeability), and its refractive index has an imaginary part. Because of the imaginary part, Snell's law does not hold for light-absorbing media. Accordingly, other methods is required to determine the complex value of the refractive index in a light-absorbing medium. The exact sol…
Light-absorbing materials are widely used, and their optical properties are an important factor. Snell's law does not hold in materials that partially absorb light. Hence, the optical path in refraction is calculated from Maxwell's law. We used it to obtain the deviation angle when a light passes through a prism made of light absorbing material. As a result, the deviation angle has a local maximum point. The deviation angle near the local maximum is sensitive to the real and imaginary parts of the refractive index. The local maximum deviation angle and its incident angle are used to determine …
We demonstrated a 2D helical chiral metamaterial that exhibits broadband strong optical activity resulting nonresonant Drude-like response. The strong chirality leads to broadband negative refractive index with high figure of merit (>90) and extremely low loss (<2% per layer). The optical activity are insensitive to the angles of incident electromagnetic waves, thereby enabling more flexibility in polarization manipulation applicaitons.
We show that transparent dielectrics with strong optical anisotropy support a new class of electromagnetic waves that combine the properties of propagating and evanescent fields. These "ghost waves" are created in tangent bifurcations that "annihilate" pairs of positive- and negative-index modes, and represent the optical analogue of the "ghost orbits" in the quantum theory of non-integrable dynamical systems. Similarly to the regular evanescent fields, ghost waves support high transverse wavenumbers, but in addition to the exponential decay show oscillatory behavior in the direction of propag…
An exact expression of the outgoing boundary intensities in the case of a gray semi-transparent medium confined in a plane parallel slab with a refractive index linearly depending on the position is proposed. It is shown that directly using the diffuse reflection law gives in a much easier way exactly the same result as the one obtained with the pseudo-source method.
Deconvolution phase microscopy enables high-contrast visualization of transparent samples through reconstructions of their transmitted phases or refractive indexes. Herein, we propose a method to extend 2D deconvolution phase microscopy to thick 3D samples. The refractive index distribution of a sample can be obtained at a specific axial plane by measuring only four intensity images obtained under optimized illumination patterns. Also, the optical phase delay of a sample can be measured using different illumination patterns.
We present a robust, precise, and accurate method to simultaneously measure the refractive indices of two transparent materials within an interference coating. This is achieved by measuring both a photometrically accurate transmittance spectrum and the as-grown individual layer thicknesses of a thin-film multilayer structure. These measurements are used for a TMM-based curve-fitting routine which extracts the refractive indices and their measurement uncertainties via a Monte-Carlo-type error propagation. We demonstrate the performance of this approach by experimentally measuring the refractive…
In this work, we discuss the way in which electric and magnetic dipole resonances arising in the optical scattering spectrum of non-absorbing dielectric nanospheres can be accurately approximated by means of simple explicit expressions that depend on sphere's radius, incident wavelength and relative refractive index. We find such expressions to hold not only for high but also for moderate refractive-index values, thus complementing the results reported in previous studies.
Optical diffraction tomography (ODT) provides three-dimensional refractive index (RI) tomograms of a transparent microscopic object. However, because of the finite numerical aperture of objective lenses, ODT has the limited access to diffracted light and suffers from poor spatial resolution, particularly along the axial direction. To overcome the limitation of the quality of RI tomography, we present an algorithm that accurately reconstructs RI tomography using preliminary information that the RI values of a specimen are discrete and uniform. Through simulations and experiments on various samp…
Optically-transparent immersion liquids with refractive index (n ~ 1.77) to match sapphire-based aplanatic numerical aperture increasing lens (aNAIL) are necessary for achieving deep 3D imaging with high spatial resolution. We report that antimony tribromide (SbBr$_{3}$) salt dissolved in liquid diiodomethane (CH$_{2}$I$_{2}$) provides a new high refractive index immersion liquid for optics applications. The refractive index is tunable from n = 1.74 (pure) to n = 1.873 (saturated), by adjusting either salt concentration or temperature; this allows it to match (or even exceed) the refractive in…
A fully automatized method for the unambiguous wavelength-by-wavelength determination of the thickness and optical property of a very thin film with a transparent range
本文提出一种全自动三步法，利用透明区间先定厚度，再通过一阶泰勒展开和数值回归，在 3.5-6.5 eV 范围内高精度无歧义地同时确定超薄膜的厚度、折射率和消光系数，并在 TiO2 理论与 Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 实验中验证。
We propose a new method for calculating reflection and transmission coefficients for an arbitrarily polarized electromagnetic plane wave incident on a one-dimensional dielectric medium of finite thickness and with dielectric permittivity being an arbitrary continuous function of the coordinate. We have shown that the problem of plane wave scattering by an inhomogeneous layer is reduced to a system of first order differential equations that contain the derivative of the refractive index or dielectric permittivity of the layer, which can be used, for example, when searching for an analytical sol…
Which systems are ideal to obtain negative refraction with no absorption? Electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) is a method to suppress absorption and make a material transparent to a field of a given frequency. Such a system has been discussed in [1]; however the main limitations for negative refraction introduced are the necessity of resonant electric and magnetic dipole transitions, and the necessity of very dense media. We suggest using frequency translators in a composite system that would provide negative refraction for a range of optical frequencies while attempting to overcome…
Based on the difference between mean background of an optical sample refractive index n_0 and an outside medium, n_out, different than n_0, we study the reflection statistics of a one-dimensional weakly disordered optical medium with refractive index n(x)=n_0+dn(x). Considering dn(x) as color noise with the exponential spatial correlation decay length l_c and k as the incident wave vector, our results show that for the small correlation length limit, i.e. k*l_c<1, the average value of reflectance, r, follows a form that is similar to that of the matched refractive-index case n_0=n_out, i.e., <…
We demonstrate a method to experimentally calibrate the refractive index modulation in photorefractive lattices, a task rarely addressed that is crucial for quantitative comparisons of theories with experiments. We consider the linear propagation of a normally incident plane wave through simple lattices and its modulation amplitude at crystal output face. Finding no evidence of longitudinal (Talbot-like) oscillations, we discard an ideal propagation theory and construct a simple effective model that includes longitudinal relaxation. We obtain calibrations of 1D and 2D lattices consistent with …
High Refractive Index (HRI) dielectric particles smaller than the wavelength, isolated or forming a designed ensemble are ideal candidates as new multifunctional elements for building optical devices. Their directionality effects are traditionally analyzed through forward and backward measurements, even if these directions are not suitable for practical purposes. Here we present unambiguous experimental evidence in the microwave range that, for a dimer of HRI spherical particles, a perfect switching effect (perfect means off = null intensity) is observed out of those directions as a consequenc…
High-index dielectric materials are in great demand for nanophotonic devices and applications, from ultrathin optical elements to metal-free sub-diffraction light confinement and waveguiding. Here we show that chalcogenide topological insulators are particularly apt candidates for dielectric nanophotonic architectures in the infrared spectral range by reporting metamaterial resonances in chalcogenide crystals sustained well inside the mid-infrared, choosing Bi$_2$Te$_3$ as case study within this family of materials. Strong resonant modulation of the incident electromagnetic field is achieved t…
One notable feature of dye doped cholesteric liquid crystal is the variation of pitch and refractive index as the incidence angle of the pumping light shifts. Based on this feature, this paper studies the effects of pumping light's incidence angle on emission properties of the dye doped cholesteric liquid crystal tunable laser. First, we investigated the relationship among the concentration of chiral reagent, the incidence angle of the pumping light, and the pitch of liquid-crystal display (LCD); then we made a tunable-wavelength laser and pumped the prepared sample with 532nm laser outputted …
We have presented a new general function photonic crystals (GFPCs), which refractive index is a function of space position. Based on Fermat principle, we achieve the motion equations of light in one-dimensional general function photonic crystals, and calculate its transfer matrix. In this paper, we choose the line refractive index function for two mediums $A$ and $B$, and obtain new results: (1) when the line function of refractive indexes is up or down, the transmissivity can be far larger or smaller than 1. (2) when the refractive indexes function increase or decrease at the direction of inc…
We performed high-resolution Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy of a polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) sphere of unknown size in the Mie scattering region. Apart from a slow, oscillatory structure (wiggles), which is due to an interference effect, the measured FTIR extinction spectrum exhibits a ripple structure, which is due to electromagnetic resonances. We fully characterize the underlying electromagnetic mode structure of the spectrum by assigning two mode numbers to each of the ripples in the measured spectrum. We show that analyzing the ripple structure in the spectrum in the wa…
Studied experimentally the origin of the non-zero reflection of p-polarized radiation (TM) of Brewster's angle. The results have shown the residual reflected light in the vicinity of Brewster angle occurs due to inaccessibility 100% polarization degree the incident linearly-polarized radiation and installation of the zero azimuthal angle. These factors create the s-component of the radiation reflected from the examined surface indeed. A smooth change of reflected light polarization in the vicinity of Brewster angle in the sequence p-s-p appears due to the changing power proportion of reflected…
In this paper, we have studied the quantum transmission characteristics of one-dimensional photonic crystal with and without defect layer by the quantum theory approach, and compared the calculation results of classical with quantum theory. We have found some new quantum effects in the one-dimensional photonic crystal. When the incident angle $θ=0$, there is no quantum effect. When the incident angle $θ\neq0$, we find there are obvious quantum effect with the incident angle increase. At the incident angle $θ\neq0$, there are also quantum effect with the change of thickness and refractive index…
Layers with gradient refractive-index profile are an attractive alternative to conventional homogeneous stack coatings. However, the optical characterization and monitoring of the graded refractive-index profile is a complex issue, which has been typically solved by using a simplified model of mixed materials. Although this approach provides a solution to the problem, the precision, which can be expected from optical characterization of the refractive index gradient, remains unclear. In this work, we study optical characterization of SiO_xN_y layers deposited via reactive dual ion beam sputter…
Localized surface plasmon resonances possess very interesting properties for a wide variety of sensing applications. In many of the existing applications only the intensity of the reflected or transmitted signals is taken into account, while the phase information is ignored. At the center frequency of a (localized) surface plasmon resonance, the electron cloud makes the transition between in- and out-of-phase oscillation with respect to the incident wave. Here we show that this information can experimentally be extracted by performing phase-sensitive measurements, which result in linewidths th…
Optical diffraction tomography (ODT) is an interferometric microscopy technique capable of measuring 3-D refractive index (RI) distribution of transparent samples. Multiple 2-D holograms of a sample illuminated with various angles are measured, from which 3-D RI map of the sample is reconstructed via the diffraction theory. ODT has been proved as a powerful tool for the study of biological cells, due to its non-invasiveness, label-free and quantitative imaging capability. Recently, our group has demonstrated that a digital micromirror device (DMD) can be exploited for fast and precise control …
In this research, we report the experimental evidence of the directional Fano resonances at the scattering of a plane, linearly polarized electromagnetic wave by a homogeneous dielectric sphere with high refractive index and low losses. We observe a typical asymmetric Fano profile for the intensity scattered in, practically, any given direction, while the overall extinction cross section remains Lorentzian. The phenomenon is originated in the interference of the selectively excited electric dipolar and quadrupolar modes. The selectivity of the excitation is achieved by the proper choice of the…
In this paper the angular characteristics of a multimode fiber SPR sensor are theoretically investigated. By separating the contributions of beams incident at different angles, a compact model is presented to predict the shift of the resonance wavelength with respect to the angle and the environmental refractive index. The result suggests that the performance of conventional fiber SPR sensors can be substantially improved by optimizing the incident angle. Furthermore, our investigation suggests some problems in previous reports.
A limiting optical diode is an asymmetric nonlinear device that is bidirectionally transparent at low power, but becomes opaque when illuminated by sufficiently intense light incident from a particular direction. We explore the use of a phase-transition material, vanadium dioxide (VO2), as an active element of limiting optical diodes. The VO2 phase transition can be triggered by optical absorption, resulting in a change in refractive index orders of magnitude larger than what can be achieved with conventional nonlinearities. As a result, a limiting optical diode based on incident-direction-dep…
We provide a nonperturbative theory for photoionization of transparent solids. By applying a particular steepest-descent method, we derive analytical expressions for the photoionization rate within the two-band structure model, which consistently account for the $selection$ $rules$ related to the parity of the number of absorbed photons ($odd$ or $even$). We demonstrate the crucial role of the interference of the transition amplitudes (saddle-points), which in the semi-classical limit, can be interpreted in terms of interfering quantum trajectories. Keldysh's foundational work of laser physics…
A high-performance wide-angle refractive index sensor based on a simple onedimensional (1D) metallic deep nanogroove array with high aspect ratio is experimentally fabricated and demonstrated. The 1D deep groove array is featured by the excitation of magnetic plasmon (MP), referring to an effective coupling of incident electromagnetic waves with a strong magnetic response induced inside the deep grooves. Utilizing the MP resonances that are extremely sensitive to the surrounding dielectric medium, we successfully achieve a refractive index sensitivity (RIS) up to $\sim$1300 nm/RIU, which is hi…
Contrary to conventional wisdom that light bends away from the normal at the interface when it passes from high to low refractive index media, here we demonstrate an exotic phenomenon that the direction of electromagnetic power bends towards the normal when light is incident from arbitrary high refractive index medium to ε-near-zero metamaterial. Moreover, the direction of the transmitted beam is close to the normal for all angles of incidence. In other words, the electromagnetic power coming from different directions in air or arbitrary high refractive index medium can be redirected to the di…
We apply the supersymmetric Darboux transformation to the optical Helmoltz wave equation to generate analytically complex-valued PT-symmetric potentials (physically a graded refractive index dielectric). PT-symmetry is then spontaneously broken controlling the amplitude of the imaginary part of the refractive index distribution. Consequently a resonance is detectable which is related to a singularity of the S matrix, responsible for extraordinary high transmission and reflection peaks in the scattering spectra. We demonstrate how controlling the resonance we can achieve different amplification…
The nonlinear optical response of organic polaritonic matter has received increasing attention due to their enhanced and controllable nonlinear response and their potential for novel optical devices such as compact photon sources and optical and quantum information devices. Using z-scans at different wavelengths and incident powers we have studied the nonlinear optical dispersion of ultrastrongly coupled organic cavity polaritons near the lower polariton band. We show that the up to 150-fold enhancement of the nonlinear response compared to a cavity-less organic film arises from an intensity-d…
Immersion optics enable creation of systems with improved optical concentration and coupling by taking advantage of the fact that the luminance of light is proportional to the square of the refractive index in a lossless optical system. Immersion graded index optical concentrators, that do not need to track the source, are described in terms of theory, simulations, and experiments. We introduce a generalized design guide equation which follows the Pareto function and can be used to create various immersion graded index optics depending on the application requirements of concentration, refracti…
The $PT$-symmetric optical grating with index profile $e^{iβz}$ has been shown to have the interesting property of being essentially invisible for light incident from one side, while possessing greatly enhanced reflection at a particular wavelength for light incident from the other side. We extend a previous analysis of this grating to obtain an analytic solution for the case when the grating is embedded on a substrate, with different refractive indices on either side. We also generalize the previous case of normal incidence to incidence at an arbitrary angle. In that case the enhanced reflect…
The effect of the thickness of the dielectric boundary layer that connects a material of refractive index $n_1$ to another of index $n_2$ is considered for the propagation of an electromagnetic pulse. For very thin boundary layer the scattering properties of the pulse mimics that found from the Fresnel jump conditions for a plane wave - except that the transmission to incident amplitudes are augmented by a factor of $\sqrt{n_2/n_1}$. As the boundary layer becomes thicker one finds deviations away from the Fresnel conditions and eventually one approaches WKB propagation. However there is found …
In the last two decades, Fresnel diffraction (FD) of a plane wave from phase steps has been systematically studied and applied for precise measurements of light wavelength, and height and refractive index of the step. In this study we formulate FD of cylindrical and spherical wavefronts from a transparent step in transmission mode. It is shown that, the intensity distribution is a periodic function along the lines parallel to the plate edge. The phase distribution in this direction is a linearly varying function of the position squared, with a slope depends on the light wavelength, the plate t…
