Anton G. Nalimov

Tight focus of light using micropolarizer and microlens

Using a binary microlens of diameter 14 μm and focal length 532 nm (NA=0.997) in resist, we focus a 633 nm laser beam into a near-circular focal spot with dimensions (0.35 ± 0.02)λ and (0.38 ± 0.02)λ (λ is incident wavelength) at full width half-maximum intensity. The area of the focal spot is 0.105λ(2). The incident light is a mixture of linearly and radially polarized beams generated by reflecting a linearly polarized Gaussian beam at a 100  μm × 100  μm four-sector subwavelength diffractive optical microelement with a gold coating. The focusing of a linearly polarized laser beam (the other conditions being the same) is found to produce an elliptical focal spot measuring (0.40 ± 0.02)λ and (0.50 ± 0.02)λ. To our knowledge, this is the first implementation of subwavelength focusing of light using a pair of micro-optic elements (a binary microlens and a micropolarizer).

Propagation of hypergeometric laser beams in a medium with a parabolic refractive index

An expression to describe the complex amplitude of a family of paraxial hypergeometric laser beams propagating in a parabolic-index fiber is proposed. A particular case of a Gaussian optical vortex propagating in a parabolic-index fiber is studied. Under definite parameters, the Gaussian optical vortices become the modes of the medium. This is a new family of paraxial modes derived for the parabolic-index medium. A wide class of solutions of nonparaxial Helmholtz equations that describe modes in a parabolic refractive index medium is derived in the cylindrical coordinate system. As the solutions derived are proportional to Kummer?s functions, only those of them which are coincident with the nonparaxial Laguerre?Gaussian modes possess a finite energy, meaning that they are physically implementable. A definite length of the graded-index fiber is treated as a parabolic lens, and expressions for the numerical aperture and the focal spot size are deduced. An explicit expression for the radii of the rings of a binary lens approximating a parabolic-index lens is derived. Finite-difference time-domain simulation has shown that using a binary parabolic-index microlens with a refractive index of 1.5, a linearly polarized Gaussian beam can be focused into an elliptic focal spot which is almost devoid of side-lobes and has a smaller full width at half maximum diameter of 0.45 of the incident wavelength.

Subwavelength micropolarizer in a gold film for visible light

We have designed and fabricated a 100  μm×100  μm four-sector binary subwavelength reflecting polarization microconverter in a gold film. Using finite-difference time-domain-aided numerical simulations and experiments, the micropolarizer was shown to convert an incident linearly polarized Gaussian beam of wavelength 532 nm into an azimuthally polarized beam. Conditions for generating on-axis regions of nonzero intensity when using propagating optical vortices with different initial polarization were deduced. By putting a spiral phase plate into an azimuthally polarized beam, the intensity pattern was shown to change from diffraction rings to a central peak.

Hyperbolic secant slit lens for subwavelength focusing of light.

Using the finite-difference time-domain simulation, we show that if a gradient-index or binary planar dielectric microlens that focuses light at the output surface has a near-focus subwavelength slit the focal spot width is determined by the slit width. Notably, the slit allows the output light proportion to be increased due to the surface wave scattering, thus forming a focal spot nearly devoid of side lobes. In this work, the focal spot width of λ/23 and the diffraction efficiency of focusing of 44% are achieved.

Microlens-aided focusing of linearly and azimuthally polarized laser light

We have investigated a four-sector transmission polarization converter (4-SPC) for a wavelength of 633 nm, that enables the conversion of a linearly polarized incident beam into a mixture of linearly and azimuthally polarized beams. It was numerically shown that by placing a Fresnel zone plate of focal length 532 nm immediately after the 4-SPC, the incident light can be focused into an oblong subwavelength focal spot whose size is smaller than the diffraction limit (with width and breadth, respectively, measuring FWHM = 0.28λ and FWHM = 0.45λ, where λ is the incident wavelength and FWHM stands for full-width at half maximum of the intensity). After passing through the 4-SPC, light propagates in free space over a distance of 300 μm before being focused by a Fresnel zone plate (ZP), resulting in focal spot measuring 0.42λ and 0.81λ. The focal spot was measured by a near-field microscope SNOM, and the transverse E-field component of the focal spot was calculated to be 0.42λ and 0.59λ. This numerical result was verified experimentally, giving a focal spot of smaller and larger size, respectively, measuring 0.46λ and 0.57λ. To our knowledge, this is the first implementation of polarization conversion and subwavelength focusing of light using a pair of transmission micro-optic elements.

An asymmetric optical vortex generated by a spiral refractive plate

Using a revised Kirchhoff diffraction integral and the finite-difference time-domain method we show that an optical vortex generated by a refractive spiral plate with a relief step has an asymmetric profile. The annular diffraction pattern in the optical vortex beam cross-section is found to be disturbed not only for near-field diffraction but also for the Fresnel zone. For a spiral phase plate with topological charge 3, fabricated on a resist, optical vortex asymmetry has been shown experimentally by near-field scanning optical microscopy.

Thin high numerical aperture metalens

We designed, fabricated, and characterized a thin metalens in an amorphous silicon film of diameter 30 µm, focal length equal to the incident wavelength 633 nm. The lens is capable of simultaneously manipulating the state of polarization and phase of incident light. The lens converts a linearly polarized beam into radially polarized light, producing a subwavelength focus. When illuminated with a linearly polarized Gaussian beam, the lens produces a focal spot whose size at full-width half-maximum intensity is 0.49λ and 0.55λ (λ is incident wavelength). The experimental results are in good agreement with the numerical simulation, with the simulated focal spot measuring 0.46λ and 0.52λ. This focal spot is less than all other focal spots obtained using metalenses.

High Resolution through Graded-Index Microoptics

By solving Helmholtz equations, relationships to describe propagating modes in an arbitrary graded-index planar waveguide are derived. We show that in the quadratic- and secant-index waveguides a minimal mode width is 0.4, where is the wavelength in free space and is the refractive index on the fiber axis. By modeling in FullWAVE, we show that the high-resolution imaging can be achieved with half-pitch graded-index Mikaelian microlenses (ML) and Maxwell’s “fisheye” lenses. It is shown that using a 2D ML, the point source can be imaged near the lens surface as a light spot with the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 0.12λ. This value is close to the diffraction limit for silicon () in 2D media λ. We also show that half-pitch ML is able to resolve at half-maximum two close point sources separated by a 0.3λ distance.

Calculating the pressure force of the non-paraxial cylindrical Gaussian beam exerted upon a homogeneous circular-shaped cylinder

Forces exerted upon a dielectric cylinder of infinite length and arbitrary, or circular, cross-section by the non-paraxial cylindrical Gaussian beam are considered. The projections of the vector of the light force pressure exerted upon a dielectric cylinder of arbitrary and circular cross-section are expressed analytically. In particular, the pressure force is expressed through the coefficients of decomposition of the non-paraxial Gaussian beam into the cylindrical functions. Using numerical examples, a possibility to optically trap a circular-shaped cylinder in two oppositely directed Gaussian beams or a single non-paraxial Gaussian beam is demonstrated.

Energy density and energy flux in the focus of an optical vortex: reverse flux of light energy

Using the Richards-Wolf formulas for an arbitrary circularly polarized optical vortex with an integer topological charge m, we obtain explicit expressions for all components of the electric and magnetic field strength vectors near the focus, as well as expressions for the intensity (energy density) and for the energy flux (components of the Poynting vector) in the focal plane of an aplanatic optical system. For m=2, from the obtained expressions it follows that the energy flux near the optical axis propagates in the reversed direction, rotating along a spiral around the optical axis. On the optical axis itself, the reversed flux is maximal and decays rapidly with the distance from the axis. For m=3, in contrast, the reversed energy flux in the focal plane is minimal (zero) on the optical axis and increases (until the first ring of the light intensity) as a squared distance from the axis.