Michele Merano

Weak measurement of the Goos–Hänchen shift

It is well known from quantum physics that weak measurements offers a platform of amplifying and detecting very small signals. In this letter, we present the first experimental observation of the Goos-Hänchen shift.

Fresnel coefficients of a two-dimensional atomic crystal

In general the experiments on the linear optical properties of a single-layer two-dimensional atomic crystal are interpreted by modeling it as a homogeneous slab with an effective thickness. Here I fit the most remarkable experiments in graphene optics by using the Fresnel coefficients, fixing both the surface susceptibility and the surface conductivity of graphene. It is shown that the Fresnel coefficients and the slab model are not equivalent. Experiments indicate that the Fresnel coefficients are able to simulate the overall experiments here analyzed, while the slab model fails to predict absorption and the phase of the reflected light.

High brightness picosecond electron gun

We have developed a high brightness picosecond electron gun. We have used it to replace the thermionic electron gun of a commercial scanning electron microscope (SEM) in order to perform time-resolved cathodoluminescence experiments. Picosecond electron pulses are produced, at a repetition rate of 80.7MHz, by femtosecond mode-locked laser pulses focused on a metal photocathode. This system has a normalized axial brightness of 93A∕cm2srkV, allowing for a spatial resolution of 50nm in the secondary electron imaging mode of the SEM. The temporal width of the electron pulse is 12ps.

Observation of the Imbert–Fedorov effect via weak value amplification

We report the first experimental observation of the Imbert-Fedorov shift via weak value amplification.

Observing angular deviations in light-beam reflection via weak measurements.

An optical analog of the quantum weak measurement scheme proved to be very useful for the observation of optical beam shifts. Here we adapt the weak value amplification method to the observation of the angular Goos-Hänchen shift. We observe this effect in the case of external air-dielectric reflection, the more fundamental case in which it occurs. We show that weak measurements allow for a faithful amplification of the effect at any angle of incidence, even at Brewsters angle of incidence.

Transverse electric surface mode in atomically thin Boron-Nitride.

The spatial confinement and the propagation length of surface waves in a single-layer two-dimensional atomic crystal are analyzed in terms of its surface susceptibility and its surface conductivity. Based on the values of these macroscopic parameters, extracted from experimental observations, it is confirmed that graphene supports a transverse magnetic nonradiating surface mode in the ultraviolet spectral region while a single-layer hexagonal Boron-Nitride is predicted to support a transverse electric nonradiating surface mode in the visible spectrum. This last mode, at a vacuum wavelength of 633 nm, has a spatial confinement of 15 μm and an intensity-propagation distance greater than 2 cm.

Optical beam shifts in graphene and single-layer boron-nitride

Optical beam shifts from a freestanding 2D atomic crystal are investigated. In contrast with a 3D crystal, the magnitude of the Goos-Hänchen shift depends on the surface susceptibility of the crystal and not on the wavelength of the incident light beam. The surface conductivity of the atomically thin crystal is less important in this context because it enters in the expression of the shifts only as a second-order parameter. In analogy to a 3D crystal, the magnitudes of the Imbert-Fedorov shift and of the angular shifts depend, respectively, on the wavelength and on the square of the beam angular aperture.

Nonlinear optical response of a two-dimensional atomic crystal.

The theory of Bloembergen and Pershan for the light waves at the boundary of nonlinear media is extended to a nonlinear two-dimensional (2D) atomic crystal, i.e., a single planar atomic lattice, placed between linear bulk media. The crystal is treated as a zero-thickness interface, a real 2D system. Harmonic waves emanate from it. Generalization of the laws of reflection and refraction give the direction and the intensity of the harmonic waves. As a particular case that contains all the essential physical features, second-order harmonic generation is considered. The theory, due to its simplicity that stems from the special character of a single planar atomic lattice, is able to elucidate and explain the rich experimental details of harmonic generation from a 2D atomic crystal.

Superresolved femtosecond laser ablation

The determinist behavior of the femtosecond ablation process allows morphing features well under the diffraction limit by utilizing the thresholding effect, down to the nanometer scale. Because there are a vast range of applications where scaling down the size of the features is a major concern, we investigate the use of superresolving pupil plane filters. As is well known, these filters redistribute the focused optical intensity for a narrower bright spot and, as a trade-off, increase the sidelobes. However, this drawback can be rendered insignificant if all the outer optical power is kept under the determinist threshold value. Two types of pure absorbing binary filter have been tried, giving credence to a size reduction of the ablations in fused silica.

All-reflective high fringe contrast autocorrelator for measurement of ultrabroadband optical pulses

We describe an all-reflective interferometric autocorrelator designed to measure ultrabroadband optical pulses in the UV through IR spectral regions. By carefully choosing the device geometry we are able to obtain approximations for the nonlinear autocorrelation functions that reduce computation times to values acceptable for use in iterative pulse reconstruction schemes. We describe the optical design, autocorrelation functions, and present proof-of-principle experimental results measuring 20.6 fs pulses with a transform limit of 9.6 fs.