Advances on Dielectric Photonic Devices and Systems beyond Visible

Dear Colleagues,

The recent technological advances in the field of dielectric photonics, integrated optics, and optical fiber-based systems have paved the way for novel application areas based on the employment of optical beams as a feasible alternative to radio frequencies or microwave signals. In fact, optical beam propagation/processing allows application in biomedicine, via the interaction of light with biological tissues, such as in optical diagnostic and therapy; communication by exploiting, in addition to the conventional fiber optic systems, microwave photonics and radio-over-fiber techniques, optical 5G networks; material processing, via high brilliance and high power optical sources; sensing with the development of novel LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging o Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging) systems, novel SERS (Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy) substrates, microstructured optical fiber and photonic crystal based sensors; aerospace application via the developing of high performance devices including optical gyroscopes, medium infrared Mid-IR tracking systems; optical homeland security and surveillance. These and many others promising applications are a straightforward consequence of the optical technology progress. As an example, a number of activated materials have been ad-hoc synthesized for the construction of novel optical sources, in both conventional and exotic wavelength ranges, by embedding rare earth ions in different host materials (glass oxides, fluorides, chalcogenides, glass ceramics, crystalline, organics etc.) or by inclusion of rare earth ions in molecular complexes. In addition, novel optical materials as graphene promise novel applications through innovative optical circuitries. The availability of low cost commercial tunable optical sources as quantum cascade lasers and the fabrication of resonant microcavities and microstructured fibers, such as the terahertz sources, allow novel chemical and biological sensing set-ups. Further improvement of sensor performances can be obtained by covering dielectric structure with thin metal layer exploiting plasmon propagation or resonance. Moreover, surprising applications have been originated from the progresses in the field of optical amplification, fluorescent probes, luminescent labels, optical converters, switches, detectors, etc.

This Special Issue collects both original contributions and review papers on the optical devices and systems beyond visible, covering an extremely wide area of interest which ranges from telecommunication to optical remote sensing and earth atmosphere monitoring, from medical diagnosis and therapy to material processing, and from aerospace to security.

Prof. Dr. Francesco Prudenzano
Prof. Dr. Antonella D’Orazio
Dr. Maurizio Ferrari
Guest Editors

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