Nanophotonics Enabled by Femtosecond Lasers

A special issue of Nanomaterials (ISSN 2079-4991). This special issue belongs to the section "Nanophotonics Materials and Devices".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2023) | Viewed by 11987

Special Issue Editor

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

During the last decade, ultrashort-pulse lasers have emerged as versatile, precise and high-throughput toolkits for the surface and bulk nanopatterning of functional materials, uniquely harnessing diverse non-linear optical and non-thermal—electronic, plasmonic, coherent-phonon and shockwave—processes in the nanofabrication. Advanced plasmonic nanosensors, photocatalysts and other light-conversion nanodevices, micro-optical all-dielectric devices and nano/microlasers have been demonstrated via high-throughput laser ablative nanopatterning and nanoprinting. In bulk transparent dielectrics, micro-scale ultrashort-pulse laser non-linear propagation—self-focusing and filamentation—have produced polarization-oriented birefringent nanogratings, enabling the high-throughput inscription of hierarchical bulk polarizing nanostructures and related innovative micro-optical devices. Finally, the non-destructive nanoscale engineering of polarization domains in transparent ferroelectric materials by near-IR ultrashort laser pulses has enabled high-efficiency periodically poled non-linear crystals for optical frequency conversion. Meanwhile, basic optical and solid-state physics, underlying these outstanding nanotechnological applications of ultrashort-pulse lasers, in many cases, is not well understood yet, thus hindering emerging and state-of-the-art implications of these laser nanotechnologies.

In this Special Issue, fundamental optical and solid-state studies, anticipating and predicting nanoscale engineering in plasmonic and dielectric materials by ultrashort laser pulses, and corresponding applications will be in focus to provide a synergistic comprehensive overview of encouraging basics and remarkable state-of-the-art implications.

Dr. Sergey I. Kudryashov
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Nanomaterials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • ultrashort-pulse laser nanofabrication
  • plasmonic and dielectric metaoptics and metasurfaces
  • nanoplasmonic sensors, catalysts and other functional devices
  • nanostructured birefringent elements and related polarizing devices in dielectrics
  • non-destructive ferroelectric domain nanoengineering
  • bioactive nanomaterials and structures

Published Papers (7 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

13 pages, 1797 KiB  
Article
Noble-Metal Nanoparticle-Embedded Silicon Nanogratings via Single-Step Laser-Induced Periodic Surface Structuring
by Yulia Borodaenko, Evgeniia Khairullina, Aleksandra Levshakova, Alexander Shmalko, Ilya Tumkin, Stanislav Gurbatov, Aleksandr Mironenko, Eugeny Mitsai, Evgeny Modin, Evgeny L. Gurevich and Aleksandr A. Kuchmizhak
Nanomaterials 2023, 13(8), 1300; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano13081300 - 07 Apr 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1413
Abstract
Here, we show that direct femtosecond laser nanostructuring of monocrystalline Si wafers in aqueous solutions containing noble-metal precursors (such as palladium dichloride, potassium hexachloroplatinate, and silver nitrate) allows for the creation of nanogratings decorated with mono- (Pd, Pt, and Ag) and bimetallic (Pd-Pt) [...] Read more.
Here, we show that direct femtosecond laser nanostructuring of monocrystalline Si wafers in aqueous solutions containing noble-metal precursors (such as palladium dichloride, potassium hexachloroplatinate, and silver nitrate) allows for the creation of nanogratings decorated with mono- (Pd, Pt, and Ag) and bimetallic (Pd-Pt) nanoparticles (NPs). Multi-pulse femtosecond-laser exposure was found to drive periodically modulated ablation of the Si surface, while simultaneous thermal-induced reduction of the metal-containing acids and salts causes local surface morphology decoration with functional noble metal NPs. The orientation of the formed Si nanogratings with their nano-trenches decorated with noble-metal NPs can be controlled by the polarization direction of the incident laser beam, which was justified, for both linearly polarized Gaussian and radially (azimuthally) polarized vector beams. The produced hybrid NP-decorated Si nanogratings with a radially varying nano-trench orientation demonstrated anisotropic antireflection performance, as well as photocatalytic activity, probed by SERS tracing of the paraaminothiophenol-to-dimercaptoazobenzene transformation. The developed single-step maskless procedure of liquid-phase Si surface nanostructuring that proceeds simultaneously with the localized reduction of noble-metal precursors allows for the formation of hybrid Si nanogratings with controllable amounts of mono- and bimetallic NPs, paving the way toward applications in heterogeneous catalysis, optical detection, light harvesting, and sensing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanophotonics Enabled by Femtosecond Lasers)
Show Figures

Figure 1

11 pages, 2893 KiB  
Article
Effect of Pulse Repetition Rate on Ultrafast Laser-Induced Modification of Sodium Germanate Glass
by Sergey V. Lotarev, Sergey S. Fedotov, Alyona I. Pomigueva, Alexey S. Lipatiev and Vladimir N. Sigaev
Nanomaterials 2023, 13(7), 1208; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano13071208 - 29 Mar 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1196
Abstract
We report an unexpected pulse repetition rate effect on ultrafast-laser modification of sodium germanate glass with the composition 22Na2O 78GeO2. While at a lower pulse repetition rate (~≤250 kHz), the inscription of nanogratings possessing form birefringence is observed under [...] Read more.
We report an unexpected pulse repetition rate effect on ultrafast-laser modification of sodium germanate glass with the composition 22Na2O 78GeO2. While at a lower pulse repetition rate (~≤250 kHz), the inscription of nanogratings possessing form birefringence is observed under series of 105–106 pulses, a higher pulse repetition rate launches peripheral microcrystallization with precipitation of the Na2Ge4O9 phase around the laser-exposed area due to the thermal effect of femtosecond pulses via cumulative heating. Depending on the pulse energy, the repetition rate ranges corresponding to nanograting formation and microcrystallization can overlap or be separated from each other. Regardless of crystallization, the unusual growth of optical retardance in the nanogratings with the pulse repetition rate starting from a certain threshold has been revealed instead of a gradual decrease in retardance with the pulse repetition rate earlier reported for some other glasses. The repetition rate threshold of the retardance growth is shown to be inversely related to the pulse energy and to vary from ~70 to 200 kHz in the studied energy range. This effect can be presumably assigned to the chemical composition shift due to the thermal diffusion of sodium cations occurring at higher pulse repetition rates when the thermal effect of the ultrashort laser pulses becomes noticeable. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanophotonics Enabled by Femtosecond Lasers)
Show Figures

Figure 1

9 pages, 3628 KiB  
Article
3D and Inkjet Printing by Colored Mie-Resonant Silicon Nanoparticles Produced by Laser Ablation in Liquid
by Lev Logunov, Aleksandr Ulesov, Vladislava Khramenkova, Xiuzhen Liu, Aleksandr A. Kuchmizhak, Alexander Vinogradov and Sergey Makarov
Nanomaterials 2023, 13(6), 965; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano13060965 - 07 Mar 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1494
Abstract
Optically resonant silicon nanoparticles have emerged as a prospective platform for the structural coloration of surfaces because of their strong and spectrally selective light scattering. In this work, we developed colorful inks based on polymer mixed with monodisperse Mie-resonant silicon nanoparticles for 3D [...] Read more.
Optically resonant silicon nanoparticles have emerged as a prospective platform for the structural coloration of surfaces because of their strong and spectrally selective light scattering. In this work, we developed colorful inks based on polymer mixed with monodisperse Mie-resonant silicon nanoparticles for 3D and inkjet printing. We applied a laser ablation method in a flow cell for the mass production of silicon nanoparticles in water and separated the resulting nanoparticles with different sizes by density-gradient centrifugation. Mixing the colorful nanoparticles with the polymer allows for the printing of 3D objects with various shapes and colors, which are rigid against environmental conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanophotonics Enabled by Femtosecond Lasers)
Show Figures

Figure 1

11 pages, 2827 KiB  
Article
Wavelength-Tunable Narrow-Linewidth Laser Diode Based on Self-Injection Locking with a High-Q Lithium Niobate Microring Resonator
by Ting Huang, Yu Ma, Zhiwei Fang, Junxia Zhou, Yuan Zhou, Zhe Wang, Jian Liu, Zhenhua Wang, Haisu Zhang, Min Wang, Jian Xu and Ya Cheng
Nanomaterials 2023, 13(5), 948; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano13050948 - 06 Mar 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2808
Abstract
We demonstrate a narrow linewidth 980 nm laser by self-injection locking of an electrically pumped distributed-feedback (DFB) laser diode to a high quality (Q) factor (>105) lithium niobate (LN) microring resonator. The lithium niobate microring resonator is fabricated by photolithography-assisted chemo-mechanical [...] Read more.
We demonstrate a narrow linewidth 980 nm laser by self-injection locking of an electrically pumped distributed-feedback (DFB) laser diode to a high quality (Q) factor (>105) lithium niobate (LN) microring resonator. The lithium niobate microring resonator is fabricated by photolithography-assisted chemo-mechanical etching (PLACE) technique, and the Q factor of lithium niobate microring is measured as high as 6.91 × 105. The linewidth of the multimode 980 nm laser diode, which is ~2 nm measured from its output end, is narrowed down to 35 pm with a single-mode characteristic after coupling with the high-Q LN microring resonator. The output power of the narrow-linewidth microlaser is about 4.27 mW, and the wavelength tuning range reaches 2.57 nm. This work explores a hybrid integrated narrow linewidth 980 nm laser that has potential applications in high-efficient pump laser, optical tweezers, quantum information, as well as chip-based precision spectroscopy and metrology. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanophotonics Enabled by Femtosecond Lasers)
Show Figures

Figure 1

9 pages, 9269 KiB  
Article
Nanoscale Vacancy-Mediated Aggregation, Dissociation, and Splitting of Nitrogen Centers in Natural Diamond Excited by Visible-Range Femtosecond Laser Pulses
by Sergey Kudryashov, Galina Kriulina, Pavel Danilov, Evgeny Kuzmin, Alexey Kirichenko, Nikolay Rodionov, Roman Khmelnitskii, Jiajun Chen, Elena Rimskaya and Vladimir Shur
Nanomaterials 2023, 13(2), 258; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano13020258 - 07 Jan 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1301
Abstract
Natural IaA+B diamonds were exposed in their bulk by multiple 0.3 ps, 515 nm laser pulses focused by a 0.25 NA micro-objective, producing in the prefocal region (depth of 20–50 μm) a bulk array of photoluminescent nanostructured microtracks at variable laser exposures and [...] Read more.
Natural IaA+B diamonds were exposed in their bulk by multiple 0.3 ps, 515 nm laser pulses focused by a 0.25 NA micro-objective, producing in the prefocal region (depth of 20–50 μm) a bulk array of photoluminescent nanostructured microtracks at variable laser exposures and pulse energies. These micromarks were characterized at room (25°) and liquid nitrogen cooling (−120 °C) temperatures through stationary 3D scanning confocal photoluminescence (PL) microspectroscopy at 405 and 532 nm excitation wavelengths. The acquired PL spectra exhibit a linearly increasing pulse-energy-dependent yield in the range of 575 to 750 nm (NV0, NV centers) at the expense of the simultaneous reductions in the blue–green (450–570 nm; N3a, H4, and H3 centers) and near-IR (741 nm; V0 center) PL yield. A detailed analysis indicates a low-energy rise in PL intensity for B2-related N3a, H4, and H3 centers, while at higher, above-threshold pulse energies it decreases for the H4, H3, and N3a centers, converting into NV centers, with the laser exposure effect demonstrating the same trend. The intrinsic and (especially) photo-generated vacancies were considered to drive their attachment as separate species to nitrogen centers at lower vacancy concentrations, while at high vacancy concentrations the concerted splitting of highly aggregated nitrogen centers by the surrounding vacancies could take place in favor of resulting NV centers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanophotonics Enabled by Femtosecond Lasers)
Show Figures

Figure 1

8 pages, 1819 KiB  
Article
Hierarchical Multi-Scale Coupled Periodical Photonic and Plasmonic Nanopatterns Inscribed by Femtosecond Laser Pulses in Lithium Niobate
by Sergey Kudryashov, Alexey Rupasov, Mikhail Kosobokov, Andrey Akhmatkhanov, George Krasin, Pavel Danilov, Boris Lisjikh, Alexander Abramov, Evgeny Greshnyakov, Evgeny Kuzmin, Michael Kovalev and Vladimir Shur
Nanomaterials 2022, 12(23), 4303; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12234303 - 04 Dec 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1357
Abstract
The ultrafast interaction of tightly focused femtosecond laser pulses with bulk dielectric media in direct laser writing (inscription) regimes is known to proceed via complex multi-scale light, plasma and material modification nanopatterns, which are challenging for exploration owing to their mesoscopic, transient and [...] Read more.
The ultrafast interaction of tightly focused femtosecond laser pulses with bulk dielectric media in direct laser writing (inscription) regimes is known to proceed via complex multi-scale light, plasma and material modification nanopatterns, which are challenging for exploration owing to their mesoscopic, transient and buried character. In this study, we report on the first experimental demonstration, analysis and modeling of hierarchical multi-period coupled longitudinal and transverse nanogratings in bulk lithium niobate inscribed in the focal region by 1030 nm, 300 fs laser pulses in the recently proposed sub-filamentary laser inscription regime. The longitudinal Bragg-like topography nanogratings, possessing the laser-intensity-dependent periods ≈ 400 nm, consist of transverse birefringent nanogratings, which are perpendicular to the laser polarization and exhibit much smaller periods ≈ 160 nm. Our analysis and modeling support the photonic origin of the longitudinal nanogratings, appearing as prompt electromagnetic and corresponding ionization standing waves in the pre-focal region due to interference of the incident and plasma-reflected laser pulse parts. The transverse nanogratings could be assigned to the nanoscale material modification by interfacial plasmons, excited and interfered in the resulting longitudinal array of the plasma sheets in the bulk dielectric material. Our experimental findings provide strong support for our previously proposed mechanism of such hierarchical laser nanopatterning in bulk dielectrics, giving important insights into its crucial parameters and opening the way for directional harnessing of this technology. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanophotonics Enabled by Femtosecond Lasers)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

28 pages, 8082 KiB  
Review
“Stealth Scripts”: Ultrashort Pulse Laser Luminescent Microscale Encoding of Bulk Diamonds via Ultrafast Multi-Scale Atomistic Structural Transformations
by Sergey Kudryashov, Pavel Danilov, Nikita Smirnov, George Krasin, Roman Khmelnitskii, Oleg Kovalchuk, Galina Kriulina, Victor Martovitskiy, Vasily Lednev, Pavel Sdvizhenskii, Yulia Gulina, Elena Rimskaya, Evgeny Kuzmin, Jiajun Chen, Michael Kovalev and Alexey Levchenko
Nanomaterials 2023, 13(1), 192; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano13010192 - 01 Jan 2023
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1786
Abstract
The ultrashort-laser photoexcitation and structural modification of buried atomistic optical impurity centers in crystalline diamonds are the key enabling processes in the fabrication of ultrasensitive robust spectroscopic probes of electrical, magnetic, stress, temperature fields, and single-photon nanophotonic devices, as well as in “stealth” [...] Read more.
The ultrashort-laser photoexcitation and structural modification of buried atomistic optical impurity centers in crystalline diamonds are the key enabling processes in the fabrication of ultrasensitive robust spectroscopic probes of electrical, magnetic, stress, temperature fields, and single-photon nanophotonic devices, as well as in “stealth” luminescent nano/microscale encoding in natural diamonds for their commercial tracing. Despite recent remarkable advances in ultrashort-laser predetermined generation of primitive optical centers in diamonds even on the single-center level, the underlying multi-scale basic processes, rather similar to other semiconductors and dielectrics, are almost uncovered due to the multitude of the involved multi-scale ultrafast and spatially inhomogeneous optical, electronic, thermal, and structural elementary events. We enlighten non-linear wavelength-, polarization-, intensity-, pulsewidth-, and focusing-dependent photoexcitation and energy deposition mechanisms in diamonds, coupled to the propagation of ultrashort laser pulses and ultrafast off-focus energy transport by electron–hole plasma, transient plasma- and hot-phonon-induced stress generation and the resulting variety of diverse structural atomistic modifications in the diamond lattice. Our findings pave the way for new forthcoming groundbreaking experiments and comprehensive enlightening two-temperature and/or atomistic modeling both in diamonds and other semiconductor/dielectric materials, as well as innovative technological breakthroughs in the field of single-photon source fabrication and “stealth” luminescent nano/microencoding in bulk diamonds for their commercial tracing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanophotonics Enabled by Femtosecond Lasers)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop