Transparent subdiffraction optics: nanoscale light confinement without metal

Light confinement effect of nonspherical nanoscale solid immersion lenses

We report on the light confinement effect observed in nonideally shaped (i.e., nonspherical) nanoscale solid immersion lenses (SIL). To investigate this effect, nanostructures of various shapes are fabricated by electron-beam lithography. When completely melted in reflow, these noncircular pillars become spherical, while incomplete melting results in nonspherically shaped SILs. Optical characte...

Subdiffraction light focusing using a cross sectional ridge waveguide nanoscale aperture.

We report a new type of plasmonic nanoscale ridge aperture and its fabrication process which is based on layer-by-layer planar lithography. This new fabrication method allows us to create desired nanoscale features of a plasmonic ridge waveguide nanoscale aperture, which helps to confine a near-field spot to sub-wavelength dimensions. Numerical simulations using Finite Element Method (FEM) are ...

Nanoscale Transparent Conductive Oxides

Performance enhancement of metal nanowire-based transparent electrodes by electrically driven nanoscale nucleation of metal oxides.

Solution-processed silver nanowire (AgNW) electrodes have been considered to be promising materials for next-generation flexible transparent conductive electrodes. Despite the fact that a single AgNW has extremely high conductivities, the high junction resistance between nanowires limits the performance of the AgNW matrix. Therefore, post-treatments are usually required to approach better NW-NW...

Liquid Spreading under Nanoscale Confinement.

Dynamic atomic force microscopy in the noncontact regime is used to study the morphology of a nonvolatile liquid (squalane) as it spreads along wettable nanostripes embedded in a nonwettable surface. Results show that the liquid profile depends on the amount of lateral confinement imposed by the nanostripes, and it is truncated at the microscopic contact line in good qualitative agreement with ...