Here, we demonstrate a diffraction-free Bloch surface wave sustained on all-dielectric multilayers that does not diffract after being passed through three obstacles or across a single mode fiber. It can propagate in a straight line for distances longer than 110 μm at a wavelength of 633 nm and could be applied as an in-plane optical virtual probe both in air and in an aqueous environment. Its ability to be used in water, its long diffraction-free distance, and its tolerance to multiple obstacles make this wave ideal for certain applications in areas such as the biological sciences, where many measurements are made on glass surfaces or for which an aqueous environment is required, and for high-speed interconnections between chips, where low loss is necessary.Keywords: aqueous environment; Bloch surface wave; dielectric multilayer; diffraction; diffraction-free propagation; plasmonics; self-healing;

Fluorescence spectroscopy and imaging are now used throughout the biosciences. Fluorescence microscopes, spectrofluorometers, microwell plate readers and microarray imagers all use multiple optical components to collect, redirect and focus the emission onto single point or array imaging detectors. For almost all biological samples, except those with regular nanoscale features, emission occurs in all directions. With the exception of complex microscope objectives with large collection angles (NA ≤ 0.5), all these instruments collect only a small fraction of the total emission. Because of the increasing knowledge base on fluorophores within near-field (<200 nm) distances from plasmonic and photonic structures we can anticipate the development of compact devices in which the sample to be detected is located directly on solid state detectors such as CCDs or CMOS cameras. Near-field interactions of fluorophores with metallic or dielectric multi-layer structures (MLSs) can capture a large fraction of the total emission. Depending on the composition and dimensions of the MLSs, the spatial distribution of the sample emission results in distinct optical patterns on the detector surface. With either plain glass slides or MLSs the most commonly used front focal plane (FFP) images reveal the x-y spatial distribution of emission from the sample. Another approach, which is often used with two or three-dimensional nanostructures, is back focal plane (BFP) imaging. The BFP images reveal the angular distribution of the emission. The FFP and BFP images occur at certain distances from the sample which is determined by the details of the optical components. Obtaining these images requires multiple optical components and distances which are too large for the compact devices. For devices described in this paper, the images will be detected at a fixed distance between the sample and some arbitrary distance below the MLS which is determined by the geometry and thicknesses of the components. We refer to measurements at these locations as out-of-focal plane (OFP) imaging. Herein we describe a method to measure the optical fields at micron and multi-micron distances below the MLS, which will represent the images seen by an optically coupled array detector. The possibility of sub-surface optical images is illustrated using five different multi-layer structures. This is accomplished using an optical configuration which allows measurement at a front focal plane (FFP), back focal plane (BFP) or any OFP locations. Our OFP imaging method provides a link between the FFP images which reveals the surface distribution of fluorophores with the BFP images that reveal the angular distribution of emission. This linkage can be useful when examining structures which have nanoscale features due to fluorescence or leakage radiation from nanostructures.Download high-res image (214KB)Download full-size image

•A novel PDA microtube optical waveguide for miRNA-21 detection was developed.•A low detection limit of 0.01nM was achieved based on condensing enrichment effect.•The excitation position and out-coupling position in PDA microtube is different, helpful to reduce the interference from environmental fluorescence.Development of rapid, highly selective and sensitive miRNA detection in a complex biological environment has attracted considerable attention. Herein, we describe a novel two step method to construct gold-nanorod functionalized polydiacetylene (PDA) microtube for miRNA detection. In PDA microtube, with a one-dimensional (1D) waveguide nature, the excitation position and emission out-coupling position are far apart, thus helpful in reducing contribution of auto-fluorescence from biological sample. The use of specially designed toehold-mediated strand displacement reaction enables the reliable and selective discrimination of miRNA sequences with high sequence homology. Based on the condensing enrichment effect, the detection limit of the proposed PDA microtube system is as low as 0.01 nM, and it can be applied directly to detect disease-specific miRNA targets in human serum. This PDA microtube waveguide system can be further integrated into the chip for the potential applications in minimally invasive, portable clinical diagnostic equipment.

We propose a new method for selective imaging of surface bound probes or simultaneous imaging of surface bound plus fluorescence from dye molecules in bulk water solution. The principle of this method relies on the use of two optical modes with different mode distributions, field decay lengths, and polarization states that are sustaining in a plasmon waveguide. The two modes with different decay lengths couple to dye molecules of different regions at different distances from the PCW–water interface. The emission from two different regions occur as two coupled emission rings with different polarizations and emitting angles in the back focal plane (BFP) images. By using an electric-driven liquid crystal in BFP imaging, we selectively imaged surface or surface plus bulk fluorescence. Accordingly two coupled emissions can be switched ON or OFF independently, which are for either surface or bulk fluorescence imaging. Our work provides a new method for fluorescence imaging or sensing just by using a planar multilayer film, which may be a useful for fluorescence-based techniques in chemistry, materials science, molecular biology, and medicine.

Herein, we demonstrate for the first time that the enantio-selective polymerization of DA monomers could be realized upon irradiation with circularly polarized visible light (CPVL), which could effectively provide chiral order in the propagating step of a polymerization reaction.

Optical modulation of waveguiding and logic operations play significant roles in highly integrated optical communication components, optical computing, and photonic circuits. Herein, we designed and synthesized spiropyran-functionalized polydiacetylene (SFPDA) microtubes, and realized reversible optical modulation of waveguiding in SFPDA microtubes through fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) between the PDA matrix and spiropyran in open merocyanine (MC) form within the surface of the microtubes. Because of the reversible isomerization characteristics of spiropyran units, we have realized resettable, multireadout logic system that includes OR and INHIBIT logic operations in SFPDA microtube.Keywords: logic gate operation; optical modulation; polydiacetylene microtube; spiropyran; waveguide

Tamm plasmons (TPs) are the result of trapping optical energy at the interface between a metal film and a one-dimensional photonic crystal. In contrast to surface plasmons, TPs display unique properties such as the ability to undergo direct optical excitation without the aid of prisms or gratings, being populated using both S- and P-polarized light, and importantly, they can be created with incident light normal to the surface. This latter property has recently been used to obtain Tamm plasmon-coupled emission (TPCE), which beams along a path directly perpendicular to the surface. In this paper the effects of metal film thickness on the TPCE are investigated using back focal plane (BFP) imaging and spectral resolutions. The observed experimental results are in agreement with the numerical simulations. The present work provides the basic understanding needed to design structures for TPCE, which in turn has potential applications in the fabrication of active materials for light emitting devices, fluorescence-based sensing, using microarrays, and imaging.

Rhodamine B and Rhodamine 6G molecules were doped in polymethyl methacrylate solution. Then a silver film on the glass substrate was spin coated with the mixed solution to get a multilayer film. Under the irradiation of a 532-nm green laser, broadband surface plasmons (SPs) on the silver film were generated due to the coupling between the broadband fluorescence and the SP modes allowed in the multilayer film. From the back focal plane image of a leakage radiation microscopy, propagation constants of SP waves at different wavelengths were derived. Numerical calculations were also carried out and were consistent with the experimental results.

A fluorescence microscope taking advantage of plasmonic coupling is in-proof demonstrated. Silver nano-wires and nano-particles are chosen as the metallic nano-objects, which are put on a silver film with the Rhodamine B-doped PMMA film as the spacer. Plasmonic coupling between the metallic nano-objects and the Ag film will induce either fluorescence quenching or enhancement dependent on the thickness of the spacer layer, which both enhance the contrast of the fluorescence images. Our experiment provides a feasible method to enhance the contrast of fluorescence microscope, which has potential applications in fluorescence-based imaging or sensing.

The plasmonic interaction between silver nano-cubes and a silver ground plane with and without a dielectric spacer is studied for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) for rhodamine 6G (R6G) molecules absorbed onto the silver nano-cubes. Experimental results show that the composite substrates made from silver nano-cubes and the silver ground plane produce a stronger SERS signal than by the cubes alone, due to the plasmonic interaction between the cubes and the film. Numerical simulation is used to verify the plasmonic enhancement of the composite substrate and is consistent with the experimental results. The lowest concentration of R6G molecules which can be detected with the composite substrate is about 10−11 M with our setup.

Tamm plasmons (TPs) are the result of trapping optical energy at the interface between a metal film and a one-dimensional photonic crystal. In contrast to surface plasmons, TPs display unique properties such as the ability to undergo direct optical excitation without the aid of prisms or gratings, being populated using both S- and P-polarized light, and importantly, they can be created with incident light normal to the surface. This latter property has recently been used to obtain Tamm plasmon-coupled emission (TPCE), which beams along a path directly perpendicular to the surface. In this paper the effects of metal film thickness on the TPCE are investigated using back focal plane (BFP) imaging and spectral resolutions. The observed experimental results are in agreement with the numerical simulations. The present work provides the basic understanding needed to design structures for TPCE, which in turn has potential applications in the fabrication of active materials for light emitting devices, fluorescence-based sensing, using microarrays, and imaging.

Herein, we demonstrate for the first time that the enantio-selective polymerization of DA monomers could be realized upon irradiation with circularly polarized visible light (CPVL), which could effectively provide chiral order in the propagating step of a polymerization reaction.