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A. Drezet

Publications and source records attributed to A. Drezet.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2019

Unidirectional light transmission by two-layer nanostructures interacting via optical near-fields

We experimentally demonstrate unidirectional light transmission through two-layer nanostructured materials considering that the horizontal-to-vertical-polarization conversion efficiency in the forward direction and the vertical-to-horizontal efficiency in the backward direction, which are usually equivalent due to optical reciprocity, are different. The different ways of transferring light momentum in the forward and backward directions via optical near-fields between the layers are responsible for the unidirectionality of light, which was theoretically investigated in our recent work [J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 31, 2404-2413]. With two-layer metal nanostructures experimentally fabricated via a repeated lift-off technique, consistent optical characteristics are observed, verifying the utilization of the large momentum of optical near-fields.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2018

Brownian motion in the pilot wave interpretation of de Broglie and relaxation to quantum equilibrium

The pilot wave interpretation proposed by de Broglie and later by Bohm contains not only a dynamical ontology but also relies on a statistical assumption known as quantum equilibrium. In this work which follows our recent article [1] we develop a Langevin force description of the relaxation process which leads to quantum equilibrium. Based on a application of the Caldera-Leggett model for a thermal bath we show how a Brownian motion leads naturally to quantum relaxation.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2015

Tracking surface plasmon pulses using ultrafast leakage imaging

We introduce a new method for performing ultrafast imaging and tracking of surface plasmon wave packets that propagate on metal films. We demonstrate the efficiency of leakage radiation microscopy implemented in the time domain for measuring both group and phase velocities of near-field pulses with a high level of precision. The versatility of our far-field imaging method is particularly appealing in the context of ultrafast near-field optics.

physics.optics↗
arXiv2015

Near-field microscopy with a scanning nitrogen-vacancy color center in a diamond nanocrystal: A brief review

We review our recent developments of near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM) that uses an active tip made of a single fluorescent nanodiamond (ND) grafted onto the apex of a substrate fiber tip. The ND hosting a limited number of nitrogen-vacancy (NV) color centers, such a tip is a scanning quantum source of light. The method for preparing the ND-based tips and their basic properties are summarized. Then we discuss theoretically the concept of spatial resolution that is achievable in this special NSOM configuration and find it to be only limited by the scan height over the imaged system, in contrast with the standard aperture-tip NSOM whose resolution depends critically on both the scan height and aperture diameter. Finally, we describe a scheme we have introduced recently for high-resolution imaging of nanoplasmonic structures with ND-based tips that is capable of approaching the ultimate resolution anticipated by theory.

physics.optics↗
arXiv2015

Photophysics of single nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond nanocrystals

A study of the photophysical properties of nitrogen-vacancy (NV) color centers in diamond nanocrystals of size of 50~nm or below is carried out by means of second-order time-intensity photon correlation and cross-correlation measurements as a function of the excitation power for both pure charge states, neutral and negatively charged, as well as for the photochromic state, where the center switches between both states at any power. A dedicated three-level model implying a shelving level is developed to extract the relevant photophysical parameters coupling all three levels. Our analysis confirms the very existence of the shelving level for the neutral NV center. It is found that it plays a negligible role on the photophysics of this center, whereas it is responsible for an increasing photon bunching behavior of the negative NV center with increasing power. From the photophysical parameters, we infer a quantum efficiency for both centers, showing that it remains close to unity for the neutral center over the entire power range, whereas it drops with increasing power from near unity to approximately 0.5 for the negative center. The photophysics of the photochromic center reveals a rich phenomenology that is to a large extent dominated by that of the negative state, in agreement with the excess charge release of the negative center being much slower than the photon emission process.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2014

Implications of protective measurements on de Broglie-Bohm trajectories

Protective measurements which were defined by Aharonov and Vaidman in 1993 played an important role in the discussion about the interpretation of quantum mechanics. In 1999, following an early work by Englert et al., Aharonov et al. wrote an article in which they showed that protective measurements can be used to demonstrate the `surrealism' of Bohmian mechanics. Bohmian mechanics also known as pilot-wave interpretation is certainly the best-known hidden variable interpretation of quantum mechanics. It played a fundamental role in the discovery by Bell of his famous non locality theorem. Therefore, any attacks against pilot-wave interpretation is particularly interesting and instructive to learn something new about the mysterious quantum universe. It is the aim of this chapter to review the debate surrounding protective measurement and pilot-wave and to show if it is possible to reconciliate the different interpretations of the results given in the work by Aharonov et al.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2014

Scanning plasmonic microscopy by image reconstruction from the Fourier space

We demonstrate a simple scheme for high-resolution imaging of nanoplasmonic structures that basically removes most of the resolution limiting allowed light usually transmitted to the far field. This is achieved by implementing a Fourier lens in a near-field scanning optical microscope (NSOM) operating in the leakage-radiation microscopy (LRM) mode. The method consists of reconstructing optical images solely from the plasmonic `forbidden' light collected in the Fourier space. It is demonstrated by using a point-like nanodiamond-based tip that illuminates a thin gold film patterned with a sub-wavelength annular slit. The reconstructed image of the slit shows a spatial resolution enhanced by a factor $\simeq 4$ compared to NSOM images acquired directly in the real space.

physics.optics↗
arXiv2014

Plasmonic interferometry: probing launching dipoles in scanning-probe plasmonics

We develop a semi-analytical method for analyzing surface plasmon interferometry using near-field scanning optical sources. We compare our approach to Young double hole interferometry experiments using scanning tunneling microscope (STM) discussed in the literature and realize experiments with an aperture near-field scanning optical microscope (NSOM) source positioned near a ring like aperture slit milled in a thick gold film. In both cases the agreement between experiments and model is very good. We emphasize the role of dipole orientations and discuss the role of magnetic versus electric dipole contributions to the imaging process as well as the directionality of the effective dipoles associated with the various optical and plasmonic sources.

physics.optics↗
arXiv2014

Imaging surface plasmons: from leaky waves to far-field radiation

We show that, contrary to the common wisdom, surface plasmon poles are not involved in the imaging process in leakage radiation microscopy. Identifying the leakage radiation modes directly from a transverse magnetic potential leads us to reconsider the surface plasmon field and unfold the non-plasmonic contribution to the image formation. While both contributions interfere in the imaging process, our analysis reveals that the reassessed plasmonic field embodies a pole mathematically similar to the usual surface plasmon pole. This removes a long-standing ambiguity associated with plasmonic signals in leakage radiation microscopy.

physics.optics↗
arXiv2014

Near-field microscopy with a single-photon point-like emitter: Resolution versus the aperture tip?

We discuss theoretically the concept of spatial resolution in near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM) in light of a recent work [Opt. Express 17 (2009) 19969] which reported on the achievement of active tips made of a single ultrasmall fluorescent nanodiamond grafted onto the apex of a substrate tip and on their validation in NSOM imaging. Since fluorescent nanodiamonds tend to decrease steadily in size, we assimilate a nanodiamond-based tip to a point-like single photon source and compare its ultimate resolution with that offered by standard metal-coated aperture NSOM tips. We demonstrate both classically and quantum mechanically that NSOM based on a point-like tip has a resolving power that is only limited by the scan height over the imaged system whereas the aperture-tip resolution depends critically on both the scan height and aperture diameter. This is a consequence of the complex distribution of the electromagnetic field around the aperture that tends to artificially duplicate the imaged objects. We show that the point-like tip does not suffer from this "squint" and that it rapidly approaches its ultimate resolution in the near-field as soon its scan height falls below the distance between the two nano-objects to be resolved.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2013

Quantum Optics With Single Nanodiamonds Flying Over Gold Films: Towards A Robust Quantum Plasmonics

A nanodiamond (ND) hosting nitrogen-vacancy (NV) color centers is attached on the apex of an optical tip for near-field microscopy. Its fluorescence is used to launch surface plasmon-polaritons (SPPs) in a thin polycrystalline gold film. It is shown that the quantum nature of the initial source of light is preserved after conversion to SPPs. This opens the way to a deterministic quantum plasmonics, where single SPPs can be injected at well-defined positions in a plasmonic device produced by top-down approaches.

physics.optics↗
arXiv2012

Can quantum mechanics be considered as statistical?(comment)

This is a short manuscript which was initially submitted to Nature Physics as a comment to the PBR (Pusey, M. F., Barrett, J., Rudolph, T) paper just after its publication in 2012. The comment was not accepted. I however think that the argumentation is correct: one is free to judge!

quant-ph↗
arXiv2012

Should the wave-function be a part of the quantum ontological state?

We analyze the recent no go theorem by Pusey, Barrett and Rudolph (PBR) concerning ontic and epistemic hidden variables. We define two fundamental requirements for the validity of the result. We finally compare the models satisfying the theorem with the historical hidden variable approach proposed by de Broglie and Bohm.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2012

Quantum plasmonics: second-order coherence of surface plasmons launched by quantum emitters into a metallic film

We address the issue of the second-order coherence of single surface plasmons launched by a quantum source of light into extended gold films. The quantum source of light is made of a scanning fluorescent nanodiamond hosting five nitrogen-vacancy (NV) color centers. By using a specially designed microscopy that combines near-field optics with far-field leakage-radiation microscopy in the Fourier space and adapted spatial filtering, we find that the quantum statistics of the initial source of light is preserved after conversion to surface plasmons and propagation along the polycrystalline gold film.

physics.optics↗
arXiv2011

Large variation in the boundary-condition slippage for a rarefied gas flowing between two surfaces

We study the slippage of a gas along mobile rigid walls in the sphere-plane confined geometry and find that it varies considerably with pressure. The classical no-slip boundary condition valid at ambient pressure changes continuously to an almost perfect slip condition in a primary vacuum. Our study emphasizes the key role played by the mean free-path of the gas molecules on the interaction between a confined fluid and solid surfaces and further demonstrates that the macroscopic hydrodynamics approach can be used with confidence even in a primary vacuum environment where it is intuitively expected to fail.

physics.flu-dyn↗
arXiv2011

Leakage radiation microscopy of surface plasmons launched by a nanodiamond-based tip

Leakage-radiation microscopy of a thin gold film demonstrates the ability of an ensemble of fluorescent diamond nanoparticles attached onto the apex of an optical tip to serve as an efficient near-field surface-plasmon polariton launcher. The implementation of the nanodiamond-based tip in a near-field scanning optical microscope will allow for an accurate control on the launching position, thereby opening the way to scanning plasmonics.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗