arXiv subjects

Chuchuan Hong

Publications and source records attributed to Chuchuan Hong.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Many-Body Entanglement in Solid-State Emitters

The preparation and control of quantum states lie at the heart of quantum information science (QIS). Recent advances in solid-state quantum emitters (QEs) and nanophotonics have transformed the landscape of quantum photonic technologies, enabling scalable generation of quantum states of light and matter. A new frontier in solid-state quantum photonics is the engineering of many-body interactions between QEs and photons to achieve robust coherence and controllable many-body entanglement. These entangled states, including photonic graph and cluster states, superradiant emission, and emergent quantum phases, are promising for quantum computation, sensing, and simulation. However, intrinsic inhomogeneities and decoherence in solid-state platforms pose significant challenges to realize such complex entangled states. This review provides an overview of the fundamental many-body interactions and dynamics at the light-matter interfaces of solid-state QEs, and discusses recent advances in mitigating decoherence and harnessing robust many-body coherence.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Rapid Trapping and Label-free Characterization of Single Nanoscale Extracellular Vesicles and Nanoparticles in Solution

Achieving high-throughput, comprehensive analysis of single nanoparticles to determine their size, shape, and composition is essential for understanding particle heterogeneity with applications ranging from drug delivery to environmental monitoring. Existing techniques are hindered by low throughput, lengthy trapping times, irreversible particle adsorption, or limited characterization capabilities. Here, we introduce Interferometric Electrohydrodynamic Tweezers (IET), an integrated platform that rapidly traps single nanoparticles in parallel within three seconds. IET enables label-free characterization of particle size and shape via interferometric imaging and identifies molecular composition through Raman spectroscopy, all without the need for fluorescent labeling. We demonstrate the platform's capabilities by trapping and imaging colloidal polymer beads, nanoscale extracellular vesicles (EVs), and newly discovered extracellular nanoparticles known as supermeres. By monitoring their interferometric contrast images while trapped, we accurately determine the sizes of EVs and supermeres. Our IET represents a powerful optofluidics platform for comprehensive characterization of nanoscale objects, opening new avenues in nanomedicine, environmental monitoring, and beyond.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2024

Recent Advances in Nanophotonics for Optofluidics

Optofluidics is dedicated to achieving integrated control of particle and fluid motion, particularly on the micrometer scale, by utilizing light to direct fluid flow and particle motion. The field has seen significant growth recently, driven by the concerted efforts of researchers across various scientific disciplines, notably for its successful applications in biomedical science. In this review, we explore a range of optofluidic architectures developed over the past decade, with a primary focus on mechanisms for precise control of micro and nanoscale biological objects and their applications in sensing. Regarding nanoparticle manipulation, we delve into mechanisms based on optical nanotweezers using nanolocalized light fields and light-based hybrid effects with dramatically improved performance and capabilities. In the context of sensing, we emphasize those works that used optofluidics to aggregate molecules or particles to promote sensing and detection. Additionally, we highlight emerging research directions, encompassing both fundamental principles and practical applications in the field.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2023

Single-peak and narrow-band mid-infrared thermal emitters driven by mirror-coupled plasmonic quasi-BIC metasurfaces

Wavelength-selective thermal emitters (WS-EMs) hold considerable appeal due to the scarcity of cost-effective, narrow-band sources in the mid-to-long-wave infrared spectrum. WS-EMs achieved via dielectric materials typically exhibit thermal emission peaks with high quality factors (Q factors), but their optical responses are prone to temperature fluctuations. Metallic EMs, on the other hand, show negligible drifts with temperature changes, but their Q factors usually hover around 10. In this study, we introduce and experimentally verify a novel EM grounded in plasmonic quasi-bound states in the continuum (BICs) within a mirror-coupled system. Our design numerically delivers an ultra-narrowband single peak with a Q factor of approximately 64, and near-unity absorptance that can be freely tuned within an expansive band of more than 10 {\mu}m. By introducing air slots symmetrically, the Q factor can be further augmented to around 100. Multipolar analysis and phase diagrams are presented to elucidate the operational principle. Importantly, our infrared spectral measurements affirm the remarkable resilience of our designs' resonance frequency in the face of temperature fluctuations over 300 degrees Celsius. Additionally, we develop an effective impedance model based on the optical nanoantenna theory to understand how further tuning of the emission properties is achieved through precise engineering of the slot. This research thus heralds the potential of applying plasmonic quasi-BICs in designing ultra-narrowband, temperature-stable thermal emitters in mid-infrared. Moreover, such a concept may be adaptable to other frequency ranges, such as near-infrared, Terahertz, and Gigahertz.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2023

Plasmonic dielectric antennas for hybrid optical nanotweezing and optothermoelectric manipulation of single nanosized extracellular vesicles

We present an experimental demonstration of near-field optical trapping and dynamic manipulation of a single extracellular vesicle using a plasmonic dielectric nanoantenna that supports an optical anapole state. The optical anapole is a non-radiating optical state generated by the destructive interference between electric and toroidal dipoles in the far-field. To enhance the trapping capabilities, we employ a plasmonic mirror to enhance the anapole state. By harnessing the enhanced electromagnetic hotspot resulting from the mirror-enhanced anapole state, we achieve a high trapping potential of approximately 3.5 KbT. The dynamic manipulation of the vesicle is achieved by inducing a thermoelectric field in the presence of an ionic surfactant and the resulting plasmonic heating. Specifically, we introduce cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC) as the ionic surfactant and utilize the local heating generated by the plasmonic reflector to create a thermoelectric field. This enables active transport, stable trapping, and dynamic manipulation of a single extracellular vesicle. Moreover, the thermoelectric field contributes to an increase in the overall trapping potential.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2023

Towards rapid extracellular vesicles colorimetric detection using optofluidics-enhanced color-changing optical metasurface

Efficient transportation and delivery of analytes to the surface of optical sensors are crucial for overcoming limitations in diffusion-limited transport and analyte sensing. In this study, we propose a novel approach that combines metasurface optics with optofluidics-enabled active transport of extracellular vesicles (EVs). By leveraging this combination, we show that we can rapidly capture EVs and detect their adsorption through a color change generated by a specially designed optical metasurface that produces structural colors. Our results demonstrate that the integration of optofluidics and metasurface optics enables robust colorimetric read-out for EV concentrations as low as 107 EVs/ml, achieved within a short incubation time of two minutes, while using a CCD camera or naked eye for the read-out. This approach offers the potential for rapid sensing without the need for spectrometers and provides a short response time. Our findings suggest that the synergy between optofluidics and metasurface platforms can enhance the detection efficiency of low concentration bioparticle samples by overcoming the diffusion limits.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2023

Scalable trapping of single nanosized extracellular vesicles using plasmonics

Heterogeneous nanoscale particles released by cells known as extracellular vesicles (EVs) are actively investigated for early disease detection1, monitoring2, and advanced therapeutics3. Due to their extremely small size, the stable trapping of nano-sized EVs using diffraction-limited optical tweezers4 has been met with challenges. Plasmon-enhanced optical trapping can confine light to the nanoscale to generate tight trapping potentials. Unfortunately, a long-standing challenge is that plasmonic tweezers have limited throughput and cannot provide rapid delivery and trapping of particles at plasmonic hotspots while precluding the intrinsic plasmon-induced photothermal heating effect at the same time. We report our original geometry-induced electrohydrodynamic tweezers (GET) that generate multiple electrohydrodynamic potentials for the parallelized transport and trapping of single EVs in parallel within seconds while enhancing the imaging of single trapped EVs. We show that the integration of nanoscale plasmonic cavities at the center of each GET trap results in the parallel placement of single EVs near plasmonic cavities enabling instantaneous plasmon-enhanced optical trapping upon laser illumination without any detrimental heating effect for the first time. These non-invasive scalable hybrid nanotweezers open new horizons for high-throughput tether-free plasmon-enhanced single EV trapping and spectroscopy. Other potential areas of impact include nanoplastics characterization, and scalable hybrid integration for quantum photonics.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2022

Multiplexed long-range electrohydrodynamic transport and nano-optical trapping with cascaded bowtie photonic crystal nanobeams

Photonic crystal cavities with bowtie defects that combine ultra-high Q and ultra-low mode volume are theoretically studied for low-power nanoscale optical trapping. By harnessing the localized heating of the water layer near the bowtie region, combined with an applied alternating current electric field, this system provides long-range electrohydrodynamic transport of particles with average velocities of 30 $\mathrm{μm/s}$ towards the bowtie region on demand by switching the input wavelength. Once transported to a given bowtie region, synergistic interaction of optical gradient and attractive negative thermophoretic forces stably trap a 10 nm quantum dot in a potential well with a depth of 10 $k_\mathrm{B}T$ using a mW input power.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2017

Flat metaform near-eye visor

A near-eye visor is one of the most vital components in a head-mounted display. Currently, freeform optics and waveguides are used to design near-eye visors, but these structures are complex and their field of view is limited when the visor is placed near the eye. In this paper, we propose a flat, freeform near-eye visor which uses a sub-wavelength patterned metasurface reflector. The visor design imparts a spatial phase profile on a projected display pattern and can be implemented using a micron-scale thick metasurface. As the resulting metaform visor relies on diffraction, it can preserve a large field of view (77.3° both horizontally and vertically) when placed only 2.5 cm away from the eye. We simulate the metasurface visor to estimate the modulation transfer function, and find that the projected image quality is sufficiently high for human vision. While the design of the metasurface is initially performed via ray optics, using full-wave finite-difference time-domain simulation we validate a scaled version of our visor design.

physics.app-ph↗