arXiv subjects

J. -J. Greffet

Publications and source records attributed to J. -J. Greffet.

13 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2022

Fluorescence decay enhancement and FRET inhibition in self-assembled hybrid gold CdSe/CdS/CdZnS colloidal nanocrystals supraparticles

We report on the synthesis of hybrid light emitting particles with a diameter ranging between 100 and 500 nm, consisting in a compact semiconductor CdSe/CdS/CdZnS nanocrystal aggregate encapsulated by a controlled nanometric size silica and gold layers. We first characterize the Purcell decay rate enhancement corresponding to the addition of the gold nanoshell as a function of the particle size and find a good agreement with the predictions of numerical simulations. Then, we show that the contribution corresponding to Förster resonance energy transfer is inhibited.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2019

Near-resonant light scattering by a sub-wavelength ensemble of identical atoms

We study theoretically the scattering of light by an ensemble of $N$ resonant atoms in a sub-wavelength volume. We consider the low intensity regime so that each atom responds linearly to the field. While $N$ non-interacting atoms would scatter $N^2$ more than a single atom, we find that $N$ interacting atoms scatter less than a single atom near resonance. In addition, the scattered power presents strong fluctuations, either from one realization to another or when varying the excitation frequency. We analyze this counter-intuitive behavior in terms of collective modes resulting from the light-induced dipole-dipole interactions. We find that for small samples, their properties are governed only by their volume when $N\gtrsim 20$.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2019

Optical transmission of an atomic vapor in the mesoscopic regime

By measuring the transmission of near-resonant light through an atomic vapor confined in a nano-cell we demonstrate a mesoscopic optical response arising from the non-locality induced by the motion of atoms with a phase coherence length larger than the cell thickness. Whereas conventional dispersion theory -- where the local atomic response is simply convolved by the Maxwell-Boltzmann velocity distribution -- is unable to reproduce the measured spectra, a model including a non-local, size-dependent susceptibility is found to be in excellent agreement with the measurements. This result improves our understanding of light-matter interaction in the mesoscopic regime and has implications for applications where mesoscopic effects may degrade or enhance the performance of miniaturized atomic sensors.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2017

Homogenization of an ensemble of interacting resonant scatterers

We study theoretically the concept of homogenization in optics using an ensemble of randomly distributed resonant stationary atoms with density $ρ$. The ensemble is dense enough for the usual condition for homogenization, viz. $ρλ^3 \gg 1$, to be reached. Introducing the coherent and incoherent scattered powers, we define two criteria to define the homogenization regime. We find that when the excitation field is tuned in a broad frequency range around the resonance, none of the criteria for homogenization is fulfilled, meaning that the condition $ρλ^3\gg 1$ is not sufficient to characterize the homogenized regime around the atomic resonance. We interpret these results as a consequence of the light-induced dipole-dipole interactions between the atoms, which implies a description of scattering in terms of collective modes rather than as a sequence of individual scattering events. Finally, we show that, although homogenization can never be reached for a dense ensemble of randomly positioned laser-cooled atoms around resonance, it becomes possible if one introduces spatial correlations in the positions of the atoms or non-radiative losses, such as would be the case for organic molecules or quantum dots coupled to a phonon bath.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2016

Coherent scattering of near-resonant light by a Dense Microscopic Cold Atomic cloud

We measure the coherent scattering of light by a cloud of laser-cooled atoms with a size comparable to the wavelength of light. By interfering a laser beam tuned near an atomic resonance with the field scattered by the atoms we observe a resonance with a red-shift, a broadening, and a saturation of the extinction for increasing atom numbers. We attribute these features to enhanced light-induced dipole-dipole interactions in a cold, dense atomic ensemble that result in a failure of standard predictions such as the "cooperative Lamb shift". The description of the atomic cloud by a mean-field model based on the Lorentz-Lorenz formula that ignores scattering events where light is scattered recurrently by the same atom and by a microscopic discrete dipole model that incorporates these effects lead to progressively closer agreement with the observations, despite remaining differences.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2015

Propagation of light through small clouds of cold interacting atoms

We demonstrate experimentally that a cloud of cold atoms with a size comparable to the wavelength of light can induce large group delays on a laser pulse when the laser is tightly focused on it and is close to an atomic resonance. Delays as large as -10 ns are observed, corresponding to "superluminal" propagation with negative group velocities as low as -300 m/s. Strikingly, this large delay is associated with a moderate extinction owing to the very small size of the cloud and to the light-induced interactions between atoms. It implies that a large phase shift is imprinted on the continuous laser beam, and opens interesting perspectives for applications to quantum technologies.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2012

Controlling spontaneous emission with plasmonic optical patch antennas

We experimentally demonstrate the control of the spontaneous emission rate and the radiation pattern of colloidal quantum dots deterministically positioned in a plasmonic patch antenna. The antenna consists of a thin gold microdisk 30 nm above a thick gold layer. The emitters are shown to radiate through the entire patch antenna in a highly directional and vertical radiation pattern. Strong acceleration of spontaneous emission is observed, depending of the antenna size. Considering the double dipole structure of the emitters, this corresponds to a Purcell factor up to 80 for dipoles perpendicular to the disk.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2012

Radiative heat transfer between two dielectric nanogratings in the scattering approach

We present a theoretical study of radiative heat transfer between dielectric nanogratings in the scattering approach. As a comparision with these exact results, we also evaluate the domain of validity of Derjaguin's Proximity Approximation (PA). We consider a system of two corrugated silica plates with various grating geometries, separation distances, and lateral displacement of the plates with respect to one another. Numerical computations show that while the PA is a good approximation for aligned gratings, it cannot be used when the gratings are laterally displaced. We illustrate this by a thermal modulator device for nanosystems based on such a displacement.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2012

Enhanced radiative heat transfer between nanostructured gold plates

We compute the radiative heat transfer between nanostructured gold plates in the framework of the scattering theory. We predict an enhancement of the heat transfer as we increase the depth of the corrugations while keeping the distance of closest approach fixed. We interpret this effect in terms of the evolution of plasmonic and guided modes as a function of the grating's geometry.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2011

Diamond particles as nanoantennas for nitrogen-vacancy color centers

The photoluminescence of nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond nanoparticles exhibits specific properties as compared to NV centers in bulk diamond. For instance large fluctuations of lifetime and brightness from particle to particle have been reported. It has also been observed that for nanocrystals much smaller than the mean luminescence wavelength, the particle size sets a lower threshold for resolution in Stimulated Emission Depletion (STED) microscopy. We show that all these features can be quantitatively understood by realizing that the absorption-emission of light by the NV center is mediated by the diamond nanoparticle which behaves as a dielectric nanoantenna.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2009

Influence of metallic nanoparticles on upconversion processes

It is well known that Raman scattering and fluorescence can be enhanced by the presence of metallic nanoparticles. Here, we derive simple equations to analyse the influence of metallic nanoparticles on upconversion processes such as non-radiative energy transfer or excited state absorption. We compare the resulting expressions with the more familiar Raman and fluorescence cases, and find significant differences. We use numerical simulations to calculate the upconverted signal enhancement achievable by means of metallic spheres of different radii, and find particles of 100-400nm radius at infrared frequencies to be favorable. We also discuss the considerable challenges involved in using metallic particles to enhance upconversion for solar energy.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2003

Definition and measurement of the local density of electromagnetic states close to an interface

We propose in this article an unambiguous definition of the local density of electromagnetic states (LDOS) in a vacuum near an interface in an equilibrium situation at temperature $T$. We show that the LDOS depends only on the electric field Green function of the system but does not reduce in general to the trace of its imaginary part as often used in the literature. We illustrate this result by a study of the LDOS variations with the distance to an interface and point out deviations from the standard definition. We show nevertheless that this definition remains correct at frequencies close to the material resonances such as surface polaritons. We also study the feasability of detecting such a LDOS with apetureless SNOM techniques. We first show that a thermal near-field emission spectrum above a sample should be detectable and that this measurement could give access to the electromagnetic LDOS. It is further shown that the apertureless SNOM is the optical analog of the scanning tunneling microscope which is known to detect the electronic LDOS. We also discuss some recent SNOM experiments aimed at detecting the electromagnetic LDOS.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2000

Spatial coherence of thermal near fields

We analyze the spatial coherence of the electromagnetic field emitted by a half-space at temperature T close to the interface. An asymptotic analysis allows to identify three different contributions to the cross-spectral density tensor in the near-field regime. It is shown that the coherence length can be either much larger or much shorter than the wavelength depending on the dominant contribution.

physics.optics↗