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Interferometric lithography offers a facile, inexpensive, large-area fabrication capability for the formation of large areas of nanoscale periodic features. A self-aligned frequency doubling process to a 22-nm half-pitch is demonstrated. Many investigations of nanoscale phenomena require large-area samples, both for scientific investigations and certainly for ultimate large-scale applications. The utility of interferometric lithography is demonstrated to applications in nanophotonics and nanofluidics. For nanophotonics, metamaterial fabrication, negative index metamaterials and plasmonic applications are discussed. Two approaches to the fabrication of nanofluidic structures: etching and oxidation of silicon substrates, and colloidal deposition of silica nanoparticles to form porous walls and roofs followed by calcination to remove the photoresist and sinter the particles. These later structures have evident biomimetic functionality.

Recent developments in integrated on-chip nano-optomechanical systems are reviewed. Silicon-based nano-optomechanical devices are fabricated by a two-step process, where the first step is a foundry-enabled photonic circuits patterning and the second step involves in-house mechanical device release. We show theoretically that the enhanced responsivity of near-field optical transduction of mechanical displacement in on-chip nano-optomechanical systems originates from the finesse of the optical cavity to which the mechanical device couples. An enhancement in responsivity of more than two orders of magnitude has been observed when compared side-by-side with free-space interferometry readout. We further demonstrate two approaches to facilitate large-scale device integration, namely, wavelength-division multiplexing and frequency-division multiplexing. They are capable of significantly simplifying the design complexity for addressing individual nano-optomechanical devices embedded in a large array.

Spatial nonlocality in the photonic response of metallic nanoparticles is actually known to produce near-field quenching and significant plasmon frequency shifts relative to local descriptions. As the control over size and morphology of fabricated nanostructures is truly reaching the nanometer scale, understanding and accounting for nonlocal phenomena is becoming increasingly important. Recent advances clearly point out the need to go beyond the local theory. We here present a general formalism for incorporating spatial dispersion effects through the hydrodynamic model and generalizations for arbitrary surface morphologies. Our method relies on the boundary element method, which we supplement with a nonlocal interaction potential. We provide numerical examples in excellent agreement with the literature for individual and paired gold nanospheres, and critically examine the accuracy of our approach. The present method involves marginal extra computational cost relative to local descriptions and facilitates the simulation of spatial dispersion effects in the photonic response of complex nanoplasmonic structures.

Fano resonance sensors based on metal–insulator–metal (MIM) waveguide have potential applications in fields such as biology, chemistry, and the environment. Here, a nanosensor based on Fano resonance in an MIM-based isosceles triangular resonator system is proposed and numerically studied by finite element method. Simulation results show that the Fano peak can be easily tuned by adjusting the scale factor and the refractive index within the resonator. Furthermore, we thoroughly analyze the impact of the apex angle, rotation angle, and vertical displacement of the resonator on the transmission spectrum. Finally, the sensing characteristics of the proposed structure are optimized and analyzed, and a high-performance plasmonic sensor with a sensitivity of 1100nm/RIU and the maximum figure of merit of $5.46\times 10^9$ is obtained. The distinctive attributes of our suggested structure are applicable in the realization of various integrated components for the development of multifunctional high-performance nanophotonics devices.

We introduce the concept of optical printed circuit board (O-PCB) and discuss the issues regarding the miniaturization, interconnection, and integration of polymer-based photonic devices with a view to using it as a potential platform for VLSI microphotonic integration. We present new approaches to miniaturize and integrate some examples of microphotonic devices and examine the considerations regarding the design, fabrication, and characterization for miniaturization and integration for O-PCB application. Devices that we have used for our study include mode conversion adaptors, micro-ring resonator devices, multimode interference devices, arrayed waveguide gratings. Scaling rules are also discussed.

One of the most important applications of stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) is the realization of amplifiers or laser sources in bulk materials, in fiber and in integrated optic format as well. We note that, as a general rule, in all laser gain bulk materials, there is a tradeoff between gain and bandwidth: line width may be increased at the expense of peak gain. This tradeoff is a fundamental limitation toward the realization of micro/nano-sources with large emission spectra. In this paper, in order to clarify the possibility of obtaining new materials with both large Raman gain coefficients and spectral bandwidth, SRS investigations in nanostructures, spanning from nanometrically heterogeneous K₂O–Nb₂O₅SiO₂ (KNS) glasses to Si nanocrystals, are reported and discussed.

In a large-scale quantum computer, the cost of communications will dominate the performance and resource requirements, place many severe demands on the technology, and constrain the architecture. Unfortunately, fault-tolerant computers based entirely on photons with probabilistic gates, though equipped with "built-in" communication, have very large resource overheads; likewise, computers with reliable probabilistic gates between photons or quantum memories may lack sufficient communication resources in the presence of realistic optical losses. Here, we consider a compromise architecture, in which semiconductor spin qubits are coupled by bright laser pulses through nanophotonic waveguides and cavities using a combination of frequent probabilistic and sparse determinstic entanglement mechanisms. The large photonic resource requirements incurred by the use of probabilistic gates for quantum communication are mitigated in part by the potential high-speed operation of the semiconductor nanophotonic hardware. The system employs topological cluster-state quantum error correction for achieving fault-tolerance. Our results suggest that such an architecture/technology combination has the potential to scale to a system capable of attacking classically intractable computational problems.

“Printing” is an ancient technique for recording and publishing. Recently, this technique has extended its activities down to a nanometer scale. In this paper, we review the progress of the printing technique focusing on the most recent developments of one technique called “transfer printing” and its applications in nanophotonics.

Materials with nanoscale dimensions have unique optical properties, which have been extensively explored and implemented for a variety of functionalized photonic structures and devices. In this paper, the nanofabrication processes for photonic applications are reviewed. The nanofabrication methods can be divided into two major categories: top-down and bottom-up. The main techniques used in each method are discussed in terms of its process capabilities, advantages, limitations, and applications. The cases which involve the combination of top-down and bottom-up approaches are also illustrated.

Being able to manipulate light and confine it to small length scales have a multitude of applications in modern technology. Predicting the behavior of nanophotonic devices and the realization of new ones will greatly benefit from insights offered by analytical calculations and numerical modeling. In this paper, we elucidate the fundamental electromagnetic responses of materials and introduce a versatile technique, called transfer matrix method, in modeling the behavior of nanoscale heterostructures. Its application in novel photonic devices such as semiconductor microcavities and surface plasmon resonance sensors will be demonstrated.

Metasurfaces refer to the sub-wavelength nanostructures that are capable of manipulating the amplitude, phase, polarization, and other characteristics of light, to enable diverse applications across the ultraviolet, visible, infrared, and terahertz spectra. In this review paper, we aim to provide an introductory note on metasurfaces, from fundamentals and design methods to applications, such as biosensing, environmental monitoring, metalenses, optical cloaking, electromagnetic scattering, structural color, miniaturized devices, and others. Moreover, we also identify the key challenges and limitations of metasurfaces, such as fabrication, integration, optimization, tuning, signal processing, and analysis, and suggest possible directions and solutions for future research. At last, we envision several emerging and promising trends for metasurfaces, such as new materials and structures, new phenomena and mechanisms, machine learning, and artificial intelligence techniques. The review is expected to inspire future development in this exciting and rapidly evolving field of metasurface devices.

Recent developments in integrated on-chip nano-optomechanical systems are reviewed. Silicon-based nano-optomechanical devices are fabricated by a two-step process, where the first step is a foundry-enabled photonic circuits patterning and the second step involves in-house mechanical device release. We show theoretically that the enhanced responsivity of near-field optical transduction of mechanical displacement in on-chip nano-optomechanical systems originates from the finesse of the optical cavity to which the mechanical device couples. An enhancement in responsivity of more than two orders of magnitude has been observed when compared side-by-side with free-space interferometry readout. We further demonstrate two approaches to facilitate large-scale device integration, namely, wavelength-division multiplexing and frequency-division multiplexing. They are capable of significantly simplifying the design complexity for addressing individual nano-optomechanical devices embedded in a large array.

Interferometric lithography offers a facile, inexpensive, large-area fabrication capability for the formation of large areas of nanoscale periodic features. A self-aligned frequency doubling process to a 22-nm half-pitch is demonstrated. Many investigations of nanoscale phenomena require large-area samples, both for scientific investigations and certainly for ultimate large-scale applications. The utility of interferometric lithography is demonstrated to applications in nanophotonics and nanofluidics. For nanophotonics, metamaterial fabrication, negative index metamaterials and plasmonic applications are discussed. Two approaches to the fabrication of nanofluidic structures: etching and oxidation of silicon substrates, and colloidal deposition of silica nanoparticles to form porous walls and roofs followed by calcination to remove the photoresist and sinter the particles. These later structures have evident biomimetic functionality.

Photonics/optoelectronics research at Glasgow University is partially reviewed. The research activity reviewed is also notably connected to research groups furth of Glasgow. Silicon waveguide photonics at the sub-micrometre/nanometre scale is emphasized, including photonic wires, strong Bragg gratings and micro-/nano-cavity resonators and slow light in photonic crystal channel waveguides. High-volume processes for the fabrication of photonic quasi-crystal structures that enhance and shape the light extracted from GaN blue LEDs will also be described. Finally split-ring resonator (SRR) array based metamaterials are featured - together with their application for organic sensing.

Metasurfaces refer to the sub-wavelength nanostructures that are capable of manipulating the amplitude, phase, polarization, and other characteristics of light, to enable diverse applications across the ultraviolet, visible, infrared, and terahertz spectra. In this review paper, we aim to provide an introductory note on metasurfaces, from fundamentals and design methods to applications, such as biosensing, environmental monitoring, metalenses, optical cloaking, electromagnetic scattering, structural color, miniaturized devices, and others. Moreover, we also identify the key challenges and limitations of metasurfaces, such as fabrication, integration, optimization, tuning, signal processing, and analysis, and suggest possible directions and solutions for future research. At last, we envision several emerging and promising trends for metasurfaces, such as new materials and structures, new phenomena and mechanisms, machine learning, and artificial intelligence techniques. The review is expected to inspire future development in this exciting and rapidly evolving field of metasurface devices.