Covalently Linked 2D-CoO/GO Heterostructures: Catalytic and Electrochemical Properties.

Covalently cross-linked 2D heterostructures may represent a ground-breaking approach to creating materials with multifunctionalities. To date, however, this field still remains relatively unexplored. In the present work, CoO/GO covalently linked heterostructures (CoO/GO-CL) were produced using 2D-CoO functionalized with (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES) to react with the carboxyl groups of graphene oxide (GO).

Ultrathin natural biotite crystals as a dielectric layer for van der Waals heterostructure applications.

Biotite, an iron-rich mineral belonging to the trioctahedral mica group, is a naturally abundant layered material (LM) exhibiting attractive electronic properties for application in nanodevices. Biotite stands out as a non-degradable LM under ambient conditions, featuring high-quality basal cleavage-a significant advantage for van der Waals heterostructure (vdWH) applications. In this work, we present the micro-mechanical exfoliation of biotite down to monolayers (1Ls), yielding ultrathin flakes with large areas and atomically flat surfaces.

Decoding disorder signatures of AuCland vacancies in MoSfilms: from synthetic to experimental inversion.

This study investigates the scope of application of a recently designed inversion methodology that is capable of obtaining structural information about disordered systems through the analysis of their conductivity response signals. Here we demonstrate that inversion tools of this type are capable of sensing the presence of disorderly distributed defects and impurities even in the case where the scattering properties of the device are only weakly affected. This is done by inverting the DC conductivity response of monolayered MoSfilms containing a minute amount of AuClcoordinated complexes.

Optics in South America: introduction.

South American optics research has seen remarkable growth over the past 50 years, with significant contributions in areas such as quantum optics, holography, spectroscopy, nonlinear optics, statistical optics, nanophotonics and integrated photonics. The research has driven economic development in sectors like telecom, biophotonics, biometrics, and agri-sensing. This joint feature issue between JOSA A and JOSA B exhibits cutting-edge optics research from the region, fostering a sense of community and promoting collaboration among researchers.

Redox exfoliated NbS: characterization, stability, and oxidation.

Niobium disulfide is a layered transition metal dichalcogenide that is being exploited as a two-dimensional material. Although it is a superconductor at low temperatures and demonstrates great potential to be applied as a catalyst or co-catalyst in hydrogen evolution reactions, only a few reports have demonstrated the synthesis of a few-layer NbS. However, before applications can be pursued, it is essential to understand the main characteristics of the obtained material and its stability under an atmospheric environment.

A Critical Analysis on the Sensitivity Enhancement of Surface Plasmon Resonance Sensors with Graphene.

The use of graphene in surface plasmon resonance sensors, covering a metallic (plasmonic) film, has a number of demonstrated advantages, such as protecting the film against corrosion/oxidation and facilitating the introduction of functional groups for selective sensing. Recently, a number of works have claimed that few-layer graphene can also increase the sensitivity of the sensor. However, graphene was treated as an isotropic thin film, with an out-of-plane refractive index that is identical to the in-plane index.

Hyper-Rayleigh scattering in 2D redox exfoliated semi-metallic ZrTe transition metal dichalcogenide.

Nonlinear optical characterization of nanostructured layered transition metal dichalcogenides (LTMDs) is of fundamental interest for basic knowledge and applied purposes. In particular, second-order optical nonlinearities are the basis for second harmonic generation as well as sum or difference frequency generation and have been studied in some 2D TMDs, especially in those with a semiconducting character. Here we report, for the first time, on the second-order nonlinearity of the semi-metallic ZrTe2 monolayer in acetonitrile suspension (concentration of 4.

Second-harmonic generation enhancement in monolayer transition-metal dichalcogenides by using an epsilon-near-zero substrate.

Monolayer transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) present high second-order optical nonlinearity, which is extremely desirable for, , frequency conversion in nonlinear photonic devices. On the other hand, the atomic thickness of 2D materials naturally leads to low frequency converted intensities, highlighting the importance of designing structures that enhance the nonlinear response for practical applications. A number of methods to increase the pump electric field at 2D materials have been reported, relying on complex plasmonic and/or metasurface structures.

Real-time optofluidic surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy based on a graphene oxide/gold nanorod nanocomposite.

We demonstrate a glass microcapillary fiber as an optofluidic platform for surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), the inner walls of which are coated with a graphene oxide (GO)/gold nanorod (AuNR) nanocomposite. A simple thermal method is used for the coating, allowing for the continuous deposition of the nanocomposite without surface functionalization. We show that the AuNRs can be directly and nondestructively identified on the GO inside the capillaries via identification of the Au-Br SERS peak, as Br- ions from the AuNR synthesis remain on their surface.

Resonantly Increased Optical Frequency Conversion in Atomically Thin Black Phosphorus.

Optical frequency conversion via the nonlinear effect of third harmonic generation is shown to be resonantly enhanced in few-layer black phosphorus. This feature is believed to be a consequence of exciton-related resonance, as the enhancement is strongly correlated with the observation of exciton-recombination photoluminescence. Few-layer thicknesses are obtained both via mechanical exfoliation and laser thinning.

Graphene Based Waveguide Polarizers: In-Depth Physical Analysis and Relevant Parameters.

Optical polarizing devices exploiting graphene embedded in waveguides have been demonstrated in the literature recently and both the TE- and TM-pass behaviors were reported. The determination of the passing polarization is usually attributed to graphene's Fermi level (and, therefore, doping level), with, however, no direct confirmation of this assumption provided. Here we show, through numerical simulation, that rather than graphene's Fermi level, the passing polarization is determined by waveguide parameters, such as the superstrate refractive index and the waveguide's height.

Unusual angular dependence of the Raman response in black phosphorus.

Anisotropic materials are characterized by a unique optical response, which is highly polarization-dependent. Of particular interest are layered materials formed by the stacking of two-dimensional (2D) crystals that are naturally anisotropic in the direction perpendicular to the 2D planes. Black phosphorus (BP) is a stack of 2D phosphorene crystals and a highly anisotropic semiconductor with a direct band gap.

Fabrication and optical characterization of silica optical fibers containing gold nanoparticles.

Gold nanoparticles have been used since antiquity for the production of red-colored glasses. More recently, it was determined that this color is caused by plasmon resonance, which additionally increases the material's nonlinear optical response, allowing for the improvement of numerous optical devices. Interest in silica fibers containing gold nanoparticles has increased recently, aiming at the integration of nonlinear devices with conventional optical fibers.

Integrated polarizers based on tapered highly birefringent photonic crystal fibers.

This paper proposes and demonstrates the creation of sections with a high polarization dependent loss (PDL) in a commercial highly birefringent (polarization maintaining) photonic crystal fiber (PCF), via tapering with pressure applied to the holes. The tapers had a 1-cm-long uniform section with a 66% scale reduction, in which the original microstructure aspect ratio was kept by the pressure application. The resulting waveguides show polarizing action across the entire tested wavelength range, 1510-1600 nm, with a peak PDL of 35.

Quasi-phase-matched second harmonic generation in silicon nitride ring resonators controlled by static electric field.

Actively-controlled second harmonic generation in a silicon nitride ring resonator is proposed and simulated. The ring was designed to resonate at both pump and second harmonic wavelengths and quasi-phase-matched frequency conversion is induced by a periodic static electric field generated by voltage applied to electrodes arranged along the ring. Nonlinear propagation simulations were undertaken and an efficiency of -21.

Temperature response of an all-solid photonic bandgap fiber for sensing applications.

The spectral shift due to temperature in the photonic bandgap (PBG) of an all-solid PBG fiber is investigated, aiming at discrete and distributed temperature sensing. A temperature rise induces a red shift in the bandgap spectra, which can be easily and precisely monitored by measuring the fiber transmission near one of the band edges. Two different situations that are potentially compatible with distributed and quasi-distributed sensing were investigated: heating a 2 m section of a longer (~10 m) fiber, and heating the whole extension of a fiber that is tens of centimeters in length and was spliced to conventional fibers on both sides.

Selectively coupling core pairs in multicore photonic crystal fibers: optical couplers, filters and polarization splitters for space-division-multiplexed transmission systems.

Selective coupling a single pair of cores in a photonic crystal fiber with multiple, initially decoupled, cores is demonstrated through the use of a technique to locally post-process the fiber cross section. Coupling occurs when the hole between the selected core pair is collapsed over a short fiber section, which is accomplished by heating the section while the hole is submitted to an air pressure that is lower than that applied to all other holes in the microstructure. The demonstrated couplers present an estimated insertion loss of ~1 dB and exhibit spectral modulations with a depth of up to 18 dB and a high polarization sensitivity that can be exploited for polarization splitting or filtering in space-division-multiplexed optical interconnection and telecommunication links.

Efficient and short-range light coupling to index-matched liquid-filled hole in a solid-core photonic crystal fiber.

A photonic crystal fiber (PCF) with a section of one of the holes next to the solid core filled with an index-matched liquid is studied. Liquid filling alters the core geometry, which locally comprises the original silica core, the liquid channel and the silica around it. It is demonstrated that when light reaches the filled section, it periodically and efficiently couples to the liquid, via the excitation of a number of modes of the composite core, with coupling lengths ranging from tens to hundreds of microns.

In-fiber modal Mach-Zehnder interferometer based on the locally post-processed core of a photonic crystal fiber.

We demonstrate a novel, compact and low-loss photonic crystal fiber modal Mach-Zehnder interferometer with potential applications to sensing and WDM telecommunications. By selectively collapsing a ~1-mm-long section of a hole next to the solid core, a pair of modes of the post-processed structure are excited and interfere at its exit. A modulation depth of up to ~13 dB and an insertion loss as low as 2.

All-fiber devices based on photonic crystal fibers with integrated electrodes.

A special kind of microstructured optical fiber is proposed and fabricated in which, in addition to the holey region (solid core and silica-air cladding), two large holes exist for electrode insertion. Either Bi-Sn or Au- Sn alloys were selectively inserted into the large holes forming two parallel, continuous and homogeneous internal electrodes. We demonstrate the production of a monolithic device and its use to externally control some of the guidance properties (e.

Supercontinuum generation in a water-core photonic crystal fiber.

Supercontinuum generation is demonstrated in a 5-cm-long water-core photonic crystal fiber pumped near water's zero-dispersion wavelength. Up to 500-nm spectral width (evaluated at -20 dB from the peak) is achieved, while spectral widths were over 4 times narrower with a bulk setup at the same wavelength and peak power, and over 3 times narrower if the PCF was pumped away from the zero-dispersion wavelength. The supercontinuum generation mechanisms for bulk and waveguide setups are compared and tuning of the zero-dispersion wavelength via waveguide dispersion is theoretically investigated.

Random fiber laser.

We investigate the effects of two-dimensional confinement on the lasing properties of a classical random laser system operating in the incoherent feedback (diffusive) regime. A suspension of 250 nm rutile (TiO2) particles in a rhodamine 6G solution was inserted into the hollow core of a photonic crystal fiber generating the first random fiber laser and a novel quasi-one-dimensional random laser geometry. A comparison with similar systems in bulk format shows that the random fiber laser presents an efficiency that is at least 2 orders of magnitude higher.

Liquid-core, liquid-cladding photonic crystal fibers.

We experimentally demonstrate a simple and novel technique to simultaneously insert a liquid into the core of a hollow-core photonic crystal fiber (PCF) and a different liquid into its cladding. The result is a liquid-core, liquid-cladding waveguide in which the two liquids can be selected to yield specific guidance characteristics. As an example, we tuned the core-cladding index difference by proper choice of the inserted liquids to obtain control over the number of guided modes.