Direct imaging of optimal photonic nanojets from core-shell microcylinders.

We first experimentally evaluate the direct imaging of photonic nanojets from core-shell microcylinders. The optimal photonic nanojet with long length, a high intensity spot, and low divergence is observed at the designed gold-silver-coating microcylinder. A special microcylinder consists of multilayered metallic shells (gold, silver, and copper) and a dielectric core (polydimethylsiloxane) at a diameter of 5 μm and a height of 6 μm. The electromagnetic distributions inside and outside the core-shell microcylinders are calculated by using the finite-difference time-domain method. The direct-imaging measurements for photonic nanojets are performed with a scanning-optical-microscope system. Such core-shell microcylinders provide new pathways for high-resolution optical imaging, which are useful for biophotonics, plasmonics, and optical data storage.