Articles 2021

Résumé: Hybrid nanostructures, in which a known number of quantum emitters are strongly coupled to a plasmonic resonator, should feature optical properties at room temperature such as few-photon nonlinearities or coherent superradiant emission. We demonstrate here that this coupling regime can only be reached with dimers of gold nanoparticles in stringent experimental conditions, when the interparticle spacing falls below 2 nm. Using a short transverse DNA double-strand, we introduce five dye molecules in the gap between two 40 nm gold particles and actively decrease its length down to sub-2 nm values by screening electrostatic repulsion between the particles at high ionic strengths. Single-nanostructure scattering spectroscopy then evidence the observation of a strong-coupling regime in excellent agreement with electrodynamic simulations. Furthermore, we highlight the influence of the planar facets of polycrystalline gold nanoparticles on the probability of observing strongly coupled hybrid nanostructures.

Résumé: Correlated disorder is at the heart of numerous challenging problematics in physics. In this work we focus on the propagation of acoustic coherent waves in two-dimensional dense disordered media exhibiting long- and short-range structural correlations. The media are obtained by inserting elastic cylinders randomly in a stealth hyperuniform medium itself made up of cylinders. The properties of the coherent wave is studied using an original numerical software. In order to understand and discuss the complex physical phenomena occurring in the different media, we also make use of effective media models derived from the quasicrystalline approximation and the theory of Fikioris and Waterman that provides an explicit expression of the effective wave numbers. Our study shows a very good agreement between numerical and homogenization models up to very high concentrations of scatterers. This study shows that media with both short- and long-range correlations are of strong interest to design materials with original properties.

Résumé: Effective and accurate in vivo diagnosis of retinal pathologies requires high performance imaging devices, combining a large field of view and the ability to discriminate the ballistic signal from the diffuse background in order to provide a highly contrasted image of the retinal structures. Here, we have implemented the partial-field illumination ophthalmoscope, a patterned illumination modality, integrated to a high pixel rate adaptive optics full-field microscope. This non-invasive technique enables us to mitigate the low signal-to-noise ratio, intrinsic of full-field ophthalmoscopes, by partially illuminating the retina with complementary patterns to reconstruct a wide-field image. This new, to the best of our knowledge, modality provides an image contrast spanning from the full-field to the confocal contrast, depending on the pattern size. As a result, it offers various trade-offs in terms of contrast and acquisition speed, guiding the users towards the most efficient system for a particular clinical application.

Résumé: In a previous study (Marigo et al. in J. Mech. Phys. Solids 143:104029, 2020) we have studied the effect of a periodic array of subwavelength plates or beams over a semi-infinite elastic ground on the propagation of waves hitting the interface. The study was restricted to the low frequency regime where only flexural resonances take place. Here, we present a generalization to higher frequencies which allows us to account for both flexural and longitudinal resonances and to evaluate their interplay. An effective model is obtained using asymptotic analysis and homogenization techniques, which can be expressed in terms of the ground alone with an effective dynamic (frequency-dependent) boundary conditions of the Robin’s type. For an in-plane wave at oblique incidence, the scattered displacement fields and the reflection coefficients are obtained in closed forms and their effectiveness to reproduce the actual scattering is inspected by comparison with direct numerics in a two-dimensional setting.

Résumé: Dynamic full-field optical coherence microscopy (DFFOCM) was used to characterize the intracellular dynamic activities and cytoskeleton of HeLa cells in different viability states. HeLa cell samples were continuously monitored for 24 hours and compared with histological examination to confirm the cell viability states. The averaged mean frequency and magnitude observed in healthy cells were 4.79±0.5 Hz and 2.44±1.06, respectively. In dead cells, the averaged mean frequency was shifted to 8.57±0.71 Hz, whereas the magnitude was significantly decreased to 0.53±0.25. This cell dynamic activity analysis using DFFOCM is expected to replace conventional time-consuming and biopsies-required histological or biochemical methods.

Résumé: Laser Doppler holography is a planar blood flow imaging technique recently introduced in ophthalmology to image human retinal and choroidal blood flow non-invasively. Here we present a digital method based on the Doppler spectrum asymmetry that reveals the local direction of blood flow with respect to the optical axis in out-of-plane vessels. This directional information is overlaid on standard grayscale blood flow images to depict flow moving towards the camera in red and flow moving away from the camera in blue, as in ultrasound color Doppler imaging. We show that thanks to the strong contribution of backscattering to the Doppler spectrum in out-of-plane vessels, the local axial direction of blood flow can be revealed with a high temporal resolution, which enables us to evidence pathological blood flow reversals. We also demonstrate the use of optical Doppler spectrograms to quantitatively monitor retinal blood flow reversals.

Résumé: The development of integrated photonic devices has led to important advancements in the field of light-matter interaction at the nanoscale. One of the main focal points is the coupling between single photon emitters and optical waveguides aiming to achieve efficient optical confinement and propagation. In this work, we focus on the characterization of a hybrid dielectric/plasmonic waveguide consisting of a gold triangular nanoantenna placed on top of a TiO2 waveguide. The strong directionality of the device is experimentally demonstrated by comparing the intensity scattered by the nanotriangle to the one scattered by a SNOM tip for different illumination geometries. The ability of the plasmonic antenna to generate powerful coupling between a single emitter and the waveguide will also be highlighted through numerical simulations.

Résumé: Acousto-optic (AO) imaging is an in-depth optical imaging technique of highly scattering media. One challenging end-application for this technique is to perform imaging of living biological tissues. Indeed, because it relies on coherent illumination, AO imaging is sensitive to speckle decorrelation occurring on the millisecond time scale. Camera-based detections are well suited for in vivo imaging provided their integration time is lower than those decorrelation time scales. We present Fourier transform acousto-optic imaging combined with off-axis holography, which relies on plane waves and long-duration pulses. We demonstrate, for the first time to the best of our knowledge, a two-dimensional imaging system fully compatible with in vivo imaging prerequisites. The method is validated experimentally by performing in-depth imaging inside a multiple scattering sample.

Résumé: When multimode optical fibers are perturbed, the data that is transmitted through them is scrambled. This presents a major difficulty for many possible applications, such as multimode fiber based telecommunication and endoscopy. To overcome this challenge, a deep learning approach that generalizes over mechanical perturbations is presented. Using this approach, successful reconstruction of the input images from intensity-only measurements of speckle patterns at the output of a 1.5 m-long randomly perturbed multimode fiber is demonstrated. The model's success is explained by hidden correlations in the speckle of random fiber conformations.

Résumé: Using a statistical analysis of nonlinear luminescence images measured with randomly wavefront-shaped femtosecond excitations, we provide direct insight on both the localized and delocalized plasmonic modes featured by disordered gold metasurfaces. We can independently image areas where far-field wavefront shaping can control the optical properties and areas with strong subwavelength optical hotspots. In practice, the fraction of the disordered plasmonic surface on which wavefront control is feasible depends strongly on the nanoscale morphology of the sample. Close to the percolation threshold, the entire surface is sensitive to wavefront shaping, and we observe the largest densities of delocalized modes as well as the strongest optical hotspots. These results demonstrate how statistical imaging schemes can offset the complexity of disordered nanophotonic systems in order to characterize their optical properties.

Résumé: Multimode optical fibers (MMFs) have gained renewed interest in the past decade, emerging as a way to boost optical communication data rates in the context of an expected saturation of current single-mode fiber-based networks. They are also attractive for endoscopic applications, offering the possibility to achieve a similar information content as multicore fibers, but with a much smaller footprint, thus reducing the invasiveness of endoscopic procedures. However, these advances are hindered by the unavoidable presence of disorder that affects the propagation of light in MMFs and limits their practical applications. We introduce here a general framework to study and avoid the effect of disorder in wave-based systems and demonstrate its application for multimode fibers. We experimentally find an almost complete set of optical channels that are resilient to disorder induced by strong deformations. These deformation principal modes are obtained by only exploiting measurements for weak perturbations harnessing the generalized Wigner-Smith operator. We explain this effect by demonstrating that, even for a high level of disorder, the propagation of light in MMFs can be characterized by just a few key properties. These results are made possible thanks to a precise and fast estimation of the modal transmission matrix of the fiber which relies on a model-based optimization using deep learning frameworks.

Résumé: A sound wave travelling in water is scattered by a periodic assembly of air bubbles. The local structure matters even in the low frequency regime. If the bubbles are arranged in a face-centered cubic (fcc) lattice, a total bandgap opens near the Minnaert resonance frequency. If they are arranged in the diamond structure, which one obtains by simply adding a second bubble to the unit cell, one finds an additional branch with a negative slope (optical branch). For a single specific frequency, the medium behaves as if its refractive index (relative to water) is exactly n=−1. We show that a slab of this material can be used to design a three-dimensional flat lens. We also report super-resolution focusing in the near field of the slab and illustrate its potential for imaging in three dimensions.

Résumé: In the context of water waves, we consider a resonator with deep subwavelength resonance, analogue to the Helmholtz resonator in acoustics. In the shallow water regime, using asymptotic analysis, a one-dimensional model is derived in which the effect of the resonator is reduced to effective transmission conditions. These conditions clearly highlight two contributions. The first is associated with the dock on its own and it is responsible for a jump of the potential at the free surface. The second is due to the resonant cavity and it is responsible for a jump in the horizontal velocity. It involves as well the uniform amplitude within the resonant cavity with a transient dynamics explicitly given by the equation of a damped oscillator forced by the incident waves. The one-dimensional model is validated in the harmonic regime by comparison to direct two-dimensional numerics. It is shown to reproduce accurately the scattering coefficients and the amplitude within the resonator; interestingly, this remains broadly true for finite water depths. We further inspect the spatio-temporal behaviour of different types of wave packets interacting with the resonating and radiating cavity.

Résumé: Geophysical granular flows exert basal forces that generate seismic signals, which can be used to better monitor and model these severe natural hazards. A number of empirical relations and existing models link these signals' high-frequency components to a variety of flow properties, many of which are inaccessible by other analyses. However, the range of validity of the empirical relations remains unclear and the models lack validation, owing to the difficulty of adequately controlling and instrumenting field-scale flows. Here, we present laboratory experiments investigating the normal forces exerted on a basal plate by dense and partially dense flows of spherical glass particles. We measured the power spectra of these forces and inferred predictions for these power spectra from the models for debris flows' seismic signals proposed by Kean et al. (2015, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015GL064811), Lai et al. (2018, https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL077683), and Farin, Tsai, et al. (2019, https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.4677), using Hertz theory to extend Farin, Tsai, et al. (2019)'s models to higher frequencies. Comparison of our observations to these predictions, and to predictions derived from Bachelet (2018) and Bachelet et al. (2021)'s model for granular flows' seismic signals, shows those of Farin, Tsai, et al. (2019)'s “thin-flow” model to be the most accurate, so we examine explanations for this accuracy and discuss its implications for geophysical flows' seismic signals. We also consider the normalization, by the mean force exerted by each flow, of the force's mean squared fluctuations, showing that this ratio varies by 4 orders of magnitude over our experiments, but is determined by the bulk inertial number of the flow.

Résumé: Reflection seismic imaging usually suffers from a loss of resolution and contrast because of the fluctuations of the wave velocities in the Earth's crust. In the literature, phase distortion issues are generally circumvented by means of a background wave velocity model. However, it requires a prior tomography of the wave velocity distribution in the medium, which is often not possible, especially in depth. In this paper, a matrix approach of seismic imaging is developed to retrieve a 3-D image of the subsoil, despite a rough knowledge of the background wave velocity. To do so, passive noise cross-correlations between geophones of a seismic array are investigated under a matrix formalism. They form a reflection matrix that contains all the information available on the medium. A set of matrix operations can then be applied in order to extract the relevant information as a function of the problem considered. On the one hand, the background seismic wave velocity can be estimated and its fluctuations quantified by projecting the reflection matrix in a focused basis. It consists in investigating the response between virtual sources and detectors synthesized at any point in the medium. The minimization of their cross-talk can then be used as a guide star for approaching the actual wave velocity distribution. On the other hand, the detrimental effect of wave velocity fluctuations on imaging is overcome by introducing a novel mathematical object: The distortion matrix. This operator essentially connects any virtual source inside the medium with the distortion that a wavefront, emitted from that point, experiences due to heterogeneities. A time reversal analysis of the distortion matrix enables the estimation of the transmission matrix that links each real geophone at the surface and each virtual geophone in depth. Phase distortions can then be compensated for any point of the underground. Applied to passive seismic data recorded along the Clark branch of the San Jacinto fault zone (SJFZ), the present method is shown to provide an image of the fault until a depth of 4 km over the frequency range 10-20Hz with an horizontal resolution of 80 m. Strikingly, this resolution is almost one eighth below the diffraction limit imposed by the geophone array aperture. The heterogeneities of the subsoil play the role of a scattering lens and of a transverse waveguide which increase drastically the array aperture. The contrast is also optimized since most of the incoherent noise is eliminated by the iterative time reversal process. Beyond the specific case of the SJFZ, the reported approach can be applied to any scales and areas for which a reflection matrix is available at a spatial sampling satisfying the Nyquist criterion.

Résumé: Reverberation chambers are currently used to test electromagnetic compatibility as well as to characterize antenna efficiency, wireless devices, and MIMO systems. The related measurements are based on statistical averages and their fluctuations. We introduce a very efficient mode stirring process based on electronically reconfigurable metasurfaces (ERMs). By locally changing the field boundary conditions, the ERMs allow us to generate a humongous number of uncorrelated field realizations even within small reverberation chambers. We fully experimentally characterize this stirring process by determining these uncorrelated realizations via the autocorrelation function of the transmissions. The uniformity criterion parameter σ dB, as defined in the IEC 61000-4-21 standard, is also investigated and reveals the performance of this stirring. The effect of short paths on the two presented quantities is identified. We compare the experimental results on the uniformity criterion parameter with a corresponding model based on random matrix theory and find good agreement, where the only parameter, the modal overlap, is extracted by the quality factor.

Résumé: The study of hybrid modes in a single dimer of neighboring antennas is an essential step to optimize the far-field electromagnetic (EM) response of large-scale metasurfaces or any complex antenna structure made up of subwavelength building blocks. Here we present far-field infrared spatial modulation spectroscopy (IR-SMS) measurements of a single thermally excited asymmetric dimer of square metal-insulator-metal (MIM) antennas separated by a nanometric gap. Through thermal fluctuations, all the EM modes of the antennas are excited, and hybrid bonding and anti-bonding modes can be observed simultaneously. We study the latter within a plasmon hybridization model, and analyze their effect on the far-field response.

Résumé: © 2021 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreement We review our attempt to tackle topological photonics based on an experimental platform operating in the microwave frequency range. The latter is based on a resonant metamaterial consisting in a dense collection of finite-length resonant metallic wires, known as the wire medium. Inside, the wave propagation is accurately described by a polariton, which exhibits subwavelength propagating modes as well as a hybridization bandgap. Thanks to a relevant design of the relative lengths of the wires and/or on their spatial positioning, we explore different aspects of topology applied to wave propagation.

Résumé: © 2021 The Authors. We study the interaction of in-plane elastic waves with imperfect interfaces composed of a periodic array of voids or cracks. An effective model is derived from high-order asymptotic analysis based on two-scale homogenization and matched asymptotic technique. In two-dimensional elasticity, we obtain jump conditions set on the in-plane displacements and normal stresses; the jumps involve in addition effective parameters provided by static, elementary problems being the equivalents of the cell problems in classical two-scale homogenization. The derivation of the model is conducted in the transient regime and its stability is guarantied by the positiveness of the effective interfacial energy. Spring models are envisioned as particular cases. It is shown that massless-spring models are recovered in the limit of small void thicknesses and collinear cracks. By contrast, the use of mass-spring model is justified at normal incidence, otherwise unjustified. We provide quantitative validations of our model and comparison with spring models by means of comparison with direct numerical calculations in the harmonic regime.

Résumé: © 2021 American Physical Society. Accurate measurements of the thermal resistance between micro-objects made of insulating materials are complex because of their small size, low conductivity, and the presence of various ill-defined gaps. We address this issue using a modified scanning thermal microscope operating in vacuum and in air. The sphere-plate geometry is considered. Under controlled heating power, we measure the temperature on top of a glass microsphere glued to the probe as it approaches a glass plate at room temperature with nanometer accuracy. In vacuum, a jump is observed at contact. From this jump in temperature and the modeling of the thermal resistance of a sphere, the sphere-plate contact resistance RK=(1.4±0.18)×107KW-1 and effective radius r=36±4 nm are obtained. In air, the temperature on top of the sphere shows a decrease starting from a sphere-plate distance of 200μm. A jump is also observed at contact, with a reduced amplitude. The sphere-plate coupling out of contact can be described by the resistance shape factor of a sphere in front of a plate in air, placed in a circuit involving a series and a parallel resistance that are determined by fitting the approach curve. The contact resistance in air RK - =(1.2±0.46)×107KW-1 is then estimated from the temperature jump. The method is quantitative without requiring any tedious multiple-scale numerical simulation, and is versatile to describe the coupling between micro-objects from large distances to contact in various environments.

Résumé: © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited. Distance measurements are commonly performed by phase detection based on a lock-in strategy. Super-resolution fluorescence microscopy is still striving to perform axial localization but through entirely different strategies. Here we show that an illumination modulation approach can achieve nanometric axial localization precision without compromising the acquisition time, emitter density or lateral localization precision. The excitation pattern is obtained by shifting tilted interference fringes. The molecular localizations are performed by measuring the relative phase between each fluorophore response and the reference modulated excitation pattern. We designed a fast demodulation scheme compatible with the short emission duration of single emitters. This modulated localization microscopy offers a typical axial localization precision of 6.8 nm over the entire field of view and the axial capture range. Furthermore, the interfering pattern being robust to optical aberrations, a nearly uniform axial localization precision enables imaging of biological samples by up to several micrometres in depth.

Résumé: CCBY A convolutional neural network and deep autoencoder are used to predict Line Spectral Frequencies, F0, and a voiced/unvoiced flag in singing data, using as input only ultrasound images of the tongue and visual images of the lips. A novel convolutional vocoder to transform the learned parameters into an audio signal is also presented. Spectral Distortion of predicted Line Spectral Frequencies is reduced compared to that in an earlier study using handcrafted features and multilayer perceptrons on the same data set; while predicted F0 and voiced/unvoiced flag predictions are found to be highly correlated with their ground truth values. Comparison of the convolutional vocoder to standard vocoders is made. Results can be of interest in the study of singing articulation as well as for silent speech interface research. Sample predicted audio files are available online. Source code: https://github.com/TjuJianyu/SSI_DL.

Résumé: © 2020 Elsevier Inc. In this work, we propose an application of a metamaterial inspired volumetric wireless coil (WLC) based on coupled split-loop resonators for targeted breast MRI at 1.5 T. Due to strong electromagnetic coupling with the body coil, the metamaterial inspired WLC locally focuses radiofrequency (RF) magnetic flux in the target region, thus improving both transmit and receive performance of the external body coil. This leads to substantial enhancement in local transmit efficiency and improvement of RF safety. Phantom images showed a tenfold increase of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in the region-of-interest (ROI) and, at the same time, an almost 50-fold reduction in transmit power relative to the same body coil used alone.