Abstract: A device includes an optic in an at least partially rigid scaffold. The scaffold is permeated, at least temporarily during a writing process, by writable media. The optic may be written into a writable volume in the scaffold defined by the writable media. The optic may be written by exposing the writable media to incident light to cause a material property change in the writable media within the writable volume.

Abstract: The disclosure is directed to a method and apparatus for performing patterned microscopy. The method includes obtaining a microscopy image of an object based on optical signal from the object in response to a first incoming optical beam; and obtaining a contrast-enhancing image based on optical signal from the object in response to a second incoming optical beam. The method also includes generating a patterned mask based on the contrast-enhancing image. The method further includes applying the patterned mask on the microscopy image to obtain a patterned microscopy image. The microscopy image includes a polarization-analyzed reflection confocal microscopy image. The contrast-enhancing image includes a second-harmonic generation microscopy image. The patterned microscopy image includes a second-harmonic patterned polarization-analyzed reflection confocal microscopy image.

Abstract: A device includes an optic in an at least partially rigid scaffold. The scaffold is permeated, at least temporarily during a writing process, by writable media. The optic may be written into a writable volume in the scaffold defined by the writable media. The optic may be written by exposing the writable media to incident light to cause a material property change in the writable media within the writable volume.

Abstract: The disclosure is directed to a method and apparatus for performing patterned microscopy. The method includes obtaining a microscopy image of an object based on optical signal from the object in response to a first incoming optical beam; and obtaining a contrast-enhancing image based on optical signal from the object in response to a second incoming optical beam. The method also includes generating a patterned mask based on the contrast-enhancing image. The method further includes applying the patterned mask on the microscopy image to obtain a patterned microscopy image. The microscopy image includes a polarization-analyzed reflection confocal microscopy image. The contrast-enhancing image includes a second-harmonic generation microscopy image. The patterned microscopy image includes a second-harmonic patterned polarization-analyzed reflection confocal microscopy image.

Abstract: A pillar-nanoantenna array structure is fabricated with a substrate to which pairs of pillars are coupled, where the pillars are characterized either by a thermal conductance less than 0.1 ?W/deg or by transparency and a height exceeding thickness by at least a factor of two. Metallic caps atop a neighboring pair of pillars are separated by no more than 50 nm. An image-capture structure may be formed by modifying reflectance of a portion of the structure by heating of the portion by electromagnetic radiation. The array may be plastically deformed by raster scanning an electron beam across the array, exciting plasmon modes in the conducting particles thereby inducing a gradient force between neighboring conducting particles, and deforming neighboring pillars in such a manner as to vary the spacing separating neighboring conducting particles. A technique of plasmon-assisted etching provides for fabricating specified planar pattern of metal outside a cleanroom environment.

Abstract: A pillar-nanoantenna array structure is fabricated with a substrate to which pairs of pillars are coupled, where the pillars are characterized either by a thermal conductance less than 0.1 ?W/deg or by transparency and a height exceeding thickness by at least a factor of two. Metallic caps atop a neighboring pair of pillars are separated by no more than 50 nm. An image-capture structure may be formed by modifying reflectance of a portion of the structure by heating of the portion by electromagnetic radiation. The array may be plastically deformed by raster scanning an electron beam across the array, exciting plasmon modes in the conducting particles thereby inducing a gradient force between neighboring conducting particles, and deforming neighboring pillars in such a manner as to vary the spacing separating neighboring conducting particles. A technique of plasmon-assisted etching provides for fabricating specified planar pattern of metal outside a cleanroom environment.

Abstract: A coherent confocal microscope and methods for measuring elements of the non-linear susceptibility of a nanoparticle, including, more particularly, all of the elements of the second-order susceptibility tensor of a single nanoparticle under permutation and Kleinman symmetry. Using a high numerical aperture lens, two-dimensional scanning and a vector beam shaper, the second-order nonlinear susceptibility is derived from a single confocal image. A forward model for the problem is presented and a computationally efficient data processing method robustly solves the inverse problem.

Abstract: A coherent confocal microscope and methods for measuring elements of the non-linear susceptibility of a nanoparticle, including, more particularly, all of the elements of the second-order susceptibility tensor of a single nanoparticle under permutation and Kleinman symmetry. Using a high numerical aperture lens, two-dimensional scanning and a vector beam shaper, the second-order nonlinear susceptibility is derived from a single confocal image. A forward model for the problem is presented and a computationally efficient data processing method robustly solves the inverse problem.

Abstract: Provided are techniques for generating optical vector beams (e.g., radially and azimuthally polarized light) using passive or active phase stable optical interferometry. Techniques may split an input optical beam into at least two output beams, and then couple those beams simultaneously into a passively phase stable optical interferometer. Beam splitting may be achieved by a diffractive optical element and coupling may be achieved by a single refractive optical device (lenses) or by a single mirror device (e.g., parabolic and spherical). The interferometer may provide the ability to manipulate (or transform) the polarization of part of the wavefront of each beam, as well as the ability to manipulate (or transform) the phase of part of the wavefront of each beam, such that the beams when combined have a vector beam polarization state.

Abstract: A system for obtaining ellipsometric data from a sample. The system includes a source for providing a monochromatic light beam. The system also includes a nonlinear crystal for converting the monochromatic light beam into photon pairs by disintegrating photons from the monochromatic light beam, such that each of the photon pairs exhibits entanglement properties, wherein one of the photons of the pair is directed to the sample and the other of the photons of the pair is not directed to the sample. The system further includes a circuit for calculating the coincidence of one of the photons of the photon pair reflected from the sample and the other of the photons of the photon pair, wherein the measurements of the sample are obtained by analyzing the coincidence and the entanglement properties between one of the photons of the photon pair reflected from the sample and the other of the photons of the photon pair.

Abstract: A system for obtaining ellipsometric data from a sample. The system includes a source for providing a monochromatic light beam. The system also includes a nonlinear crystal for converting the monochromatic light beam into photon pairs by disintegrating photons from the monochromatic light beam, such that each of the photon pairs exhibits entanglement properties, wherein one of the photons of the pair is directed to the sample and the other of the photons of the pair is not directed to the sample. The system further includes a circuit for calculating the coincidence of one of the photons of the photon pair reflected from the sample and the other of the photons of the photon pair, wherein the measurements of the sample are obtained by analyzing the coincidence and the entanglement properties between one of the photons of the photon pair reflected from the sample and the other of the photons of the photon pair.