A Novel Terahertz Semiconductor Metamaterial for Slow Light Device and Dual-Band Modulator Applications

In this paper, we propose a novel planar semiconductor metamaterial which consists of two H-shape structures which are nested together and composed of InSb deposited on a thin quartz substrate. The two H-shape structures serve as the bright modes and are exited strongly by the incident wave and interact with each other. This coupling leads to a powerful plasmonically induced transparency (PIT) effect at terahertz frequencies. This scheme provides a way to achieve slow light, and the corresponding group index can reach a value of 1300. We calculated group velocity dispersion (GVD) and saw this structure was a low group velocity dispersion (LGVD) system. Therefore, the proposed structure will be useful in designing slow-light devices, optical buffers, delay lines, and ultra-sensitive sensors. We also showed that the proposed design is tunable, namely changes in geometric parameters and type of semiconductor can largely change the group index. In addition, we considered another application for our design that is a thermal dual-band terahertz metamaterial modulator and numerically obtained frequency and amplitude modulation depth, tunability bandwidth, and loss for this device. We obtained an amplitude modulator depth of 99.7 % and a frequency modulator depth of 47 % that verified this structure can be used in wireless communication and encode information systems in the THz regime.     

Manipulate the Transmissions Using Index-Near-Zero or Epsilon-Near-Zero Metamaterials with Coated Defects

We investigate the wave transmissions through an index-near-zero (INZ) or epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) metamaterial containing various kinds of coated cylindrical defects. We find that thin coatings of the defects can dramatically change the transmission behaviors. For example, perfect magnetic conductor (PMC) defects embedded in an INZ or ENZ metamaterial yield total reflections for transverse magnetic polarized waves (Hao et al., Appl Phys Lett 96:101109, 2010). However, if the PMC defects are coated with dielectric shells, total transmissions could be achieved by tuning their permittivity values or geometric sizes. The permittivity differences of dielectric shells for total reflections and transmissions in the INZ or ENZ metamaterial could be very small, implying potential applications, such as ultrasensitive sensors and switches.     

Subwavelength Micro-Antenna for Achieving Slow Light at Microwave Wavelengths via Electromagnetically Induced Transparency in 2D Metamaterials

In this paper, a tunable slow light 2D metamaterial is presented and investigated. The metamaterial unit cell is composed of three metallic strips as radiative and non-radiative modes. Once introducing asymmetry, a transparency window induced by coupling between the dark and bright modes is observed. The transmission characteristics and the slow light properties of the metamaterial are verified by numerical simulation, which is in a good agreement with theoretical predictions. The impact of asymmetric parameter on transparency window is also investigated. Simulation results show the spectral properties and the group index of the proposed 2D metamaterial can be tunned by adjusting asymmetric structure parameter, temperature and also the metal used in the metamaterial. Furthermore, the electromagnetic field distributions, excited surface currents, induced electric dipole and quadruples, and slow light properties of the metamaterial are investigated in details as well as transmission spectral responses. The outstanding result is that, the 2D-metamaterial is in a high decrease of the group velocity and therefore slow light applications, because in the best state, the group velocity in our structure decreases by a factor of 221 at T=100 K using copper as metal in optimization asymmetric case.     

Magnetic Coupling Effect on Nonlinear Properties in Negative Index Metamaterials with a Kerr Nonlinearity

We investigate magnetic coupling effect on nonlinear electromagnetic properties in a three-dimensional negative index metamaterial constituted by arrays of conducting wires and split-ring resonators embedded into a Kerr nonlinear dielectric. Numerical results show that the switches of nonlinear electromagnetic properties between right-handed and left-handed properties depend closely on magnetic coupling strength, which can be divided into several different coupling regions according to the angular frequency of incident light and the nonlinear types (focused or defocused) of the dielectric. These properties may be instructive for designing optimizely composite metamaterials with negative refraction and provide various routes to manipulating light.     

Designing Broadband Nanoimaging with Anomalous Hyperbolic Dispersion

A novel strategy to broadband nanoimaging of microworld in the near field is reported by using a folded-geometry transformation. This approach relies exclusively on hyperbolic metamaterials with engineered anomalous hyperbolic dispersion. The restriction on the signs of gradient in the dispersion enables invariable propagation angle of hyperbolic polaritons at different wavelengths, which could be utilized to dramatically broaden the bandwidth. Interestingly, a pseudo-broadband nanoimaging based on hyperbolic metamaterial consisting of alternating metal (e.g. Ag) and plasmonic nanocomposite (e.g. Au-Al₂O₃) layers is demonstrated. Such strategy of transformation optics-based broadband nanoimaging allows for a new class of robustly manufacturable nanophotonic systems, although additional gain-assisted compensation is needed to improve the performance of nanoimaging.

     

Broadband Mid-infrared Dual-Band Double-Negative Metamaterial: Realized Using a Simple Geometry

We design and numerically demonstrate a novel metamaterial structure consisting of a dielectric layer sandwiched between two silver films and is perforated with two kinds of square-shaped holes at different angles, which is a dual-band double-negative (each band possesses simultaneously negative permittivity and permeability) metamaterial with broad NRI bands in mid-infrared region(3–30 μm). The broadband of NRI contributed to the strong magnetic resonance caused by the excitation of surface plasmon polaritons. The influence of the number of square-shaped holes on the properties of the designed structures are also investigated by analyzing and comparing the transmission, permeability, permittivity, refractive index, and figure of merit. Then, by optimizing the structural parameters, the proposed structure exhibits a negative band with a figure of merit of 3.3, which is to our knowledge larger than previously reported plasmonic metamaterial in mid-infrared region(M-IR). The value of negative refractive index(NRI) reaches −6 and the bandwidth of NRI can reach up to 4.2 THz in the low-frequency band of M-IR region, which is the widest NRI band in M-IR spectrum at present as far as we know. Moreover, the metamaterial structure is simple and easy to be manufactured with standard fabrication techniques. This work will be very meaningful in designing dual-band negative-index material with broad NRI band and low loss. Finally, the proposed metamaterial has huge potential applications in multiband or broadband devices.

     

Dynamically Switchable Multispectral Plasmon-Induced Transparency in Stretchable Metamaterials

We propose dynamically switchable multispectral plasmon-induced transparency (PIT) with high modulation depth in a three-dimensional metamaterial standing on a flexible substrate. The proposed metamaterial is composed of a pair of metal–insulator–metal (MIM) nano-cut-wires and a pair of insulator–metal–insulator (IMI) nano-cut-wires. Results show that two PIT windows can be achieved because of the near-field coupling between the dipole supported by the IMI nano-cut-wire and two quadrupoles supported by the MIM structures. These two PIT windows can be blue-shifted or even flipped over by stretching the substrate along one direction, or be switched off by stretching along the other direction. A classical coupled oscillator model is developed to quantitatively describe and explain these results. We expect this work will find promising applications in multispectral sensors, slow light devices and nonlinear optical devices.

     

SCARABAEID BEETLE EXOCUTICLE AS AN OPTICAL ANALOGUE OF CHOLESTERIC LIQUID CRYSTALS

1. A review is given of the optical and architectural analogies between cholesteric liquid crystals and certain insect cuticles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae). Earlier observations on the optical properties (reflexion of circularly polarized light and high form optical rotation) are confirmed and extended. Both cholesteric liquid crystals and lamellate cuticle have helicoidal structure (Fig. i). Even though their chemistry and physical states are very different, we are justified in making the analogy, since their optical properties depend primarily on the pitch of their helicoidal architecture. 2. The unusual optical properties were located for the first time in the outer 5 to 20 μ of the exocuticle. This layer is transparent and has regular spacings in the range required for interference colours according to Bragg's law. Among Scarabaeid beetles which show interference colours, we distinguish two types of outer exocuticle. (i) Optically active cuticles which reflect circularly polarized interference colours; show high angles of form optical rotation in transmitted light; and anomalous form birefringence perpendicular to the cuticle surface (reversible by deproteinization). (2) Optically inactive cuticles which show none of the above properties and in which the form birefringence is parallel to the cuticle surface. In the electron microscope the ultrastructure of these two types of outer exocuticle is clearly different. 3. All of the optically active species reflect left hand circularly polarized light, irrespective of the wavelength of the reflected colour. They therefore appear dark when viewed through a right hand circular analyser. The sense of reflected circularly polarized light does not reverse at higher wavelengths as recorded by previous workers. (A simple treatment is given for combinations of various wavelengths with retardation plates of varying values, as used in circular analysers.) We confirm earlier reports that the sense of reflected circularly polarized light is of the opposite sense to the transmitted light. 4. Using monochromatic light we have measured the anomalous dispersion with wavelength of the magnitude of optical rotation for various optically active cuticles. The dispersion curves change from negative values at lower wavelengths to positive values at higher wavelengths, and cross the zero optical rotation axis at a wavelength (AQ) corresponding to the interference colour of each sample. There is reasonable agreement between A₀ and the interference colour calculated from ultrastructural evidence and by comparison with interference filters of known wavelength. A dispersion curve measured for a combined sample of two cuticles with different dispersion curves showed that the resultant is an algebraic summation of the two component curves. 5. We present the first experimental verification of existing mathematical treatments of anomalous form optical rotatory dispersion curves. Although these treatments were derived for cholesteric liquid crystals, they give a reasonable fit to our measured curves for cuticle. We have confirmed from our cuticle dispersion curves that a second zero value for optical rotation occurs at a wavelength higher than A₀, as predicted by the theory of Chandrasekhar and Rao (1968). This has not yet been observed in any cholesteric liquid crystal system. 6. Our evidence shows that in optically active cuticle, interference colour is determined by helicoid pitch. In Lomaptera interference coloration follows the bilateral symmetry of the insect. Hence helicoidal pitch is controlled in a bilaterally symmetrical manner. However, the sense of helicoid rotation is the same all over the beetle and is therefore bilaterally asymmetrical. This supports the view that helicoid pitch is under the local control of the epidermal cells which secrete the cuticle, whereas its sense of rotation may be determined by an extracellular self-assembly process. In view of the self-assembling properties of cholesteric liquid crystals, it is tempting to suggest that helicoidal cuticle could be formed by the stabilization of a liquid crystal. 7. We discuss in detail the differences between optically active and inactive cuticles. The constructive interference colours arising from both types are then briefly compared with other multiple layer reflecting systems in other animals. 8. A detailed comparison is made between the optics of cuticle and cholesteric liquid crystals. The optical analogy provides a two-way contact between cuticle biophysicists and liquid crystal physical chemists.     

Large-Area,Low-Cost Infrared Metamaterial Fabrication Via Pulsed Laser Deposition with Metallic Mesh as a Shadow Mask

Metamaterials are artificial periodic structures with negative permittivity and permeability. Several interesting properties can be obtained in metamaterials, such as negative index behavior, which can be used for building perfect lenses, cloaking, antennas, etc. As the metamaterial’s properties are determined by its structure, the key challenge is to reduce the fabrication cost of the periodic structure on the micrometer or nanometer scale for realistic applications. In this paper, we experimentally demonstrate a new one-step method for the fabrication of a large-area infrared metamaterial at extremely low cost. A metallic mesh is used as a shadow mask during the pulsed laser deposition (PLD) process to fabricate a FeNi/SiC/FeNi multilayer sandwich structure on Si substrate (cm² level). The sample shows a strong absorption peak in the infrared frequency range, and the absorption intensity changes with the sample’s geometry.     

New approaches to high-throughput phasing

Recent progress in macromolecular phasing, in part stimulated by the high-throughput structural biology initiatives, has made this crucial stage of the elucidation of crystal structures easier and more automatic. A quick soak in various salts leads to the rapid incorporation of the anomalously scattering ions, suitable for phasing by MAD (multiwavelength anomalous dispersion), SAD (single-wavelength anomalous dispersion) or MIR (multiple isomorphous replacement) methods. The availability of stable synchrotron beam lines equipped with elaborate hardware control and sophisticated data processing programs makes it possible to collect very accurate diffraction data and to solve structures from the very weak anomalous signal of such atoms as sulfur or phosphorus, inherently present in macromolecules. The current progress in phasing, coupled with the parallel advances in protein crystallization, diffraction data collection and so on, suggests that, in the near future, the process of macromolecular crystal structure elucidation may become fully automatic.     

Tunable Slow Light in Graphene Metamaterial in a Broad Terahertz Range

A graphene-based metamaterial with tunable electromagnetically induced transparency is numerically studied in this paper. The proposed structure consists of a graphene layer composed of H shape between two cut wires, by breaking symmetry can control EIT-like effects and by increasing the asymmetry in the structure has strong coupling between elements. It is important that the peak frequency of transmission window can be dynamically controlled over a broad frequency range by varying the chemical potential of graphene layer. The results show that high refractive index sensitivity and figure of merit can be achieved in asymmetrical structures which is good for sensing applications. We calculated the group delay and the results show we can control the group velocity by varying the S parameter in asymmetrical structure. The characteristics of our system indicate important potential applications in integrated optical circuits such as optical storage, ultrafast plasmonic switches, high performance filters, and slow-light devices.     

Racemic and enantiopure forms of 3‐ethyl‐3‐phenylpyrrolidin‐2‐one adopt very different crystal structures

3‐Ethyl‐3‐phenylpyrrolidin‐2‐one ( EPP) is an experimental anticonvulsant based on the newly proposed α‐substituted amide group pharmacophore. These compounds show robust activity in animal models of drug‐resistant epilepsy and are thus promising for clinical development. In order to understand pharmaceutically relevant properties of such compounds, we are conducting an extensive investigation of their structures in the solid state. In this article, we report chiral high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) separation, determination of absolute configuration of enantiomers, and crystal structures of EPP. Preparative resolution of EPP enantiomers by chiral HPLC was accomplished on the Chiralcel OJ stationary phase in the polar‐organic mode. Using a combination of electronic CD spectroscopy and anomalous dispersion of X‐rays we established that the first‐eluted enantiomer corresponds to (+)‐(R )‐EPP, while the second‐eluted enantiomer corresponds to (−)‐(S )‐EPP. We also demonstrated that, in the crystalline state, enantiopure and racemic forms of this anticonvulsant have considerable differences in their supramolecular organization and patterns of hydrogen bonding. These stereospecific structural differences can be related to the differences in melting points and, correspondingly, solubility and bioavailability.     

Discordance of species trees with their most likely gene trees: the case of five taxa

Under a coalescent model for within-species evolution, gene trees may differ from species trees to such an extent that the gene tree topology most likely to evolve along the branches of a species tree can disagree with the species tree topology. Gene tree topologies that are more likely to be produced than the topology that matches that of the species tree are termed anomalous, and the region of branch-length space that gives rise to anomalous gene trees (AGTs) is the anomaly zone. We examine the occurrence of anomalous gene trees for the case of five taxa, the smallest number of taxa for which every species tree topology has a nonempty anomaly zone. Considering all sets of branch lengths that give rise to anomalous gene trees, the largest value possible for the smallest branch length in the species tree is greater in the five-taxon case (0.1934 coalescent time units) than in the previously studied case of four taxa (0.1568). The five-taxon case demonstrates the existence of three phenomena that do not occur in the four-taxon case. First, anomalous gene trees can have the same unlabeled topology as the species tree. Second, the anomaly zone does not necessarily enclose a ball centered at the origin in branch-length space, in which all branches are short. Third, as a branch length increases, it is possible for the number of AGTs to increase rather than decrease or remain constant. These results, which help to describe how the properties of anomalous gene trees increase in complexity as the number of taxa increases, will be useful in formulating strategies for evading the problem of anomalous gene trees during species tree inference from multilocus data.     

Structural and biochemical characterization of DHC2, a novel diheme cytochrome c from Geobacter sulfurreducens

Multiheme cytochromes c constitute a widespread class of proteins with essential functions in electron transfer and enzymatic catalysis. Their functional properties are in part determined by the relative arrangement of multiple heme cofactors, which in many cases have been found to pack in conserved interaction motifs. Understanding the significance of these motifs is crucial for the elucidation of the highly optimized properties of multiheme cytochromes c, but their spectroscopic investigation is often hindered by the large number and efficient coupling of the individual centers and the limited availability of recombinant protein material. We have identified a diheme cytochrome c, DHC2, from the metal-reducing soil bacterium Geobacter sulfurreducens and determined its crystal structure by the method of multiple-wavelength anomalous dispersion (MAD). The two heme groups of DHC2 pack into one of the typical heme interaction motifs observed in larger multiheme cytochromes, but because of the absence of further, interfering cofactors, the properties of this heme packing motif can be conveniently studied in detail. Spectroscopic properties (UV-vis and EPR) of the protein are typical for cytochromes containing low-spin Fe(III) centers with bis-histidinyl coordination. Midpoint potentials for the two heme groups have been determined to be -135 and -289 mV by potentiometric redox titrations. DHC2 has been produced by recombinant expression in Escherichia coli using the accessory plasmid pEC86 and is therefore accessible for systematic mutational studies in further investigating the properties of heme packing interactions in cytochromes c.     

Method of x-ray anomalous diffraction for lipid structures

The structures of the unit cells of lipid phases that exhibit long-range crystalline order but short-range liquid-like disorder are of biological interests. In particular, the recently discovered rhombohedral phase has a unit cell containing either the structure of a membrane fusion intermediate state or that of a peptide-induced transmembrane pore, depending on the lipid composition and participating peptides. Diffraction from such systems generally presents a difficult phase problem. The existing methods of phase determination all have their limitations. Therefore it is of general interest to develop a new phasing method. The method of multi-wavelength anomalous dispersion is routinely used in protein crystallography, but the same method is difficult for lipid systems for the practical reason that the commonly used lipid samples for diffraction do not have a well-defined thickness. Here we describe a practical approach to use the multi-wavelength anomalous dispersion method for lipid structures. The procedure is demonstrated with the lamellar phase of a brominated lipid. The method is general to all phases as long as anomalous diffraction is applicable.     

Sensitivity and specificity of QTc dispersion for identification of risk of cardiac death in patients with peripheral vascular disease.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether QTc dispersion, which is easily obtained from a standard electrocardiogram, can predict those patients with peripheral vascular disease who will subsequently suffer a cardiac death, despite having no cardiac symptoms or signs. DESIGN: Patients with peripheral vascular disease were followed up for five years after they had had coronary angiography, radionuclide ventriculography, and their QTc dispersion calculated from their 12 lead electrocardiogram. SUBJECTS: 49 such patients were then divided into three groups: survivors (34), cardiac death (12), and non-cardiac death (3). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Survival. RESULTS: The mean (SD; range) ejection fractions were similar in all three groups: survivors 45.9 (11.0; 27.0-52.0), cardiac death 44.0 (7.90; 28.5-59.0), and non-cardiac death 45.3 (4.55; 39.0-50.0). QTc dispersion was significantly prolonged in the cardiac death group compared with in the survivors (86.3(23.9; 41.0-139) v 56.5 (25.4; 25.0-164); P = 0.002). A QTc dispersion > or = 60 ms had a 92% sensitivity and 81% specificity in predicting cardiac death, QTc dispersion in patients with diffuse coronary artery disease was significantly (P < 0.05) greater than in those with no disease or disease affecting one, two, or three vessels. CONCLUSIONS: There is a strong link between QTc dispersion and cardiac death in patients with peripheral vascular disease. QTc dispersion may therefore be a cheap and non-invasive way of assessing the risk of cardiac death in patients with peripheral vascular disease.     

Mortality of pollen grains may result from errors of meiosis: study of pollen tetrads in Typha latifolia L

In the cattail Typha latifolia the four haploid products of meiosis remain attached and form the flat tetrad of pollen grains. Gametophytic lethals arisen de novo in diploid cells of sporophyte must manifest themselves as pollen tetrads with two dead grains. This could allow to estimate the rate of recessive lethals arresting pollen grain development. We studied pollen samples collected from 44 sprouts in two populations in the vicinity of Novosibirsk. The anomalous tetrads T1, T2, T3, and T4 carrying one, two, three, and four dead grains, respectively, were detected in each sampled individual. The mean frequency of all anomalous tetrads in the two populations was 3.4% and 8.7%. The frequencies of tetrad classes varied widely among the individuals with correlation coefficient up to 0.94, but their ratios remained nearly constant. The majority of anomalous tetrads were presented by T1 and T2 classes (their sum comprising 72.7 and 74.0% in two populations), T1 being a little more abundant. The observed pattern of frequencies of tetrads with dead grains can be explained by errors of male meiosis such as chromosome non-disjunction in both meiotic divisions. The tetrads with two dead pollen grains may result mostly from non-disjunction in anaphase I, and those with one pollen grain from non-disjunction in anaphase II, thus making tetrad analysis ineffective for estimating the rate of gametophytic lethals.     

Optical Bifacial Transmission by Asymmetric Charge-Oscillation-Induced Light Transmission Through a Plasmonic Structure

From first-principles computation, we reveal that optical bifacial transmission can be induced within an asymmetric metallic subwavelength structure. This phenomenon can be explained by a concrete picture in which the intensity of the driving forces for surface plasmon or charge wave is asymmetric for the two incident directions. Two distinguished different numerical methods, finite difference time domain (FDTD), and rigorous coupled wave analysis (RCWA) are utilized to verify that optical bifacial transmission can exist for linear plasmonic metamaterial. Previous results are also reviewed to confirm the physical meaning of optical bifacial transmission for a planar linear metamaterial. The incident light can provide direct driving forces for surface plasmon in one direction. While in the opposite direction, forces provided by the light diffraction are quite feeble. With the asymmetric driving forces, the excitation, propagation, and light-charge conversion of surface plasmon give the rise of bifacial charge-oscillation-induced transmission. In periodic a structure, the excitation of surface plasmon polariton can lead to the spoof vanish of such phenomenon. The transmissions for two incident directions get the same in macroscopic while the bifacial still exists in microscale.     

Insights from soft X-rays: the chlorine and sulfur sub-structures of a CK2α/DRB complex

The diffraction pattern of a protein crystal is normally a product of the interference of electromagnetic waves scattered by electrons of the crystalline sample. The diffraction pattern undergoes systematic changes in case additionally X-ray absorption occurs, meaning if the wavelength of the primary X-ray beam is relatively close to the absorption edge of selected elements of the sample. The resulting effects are summarized as "anomalous dispersion" and can be always observed with "soft" X-rays (wavelength around 2 A) since they match the absorption edges of sulfur and chlorine. A particularly useful application of this phenomenon is the experimental detection of the sub-structures of the anomalous scatterers in protein crystals. We demonstrate this here with a crystal of a C-terminally truncated variant of human CK2alpha to which two molecules of the inhibitor 5,6-dichloro-1-beta-D: -ribo-furanosyl-benzimidazole (DRB) are bound. The structure of this co-crystal has been solved recently. For this study we measured an additional diffraction data set at a wavelength of 2 A which showed strong anomalous dispersion effects. On the basis of these effects we detected all sulfur atoms of the protein, the two liganded DRB molecules and a total of 16 additional chloride ions some of them emerging at positions filled with water molecules in previous structure determinations. A number of chloride ions are bound to structural and functional important locations fitting to the constitutive activity and the acidophilic substrate specificity of the enzyme.     

Illusion Properties in Perfect Cylindrical Devices

In this paper, illusion properties in a class of perfect cylindrical devices that contain a singular radial mapping have been reported. In these media, illusion can be implemented using alternating structure of only two kinds of metamaterial: zero index metamaterials and perfect electric conductors. Full-wave simulations in two dimensions have been performed to verify its functionality and its illusionary effects for TM polarization incident wave. The duality principle can be applied for TE polarization.