Abstract
Photonic Nanojets are highly localized wave fields emerging directly behind dielectric microspheres; if suitably illuminated. In this contribution we reveal how different illumination conditions can be used to engineer the photonic Nanojets by measuring them in amplitude and phase with a high resolution interference microscope. We investigate how the wavelength, the amplitude distribution of the illumination, its polarization, or a break in symmetry of the axial-symmetric structure and the illumination affect the position, the localization and the shape of the photonic Nanojets. Various fascinating properties are systematically revealed and their implications for possible applications are discussed.
Highlights
The scattering of light from spherical particles is well described by Mie theory which has been established more than 100 years ago
We have investigated in this work on experimental grounds how different illumination conditions affect the properties of photonic Nanojets that emerge on the rear side of dielectric microspheres
We have employed in this work a high-resolution interference microscope to access the amplitude and phase of the photonic Nanojets
Summary
The scattering of light from spherical particles is well described by Mie theory which has been established more than 100 years ago. The HRIM allows manipulating the illumination conditions and, at the same time, measuring and monitoring the modified characteristics, such as the wavefront and the polarization of the illumination in situ This is a great advantage since controlling and manipulating the illumination conditions are difficult tasks in other experimental systems, such as a scanning near-field optical or a confocal microscopes, where the illumination is usually restricted to an individual scenario. We show with this work how to affect specific properties of the photonic Nanojets using suitably shaped illumination which confidently enhances the degree of freedom to consider them in future applications. These implications are discussed throughout the manuscript
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