The ability to fabricate plasmonic structures on the distal facet of an optical fiber has led to a diverse range of minimally invasive sensors. However these applications have been hindered by the inherent turbidity of the fiber and complex transmission properties of the nanostructures. We propose to use a wavefront shaping technique to pre-shape light prior to transmission through the nanostructed fiber to control the coupling between the guided modes of the fiber and the plasmonic nanostructures. We show that the sensing resolution of a plasmonic fiber optic can achieve a sub-cellular spatial resolution in biological applications. In this work, a broad range of plasmonic structures are explored as candidates for spatially resolved plasmonic sensing including periodic nanostructures for extraordinary optical transmission and sub-diffraction beam formation as well as nanoislands fabricated by a solid-state dewetting procedure for surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy.
Recent advancements in optogenetics and brain interfacing technologies have significantly improved neuroscience research. However, developing user-friendly and efficient probes with high spatial and temporal resolution and specificity remains a challenge. Tapered Optical Fibers (TOFs) have emerged as an intriguing solution due to their unique properties. This work reviews the strategies developed to enable precise definitions of light delivery and collection sites along the TOF axis, incorporating additional functionalities such as electrical recording sites or exploiting alternative light-matter interactions for label-free applications. The latest progresses in TOF micro and nanostructuring are categorized based on these objectives, highlighting the benefits and limitations of each approach. This manuscript aims at providing a comprehensive overview of recent advancements in TOF micro and nanostructuring.
Neurophotonics was launched in 2014 coinciding with the launch of the BRAIN Initiative focused on development of technologies for advancement of neuroscience. For the last seven years, Neurophotonics’ agenda has been well aligned with this focus on neurotechnologies featuring new optical methods and tools applicable to brain studies. While the BRAIN Initiative 2.0 is pivoting towards applications of these novel tools in the quest to understand the brain, in this article we review an extensive and diverse toolkit of novel methods to explore brain function that have emerged from the BRAIN Initiative and related large-scale efforts for measurement and manipulation of brain structure and function. Here, we focus on neurophotonic tools mostly applicable to animal studies. A companion article, scheduled to appear later this year, will cover diffuse optical imaging methods applicable to noninvasive human studies. For each domain, we outline the current state-of-the-art of the respective technologies, identify the areas where innovation is needed and provide an outlook for the future directions.
Multipoint Light Emitting Optical Fibers (MPF) has been recently demonstrated as a versatile tool for spatially
addressable optogenetics experiments. Their fabrication has been possible thanks to a number of key microfabrication
technologies, in particular the unique nanofabrication capabilities of a Focused Ion Beam. This work provides the
complete description of MPF fabrication, detailing the optimization process for each fabrication step.
Colloidal nanocrystals, i.e. quantum dots synthesized trough wet-chemistry approaches, are promising nanoparticles for
photonic applications and, remarkably, their quantum nature makes them very promising for single photon emission at
room temperature. In this work we describe two approaches to engineer the emission properties of these nanoemitters in
terms of radiative lifetime and photon polarization, drawing a viable strategy for their exploitation as room-temperature
single photon sources for quantum information and quantum telecommunications.
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