The main topic of this thesis is the fabrication and characterization of structures smaller than the wavelength of light, for operation in the visible or near infrared spectral range. In the first part of this thesis, the fabrication of periodic structures in one and two dimensions with an interference photolithography technique is described in detail. The structure periodicities that have been...

The objective of this work is to develop and test a photovoltaic retinal prosthesis for restoring sight to patients blinded by degenerative retinal diseases. A silicon photodiode array for subretinal stimulation has been fabricated by a silicon-integrated-circuit/MEMS process. Each pixel in the two-dimensional array contains three series-connected photodiodes, which photovoltaically convert pul...

Controlling thermal emission with resonant photonic nanostructures has recently attracted much attention. Most of the work has concentrated on the mid-infrared wavelength range and/or was based on metallic nanostructures. Here, we demonstrate the experimental operation of a resonant thermal emitter operating in the near-infrared (≈1.5 μm) wavelength range. The emitter is based on a doped silico...

We theoretically investigate a metasurface perfect absorber based on indium-tin-oxide as active material. Our design scheme relies on conventional metal-oxide-semiconductor model and the Drude model. Inducing a voltage into the device causes a blue-shift of 50 nm in the reflectance spectrum in the infrared region. The total thickness of the device is only 3.5% of the working wavelength λ = 2.56...

Polarization handling in suspended silicon photonics has the potential to enable new applications in fields such as optomechanics, photonic microelectromechanical systems, and mid-infrared photonics. In this work, we experimentally demonstrate a suspended polarization beam splitter on a silicon-on-insulator waveguide platform, based on an asymmetric directional coupler. Our device presents pola...

This paper presents a new approach for measuring physical variables on micro-electronic components. An optical system is used to simultaneously quantify the surface temperature of a component and its expansion. This double acquisition is realized by a Michelson interferometer coupled with a Charge Coupled Device (CCD) line device. To validate this method, the temperature measurements were direc...

Objective: We previously reported that near-infrared irradiation nonthermally induces long-lasting vasodilation of the subdermal plexus by causing apoptosis of vascular smooth muscle cells. To clarify the possible application of near-infrared irradiation to prevent skin flap necrosis, we evaluated the length of axial pattern flap survival in rats by near-infrared irradiation. Methods: A bilater...

There is a growing interest in monitoring muscle oxygen saturation (SmO2 ), which is a localized measure of muscle oxidative metabolism and can be acquired continuously and noninvasively using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) methods. Most NIRS systems are cumbersome, expensive, fiber coupled devices, with use limited to lab settings. A novel, low cost, wireless, wearable has been developed fo...

Perfect absorption (PA) of incident light is important for both fundamental light-matter interaction studies and practical device applications. PA studies so far have mainly used resonant nanostructures that require delicate structural patterning. Here, we realize tunable and broadband PA in the near-infrared region using relatively simple thin film coatings. We adjust the growth condition of a...

Ultrafast electron pulses can be produced from sharp metallic tips illuminated by femtosecond near infrared laser pulses. Use of an array of metallic nanotips for high charge bunch generation and accelerator applications is also feasible but the small fraction of the emitter tip area limits the quantum efficiency. We therefore propose a submicron-pitch, high-density nanotip array device with a ...