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Devices based on photonic integrated circuits play a crucial role in the development of low-cost, high-performance, industry-scale manufacturable sensors. We report the design, fabrication, and application of a silicon nitride waveguide-based integrated photonic sensor in Young's interferometer configuration combined with Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS) imaging detection. We use a finite-difference time-domain method to analyze the performance of the sensor device and optimize the sensitivity of the fundamental transverse-electric (TE) mode. We develop a low-cost fabrication method for the photonic sensor chip, using photolithography-compatible dimensions, and produce the sensing region with wet-etching of silicon dioxide. We demonstrate the sensor's functioning by measuring the optical phase shift with glucose concentration in an aqueous solution. We obtain consistent interference patterns with fringe visibility exceeding 0.75 and measure the phase differences for glucose concentrations in the 10 ug/ml order, corresponding to the order of 10^7 molecules in the sensing volume. We envision extending this work to functionalized surface sensors based on molecular binding. Our work will impact biosensing applications and, more generally, the fabrication of interferometric-based photonic devices., Comment: 16 pages, 12 figures

Strong quantum-correlated sources are essential but delicate resources for quantum information science and engineering protocols. Decoherence and loss are the two main disruptive processes that lead to the loss of nonclassical behavior in quantum correlations. In quantum systems, scattering can contribute to both decoherence and loss. In this work, we present an experimental scheme capable of significantly mitigating the adverse impact of scattering in quantum systems. Our quantum system is composed of a two-mode squeezed light generated with the four-wave mixing process in hot rubidium vapor, and a scatterer is introduced to one of the two modes. An integrating sphere is then placed after the scatterer to recollect the scattered photons. We use mutual information between the two modes as the measure of quantum correlations, and demonstrate a 47.5% mutual information recovery from scattering, despite an enormous photon loss of greater than 85%. Our scheme is a pioneering step towards recovering quantum correlations from disruptive random processes, thus has the potential to bridge the gap between proof-of-principle demonstrations and practical real-world deployments of quantum protocols., Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures

The development and application of upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) have garnered significant attention due to their unique optical properties and potential uses in bioimaging, drug delivery, and solar cells. However, the hydrophobic nature of UCNPs presents challenges in their synthesis and application, particularly in aqueous environments. We provide an overview of UCNPs, their synthesis challenges, and the importance of surface modification. Furthermore, we discuss the properties of \textit{LiYF_{4}:Yb, Er, Tm} UCNPs synthesized using novel 2,2-[ethylenebis(oxy)] bisacetic acid (EBAA) method and their versatile applications. Notably, the first Dynamic Light Scattering measurement on 05/22/2022 showed a size of 11.39 nm, and after 348 days on 04/05/2023, the same batch maintained a size of 13.8 nm, indicating excellent stability and no particle agglomeration over this extended period. This remarkable stability underscores the potential of UCNPs synthesized with the EBAA method for long-term applications. Finally, we compare the EBAA method with other surface modification techniques, exploring challenges and future perspectives for the use of hydrophilic UCNPs in various applications. This review aims to emphasize the significance of the EBAA method in advancing the field of upconversion nanoparticles and broadening their potential integration into diverse applications., Comment: 21 Pages, 1 table, 13 figures

Fundamental understanding of macroscopic properties of polymer nanocomposites (PNCs) remains difficult due to the complex interplay of microscopic dynamics and structure, namely interfacial layer relaxations and three-dimensional nanoparticle arrangements. The effect of surface modification by alkyl methoxysilanes at different grafting densities has been studied in PNCs made of poly(2-vinylpyridine) and spherical 20 nm silica nanoparticles (NPs). The segmental dynamics has been probed by broadband dielectric spectroscopy, and the filler structure by small-angle X-ray scattering and reverse Monte Carlo simulations. By combining the particle configurations with the interfacial layer properties, it is shown how surface modification tunes the attractive polymer-particle interactions: bare NPs slow down the polymer interfacial layer dynamics over a thickness of ca. 5 nm, while grafting screens these interactions. Our analysis of interparticle spacing and segmental dynamics provides unprecedented insight into the effect of surface modification on the main characteristics of PNCs: particle interactions and polymer interfacial layers.

Both the dispersion state of nanoparticles (NPs) within polymer nanocomposites (PNCs) and the dynamical state of the polymer altered by the presence of the NP/polymer interfaces have a strong impact on the macroscopic properties of PNCs. In particular, mechanical properties are strongly affected by percolation of hard phases, which may be NP networks, dynamically modified polymer regions, or combinations of both. In this article, the impact on dispersion and dynamics of surface modification of the NPs by short monomethoxysilanes with eight carbons in the alkyl part (C8) is studied. As a function of grafting density and particle content, polymer dynamics is followed by broadband dielectric spectroscopy and analyzed by an interfacial layer model, whereas the particle dispersion is investigated by small-angle X-ray scattering and analyzed by reverse Monte Carlo simulations. NP dispersions are found to be destabilized only at the highest grafting. The interfacial layer formalism allows the clear identification of the volume fraction of interfacial polymer, with its characteristic time. The strongest dynamical slow-down in the polymer is found for unmodified NPs, while grafting weakens this effect progressively. The combination of all three techniques enables a unique measurement of the true thickness of the interfacial layer, which is ca. 5 nm. Finally, the comparison between longer (C18) and shorter (C8) grafts provides unprecedented insight into the efficacy and tunability of surface modification. It is shown that C8-grafting allows for a more progressive tuning, which goes beyond a pure mass effect.

Quantum frequency up-conversion is a cutting-edge technique that leverages the interaction between photons and quantum systems to shift the frequency of single photons from a lower frequency to a higher frequency. If the photon before up-conversion was one of the entangled pair, then it is important to understand how much entanglement is preserved after up-conversion. In this study, we present a theoretical analysis of the transformation of the time-dependent second-order quantum correlations in photon pairs and find the preservation of such correlations under fairly general conditions. We also analyze the two-photon Hong-Ou-Mandel interference between the frequency-converted idler photon and the signal photon. The visibility of the two-photon interference is sensitive to the magnitude of the frequency conversion, and it improves when the frequency separation between two photons goes down.

We study coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy in air-filled anti-resonance hollow-core photonic crystal fiber, otherwise known as 'revolver' fiber. We compare the vibrational coherent anti-Stokes Raman signal of N$_2$, at 2331 cm$^{-1}$, generated in ambient air (no fiber present), with the one generated in a 2.96 cm of a revolver fiber. We show a 170 times enhancement for the signal produced in the fiber, due to an increased interaction path. Remarkably, the N$_2$ signal obtained in the revolver fiber shows near-zero non-resonant background, due to near-zero overlap between the laser field and the fiber cladding. Through our study, we find that the revolver fiber properties make it an ideal candidate for the coherent Raman spectroscopy signal enhancement.

In a viral pandemic, a few important tests are required for successful containment of the virus and reduction in severity of the infection. Among those tests, a test for the neutralizing ability of an antibody is crucial for assessment of population immunity gained through vaccination, and to test therapeutic value of antibodies made to counter the infections. Here, we report a sensitive technique to detect the relative neutralizing strength of various antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. We used bright, photostable, background-free, fluorescent upconversion nanoparticles conjugated with SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding domain as a phantom virion. A glass bottom plate coated with angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE-2) protein imitates the target cells. When no neutralizing IgG antibody was present in the sample, the particles would bind to the ACE-2 with high affinity. In contrast, a neutralizing antibody can prevent particle attachment to the ACE-2-coated substrate. A prototype system consisting of a custom-made confocal microscope was used to quantify particle attachment to the substrate. The sensitivity of this assay can reach 4.0 ng/ml and the dynamic range is from 1.0 ng/ml to 3.2 {\mu}g/ml. This is to be compared to 19 ng/ml sensitivity of commercially available kits.

Spontaneous emission from individual atoms in vapor lasts nanoseconds, if not microseconds, and beatings in this emission involve only directly excited energy sublevels. In contrast, the superfluorescent emissions burst on a much-reduced timescale and their beatings involve both directly and indirectly excited energy sublevels. In this work, picosecond and femtosecond superfluorescent beatings are observed from a dense cesium atomic vapor. Cesium atoms are excited by 60-femtosecond long, 800 nm laser pulses via two-photon processes into their coherent superpositions of the ground 6S and excited 8S states. As a part of the transient four wave mixing process, the yoked superfluorescent blue light at lower transitions of 6S - 7P are recorded and studied. Delayed buildup time of this blue light is measured as a function of the input laser beam power using a high-resolution 2 ps streak camera. The power dependent buildup delay time is consistently doubled as the vapor temperature is lowered to cut the number of atoms by half. At low power and density, a beating with a period of 100 picoseconds representing the ground state splitting is observed. The autocorrelation measurements of the generated blue light exhibit a beating with a quasi-period of 230 fs corresponding to the splitting of the 7P level primarily at lower input laser power. Understanding and, eventually, controlling the intriguing nature of superfluorescent beatings may permit a rapid quantum operation free from the rather slow spontaneous emission processes from atoms and molecules., Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures