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Electromagnetic fields carry a linear and an angular momentum, the first being responsible for the existence of the radiation pressure and the second for the transfer of torque from electromagnetic radiation to matter. The angular momentum is considered to have two components, one due to the polarization state of the field, usually called Spin Angular Momentum (SAM), and one due to existence of topological azimuthal charges in the field phase profile, which leads to the Orbital Angular Momentum (OAM). For non-paraxial fields these two contributions are not independent of each other, something which is described as spin-orbit coupling. It has been recently proved that electromagnetic fields necessarily carry also invariant radial charges that, as discussed in this work, play a key role in the angular momentum. Here we show that the total angular momentum consists in fact of three components: one component only dependent on the spin of the field, another dependent on the azimuthal charges carried by the field and a third component dependent on the spin and the radial charges contained in the field. By properly controlling the number and coupling among these radial charges it is possible to design electromagnetic fields with a desired total angular momentum. In this way it is also possible to discover fields with no orbital angular momentum and a spin angular momentum typical of spin-3/2 objects, irrespective of the fact that photons are spin-1 particles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a novel approach, "faFJP", to the computer controlled polishing (CCP) of mini aspheres down to 0:2 mm. The generation of locallytunable, full-aperture footprints is accomplished by applying a Fluid Jet Polishing (FJP) beam larger than the full aperture being polished and varying the incident angle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new software tool, called PanDao, for optical system designers is presented enabling during the design stage a simulation of the optimum fabrication chain and technologies needed as well as a fabrication cost impact analysis of design parameters and tolerances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A slit-scanning tomography system previously developed in the Centre of Physics of University of Minho allows to capture images of the eye and posteriorly calculus of the biometric (thickness and curvature) and optical (wavefront aberrations) properties of the corneal and crystalline lens surfaces. It is intended to optimise the system for an accurate computing of these properties of the crystalline lens in the relaxed state and during ocular accommodation. In this study, preliminary experimental results of the crystalline lens imaging of a subject during accommodation are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three-dimensional laser writing inside silicon remains today inaccessible with the shortest infrared light pulses unless complex schemes are used to circumvent screening propagation nonlinearities. Here, we explore a new approach irradiating silicon with trains of femtosecond laser pulses at repetition rates up to 5.6 THz. This extremely high repetition rate is faster than laser energy dissipation from microvolume inside silicon, thus enabling unique capabilities for pulse-to-pulse accumulation of free carriers generated by nonlinear ionization, as well as progressive thermal bandgap closure before any diffusion process comes into play. By space-resolved measurements of energy delivery inside silicon, we evidence a net increase on the level of space-time energy localization. The improvement is also supported by experiments demonstrating an apparent decrease of the energy threshold for modification and drastic improvements on the repeatability, uniformity, and symmetricity of the produced features. The unique benefits of THz bursts can provide a new route to meet the challenge of 3D inscription inside narrow bandgap materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experimentally highlighted are the limitations & optimizations of the CMOS sensor-mode engaged for the CAOS smart camera. Demonstrated is an optimized method for finding the Camera Response Function (CRF) using a calibrated target. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlighted are the linear extreme dynamic range calibrated target imaging tests of the CAOS smart camera showing a 177 dB linear dynamic range operation with an optical attenuation controlled bright laser target [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an overview of the design of a voice coil based white light intensity stabilization tool. A system is created capable of mechanically stabilizing the fluctuations in a beam of light. This is achieved with a use of a voice coil and simple PID based feedback loop, controlled using a LabVIEW interface. Stability results are shown using Allan deviations curves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nonlinear electrical response from a low temperature grown GaAs photomixer driven with the optical beat of two continuous-wave lasers allows frequency mixing between radiofrequency and THz-waves. Phase-sensitive demodulation of the signal from a modulated THz-wave is theoretically and experimentally demonstrated using a photomixer electrically driven with an alternative voltage at the modulation frequency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present the optical simulation and design concept of a spatial heterodyne spectrometer (SHS) for mobile applications. A framework using Python and Zemax OpticStudio was developed for the optical system design and automated tolerance analysis from the incoming light, the spectrometer and the imaging lens system to the 2D detector. The spectrometer design and the fabrication methods were validated using a test setup in the VIS spectral range for a future SHS fabrication in the LWIR spectral band operating on small unmanned aerial vehicles (SUAV) for remote sensing applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Binocular and accommodative dysfunctions affect the efficiency and coordination of the eyes, and this may impair reading performance. Reading can be evaluated using accuracy and speed measures. In this study, we searched for evidence that dysfunctions of accommodation (i.e. accommodation insufficiency, IA) and binocular vision (i.e. convergence insufficiency, CI) and also hyperopia have impact on reading ability. A sample of 292 children read a text following vision screening. The sample was composed of control children and children with the conditions: AI; CI and hyperopia. Multilinear regression analysis was used to evaluate the influence of variables sex, age and visual condition (control, AI, CI and hyperopia) on reading accuracy and speed. The results showed that ~7% of the variation in reading accuracy was explained by a model where age (p=0.001), and presence of AI (p<0.001) and hyperopia (p=0.019) were statistically significant. On the other hand, ~38% of the variation in the index of speed was explained by age alone (p<0.001). These results confirm the importance of age on children's ability to read, and suggests that AI and hyperopia, but not CI may affect reading accuracy. Reading speed does not appear to be affected by the presence of binocular or accommodative dysfunction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a new concept for a fully integrated nano-optical snapshot imaging polarimeter. It consists of a nano-optical retarder and polarizer array with various orientations combined with a microlens array and crosstalk module. That facilitates a fast, robust, and compact stokes imaging polarimeter without moving parts for applications at 450 nm wavelength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A method based on multiple Fiber Bragg Gratings (FBG) and a structure fabricated using a 3D printer for diameter measurement is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The sensor is easily developed inserting the FBG on the structure and fixing the FBG in two points. Due to this arrangement, when the diameter is reduced a force is applied on the sensor and this causes a wavelength shift. The study is divided in two steps using one experimental setup. At first, each FBG response is independently evaluated concerning the diameter variation and after that, the FBGs are evaluated together. The results demonstrated that the structure can be used as a way to monitor the diameter variation in some applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The most adverse weather condition for road safety happens when there is water, snow, or ice on the road surface because their presence highly decreases friction. Therefore, it is essential to drain or repel them quickly. If the water drops are repelled from the surface or the ice/snow formation is avoided with the application of superhydrophobic coatings, roads become safer. In order to functionalize the asphalt mixtures used in road pavements, nano/micromaterials, such as Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), TiO2, and SiO2, among others have been applied by spraying coating. The mixes are usually characterized by the water contact angle, and the surface roughness is typically assessed by optical and electron analysis. This research work aims to present a brief overview of superhydrophobic asphalt mixtures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The investigation of a D-shaped photonic crystal fiber sensor with a bimetallic layer for operation at the visible and infrared spectra is presented. The bimetallic layer is composed by silver and gold slabs deposited adjacently on the flat face of the fiber. It is shown that this architecture allows the excitation of two sharply distinguished plasmon resonance, which suggest potential applications for multiparameter sensing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photothermal therapy is a developing therapeutic technic mainly regarding the usage of nanoparticles considering their proneness to assemble around malignant tissue and induce their destruction by converting electromagnetic radiation into thermal radiation. In order to optimize this process, controlling the area of incidence in a way that it can fit the tumour and prevent damage of healthy cells is of great importance. This study was conducted by designing an optical system based on zoom systems for manipulating an initial input beam and adjust it to the most common skin cancer sizes. Two solutions are proposed, accomplishing spot sizes at 150 mm from the last lens within the approximate range of 2 mm to 76 mm, with beam divergences lower than 3 mrad. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, a long-period fiber grating (LPG) based sensor was evaluated as a sensing device for micro-force measurement, in the order of micro Newtons. It was used an LPG fabricated by arc-inducted technique in a SMF-28 standard optical fiber. The optical fiber was fixed between two clamps with a separation of 150 mm with the middle of the LPG located at the center. Characterizations were performed in terms of temperature, curvature and strain. The grating was then used as a micro-force sensor by means of both curvature and strain, induced by a hung mass in a stretched fiber. Furthermore, the evaluation of a precurvature LPG was performed to assess if an increase of sensitivity is achieved. Micro-force sensitivity achieved with the stretched LPG was 1.41 nm/mN and it was demonstrated that its sensitivity can be enhanced to 5.14 nm/mN with a pre-curvature of 2.2 m–1 applied to the LPG, achieving a spectral resolution of at least 15.6 μN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present our investigation on the crystallization of IBS HfO2 on (0001) SiO2. The crystallization was studied by in-situ XRD. The activation energy was 2.6±0.5 eV. The growth follows a two-dimensional mode. LIDT measurements (5000-on-1) with 10 ns pulses at 355 nm on 3QWT HfO2 layers shows that the crystallization leads to increase of the laser irradiation resistance. The 0%-LIDT of the as coated sample was 3.1 J/cm2 and increased to 3.7 J/cm2 after 5h @ 500°C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An approach based on the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method is developed for simulating the dynamics of two ultrashort laser pulses inside a saturable absorbing media. This work discusses the results obtained using this numerical model for the prediction of the nonlinear absorbing media behaviour as well as how it affects the final double pulse combination. These results can be used to improve contrast cleaning conditions for high power laser chains and for synchronization studies, this last application was checked in the VEGA facility lab as a code validation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The optical quality of three multifocal intraocular lenses (MIOLs) was measured in vitro using the area under the modulation transfer function (MTFa) and energy efficiency (EE). We evaluated those metrics through-focus (TF) by axially scanning the image space with three wavelengths (R, G, B). High linear correlation between MTFa and EE was found for all cases. Correlations between optical in vitro results (polychromatic TF-MTFa and TF-EE) and clinical visual acuity (VA) defocus curves for the three MIOLs allowed us to derive mathematical expressions. Both metrics proved to be equivalent to predict postoperative VA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The analysis of 2D scattering maps generated in scatterometry experiments for detection and classification of nanoparticle on surfaces is a cumbersome and slow process. Recently, deep learning techniques have been adopted to avoid manual feature extraction and classification in many research and application areas, including optics. In the present work, we collected experimental dataset of nanoparticles deposited on wafers for four different classes of polystyrene particles (with diameters of 40, 50, 60, 80 nm) plus background (no particles) class. We trained a convolutional neural network, including its architecture optimization, and achieved 95% accurate results. We compared the performance of this network to a existing method based on line-by-line search and thresholding, demonstrating up to a twofold enhanced performance in particle classification. The network is extended by a supervisor layer that can reject up to 80% of the fooling images at the cost of only rejecting 10% of original data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A phase shift time of flight technique determines a position by comparing the phase angle of a continuously modulated signal in the source and its reflection on a target. However, due to its cyclical properties, the position information is contained within an ambiguity interval. For an absolute measurement, this interval is repeated N times plus a residual part given by the phase shift. In this work we propose an application of the Vernier method to determine N and a setup for mid-range applications (10-20) m with a 3 GHz amplitude modulated source to allow accuracies ≤ 100 μm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optical micro/nanofiber, with diameter close to the wavelength of the waveguided light, leaves a considerably large fractional evanescent fields for coupling with low-dimensional functional nanostructures. Here I introduce our works on 4micro/nanofiber-coupled low-dimensional structures for nanophotonic applications including gas sensing and ultrashort pulse measurement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a simple, high-duty-cycle, cavity-enhanced optical absorption measurement technique based on delay-limited Pound-Drever-Hall (PDH) sideband locking. The chosen circuit naturally provides realtime readout of the amplitude quadrature of the PDH error signal, which can be mapped onto the cavity's internal loss rate while using the phase quadrature to lock sideband frequency to the cavity mode. Our proofof-concept device comprises a 5-cm-long Fabry-Perot cavity with a 450 kHz bandwidth (finesse 6800, 350 ns power ringdown), and a feedback bandwidth of several MHz, limited primarily by the group delay of our electronics. This technique could readily be applied to other optical resonators such as fiber cavities, with potential applications in radiation dosimetry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We demonstrate the integration of arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) de-multiplexer with a low loss and low index contrast platform, i.e., a striped-loaded slot waveguide (SLWG). The SLSW-AWG is designed to operate around the wavelength λ = 1550 nm with a four-output channel. The device experiences excellent output parameters: channel width δλ = 1.39 nm at -3dB, channel spacing Δλ = 2.43 nm and extinction ratio ER = 9.87 dB, useful for sensing applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, methods and procedures are investigated for the holistic simulation of the dynamicalthermal behavior of high-performance optics like lithography objectives. Flexible multibody systems in combination with model order reduction methods, finite element thermal analysis and optical system analyses are used for transient simulations of the dynamical-thermal behavior of optical systems at low computational cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the electron is the photon-generator and the electron is rotating around itself and around the nucleus, the emitted photon from the electron should have the effect of these rotating motions. So, the photon has a three-dimensional motion, including a transition movement and a rotary motion. And it traverses in a helical trajectory. By using this definition, we have proved wave-particle duality at the same time and introduce a new equation for the photon motion and its energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study switching operation in a plasmonic coupler using fs-pulses. Simulations using the finite difference time-domain method (FDTD) are carried out showing how the output changes as the pulse energy increases raising from zero to a maximum. Both cases of neglecting and realistic losses are considered in order to compare. The work is intended to explore the use of pulses for all-optical signal processing in a potentially interesting system for integrated photonics at the nanometric scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We demonstrate a novel approach to the determination of optical loss coefficients in metal-coated fibers in a 0.4-1.9 μm wavelength range. It is based on measuring the change of temperature-dependent electrical resistance of the metal coating caused by laser radiation transmitted through the fiber. A number of single-mode and multimode metallized fibers were investigated using several laser sources operating in visible and near infrared ranges. The spectral dependencies of optical losses of copper-coated fibers were experimentally obtained. The region that corresponds to the minimum optical losses is located near 1 μm wavelength. The increase of radiation losses in 1.5-1.9 μm region is much steeper compared to polymer-coated fibers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We experimentally demonstrate the generation of temporal pulse doublets from the propagation of initial super-Gaussian waveforms in an optical fiber with anomalous dispersion. The nonlinear focusing dynamics leads to picosecond structures that are characterized both in amplitude and phase. Their close-to-Gaussian Fourier-transform limited shape is found in excellent agreement with numerical simulations. This single-stage reshaping scheme is energy efficient, can sustain GHz repetition rates and temporal compression factors around 10 are demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work we show that a silicon optomechanical crystal cavity can be used as an optomechanical oscillator when driven to the phonon lasing condition with a blue-detuned laser. The optomechanical cavity is designed to have a breathing like mode vibrating at Ωm/2π =3.897 GHz in a full phononic bandgap. Our measurements show that the first harmonic displays a phase noise of -100 dBc/Hz at 100 kHz. Stronger bluedetuned driving leads eventually to the formation of an optomechanical frequency comb, with lines spaced by the mechanical frequency. The measured phase noise grows up with the harmonic number, as in classical harmonic mixing. We present real-time measurements of the comb waveform and show that it can be adjusted to a theoretical model recently presented. Our results suggest that silicon optomechanical cavities can play a role in integrated microwave photonics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the impact of temporal randomness on the formation of vectorial dispersive shock-waves that emerge due to the interaction of a partially coherent probe wave co-propagating together with an orthogonally polarized intense short pulse. Experiments carried out in a normally dispersive optical fiber demonstrate that the lack of coherence of the probe landscape acts as a strong diffusive term, which is able to hamper or inhibit the vectorial shock formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We numerically study the temporal patterns that emerge upon the propagation of one or two π phase jumps in a nonlinear optical fiber. Both normal and anomalous regimes of dispersion are considered. The analytical derivation of linear patterns based on Fresnel's integrals provides some clues to better understand the properties of the resulting coherent structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We discuss the possibility of exploiting polariton-exciton physics as an analogue experimental tool to study challenging ideas and existing problems arising in the context of gravity theory and theoretical cosmology. We search for cosmology analogues with specific focus on simulating non-equilibrium dynamics across cosmological phase transitions in laboratory as well as employing optical analogue horizons in Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) and signatures of white hole radiation to study gravitational and cosmological processes. Our analysis aims to uncover conceptual similarities between condensed matter systems and various phenomena in the Early Universe such as the symmetry breaking of the vacuum energy, spontaneous production of particles, false vacuum and cosmic inflation together with a number of unsolved cosmological problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We experimentally demonstrate the generation of pulse trains with repetition rates of 40-GHz, 80 GHz and 200 GHz. Our approach is based on the nonlinear compression of besselon pulses in a highly-nonlinear fiber with normal dispersion. The pulses are of high quality, with a subpicosecond duration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present the concept, analysis and design of a nonreciprocal system of coupled nonlinear waveguides, operating at the near infrared. We exploit the spatial asymmetry induced by the exceptional points of a non-Hermitian coupler which, combined with saturable absorption in the nonlinear regime, can break Lorentz reciprocity. In this work, we introduce asymmetric losses in a pair of coupled silicon waveguides by overlaying only one of them with unbiased graphene, subject to saturable absorption. The device can be used as a broadband half-duplex isolator: a two-port component offering unidirectional transmission of high-power signals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study numerically the propagation of necklace beams through a gas-filled capillary. Ultra-short pulses in the visible (VIS) region can be obtained due to the spectral broadening of these necklace beams. This new source of few-cycle VIS pulses can be generated carrying tens of microjoules of energy using these special beams, being a valuable tool for the improvement of the standard post-compression schemes in terms of spatial stability and output energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a system based on phase conjugation in optical fibers for autocompensating highdimensional quantum cryptohraphy. Phase changes and coupling effects are auto-compensated by a single loop between Alice and Bob. Bob uses a source of coherent states and next Alice attenuate them up to a single photon level and thus 1-qudit states are generated for implementing a particular QKD protocol, for instance the BB84 one, together with decoy states to detect eavesdropping attacks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we demonstrate that it is possible to obtain an optical parametric oscillator with a simultaneous amplification of multiple frequencies using only a nonlinear photonic crystal with highly polished end-faces, preventing the utilization of external cavity mirrors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nonlinear optical phenomena are paramount in many photonic applications ranging from frequency broadening and generation of ultrashort pulses to frequency comb-based metrology. A recent trend has been to miniaturize photonic components, resulting also in a demand for small scale nonlinear components. This demand is difficult to address by using conventional materials motivating the search for alternative approaches. Nonlinear plasmonic metasurface cavities have recently emerged as a promising platform to enable nanoscale nonlinear optics. Despite steady progress, the so far achieved conversion efficiencies have not yet rivalled conventional materials. Here, we discuss our recent work to develop more efficient nonlinear metamaterials, focusing on plasmonic metasurfaces supporting collective responses known as surface lattice resonances. These resonances can exhibit very narrow spectral features, showing potential to considerably enhance nonlinear processes via resonant interactions. We demonstrate a plasmonic metasurface operating at the telecommunications C band that exhibits a record-high quality factor close to 2400, demonstrating an order-of-magnitude improvement compared to existing metasurface cavities. Motivated by this experimental demonstration, we also present numerical predictions suggesting that such metasurfaces could soon answer the existing demand for miniaturized and/or flat nonlinear components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanostructured materials with tunable nonlinear optical response are of great interest for different applications in nanophotonics. In this work we report the results of a comprehensive study on the nonlinear optical properties of two kinds of plasmonic metamaterials, i.e., honeycomb nanoprism arrays and multilayer hyperbolic metamaterials, which proved to have a very rich spectrum of parameters (as metamaterials morphology and composition, wavelength and polarization of an input beam) to exploit for controlling their nonlinear response over a broad spectral range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photoacoustic and Photothermal Spectroscopy are excellent techniques for studying the optical absorption spectra of opaque and highly light-scattering substances such as nanomaterials. In this paper we review recent advances in the methodology and its novel applications at the nanoscopic scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The work here presented demonstrates theoretically that it is possible to create optical resonators based on levitation properties of thin films subjected to repulsive Casimir-Lifshitz forces. Our optical cavity design is made up of commonly found materials, such as silicon oxide, polystyrene or gold, with glycerol as a mediating medium, which supports high Q-factor optical modes at visible frequencies. The balance between flotation and repulsive Casimir-Lifshitz forces in the system allows the fine-tuning of the optical cavity thickness and hence its modes. Finally, we show that well-defined spectral features in the reflectivity allows by indirect means, an accurate prediction of the estimated equilibrium distance at which some part of the optical cavity arrangement levitates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent findings in the frame of temperature wave-like oscillations on the ultra-short, ultra-fast time scales in solid states devices are here reviewed. The possibility for wave-like temperature oscillations are investigated at the light of the pass-band characteristic in w-k space for the temperature scalar field. The bandpass filter characteristics are accessed in terms of the heat carriers scattering times. The concepts here reviewed are of interest for perspective design of novel thermal nano-devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magneto-optical materials have been proposed as promising candidates for an active control of the directionality of nanoscale heat radiation. Here, we discuss the possibility to rectify nanoscale radiative heat fluxes by means of non-reciprocal surface waves and propose a nanoscale heat flux rectifier or diode which can be controlled actively by means of externally applied fields. We furthermore, reveal the spin coupling mechanism behind the observed heat flux rectification [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present an autocompensating quantum cryptography technique for Measurement-Device-Independent quantum cryptography devices with different kind of optical fiber modes. We center our study on collinear spatial modes in few-mode optical fibers by using both fiber and micro-optical components. We also indicate how the obtained results can be easily extended to polarization modes in monomode optical fibers and spatial codirectional modes in multicore optical fibers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new procedure is proposed to optimize the intercarrier spacing and wavelength selective switch (WSS) bandwidth for superchannels, using a Monte Carlo simulation. We perform an exhaustive assessment of the optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR) penalties due to the optical filtering and intercarrier crosstalk, and concluded that the optimum intercarrier spacing is at most 1.1 GHz larger than the Nyquist bandwidth and the results show how the number of cascaded WSSs influences the intercarrier spacing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We perform long-time measurements of the optical silica transmittance during several months in different environments and with different nanofiber lengths. These measurements are repeatable and give guidelines to control and to improve the lifetime and the performances of the nanofiber. The dust particles on the nanofiber surface is the fundamental reason behind its degradation. Enhancing the cleanness conditions of the nanofiber environment makes its lifetime increases significantly (from some hours to some months) and enables to avoid the dramatic decrease of its transmittance even after months. The nanofiber length does not contribute to the nanofiber transmittance degradation. Stabilizing the nanofiber transmittance after its decrease is possible by putting in in a dust free box. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we present the first study to our knowledge of Laser-Induced Breakdown (LIB) measurements of silica nanofibers in air and in three liquids for different radii in the ns regime. The experimental protocol is described. A significant number of samples are tested and the results are highly repeatable. We showed that immerging a nanofiber in a liquid substantially enhanced the LIB, the most salient increase having been obtained for nanofibers immersed in water for which the LIB has been almost multiplied by a factor of 2 compared with air. This property offers a new degree of freedom to widen the field of applications of nanofibers, where high peaks powers are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We used Brillouin scattering in silica nanofiber to demonstrate a microNewton force sensor having weak optical losses and using only one access of the nanofiber. The measurements are in good agreement with the theoretical model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]