Advanced deep learning-based strategy for optical inversion engineering of optical coatings.

Optical inversion engineering is crucial for the precise manufacturing of optical coatings. We present a fast-analytical model to generate a set of simulated datasets for training the deep learning model. Subsequently, a deep learning strategy based on the transformer framework for inversing errors in the manufacturing of optical coatings is proposed.

Self-consistent optical constants of LiF films.

Lithium fluoride (LiF) has the shortest known cut-off in nature, with transparency down to 102.5 nm, which makes it a critical material for far-ultraviolet (FUV, 100 nm < λ < 200 nm) optical elements. Accurate optical constants are essential for element design.

Analytic theory of X-ray wideband multilayer coated diffraction gratings.

An analytic theory of X-ray (∼0.04-4 keV) diffraction from wideband multilayer coated gratings is developed. It is found that the wideband blazed gratings can operate in the single-order regime when only one diffraction wave is effectively excited.

Real-time high-quality single-lens computational imaging via enhancing lens modulation transfer function consistency.

The demand for high-quality, lightweight infrared imaging systems is rapidly increasing. Single-lens computational imaging, combining single-lens with post-processing algorithms, offers a promising solution to miniaturize imaging systems while maintaining performance. However, these post-processing algorithms are typically highly complex, posing significant challenges for real-time reconstruction on a neural network processing unit (NPU) chip.

Two-dimensional negative refraction steering of hybrid polaritons in graphene/twisted bilayer -MoO heterostructures.

Hyperbolic materials have emerged as a powerful medium for manipulating polaritons at deeply subwavelength scales. In the realm of polaritonic applications, -MoO/graphene heterostructures have shown great promise, featuring low-loss, electrically tunable negative refraction, and enhanced focusing and steering capabilities. However, a significant challenge has been the manipulation of the focusing position of hybrid polaritons, which is limited to a line perpendicular to the interface or unable to be manipulated while steering.

High-precision deposition of a laterally graded X-ray multilayer with high reflectance on a strongly curved toroidal mirror.

Multilayer coated toroidal mirrors have been widely used in X-ray optical systems to focus/collimate the X-ray beams. The variation of grazing incidence angles at different positions in the tangential direction of the toroidal mirror necessitates a lateral gradient of the multilayer d-spacing. Additionally, a small radius of curvature (RoC) in the sagittal direction and the compact size of the mirror make the deposition more difficult.

Middle-high spatial frequency error suppression of a self-organizing map pseudorandom path planning method in complex surface polishing.

Pseudorandom path is helpful to reduce the middle-high spatial frequency error, but existing methods require 2D to 3D mapping, which introduces computational complexity and spatial frequency distortion. To this end, this study proposes a pseudorandom path generation method based on self-organizing map (SOM), which directly constructs continuous 3D paths through neural network topology optimization and achieves adaptability to geometric shapes on complex surfaces. The surface topography after polishing and power spectral density (PSD) curves of the raster path, the spiral path, and our proposed SOM path on planar surfaces are comparatively analyzed to evaluate the effectiveness of the SOM method, which shows that the SOM path outperforms the spiral path while performing comparably to the raster path in improving the surface topography after polishing, and that the SOM path outperforms the other two paths in reducing the middle-high spatial frequency error.

High-efficiency reflective focusing in extreme ultraviolet with multilayer metalens.

Extreme ultraviolet metalenses, capable of near-diffraction-limit focusing with spherical minimal aberration, offer significant opportunities for advancing metaoptics and demonstrate transformative potential in applications such as high-precision lithography, high-resolution imaging, and fine measurement. However, in addition to the inevitable material absorption, the current transmissive extreme ultraviolet metalens suffers from low efficiency due to an incomplete 2π phase profile and high-order diffraction. Here, we propose a high-efficiency extreme ultraviolet reflective metalens, composed of multilayer films and vacuum holes.

High-resolution monochromatic backlit imaging of the Cu Kα characteristic line using a toroidal crystal system for plasma diagnostics.

Laser-driven plasma diagnostics commonly rely on high-resolution monochromatic x-ray imaging using α-quartz (211) spherical crystals at an 88.7° Bragg angle for the Cu Kα characteristic line. However, the performance of this imaging approach is constrained by astigmatism-induced resolution limits (<10 μm) and background noise interference.

Corrosion Resistance and Wear Behavior of Ni60/TiC and NbC Composite Coatings Prepared by Laser Cladding.

This research delves into the corrosion resistance and wear behavior of Ni60-based composite coatings strengthened by TiC and NbC particles, which are produced by laser cladding. Three distinct coatings were prepared: S1 (Ni60 + 20%TiC), S2 (Ni60 + 10%TiC + 10%NbC), and S3 (Ni60 + 20%NbC). Microstructural characterization revealed that the addition of TiC and NbC altered phase composition, inducing lattice distortion and promoting the formation of carbides such as CrC, NiC, and NbC.

Proximity effect correction in electron beam lithography using a composite function model of electron scattering energy distribution.

The proximity effect induced by electron scattering is one of the main factors limiting the development of high-resolution electron beam lithography (EBL) technology. Existing proximity effect correction (PEC) methods often face challenges related to either high computational demands or insufficient accuracy when calculating the point spread function (PSF) of electron scattering. This paper presents a composite model that combines a power function with a Gaussian function to calculate the PSF, where the forward scattering component is described by a power function and the backscattering component is represented by a Gaussian function.

Broadband perfect Littrow diffraction metasurface under large-angle incidence.

Littrow diffraction devices are commonly used in the laser field (e.g., laser resonators and spectrometers), where system integration requires larger incidence angles and perfect broadband efficiency.

Enhanced Damage Resistance of Mo/Si Multilayer Mirror with Carbon Barrier Layers under Intense Nanosecond EUV Irradiation.

The enhancement of damage-resistance capabilities has long been pursued for the development of multilayer mirrors in the field of extreme ultraviolet lithography. Here, single-shot damage experiments were conducted on periodic Mo/Si and Mo/C/Si/C multilayers using nanosecond 13.5 nm EUV radiation.

Perfect anomalous refraction metasurfaces empowered half-space optical beam scanning.

Metasurface-based optical beam scanning devices are gaining attention in optics and photonics for their potential to revolutionize light detection and ranging systems. However, achieving anomalous refraction with perfect efficiency (>99%) remains challenging, limiting the efficiency and field of view (FOV) of metasurface-based optical beam scanning devices. Here, we introduce a paradigm for achieving perfect anomalous refraction by augmenting longitudinal degrees of freedom arousing a multiple scattering process to optimize symmetry breaking.

High-Speed Sorting of Sub-20 nm Chiral Particles via Toroidal-Enhanced Separated Potential Wells.

Enantioselective sorting at the nanoscale is highly significant in fields such as medical research, material science, and drug development. However, previous studies mainly focus on static chiral particle separation, hindering practical applications. Here, we utilize the synergy between enantioselective potential wells and flow fields to sort nanoparticle enantiomers at a high velocity of 800 μm/s.

Impact of Mo Barrier Layers on the Interface and Microstructure of Al/Sc Multilayers for the Extreme Ultraviolet Range.

Al/Sc multilayers are potential optical elements to be used for the extreme ultraviolet range at wavelengths longer than the Sc M absorption edge. The existing research exhibits a significant gap concerning the incorporation of a barrier layer within the Al/Sc multilayer to enhance interface quality. A series of Al/Sc, Al/Sc/Mo, Al/Mo/Sc, and Al/Mo/Sc/Mo multilayers were fabricated by the direct-current magnetron sputtering technique.

Engineering shear polaritons in 2D twisted heterostructures.

Materials hosting polaritons with extreme optical anisotropy enable nanoscale light manipulation, crucial for nanophotonic applications. In particular, hyperbolic shear polaritons (HShPs), featuring asymmetric propagation, axial dispersion, and loss redistribution, arise in low-symmetry materials (e.g.

Hierarchical Containment Control With Bipartite Cluster Consensus for Heterogeneous Multiagent Systems Under Layer-Signed Digraph.

This article considers the hierarchical containment control (HCC) for flexible mirrored collaboration, which accommodates the bipartite cluster consensus behavior in two symmetric convex hulls formed by multiple leaders. First, to achieve the mirrored collaboration in symmetric convex hulls, the layer-signed digraph is generated by involving the antagonistic interaction. Benefiting from the hierarchical structure, the antagonistic interaction in the assistant-layer replaces the assumption of in-degree balance for the existing cluster consensus issues.

Energy ratio controlled gate-tuning four-wave mixing in monolayer graphene.

Monolayer graphene, with a gapless conical electronic band structure, demonstrates scale invariance, showing universal linear optical responses. The impacts of this feature on nonlinear optical responses remain unclear. Our work reveals that the gate-tunable difference-frequency four-wave mixing (DFM) responses in monolayer graphene are significantly influenced by the energy ratios between excitation photons.

Optical sorting: past, present and future.

Optical sorting combines optical tweezers with diverse techniques, including optical spectrum, artificial intelligence (AI) and immunoassay, to endow unprecedented capabilities in particle sorting. In comparison to other methods such as microfluidics, acoustics and electrophoresis, optical sorting offers appreciable advantages in nanoscale precision, high resolution, non-invasiveness, and is becoming increasingly indispensable in fields of biophysics, chemistry, and materials science. This review aims to offer a comprehensive overview of the history, development, and perspectives of various optical sorting techniques, categorised as passive and active sorting methods.

Broadband, Wide-Angle, and Versatile Metasurface Illusions with Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar Imaging.

Generation of controllable illusions has raised widespread interest. Over the past few decades, this field has been revolutionized by the emergence of metamaterials and metasurfaces. However, current efforts utilizing single-layer metasurfaces are limited to simple illusion demonstrations by reproducing electromagnetic field distributions, which also struggle to achieve both broad bandwidths and wide angular ranges.

Single-backlighter time-framed X-ray imaging diagnostics of laser plasma using a quasi-coaxial multi-channel Kirkpatrick-Baez microscope.

The time-resolved backlight imaging of plasma is crucial for diagnosing density-dependent plasma information. It requires a high-intensity X-ray source and efficient optics. We propose a quasi-coaxial, multi-channel Kirkpatrick-Baez (KB) structure that realizes high-brightness illumination.

Multispectral Schwarzschild imaging system for the extreme ultraviolet emission measurement of tokamak plasma: erratum.

This erratum corrects the affiliation addresses of authors of our paper [Opt. Express32, 43748 (2024).10.

Effect of pixel size and lateral distortion on the accuracy of stitching interferometry for high-precision x-ray mirrors.

Stitching interferometry is essential for X-ray mirror metrology where lateral distortion and pixel size are critical factors influencing its accuracy. Simulations and experiments reveal that 1% error in pixel size causes a 2% deviation in the radius of curvature. After correcting pixel size, the stitching profile error of an elliptical mirror reduces from 2 μm to 250 nm (peak-to-valley).

Resolving and routing magnetic polymorphs in a 2D layered antiferromagnet.

Polymorphism, commonly denoting diverse molecular or crystal structures, is crucial in the natural sciences. In van der Waals antiferromagnets, a new type of magnetic polymorphism arises, presenting multiple layer-selective magnetic structures with identical total magnetization. However, resolving and manipulating such magnetic polymorphs remain challenging.