Mapping the Nanoscale Optical Topological Textures with a Fiber-Integrated Plasmonic Probe

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Nanotechnology
• Materials Science

Background:

• Topologically protected optical quasiparticles offer new ways to control light-matter interactions.
• Existing methods struggle to fully characterize the 3D vectorial structure of nanoscale topological textures.
• Applications in nanometrology and ultrafast imaging are hindered by characterization challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a method for subwavelength mapping of nanoscale topological textures.
• To overcome the limitations of current techniques in characterizing 3D optical field structures.
• To enable direct visualization of topological textures in both free space and evanescent waves.

Main Methods:

• A fiber taper-silver nanowire waveguide probe was designed and utilized.
• The selective plasmonic-optical mode coupling principle was employed for signal collection.
• Direct collection and reconstruction of three orthogonal electric-field components were achieved without postprocessing.

Main Results:

• Subwavelength mapping of topological textures was successfully demonstrated.
• The probe provided direct visualization of 3D vectorial structures of optical quasiparticles.
• The fiber-integrated probe exhibited broadband operation and mechanical robustness.

Conclusions:

• The developed fiber probe offers a powerful tool for analyzing complex optical-field topologies at the nanoscale.
• This technique overcomes previous characterization challenges, enabling new insights into light-matter interactions.
• Potential applications include advanced optical data storage and information processing systems.