ACS PhotonicsPub Date : 2025-09-22DOI: 10.1021/acsphotonics.5c00838
Wihan Adi, Aidana Beisenova, Shovasis K. Biswas, Yihong Chen, Samir Rosas, Vaishakh Unnikhrisnan, Tianyi Zheng, Mir Hadi Razeghi Kondelaji, Furkan Kuruoglu, Eduardo R. Arvelo, Filiz Yesilkoy
{"title":"Unlocking the Translational Potential of Nanophotonic Biosensors: Perspectives on Application-Guided Design","authors":"Wihan Adi, Aidana Beisenova, Shovasis K. Biswas, Yihong Chen, Samir Rosas, Vaishakh Unnikhrisnan, Tianyi Zheng, Mir Hadi Razeghi Kondelaji, Furkan Kuruoglu, Eduardo R. Arvelo, Filiz Yesilkoy","doi":"10.1021/acsphotonics.5c00838","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acsphotonics.5c00838","url":null,"abstract":"Biochemical sensing platforms have become indispensable to critical decision-making across healthcare, security, and industry─delivering essential data that powers AI systems and shaping our modern lifestyles. This growing reliance on biosensors has elevated expectations, creating demand for portable, user-friendly, and cost-efficient platforms with ultrahigh sensitivity and specificity. Nanophotonic biosensors, which harness engineered subwavelength architectures to amplify light–matter interactions, offer transformative solutions through label-free, real-time, multiplexed detection capabilities. Despite compelling laboratory demonstrations, these technologies remain largely unrealized in real-world applications. This perspective examines the critical “valley of death” in technology transfer, where promising innovations stall before commercialization, while drawing strategic insights from surface plasmon resonance biosensors’ successful commercialization journey. Highlighting technologies engineered for high-demand applications, we advocate an application-guided design approach to unlock nanophotonic sensors’ translational potential. We share our perspectives on how this strategic framework offers a pathway through commercialization bottlenecks, accelerating the transformation from scientific achievement to societal impact.","PeriodicalId":23,"journal":{"name":"ACS Photonics","volume":"39 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145103659","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ACS PhotonicsPub Date : 2025-09-22DOI: 10.1021/acsphotonics.5c01117
Yin-He Jian, , , Tun-Yao Hung, , , Yu-Han Lin, , , Chun-Wei Wu, , , Chi-Wai Chow*, , , Dan Yi, , and , Hon Ki Tsang,
{"title":"Programmable Multiple-Input–Multiple-Output Silicon-Photonics Processor for Optical Wireless Communications","authors":"Yin-He Jian, , , Tun-Yao Hung, , , Yu-Han Lin, , , Chun-Wei Wu, , , Chi-Wai Chow*, , , Dan Yi, , and , Hon Ki Tsang, ","doi":"10.1021/acsphotonics.5c01117","DOIUrl":"10.1021/acsphotonics.5c01117","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Optical wireless communication (OWC) is one of the potential candidates to address the bandwidth limitation issue in 6G networks and satellite laser communications. Mode division multiplexing (MDM) can further increase the OWC transmission capacity by utilizing many different orthogonal modes for carrying data streams. However, in MDM transmission, modes may partially scatter to other modes during the transmission of the OWC with atmospheric turbulences, leading to the channel crosstalk. To accommodate this crosstalk issue, multiple-input–multiple-output (MIMO) techniques could be used. Here, we evaluate the performance of the optical MIMO processor in an MDM OWC system. Three aspects of the optical MIMO processor will be considered: (Exp. A) the MIMO performance characterization, (Exp. B) the atmospheric turbulence resiliency evaluation, and (Exp. C) the high-speed data transmission. For the first topic, we characterize three operation regimes wherein different channel extinction ratios (ERs) could be attained. If the initial modified average ERs are higher than 3.5 dB, we can realize >20 dB final ERs. For the second topic, the experimental results indicate that the processor can endure up to the middle turbulence without affecting system performances. Finally, we will show that with our MIMO processor, we can obtain record ∼45 Gbps data transmission per mode from an initially nontransmissible channel.</p>","PeriodicalId":23,"journal":{"name":"ACS Photonics","volume":"12 10","pages":"5480–5489"},"PeriodicalIF":6.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/acsphotonics.5c01117","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145116713","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Integrated Multimodal Photonics for Advanced Optical Parametric Mixing","authors":"Hanghang Li, , , Wenju Li, , , Nuo Chen, , , Zhuang Fan, , , Xiaolong Fan, , , Yukun Huang, , , Wenchan Dong*, , , Heng Zhou*, , , Jing Xu*, , and , Xinliang Zhang, ","doi":"10.1021/acsphotonics.5c00702","DOIUrl":"10.1021/acsphotonics.5c00702","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Optical parametric mixing, a fundamental ultrafast nonlinear process, is of pivotal importance to both fundamental and applied sciences, where high efficiency, broadband, and wavelength transparency are essential. Achieving the integration of these features in a single device is extremely challenging due to the inherent trade-off between efficiency and bandwidth. In this work, we demonstrate that these parameters can be synergistically enhanced by decoupling the resonant conditions of different mixing waves through mode diversity. Resonance-enhanced intermodal nonlinearity and wavelength-transparent operation, i.e., without the segmentation induced by resonances, are elegantly merged into a single high-quality microresonator. Wavelength transparent mixing with over 20 dB enhancement in nonlinear efficiency compared to an optical waveguide with equivalent length is experimentally verified via a fabricated device. Broadband operation over 13 nm is demonstrated despite severe phase mismatch with predictions of over 100 nm when phase matching is optimized. Our work unveils the potential of multimodal nonlinearities for high-performance ultrafast applications in various fields such as optical communications and interconnection, optical signal processing, and photonic computing.</p>","PeriodicalId":23,"journal":{"name":"ACS Photonics","volume":"12 10","pages":"5382–5389"},"PeriodicalIF":6.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145083874","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ACS PhotonicsPub Date : 2025-09-19DOI: 10.1021/acsphotonics.5c01384
Liav Hen, Erez Yosef, Dan Raviv, Raja Giryes, Jacob Scheuer
{"title":"Inverse Design of Diffractive Metasurfaces Using Diffusion Models","authors":"Liav Hen, Erez Yosef, Dan Raviv, Raja Giryes, Jacob Scheuer","doi":"10.1021/acsphotonics.5c01384","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acsphotonics.5c01384","url":null,"abstract":"Metasurfaces are ultrathin optical elements composed of engineered subwavelength structures that enable precise control of light. Their inverse design─determining a geometry that yields a desired optical response─is challenging due to the complex, nonlinear relationship between structure and optical properties. This often requires expert tuning, is prone to local minima, and involves significant computational overhead. In this work, we address these challenges by integrating the generative capabilities of diffusion models into computational design workflows. Using an RCWA simulator, we generate training data consisting of metasurface geometries and their corresponding far-field scattering patterns. We then train a conditional diffusion model to predict meta-atom geometry and height from a target spatial power distribution at a specified wavelength, sampled from a continuous supported band. Once trained, the model can generate metasurfaces with low error, either directly using RCWA-guided posterior sampling or by serving as an initializer for traditional optimization methods. We demonstrate our approach on the design of a spatially uniform intensity splitter and a polarization beam splitter, both produced with low error in under 30 min. To support further research in data-driven metasurface design, we publicly release our code and data sets.","PeriodicalId":23,"journal":{"name":"ACS Photonics","volume":"77 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145088929","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Nanoscale Heat Flow and Thermometry in Laser-Heated Resonant Silicon Mie Nanospheres Probed with Spatially Resolved Cathodoluminescence Spectroscopy","authors":"Saskia Fiedler*, , , Loriane Monin, , , Hiroshi Sugimoto, , , Minoru Fujii, , , Wiebke Albrecht, , and , Albert Polman, ","doi":"10.1021/acsphotonics.5c01417","DOIUrl":"10.1021/acsphotonics.5c01417","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Many nanoscale technologies depend critically on precise knowledge and control of local temperature and heat flow, making robust nanothermometry essential for designing, optimizing, and ensuring the reliability of next-generation devices. In this work, we introduce a correlative method that combines laser excitation with scanning electron microscopy-based cathodoluminescence (SEM-CL) to probe photothermal effects <i>in situ</i> with nanoscale spatial resolution. We analyze the spatially resolved CL (30 keV) of resonant Mie modes in single silicon nanoparticles under continuous-wave laser irradiation (λ = 442 nm). The 235–250-nm-diameter crystalline nanospheres, placed on a Si<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> membrane, show a strong electric quadrupole CL resonance of which the peak wavelength reversibly red-shifts upon laser-induced heating. A temperature of up to 585 ± 12 °C is derived from the spectral shifts for the highest laser power used (9.6 mW, ∼1 × 10<sup>6</sup> W/cm<sup>2</sup> at the substrate). Numerical heat flow simulations show that the measured steady-state temperatures are consistent with a geometry in which heat flow occurs through a contact area of up to 100 nm<sup>2</sup>, depending on laser power, between the Si nanosphere and the Si<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> membrane. We postulate that this contact forms by reshaping of the particle–membrane geometry as it heats up in the initial phase of the laser irradiation, leading to an equilibrium geometry that results in the measured steady-state temperature. This work shows that CL of resonant nanostructures in combination with simulations can serve as sensitive probes of temperature and thermal conductivity. Spatially resolved CL nanothermometry in a SEM enables studies of nanoscale thermal properties of a wide range of device geometries such as electronic integrated circuits, surface catalysts, photovoltaic devices, and more.</p>","PeriodicalId":23,"journal":{"name":"ACS Photonics","volume":"12 10","pages":"5668–5674"},"PeriodicalIF":6.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/acsphotonics.5c01417","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145088930","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Synergistically Enhanced Vis-SWIR Broadband Photodetector Based on Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance and Hot Electron Injection","authors":"Xiaoxuan Li, , , Linlong Tang*, , , Xiaojian Zhang, , , Yihan Hua, , , Yu Lei, , , Peng Luo, , , Jinpeng Nong, , and , Wei Wei*, ","doi":"10.1021/acsphotonics.5c01588","DOIUrl":"10.1021/acsphotonics.5c01588","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Two-dimensional (2D) materials show promise for broadband photodetectors across the visible-to-infrared range, but their absorption is limited by atomic layer thickness. Integrating 2D materials with gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) can excite localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR), significantly enhancing the optical absorption. However, the resonant peak of the LSPR is restricted by the size of the Au NPs, limiting broadband performance. To overcome this, we propose a novel Bi<sub>2</sub>Se<sub>3</sub>/Si heterojunction photodetector that synergistically leverages LSPR and hot electron injection effects in Au NPs, achieving substantial improvements in photoresponse across the visible to short-wavelength infrared range. The enhanced photodetector exhibits a 27-fold increase in responsivity and a 31-fold increase in specific detectivity compared to that of its Au NPs-free counterpart in the visible band. Additionally, it demonstrates enhanced SWIR responses, underscoring its broadband photodetection capability. Building on this, we developed photodetector arrays to demonstrate their applications in infrared imaging and flame direction detection. This research presents a novel strategy for enhancing the photodetector performance, paving the way for advancements in next-generation optoelectronic device development.</p>","PeriodicalId":23,"journal":{"name":"ACS Photonics","volume":"12 10","pages":"5741–5749"},"PeriodicalIF":6.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145083875","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ACS PhotonicsPub Date : 2025-09-17DOI: 10.1021/acsphotonics.5c00880
Jia Boon Chin*, , , Diane Prato, , and , Alexander Ling,
{"title":"Highly Nondegenerate Polarization-Entangled Photon Pairs Produced through Noncritical Phasematching in Single-Domain KTiOPO4","authors":"Jia Boon Chin*, , , Diane Prato, , and , Alexander Ling, ","doi":"10.1021/acsphotonics.5c00880","DOIUrl":"10.1021/acsphotonics.5c00880","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Photon-pair sources are useful for entanglement distribution. The most mature of these are spontaneous parametric downconversion (SPDC) sources, most of which achieve phasematching via engineering the domains in poled crystals or the angle between the optic axis and the pump beam. For multichannel entanglement distribution of photon pairs, where one photon is transmitted through free-space and the other photon is transmitted through fiber, it is beneficial to use highly nondegenerate photon-pair sources. The currently accepted approach in such sources is quasi-phasematching. In this paper, a simpler, more stable alternative is presented for producing highly nondegenerate photon pairs. A source of polarization-entangled photon pairs with low temperature sensitivity based on noncritical phasematched SPDC in single-domain potassium titanyl phosphate was demonstrated. Over a crystal temperature range of 75 °C, the center wavelength of the idler photons was observed to change by 10.8(20) nm while the average entanglement visibility was maintained above 98%. With the signal photons detected locally, the idler photons were transmitted through 62 km and 93 km of deployed telecom fibers with average raw visibilities of 98.2(1)% and 95.6(3)% respectively.</p>","PeriodicalId":23,"journal":{"name":"ACS Photonics","volume":"12 10","pages":"5405–5412"},"PeriodicalIF":6.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/acsphotonics.5c00880","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145077406","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ACS PhotonicsPub Date : 2025-09-17DOI: 10.1021/acsphotonics.5c01282
Bapathi Kumaar Swamy Reddy, , , Shailja Saxena, , , Sushmee Badhulika*, , and , Pramod H. Borse*,
{"title":"Insight into the Optoelectronic Response of Exfoliated Bi2Te3–PEDOT:PSS/SnS Heterostructure-Based Self Powered Vis-NIR Photodetector","authors":"Bapathi Kumaar Swamy Reddy, , , Shailja Saxena, , , Sushmee Badhulika*, , and , Pramod H. Borse*, ","doi":"10.1021/acsphotonics.5c01282","DOIUrl":"10.1021/acsphotonics.5c01282","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Multispectral photodetectors are essential for diverse applications such as machine vision, quantum computing, and wafer inspection. Conventional detectors often rely on epitaxially grown materials such as Si and InGaAs, which involve complex fabrication processes. In this study, we present a self-powered Vis-NIR photodetector based on a hybrid bulk heterostructure of SnS–Bi<sub>2</sub>Te<sub>3</sub>–PEDOT:PSS, fabricated entirely through solution-based techniques. A spray-pyrolyzed SnS film serves as the photoactive layer onto which exfoliated Bi<sub>2</sub>Te<sub>3</sub> integrated with PEDOT:PSS is deposited, forming a vertical heterojunction. Structural analysis via X-ray diffraction and Raman techniques confirms the successful formation of SnS and Exfoliated Bismuth Telluride. Optical studies reveal enhanced absorption in the near-infrared (NIR) region. Bi<sub>2</sub>Te<sub>3</sub>, an ultranarrow bandgap semiconductor (<i>E</i><sub>g</sub> ∼ 0.15 eV), and SnS, a narrow bandgap (<i>E</i><sub>g</sub> ∼ 1.0 eV) layered semiconductor, offer strong light absorption in the visible and NIR ranges. The device demonstrates a spectral response from Visible to NIR, with a peak responsivity of 3.78 mA/W and a fast response time of 86 ms at zero bias. Mechanistic studies indicate that the photothermoelectric effect from Bi<sub>2</sub>Te<sub>3</sub> and PEDOT:PSS enhances the NIR response, while SnS contributes predominantly through photovoltaic effect in the visible range, aided by efficient hole transport from PEDOT:PSS. The detector maintains high stability over >500 photocycles and offers a facile route to scalable, low-cost multispectral photodetection. This work provides critical insight into the interplay between photovoltaic and photothermoelectric effects in hybrid heterostructures and highlights the potential of Bi<sub>2</sub>Te<sub>3</sub>-based detectors for ambient light sensing and photonic applications.</p>","PeriodicalId":23,"journal":{"name":"ACS Photonics","volume":"12 10","pages":"5556–5571"},"PeriodicalIF":6.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145077425","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ACS PhotonicsPub Date : 2025-09-17DOI: 10.1021/acsphotonics.5c01339
Mohammad Habibi, and , Longji Cui*,
{"title":"Achieving Simultaneously High Efficiency and Power Density in Zero-Vacuum-Gap Thermophotovoltaic Devices","authors":"Mohammad Habibi, and , Longji Cui*, ","doi":"10.1021/acsphotonics.5c01339","DOIUrl":"10.1021/acsphotonics.5c01339","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Recent progress to reach both high efficiency and power density in thermophotovoltaic (TPV) devices has been focused on strategies including elevating thermal emitter to ultrahigh temperature (>2000 °C) or using complex device architectures which introduce a series of challenges in device thermal stability, thermal management, and scalable fabrication. Here, we demonstrate theoretically that zero-vacuum-gap TPV (zTPV), a recently proposed architecture that is structurally simple and scalable with existing manufacturing, relaxes the thermodynamic constraints in conventional TPV devices and achieves simultaneously high efficiency and power density at moderate temperature range. In zTPV, the vacuum or air gap in typical TPV devices is replaced by an infrared-transparent, high-index solid spacer. This enables the transmission of otherwise prohibited high-wavevector modes and facilitates spectral control and index matching through engineering of the optical-thermal properties of the solid spacer. We show that zTPV can achieve ultrahigh efficiency 30–40% and over 30 times power enhancement compared to far-field TPV at below 1200 °C. Further, we demonstrate record sub-bandgap photon reflection of 99.65% when integrating zTPV with air-bridge back reflectors. The use of selective emitters further maintains high efficiency even with opaque spacers, expanding the design space for scalable, high-performance zTPV systems. These findings position zTPV as a promising and versatile technology candidate for a wide array of high-performance energy applications, including grid-scale energy storage, solar and thermal power conversion, and power generation through waste heat recovery.</p>","PeriodicalId":23,"journal":{"name":"ACS Photonics","volume":"12 10","pages":"5623–5629"},"PeriodicalIF":6.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145073064","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ACS PhotonicsPub Date : 2025-09-17DOI: 10.1021/acsphotonics.5c01925
Na Liu,
{"title":"An Interview with Naomi J. Halas","authors":"Na Liu, ","doi":"10.1021/acsphotonics.5c01925","DOIUrl":"10.1021/acsphotonics.5c01925","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":23,"journal":{"name":"ACS Photonics","volume":"12 9","pages":"4757–4759"},"PeriodicalIF":6.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145073059","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}