The sensitivity of a sensor to strain or the temperature variations due to distributed Brillouin scattering are partially related to the type of fibers used and the Brillouin scattering induced effective index. In this paper, a highly nonlinear fiber that can generate a higher Brillouin scattering signal is compared to a standard single mode fiber in a short-time-Fourier-transform Brillouin optical time domain reflectometer (STFT-BOTDR). The results show that much higher signal to noise ratios of the Brillouin scattering spectrum and smaller frequency uncertainties in the sensing measurement can be achieved in the highly nonlinear fiber for comparable launched powers. With a measurement speed of 4 Hz, the frequency uncertainty can be 0.43 MHz, corresponding to 10 με in strain or 0.43°C in temperature uncertainty for the highly nonlinear fiber. In contrast, for the standard single mode fiber case, the value would increase to about 1.02 MHz (25 με or 1.02°C), demonstrating the advantage of the highly nonlinear fiber for distributed strain/temperature sensing.

This paper proposes a novel on-chip optical pulse train generator (OPTG) based on optomechanical oscillation (OMO). The OPTG consists of an optical cavity and mechanical resonator, in which OMO periodically modulates the optical cavity field and consequently generates optical pulse trains. The dimensionless method are introduced to simulate the OMO-based OPTG with reduced analysis complexity. We investigate the optomechanical coupling and the dynamic back-action processes, by which we found a dead zone that forbids the OMO, and derived the optimal laser detuning and the minimum threshold power. We analysed the OMO-based OPTG in terms of the pulse shape distortion, extinction ratio (ER) and duty-cycle (DC). Increasing input power, mechanical and optical Q-factors will increase ER, reduce DC and produce sharper and shorter optical pulses. We also discuss the design guidance of OMO-based OPTG and explore its application in distributed fibre optical sensor (DFOS).

Optically levitated multiple nanoparticles have emerged as a platform for studying complex fundamental physics such as non‐equilibrium phenomena, quantum entanglement, and light–matter interaction, which could be applied for sensing weak forces and torques with high sensitivity and accuracy. An optical trapping landscape of increased complexity is needed to engineer the interaction between levitated particles beyond the single harmonic trap. However, existing platforms based on spatial light modulators for studying interactions between levitated particles suffered from low efficiency, instability at focal points, the complexity of optical systems, and the scalability for sensing applications. Here, we experimentally demonstrated that a metasurface which forms two diffraction‐limited focal points with a high numerical aperture (∼0.9) and high efficiency (31 %) can generate tunable optical potential wells without any intensity fluctuations. A bistable potential and double potential wells were observed in the experiment by varying the focal points’ distance, and two nanoparticles were levitated in double potential wells for hours, which could be used for investigating the levitated particles’ nonlinear dynamics, thermal dynamics and optical binding. This would pave the way for scaling the number of levitated optomechanical devices or realizing paralleled levitated sensors.

Structured light beams are attracting researchers’ attention in many research fields because of their powerful application potential in classic and quantum fields ranging from laser communication, superresolution imaging, and lithography, to multidimensional optical manipulation.^{1 – 5} The vector vortex beam (VVB), as a special group of structured light beams, has a spatially inhomogeneous state of polarization (SOP) and phase profile on its cross section that makes it carry orbital angular momentum (OAM) and spin angular momentum (SAM).⁶

An optically levitated nanoparticle in a vacuum provides an ideal platform for ultra-precision measurements and fundamental physics studies because of the exceptionally high-quality factor and rich motion modes, which can be engineered by manipulating the optical field and the geometry of the nanoparticle. Nanofabrication technology with the ability to create arbitrary nanostructure arrays offers a precise way of engineering the optical field and the geometry of the nanoparticle. Here, for the first time, we optically levitate and rotate a nanofabricated nanorod via a nanofabricated a-Si metalens which strongly focuses a 1550 nm laser beam with a numerical aperture of 0.953. By manipulating the laser beam’s polarization, the levitated nanorod’s translation frequencies can be tuned, and the spin rotation mode can be switched on and off. Then, we showed the control of rotational frequency by changing the laser beam’s intensity and polarization as well as the air pressure. Finally, a MHz spin rotation frequency of the nanorod is achieved in the experiment. This is the first demonstration of controlled optical spin in a metalens-based compact optical levitation system. Our research holds promise for realizing scalable on-chip integrated optical levitation systems.

Generalized vector vortex light beams possess spatially variant polarization states, and higher-order Poincaré spheres represent a powerful analytical tool for analyzing these intriguing and complicated optical fields. For the generation of these vortex beams, a range of different methods have been explored, with an increasing emphasis placed on compact, integrated devices. Here, we demonstrate via numerical simulation, for the first time, an on-chip light emitter that allows for the controllable generation of all points on a first-order Poincaré sphere (FOPS). The FOPS beam generator consists of a waveguide-coupled, nanostructured Si microring resonator that converts two guided, coherent light waves into freely propagating output light. By matching their whispering gallery modes with the nanostructures, the fundamental TE (transverse electric) and TM (transverse magnetic) input modes produce radial and azimuthal polarizations, respectively. These two linear polarizations can form a pair of eigenstates for the FOPS. Consequently, tuning the phase contrast and the intensity ratio of these two coherent inputs allows for the generation of an arbitrary point on the FOPS. This result indicates a new way for on-chip vector vortex beam generation, which may be applied for integrated optical tweezers and high-capacity optical communications.