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We present an analytical and numerical study of electromagnetic modes in micro- and nano-fibers (MNFs) where the electric and magnetic fields of the modes are not necessarily orthogonal to each other. We first investigate these modes for different fiber structures including circular- and rectangular-core fibers as well as photonic crystal fibers. We then discuss two specific applications of these modes: (1) generation of hypothetical axions that are coupled to the electromagnetic fields through the dot product of electric and magnetic fields of a mode,E→⋅B→, and (2) a new type of optical trap (optical tweezers) for chiral atoms with magneto-electric cross coupling, where the confining potential again is proportional toE→⋅B→.
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Polymeric Photonic Crystal Fibers for Textile Tracing and Sorting
Abstract Circular supply chains require more accurate product labeling and traceability. In the apparel industry, product life cycle management is hampered in part by inaccurate, poorly readable, and detachable standard care labels. Instead, this article seeks to enable a labeling system capable of being integrated into the fabric itself, intrinsically recyclable, low‐cost, encodes information, and allows rapid readout after years of normal use. In this work, all‐polymer photonic crystals are designed and then fabricated by thermal drawing with >100 layers having sub‐micrometer individual thickness and low refractive index contrast (Δn = 0.1). The fibers exhibit reflectance features in the 1–5.5 µm wavelength range, characterized using insitu Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Drawn photonic fibers are then woven into fabrics, characterized by near‐infrared spectroscopy and short‐wave infrared imaging, techniques commonly used in industrial facilities for sorting materials. The fibers’ optical design also enables the use of overtone peaks to avoid overlap with parasitic molecular absorption, substantially improving the signal‐to‐noise ratio (and therefore ease and speed) of readout. The ability to produce kilometers of fiber that are compatible with existing textile manufacturing processes, coupled with low input material cost, make these a potential market‐viable improvement over the standard care label.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1727894
- PAR ID:
- 10403036
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Advanced Materials Technologies
- Volume:
- 8
- Issue:
- 6
- ISSN:
- 2365-709X
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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