An ultra-thin planar device is used for arbitrary waveform formation on a micrometer scale, regardless of the incident light's polarization. Patterned perforations are made in a 30 nm-thick metal film, creating discrete phase shifts and forming a desired wavefront of cross-polarized, scattered light. The signal-to-noise ratio of these devices is at least one order of magnitude higher than current metallic nano-antenna designs. The focal length of a lens built on such principle can also be adjusted by changing the wavelength of the incident light. All proposed embodiments can be embedded, for example, on a chip or at the end of an optical fiber.

Articles comprises iron oxide colloidal nanocrystals arranged within chains, wherein the chains of nanocrystals are embedded within a material used to form the article or a transfer medium used to transfer a color to the article are described. The material or transfer medium includes elastic properties that allow the nanocrystals to display a temporary color determined by the strength of an external force applied to the article, and the material or transfer medium includes memory properties that cause the displayed temporary color to dissipate when the external force is removed, wherein the dissipation of the displayed temporary color is sufficiently slow as to be visually observable by an average observer's unaided eye.

The present invention generally relates to an extraction structure for a UV lighting element. The present invention also relates to a UV lamp comprising such an extraction structure onto a substrate. The extraction structure comprises a plurality of nanostructures for anti-reflecting purposes. The nanostructures are grown on the top surface of at least one of the first and second side of the substrate.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, a structure is provided which comprises a silicon substrate and a plurality of necklaces of silicon nanowires which are in direct physical contact with a surface of the silicon substrate, wherein the necklaces cover an area of the silicon substrate.

An illumination device includes: a light source; an optical component provided separately from the light source; a holding member holding the light source and the optical component; and a variable pressing member variably pressing the optical component against the holding member.

A nonlinear nanocomposite optical-element comprising a nanocomposite comprising one or more optically nonlinear (NLO) nanofillers dispersed in a cured organic-matrix. The NLO nanofillers have a high .sup.(3) susceptibility relative to a linear nanofiller. The distribution of the NLO nanofiller has a nanofiller gradient that changes based on optical radiation intensity.

A backlight unit for a liquid crystal display device including a liquid crystal panel, includes: a light source including a light-emitting diode (ED) which generates and emits light; and a light converting layer between the light source and the liquid crystal panel, spaced apart from the light source, and converting the light from the light source into white light and emitting the white light toward the liquid crystal panel. The light converting layer includes: semiconductor nanocrystals, and a barrier material which restricts penetration of moisture or oxygen.

An ultra-thin planar device is used for arbitrary waveform formation on a micrometer scale, regardless of the incident light's polarization. Patterned perforations are made in a 30 nm-thick metal film, creating discrete phase shifts and forming a desired wavefront of cross-polarized, scattered light. The signal-to-noise ratio of these devices is at least one order of magnitude higher than current metallic nano-antenna designs. The focal length of a lens built on such principle can also be adjusted by changing the wavelength of the incident light. All proposed embodiments can be embedded, for example, on a chip or at the end of an optical fiber.

Articles of wear comprises iron oxide colloidal nanocrystals arranged within chains are described. The chains of nanocrystals display a color that is determined by a strength of a magnetic field applied to the chains of nanocrystals, wherein the color is maintained when the magnetic field is removed.

An optical notch filter includes a particle layer including nano-particles in a substrate material. The nano-particles are arranged in one or more arrays to provide a nano plasmonic absorption of radiation having a wavelength of 532 nm incident on the filter. The filter exhibits a radiation absorption profile with an absorption maxima of at least 99% at 532 nm for an angle of incidence of between +50 and 50, and has a full width half maxima transmission of less than 15 nm.