This study investigated direct fluorescence generation from a nematic liquid crystal (NLC) NJU-LDn-4 under femtosecond laser excitation. The absorption, transmittance, excitation, and emission spectra of the NLC were assessed. The relationship between the femtosecond pump power and fluorescence intensity was analyzed, revealing a quadratic increase and indicating that two-photon absorption (2PA) is the primary fluorescence mechanism. The LC microstructure was designed using photoalignment technology, allowing the generated fluorescence to reflect the corresponding structure. This research can establish a foundation for tunable LC microstructured fluorescence, with potential applications in fluorescence microscopy and optoelectronics.

Cascaded holography coupled with the secret-sharing scheme has recently gained considerable attention due to its enhanced information processing and encryption capabilities. Here, we propose a new holographic iterative algorithm and present the implementation of cascaded liquid crystal (LC) holography for optical encryption. Each LC layer acts as the secret key and can generate a distinct holographic image. By cascading two LC elements, a new holographic image is formed. Additionally, we showcase the dynamic optical encryption achieved by electrically switching LCs with combined electric keys. This work may offer promising applications in optical cryptography, all-optical computing, and data storage.

基于液晶开放表面的微流体操纵技术是一种利用微流体学原理和微加工技术，在微纳尺度上对液体进行操纵和控制的方法，对新型微流控平台的开发至关重要。本文通过注液光滑表面的理论设计，利用液晶聚合物薄膜的可控制备，开发了取向序各向异性的功能聚合物薄膜，包括向列相聚合膜和近晶相聚合膜。研究表明，与近晶相聚合膜相比，向列相聚合膜在同等条件下，为水滴提供更快的输运速度，比近晶相聚合膜约快1个数量级。近晶相聚合膜和向列相聚合膜对于水滴的输运均具有方向选择性，实现了液滴在液晶功能表面的各向异性输运，为开发基于图案化液晶功能表面的特异性微流控技术奠定了基础。

使用遗传算法合理地迭代与优化非局域超表面的材料分布，完成了一个一维二阶空间微分器的逆向设计。当入射角小于10°时，该微分器具有与目标函数高度吻合的传递函数。为证明该方法的通用性，采用相同的方式设计了一个拉普拉斯变换器。最后，分别验证了两个器件在实际制造中的可行性以及它们识别图像边缘的效果。

Fluorescence detection is widely used in biology and medicine, while the realization of on-chip fluorescence detection is vital for the portable and point-of-care test (POCT) application. In this Letter, we propose an efficient fluorescence excitation and collection system using an integrated GaN chip consisting of a slot waveguide and a one-dimensional photonic crystal (1D PC) waveguide. The slot waveguide is used to confine the excitation light for intense light–sample interaction, and the one-trip collection efficiency at the end of slot waveguide is up to 14.65%. More interestingly, due to the introduction of the 1D PC waveguide, the fluorescence signal is directly filtered out, and the excitation light is reflected to the slot waveguide for multiple excitations. Its transmittances for the designed exciting wavelength of 520 nm and the fluorescent wavelength of 612 nm are 0.2% and 85.4%, respectively. Finally, based on numerical analysis, the total fluorescence collection efficiency in our system amounts to 15.93%. It is the first time, to our knowledge, that the concept of an all-in-one-chip fluorescence detection system has been proposed, which paves the way for on-chip fluorescence excitation and collection, and may find potential applications of miniaturized and portable devices for biomedical fluorescence detection.

The sensitivity of optical measurement is ultimately constrained by the shot noise to the standard quantum limit. It has become a common concept that beating this limit requires quantum resources. A deep-learning neural network free of quantum principle has the capability of removing classical noise from images, but it is unclear in reducing quantum noise. In a coincidence-imaging experiment, we show that quantum-resource-free deep learning can be exploited to surpass the standard quantum limit via the photon-number-dependent nonlinear feedback during training. Using an effective classical light with photon flux of about 9×104 photons per second, our deep-learning-based scheme achieves a 14 dB improvement in signal-to-noise ratio with respect to the standard quantum limit.

人工设计的光子学器件在现代光学的各个领域都有广阔的应用前景。传统光子学器件的设计通常是基于已知的物理模型，然后通过数值模拟方法对结构进行优化设计。由于器件结构很大程度上依赖于先验模型，所以传统优化设计的自由度是有限的。随着近年来对高性能光子学器件需求的日益增长，具有更高设计自由度的逆向设计方法得到了快速发展。逆向设计方法打破了传统方法的设计局限性，可以在全参数空间中实现高效的参数优化，因此更可能得到具有极限性能的器件结构。本文总结了光子学器件逆向设计的常用方法，并给出了逆向设计在各个光子学领域中的具体应用。随着计算机科学的不断发展，逆向设计方法展现出无与伦比的潜力，有望在各个光学领域中实现更高自由度的光场调控。

液晶作为液态和固态之间的中间态，具有液体的流动性和晶体的各向异性，其指向矢灵活可调，从微波到紫外都有广泛应用。近年来液晶光子学在太赫兹波段展现出巨大应用前景，本文综述了基于液晶的太赫兹源、可调太赫兹器件和太赫兹探测器的研究进展，探讨了未来液晶太赫兹光子学的发展趋势，如新型铁电向列相、液晶拓扑在太赫兹领域的应用，多模式、多参量的太赫兹波按需产生、调制与探测等。

Controlling architecture of hierarchical microstructures in liquid crystals (LCs) plays a crucial role in the development of novel soft-matter-based devices. Chiral LC fingerprints are considered as a prospective candidate for various applications; however, the efficient and real-time command of fingerprint landscapes still needs to be improved. Here, we achieve elaborate rotational fingerprint superstructures via dual photopatterning semifree chiral LC films, which combine the photoalignment technique and a dynamic light patterning process. An intriguing spatial-temporal rotational behavior is presented during the patterning of chiral superstructures. This work opens new avenues for the applications of chiral LCs in soft actuators, sensing, and micromanufacturing.

蓝相液晶由于其出色的电光性质在信息显示和光电子领域受到了广泛的关注，然而日益发展的信息技术对信息的传递、处理、存储速度提出了更高的要求。为了进一步强化蓝相液晶的快速电光响应优势，本文以双频向列相液晶为主体，掺杂聚合单体、手性剂、光引发剂等材料制备了聚合物稳定双频蓝相液晶，通过调节双段电压脉冲时长，实现了聚合物稳定双频蓝相液晶的快速电光调控，其电光调控的开关时间均小于500 ns。