scholarly journals Topological polarization singularities in metaphotonics

Nanophotonics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenzhe Liu ◽  
Wei Liu ◽  
Lei Shi ◽  
Yuri Kivshar

Abstract Polarization singularities of vectorial electromagnetic fields locate at the positions where properties of polarization ellipses are not defined. First observed for conical diffraction in 1830s, polarization singularities have been studied systematically with the underlying concepts being reshaped and deepened by many pioneers of wave optics. Here we review the recent results on the generation and observation of polarization singularities in metaphotonics. We start with the discussion of polarization singularities in the Mie theory, where both electric and magnetic multipoles are explored from perspectives of local and global polarization properties. We then proceed with the discussion of various photonic-crystal structures, for which both near- and far-field patterns manifest diverse polarization singularities characterized by the integer Poincaré or more general half-integer Hopf indices (topological charges). Next, we review the most recent studies of conversions from polarization to phase singularities in scalar wave optics, demonstrating how bound states in the continuum can be exploited to generate directly optical vortices of various charges. Throughout our paper, we discuss and highlight several fundamental concepts and demonstrate their close connections and special links to metaphotonics. We believe polarization singularities can provide novel perspectives for light-matter manipulation for both fundamental studies and their practical applications.

Nanophotonics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dmitry A. Bykov ◽  
Evgeni A. Bezus ◽  
Leonid L. Doskolovich

AbstractPhotonic bound states in the continuum (BICs) are eigenmodes with an infinite lifetime, which coexist with a continuous spectrum of radiating waves. BICs are not only of great theoretical interest but also have a wide range of practical applications, e.g. in the design of optical resonators. Here, we study this phenomenon in a new integrated nanophotonic element consisting of a single dielectric ridge terminating an abruptly ended slab waveguide. This structure can be considered as an on-chip analog of the Gires-Tournois interferometer (GTI). We demonstrate that the proposed integrated structure supports high-Q phase resonances and robust BICs. We develop a simple but extremely accurate coupled-wave model that clarifies the physics of BIC formation and enables predicting BIC locations. The developed model shows that the studied BICs are topologically protected and describes the strong phase resonance effect that occurs when two BICs with opposite topological charges annihilate.


PhotoniX ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tan Shi ◽  
Zi-Lan Deng ◽  
Qing-An Tu ◽  
Yaoyu Cao ◽  
Xiangping Li

AbstractBound states in the continuum (BICs) are localized states coexisting with extended waves inside the continuous spectrum range, which have infinite lifetimes without any radiation. To extract high-Q quasi-BIC resonances from the symmetry-protected BIC for practical applications, symmetry-breaking approaches are usually exploited, either by slightly breaking the excitation field symmetry or structure symmetry. Here, we introduce an all-dielectric superlattice metasurface that can symmetry-compatibly convert BIC states into high-Q quasi-BIC modes based on the guided-mode resonance coupling by relative displacement tuning. The metasurface is composed of a superlattice of multiple nanobeams, supporting both magnetic mode and toroidal mode with large tunability. Both modes can interact with the incident continuum by mediating the displacement between nanobeams, which empowers dual asymmetric Fano resonances with high Q-factors. The bandwidth of the toroidal mode under y-polarized incidences and that of the magnetic mode under x-polarized incidences can be readily tuned by the local displacement between nanobeams in each unit cell. Such displacement-mediated BIC resonance is promising for various applications such as bio-molecule sensing and low threshold lasing.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tan Shi ◽  
Zilan Deng ◽  
Qing-An Tu ◽  
Yaoyu Cao ◽  
Xiangping Li

Abstract Bound states in the continuum (BICs) are localized states coexisting with extended waves inside the continuous spectrum range, which have infinite lifetimes without any radiation. To extract high-Q quasi-BIC resonances from the symmetry-protected BIC for practical applications, symmetry-breaking approaches are usually exploited, either by slightly breaking the excitation field symmetry or structure symmetry. Here, we introduce an all-dielectric superlattice metasurface that can symmetry-compatibly convert BIC states into high-Q quasi-BIC modes based on the guided-mode resonance coupling by relative displacement tuning. The metasurface is composed of a superlattice of multiple nanobeams, supporting both magnetic mode and toroidal mode with large tunability. Both modes can interact with the incident continuum by mediating the displacement between nanobeams, which empowers dual asymmetric Fano resonances with high Q-factors. The bandwidth of the toroidal mode under TE-polarized incidences and that of the magnetic mode under TM-polarized incidences can be readily tuned by the local displacement between nanobeams in each unit cell. Such displacement-mediated BIC resonance is promising for various applications such as bio-molecule sensing and low threshold lasing.


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 125002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suxia Xie ◽  
Changzhong Xie ◽  
Song Xie ◽  
Jie Zhan ◽  
Zhijian Li ◽  
...  

Nanophotonics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 1081-1086 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdoulaye Ndao ◽  
Liyi Hsu ◽  
Wei Cai ◽  
Jeongho Ha ◽  
Junhee Park ◽  
...  

AbstractOne of the key challenges in biology is to understand how individual cells process information and respond to perturbations. However, most of the existing single-cell analysis methods can only provide a glimpse of cell properties at specific time points and are unable to provide cell secretion and protein analysis at single-cell resolution. To address the limits of existing methods and to accelerate discoveries from single-cell studies, we propose and experimentally demonstrate a new sensor based on bound states in the continuum to quantify exosome secretion from a single cell. Our optical sensors demonstrate high-sensitivity refractive index detection. Because of the strong overlap between the medium supporting the mode and the analytes, such an optical cavity has a figure of merit of 677 and sensitivity of 440 nm/RIU. Such results facilitate technological progress for highly conducive optical sensors for different biomedical applications.


Nanophotonics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenhao Wang ◽  
Lucas V. Besteiro ◽  
Peng Yu ◽  
Feng Lin ◽  
Alexander O. Govorov ◽  
...  

Abstract Hot electrons generated in metallic nanostructures have shown promising perspectives for photodetection. This has prompted efforts to enhance the absorption of photons by metals. However, most strategies require fine-tuning of the geometric parameters to achieve perfect absorption, accompanied by the demanding fabrications. Here, we theoretically propose a Ag grating/TiO2 cladding hybrid structure for hot electron photodetection (HEPD) by combining quasi-bound states in the continuum (BIC) and plasmonic hot electrons. Enabled by quasi-BIC, perfect absorption can be readily achieved and it is robust against the change of several structural parameters due to the topological nature of BIC. Also, we show that the guided mode can be folded into the light cone by introducing a disturbance to become a guided resonance, which then gives rise to a narrow-band HEPD that is difficult to be achieved in the high loss gold plasmonics. Combining the quasi-BIC and the guided resonance, we also realize a multiband HEPD with near-perfect absorption. Our work suggests new routes to enhance the light-harvesting in plasmonic nanosystems.


Nanophotonics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 655-665
Author(s):  
Stephanie C. Malek ◽  
Adam C. Overvig ◽  
Sajan Shrestha ◽  
Nanfang Yu

AbstractActively tunable and reconfigurable wavefront shaping by optical metasurfaces poses a significant technical challenge often requiring unconventional materials engineering and nanofabrication. Most wavefront-shaping metasurfaces can be considered “local” in that their operation depends on the responses of individual meta-units. In contrast, “nonlocal” metasurfaces function based on the modes supported by many adjacent meta-units, resulting in sharp spectral features but typically no spatial control of the outgoing wavefront. Recently, nonlocal metasurfaces based on quasi-bound states in the continuum have been shown to produce designer wavefronts only across the narrow bandwidth of the supported Fano resonance. Here, we leverage the enhanced light-matter interactions associated with sharp Fano resonances to explore the active modulation of optical spectra and wavefronts by refractive-index tuning and mechanical stretching. We experimentally demonstrate proof-of-principle thermo-optically tuned nonlocal metasurfaces made of silicon and numerically demonstrate nonlocal metasurfaces that thermo-optically switch between distinct wavefront shapes. This meta-optics platform for thermally reconfigurable wavefront shaping requires neither unusual materials and fabrication nor active control of individual meta-units.


Nanomaterials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 998
Author(s):  
Diego R. Abujetas ◽  
José A. Sánchez-Gil

Resonant optical modes arising in all-dielectric metasurfaces have attracted much attention in recent years, especially when so-called bound states in the continuum (BICs) with diverging lifetimes are supported. With the aim of studying theoretically the emergence of BICs, we extend a coupled electric and magnetic dipole analytical formulation to deal with the proper metasurface Green function for the infinite lattice. Thereby, we show how to excite metasurface BICs, being able to address their near-field pattern through point-source excitation and their local density of states. We apply this formulation to fully characterize symmetry-protected BICs arising in all-dielectric metasurfaces made of Si nanospheres, revealing their near-field pattern and local density of states, and, thus, the mechanisms precluding their radiation into the continuum. This formulation provides, in turn, an insightful and fast tool to characterize BICs (and any other leaky/guided mode) near fields in all-dielectric (and also plasmonic) metasurfaces, which might be especially useful for the design of planar nanophotonic devices based on such resonant modes.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document