Transmissive 2-bit anisotropic coding metasurface

Coding metasurfaces have attracted tremendous interests due to unique capabilities of manipulating electromagnetic wave. However, archiving transmissive coding metasurface is still challenging. Here we propose a transmissive anisotropic coding metasurface that enables the independent control of two orthogonal polarizations. The polarization beam splitter and the OAM generator have been studied as typical applications of anisotropic 2-bit coding metasurface. The simulated far field patterns illustrate that the x and y polarized electromagnetic waves are deflected into two different directions, respectively. The anisotropic coding metasurface has been experimentally verified to realize an orbital angular momentum (OAM) beam with l = 2 of right-handed polarized wave, resulting from both contributions from linear-to-circular polarization conversion and the phase profile modulation. This work is beneficial to enrich the polarization manipulation field and develop transmissive coding metasurfaces.

Ultra-Short Dual-Core Photonic Crystal Fiber Polarization Beam Splitter with Round Lattice and As2S3-Filled Center Air Hole

A circular ultra-short As2S3 filled double-core photonic crystal fiber polarization beam splitter is proposed. The finite element method is used to study the performance of the designed photonic crystal fiber polarization beam splitter. By filling high refractive index As2S3 into the central air hole, the coupling performance of the double-core PCF is improved. By optimizing geometric parameters, the splitting length of the circular beam splitter can be as short as 72.43 μm, and the extinction ratio can reach −151.42 dB. The high extinction ratio makes the circular polarization beam splitter have a good beam splitting function. The designed circular double-core photonic crystal fiber has the same cladding pore diameter, which is easier to prepare than other photonic crystal fibers with complex pore structure. Due to the advantages of high extinction ratio, extremely short beam splitting function and simple structure, the designed polarization beam splitter will be widely used in all-optical networks and optical device preparation.

Nil-potent vacuum in homodyne noise

In the absence of a signal field, vacuum entering through the empty beam splitter port is considered to be the sole contributor to the output noise of conventional two-port homodyne detection. We study a modified configuration that alters the input coefficient of vacuum, predicting an output noise less than that of the conventional configuration. Measurements, however, reveal identical output noise profiles for both the configurations. We explain the observations in terms of the incident field noise alone, and suggest that vacuum does not contribute to homodyne noise or shot-noise. We extend our results to the measurement of squeezed light, with non-ideal detectors.

Competition between Entrainment Phenomenon and Chaos in a Quantum-Cascade Laser under Strong Optical Reinjection

The topic of external optical feedback in quantum-cascade lasers is relevant for stability and beam-properties considerations. Albeit less sensitive to external optical feedback than other lasers, quantum-cascade lasers can exhibit several behaviors under such feedback, and those are relevant for a large panel of applications, from communication to ranging and sensing. This work focused on a packaged Fabry–Perot quantum-cascade laser under strong external optical feedback and shows the influence of the beam-splitter characteristics on the optical power properties of this commercially available laser. The packaged quantum-cascade laser showed extended conditions of operation when subject to strong optical feedback, and the maximum power that can be extracted from the external cavity was also increased. When adding a periodic electrical perturbation, various non-linear dynamics were observed, and this complements previous efforts about the entrainment phenomenon in monomode quantum-cascade lasers, with the view of optimizing private communication based on mid-infrared quantum-cascade lasers. Overall, this work is a step forward in understanding the behavior of the complex quantum-cascade-laser structure when it is subjected to external optical feedback.

The quantum beam splitter revisited without a vacuum state

In this article we explain in a new light two fundamental concepts ofquantum optics, the quantum beam splitter and the quantum interferometer, in termsof two state quantum wave functions. This method is consistent with the concept ofentanglement, and hence the algebra needed to describe them is reduced to additionsand products of the components of the quantum states. Furthermore, under thepremises of this method it is possible to study quantum states of greater complexity,like those arising from the addition and products of single photon states.

Polarization-Insensitive Beam Splitter with Variable Split Angles and Ratios Based on Phase Gradient Metasurfaces

The beam splitter is a common and critical element in optical systems. Traditional beam splitters composed of prisms or wave plates are difficult to be applied to miniaturized optical systems because they are bulky and heavy. The realization of the nanoscale beam splitter with a flexible function has attracted much attention from researchers. Here, we proposed a polarization-insensitive beam splitter with a variable split angle and ratio based on the phase gradient metasurface, which is composed of two types of nanorod arrays with opposite phase gradients. Different split angles are achieved by changing the magnitude of the phase gradient based on the principle of Snell’s law of refraction, and different split ratios are achieved by adding a phase buffer with different areas. In the designed four types of beam splitters for different functions, the split angle is variable in the range of 12–29°, and the split ratio is variable in the range of 0.1–1. The beam splitter has a high beam splitting efficiency above 0.3 at the wavelength of 480–600 nm and a weak polarization dependence. The proposed beam splitter has the advantages of a small size and easy integration, and it can be applied to various optical systems such as multiplexers and interferometers for integrated optical circuits.

Neural network aided diffractive metagratings for efficient beam splitting at terahertz frequencies

The merge of neural network with metasurfaces is a rising subject in photonics design, which offers an abstract bridge between the geometry of the subwavelength element and the optical response. The commonly involved optical response is the transmission or reflection spectrum, while here we focus on metasurfaces with superwavelength elements and predict multiple diffraction spectra in all the possible orders and orthogonal polarization modes given the geometry. This is achieved by parallel arrangement of several fully connected neural networks with shared input and diverse output diffraction spectra. As an application example, the model is used to find a metagrating as a 1:1 beam splitter in TE mode and 1:1:1 beam splitter in TM mode. The design is taken into fabrication and experimentally tested at 0.14 THz with highly consistent results to the prediction.