Resonator Research Articles

A low-profile 3-D printable metastructure for performance improvement of aperture antennas

In order to increase the radiation performance of aperture-type antennas, this paper demonstrates a low-profile, planar, single-layer, three-dimensional (3-D) printable metastructure. The proposed hybridized metastructure is highly transparent as it is made out of novel hybrid meta-atoms having transmission coefficient magnitudes greater than – 0.72 dB and fully complies with the near-field phase transformation principle. The hybridized design approach makes the metastructure planar, low-profile, light in weight, and compatible with additive printing technology. For the proof-of-concept, such metastructure is developed and numerically verified to enhance the radiation performance of a resonant cavity antenna (RCA). With the proposed metastructure, the peak directivity of the RCA is improved by 8.6 dBi (from 11.4 dBi to 20 dBi) at the operating frequency of 12.4 GHz. The aperture efficiency and 3-dB directivity bandwidth of the RCA with the metastructure are 41.46% and 16.5%, respectively. Using readily accessible thermoplastics or polymers and copper with cost-effective fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3-D printing technology, the proposed planar hybridized metastructure can be prototyped commercially.

High-performance negative differential resistance characteristics in homoepitaxial AlN/GaN double-barrier resonant tunneling diodes

In this work, high-performance negative differential resistance (NDR) characteristics are demonstrated in homoepitaxial AlN/GaN double-barrier resonant tunneling diodes (RTDs). The devices are grown by plasma-assisted MBE on bulk GaN substrates and exhibit robust and repeatable NDR at RT. A high peak current density of 183 kA cm−2 is simultaneously demonstrated with a large peak-to-valley current ratio of 2.07, mainly benefiting from the significantly reduced dislocation density and improved hyper-abrupt heterointerfaces in the active region, which boosts the electron quantum transport in the resonant tunneling cavity. The achievement shows the promising potential to enhance the oscillation frequency and output power of GaN-based RTD oscillators, imperative for next-generation high-power solid-state compact terahertz oscillators application.

Realisation of broadband two-dimensional nonreciprocal acoustics using an active acoustic metasurface.

Nonreciprocal acoustic devices have been shown to be able to control incident waves propagating in one direction whilst allowing incident waves propagating in the opposite direction to be transmitted without modification. Nonreciprocal sound transmission, typically, has been achieved by introducing nonlinearities or directional biasing through fluid motion or spatiotemporal modulation of resonant cavities. However, the spatial arrangement of these approaches creates preferential characteristics in one direction such that the direction of the nonreciprocal behaviour is fixed and, thus, they are not straightforwardly reconfigurable. To address this issue, it has previously been revealed that feedforward wave-based active controllers can be employed to drive a single subwavelength active unit cell to achieve broadband nonreciprocal sound transmission or absorption in a one-dimensional linear acoustic system. Extending this concept, this paper investigates how the feedforward wave-based active controller can be used to drive an array of subwavelength active unit cells forming a metasurface to achieve broadband nonreciprocal sound absorption over a two-dimensional plane. Through simulation and experimental studies, this paper shows that active wave-based absorption control systems can achieve broadband nonreciprocal sound absorption when the incident waves are generated by normally and obliquely positioned primary sources.

Wide-angle non-reciprocal thermal radiator based on a periodic toroidal array structure

Non-reciprocal thermal radiation is crucial for energy transfer and storage applications. However, the range of angles of incidence limits the development of non-reciprocal thermal radiation. To address this problem, we have proposed and developed a non-reciprocal thermal radiation device with wide-angle characteristics, which operates in the mid-infrared spectral range. The radiator consists of a silicon-based periodic toroidal array, a Weyl semimetal (WSM), and a metal reflective layer Ag. A strong nonreciprocity of 0.88 is observed at 9.36 μm wavelength and 41.8° angle, while a nonreciprocity of 0.87 can be sustained within the range of 36°–74°. In addition, the nonreciprocity can be maintained above 0.8 in the spectral range of 9.3 μm ∼9.4 μm. Compared with the previous single working angle, our work has dramatically broadened the angle of energy absorption, and the non-reciprocal intensity can be maintained at a high level. Through a detailed analysis of the magnetic field modulus and impedance characteristics at non-reciprocal wavelengths, we reveal that cavity resonance excitation is the core physical process of mid-infrared wide-angle non-reciprocal radiation. In addition, changing the axial vector of the WSM can lead to a redshift of the non-reciprocal wave peaks. The proposed two-dimensional mid-infrared non-reciprocal emitter can realize wide-angle domain emission at specific wavelengths, which is promising for applications in energy storage and conversion systems such as solar cells and thermophotovoltaic cells.

Phonon pumping by modulating the ultrastrong vacuum

The vacuum (i.e., the ground state) of a system in ultrastrong light-matter coupling contains particles that cannot be emitted without any dynamical perturbation and is thus called virtual. We propose a protocol for inducing and observing real mechanical excitations of a mirror enabled by the virtual photons in the ground state of a tripartite system, where a resonant optical cavity is ultrastrongly coupled to a two-level system (qubit) and, at the same time, optomechanically coupled to a mechanical resonator. Real phonons are coherently emitted when the frequency of the two-level system is modulated at a frequency comparable to that of the mechanical resonator and, therefore much lower than the optical frequency. We demonstrate that this hybrid effect is a direct consequence of the virtual photon population in the ground state. Within a classical physics analogy, attaching a weight to a spring only changes its resting position, whereas dynamically modulating the weight makes the system oscillate. In our case, however, the weight is the vacuum itself. We propose and accurately characterize a hybrid superconducting-optomechanical setup based on available state-of-the-art technology, where this effect can be experimentally observed.

Acoustic optimization of a tee via a Helmholtz resonant cavity and noise prediction via a genetic algorithm coupled with the grey model

As a key local component in heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, the acoustic characteristics of the tee largely determine the indoor acoustic environment quality. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of the Helmholtz resonant cavity (HRC) on the tee noise and sound transmission loss (STL). The noise was predicted using the Ffowcs Williams-Hawkings (FW-H) equation and large eddy simulation (LES), and an analysis was conducted on four design variables: the cavity width, cavity height, outlet flow ratio, and hole width. The results indicated that increasing the hole width had a positive effect on reducing the noise of the tee. HRC could result in a tee peak noise attenuation up to 34.81 dB. In addition, based on grey model (GM) and genetic algorithm (GA) theory, the noise of the Helmholtz resonant tee (HRT) was predicted, and a noise prediction formula for resonant cavity structure paraments was derived. This study provides a new perspective for optimizing the STL of the tee and a simplified prediction method for low-noise tee design.

Investigations on cleavage fracture mechanism and surface damage of indium phosphide by molecular dynamics simulation

The quality and undamaged size in the resonant cavity surface directly affect the operational stability and output power of semiconductor lasers. To meet the demand for large-size and high-quality mirror facets, a deep understanding of fracture mechanisms of mechanical cleavage is essential. Nevertheless, 3D models of cleavage fracture are rarely investigated. In this work, a molecular dynamics study on the cleavage mechanisms of indium phosphide is reported through examining the effects of the cleavage gap, scratch depth, and cleavage rate on the cleavage damage morphology. The proposed molecular dynamics approach provides insights into the details of cleavage fracture at the atomic level. The simulation results reveal that the cleavage fracture mechanism includes the deviation of cracks between adjacent cleavage surfaces. The predominant damage manifestations on the cleavage surfaces are mainly characterized by cleavage terraces that begin at the bottom of the scratched groove. The cleavage terraces propagate along the [001] crystal direction on the (110) cleavage surface and deviate from their path. This phenomenon is essentially related to the stress released during the crack propagation process. Compared with the cleavage gap and scratch depth, the cleavage rate significantly affects the critical cleavage load. Additionally, a good correlation between the density of the cleavage terraces and the maximum undamaged length is achieved and reasonably explained. Mastering the correlation between various cleavage conditions and cleavage surface damage will facilitate and guide the fabrication of nanoscale resonant cavity mirrors and advance the development of mechanical cleaving processes.

Nitrogen-Doped 3D-Graphene Advances Near-Infrared Photodetector for Logic Circuits and Image Sensors Overcoming 2D Limitations.

The limitations of two-dimensional (2D) graphene in broadband photodetector are overcome by integrating nitrogen (N) doping into three-dimensional (3D) structures within silicon (Si) via plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition (PACVD) technology. This contributes to the construction of vertical Schottky heterojunction broad-spectrum photodetectors and applications in logic devices and image sensors. The natural nanoscale resonant cavity structure of 3D-graphene enhances photon capture efficiency, thereby increasing photocarrier generation. N-doping can fine-tune the electronic structure, advancing the Schottky barrier height and reducing dark current. The as-fabricated photodetector exhibits exceptional self-driven photoresponse, especially at 1550 nm, with an excellent photoresponsivity (79.6 A/W), specific detectivity (1013 Jones), and rapid response of 130 μs. Moreover, it enables logic circuits, high-resolution pattern image recognition, and broadband spectra recording across the visible to near-infrared range (400-1550 nm). This research will provide new views and technical support for the development and widespread application of high-performance semiconductor-based graphene broadband detectors.

Photoacoustic spectroscopy based on vertical cruciform multi-stepped photoacoustic cell achieving ppb-level acetylene detection

A photoacoustic spectroscopy (PAS) based on vertical cruciform multi-stepped photoacoustic cell (CMS-PAC) was developed to achieve highly sensitive detection of trace acetylene (C2H2) gas. Compared with the T-type PAC, the CMS-PAC has improved sensitivity through optimization of both the structural design and the direction of laser incidence. Through finite element simulation analysis, when the incidence direction of modulated laser was placed horizontally, the acoustic intensity of the CMS-PAC was ∼2.45 times higher than that of the T-type PAC. When the modulated laser was applied vertically, the acoustic intensity achieved by the CMS-PAC was ∼11 times higher than that along the horizontal incidence direction. The sensitivities of the CMS-PAC-based PAS system have reached 15.06 and 1.83 pm/ppm, along the vertical and horizontal directions, respectively. Combined with assessment using Allan deviation, the CMS-PAC-based PAS system achieved a minimum detection limit of 3.04 ppb@100 s in the vertical direction, and 23.06 ppb@100 s in the horizontal direction. The proposed CMS-PAC not only enhances acoustic intensity through optimized resonant cavity structures but also improves detection sensitivity with the optimized direction of laser incidence, providing a novel perspective for designing highly sensitive and compact PACs.

Bloch-surface-wave resonance in a cavity resonator for focusing retroreflection.

A wavelength-selective retroreflector for a diverging wave will be an attractive external mirror for compact wavelength-stabilized semiconductor lasers and consists of a focusing grating coupler and a cavity resonator. In this Letter, the retroreflector utilizing a Bloch surface wave (BSW) resonance was theoretically investigated for improving the retro-reflectance in comparison to a previously reported structure utilizing guided-mode resonance (GMR). A retroreflector with an aperture size of 31 µm and focal length of 67 µm was designed for an operation wavelength of 1550 nm. The maximum retro-reflectance is predicted by numerical simulation to be higher by 11% than that of the GMR-based retroreflector.

Single-frequency erbium-doped fiber laser based on self-injection feedback.

In this paper, a single-frequency erbium-doped fiber laser based on self-injection feedback is reported, which uses a high-reflectivity broadband fiber Bragg grating, an ordinary commercial high-doped erbium fiber and a low-reflectivity broadband fiber Bragg grating to form the main resonant cavity, and a stable narrow linewidth single-frequency laser output is achieved by connecting a single-mode fiber and a low reflectivity narrowband fiber Bragg grating to form self-injection feedback. Then, a saturated double-pass erbium-doped fiber amplifier and a saturable absorber were added to the self-injection optical path, which well suppressed the relative intensity noise and phase noise and the relaxation oscillation intensity was well suppressed by about 18.08 dB, and the phase noise was 36.7dBc·Hz-1 suppression, the edge-mode rejection ratio is increased by 13 dB, and the final laser linewidth is about 270 Hz, and the output power is 8.5 dBm.

Random lasers with controlled emission modes by colloidal semiconductor quantum dots coupled to plasmonic nanorod arrays

Random lasers based on scattering for light amplification have gained extensive attention due to their simple structures. Colloidal semiconductor quantum dots (CSQDs) are excellent candidates as active media for random lasing. However, achieving CSQDs-based random lasers is challenging because the non-radiative Auger recombination produces a remarkable carrier loss. Here, we report random lasers with low thresholds based on the CSQDs coupled to the plasmonic nanorod arrays. The random lasers result from the enhancing excitation and emission rates of the CSQDs through plasmon resonance energy transfer induced by the spectral overlap between the resonant cavity modes of the plasmonic nanorod arrays and the excitons of the CSQDs, which reduces the carrier loss and establishes the optical gain in the CSQDs. Moreover, the incoherent and coherent emission modes can be controlled by varying the filling configurations (i.e., full-filling and partial-filling) of the plasmonic nanorods embedded in anodic aluminum oxide templates. Consequently, the incoherent random laser with a threshold of 19.3 μJ/mm2 and coherent random lasers with a threshold of 13.5 μJ/mm2 are performed, respectively. The proposed system provides a feasible method for low-threshold CSQDs-based random lasers with controlled emission modes, showing a promising avenue for potential applications.

Experimental Study on the Influence of Microwave Energy Pulse Width and Duty Cycle on Evaporation and Ignition Characteristics of ADN-Based Liquid Propellant Droplets

This study investigates the evaporation and ignition characteristics of a single droplet of ammonium dinitramide (ADN)-based liquid propellant utilizing a waveguide resonant cavity device, in conjunction with a high-speed photographic imaging system and testing system. Experimental methods are employed to analyze the impact of microwave pulse width and duty cycle on the puffing and meicro-explosion phenomena of the droplet, as well as the delay time and duration of ignition. The experimental findings reveal that increasing the duty cycle enhances the ignition success rate and diminishes flame development time. Specifically, elevating the microwave duty cycle from 60% to 80% reduces the ignition delay time of the droplet from 132.8 ms to 88.1 ms, and the ignition duration from 23.1 ms to 19.9 ms. Furthermore, an increase in microwave energy pulse width expedites the combustion process of the flame and influences plasma generation. Increasing the pulse width of microwave energy from 20 µs to 40 µs prolongs the ignition delay time from 140.3 ms to 200.5 ms and extends the ignition duration from 56.7 ms to 77.8 ms. Additionally, it is observed that a higher duty cycle leads to a more pronounced puffing phenomenon that initiates earlier. In contrast, a higher pulse width results in a more pronounced puffing phenomenon that commences later. This study provides a thorough investigation into the microwave ignition mechanism of ADN-based liquid propellants, offering theoretical insights into the ignition and combustion stability of such propellants in microwave-assisted ignition systems.

Measurement of the Isolated Nuclear Two-Photon Decay in ^{72}Ge.

The nuclear two-photon or double-gamma (2γ) decay is a second-order electromagnetic process whereby a nucleus in an excited state emits two gamma rays simultaneously. To be able to directly measure the 2γ decay rate in the low-energy regime below the electron-positron pair-creation threshold, we combined the isochronous mode of a storage ring with Schottky resonant cavities. The newly developed technique can be applied to isomers with excitation energies down to ∼100 keV and half-lives as short as ∼10 ms. The half-life for the 2γ decay of the first-excited 0^{+} state in bare ^{72}Ge ions was determined to be 23.9(6)ms, which strongly deviates from expectations.

Linearly polarized GaN micro-LED with adjustable directional emission integrated with a continuous metasurface

Traditional LEDs emit light that exhibits incoherence and displays a Lambertian distribution. To achieve linearly polarized (LP) light and control the emission direction, a variety of optical components are required to be stacked, which is unsuitable for compact applications and results in low deflection efficiency. Here, we propose and and numerically simulate a novel single-chip micro-resonant cavity LED (micro-RCLED) device that generates directional LP light by integrating a continuous metasurface. This device includes a bilayer grating at the GaN layer's bottom, providing high transverse electric (TE) reflectivity above 89.5% and an extinction ratio exceeds 57 dB at 500 nm. The top distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) and the bilayer grating together constitute a TE mode Fabry–Pérot resonant cavity. This not only promotes the emission of the TE wave, but also guarantees its collimation with the appropriate phase, thereby enhancing its spatial coherence. A functional metasurface above the DBR layer precisely controls the TE wave's deflection angle. It maintains a low aspect ratio while enabling efficient, large-angle deflection. The simulation results demonstrate that this device provides an effective solution for generating highly spatially coherent directional LP light, with broad potential applications in fields such as polarized light imaging and advanced 3D micro-LED display systems.

A Rapid, Non-Destructive Method to Detect Counterfeit Integrated Circuits Using a Resonant Cavity System

The counterfeiting of integrated circuits (ICs) has been a growing issue. Current available methods used to detect counterfeit ICs can be expensive, imprecise, and time-consuming. This paper explores the resonant cavity system: a non-contact, non-destructive method to rapidly differentiate counterfeit ICs from authentic ones. The system captures a unique signature of an IC placed inside it. Data were captured for ICs of various technologies and authenticities. The data included return loss values captured at various transverse electric (TE) modes between 2.8 GHz and 6 GHz. This allowed for the comparison of the effectiveness of the various TE modes in being able to distinguish ICs. The resonant cavity system was able to distinguish most of the ICs at higher TE modes.

PH-Responsive, Wide Color Gamut Dynamic Color Display Enabled by PDMAEMA Brush-Based Fabry-Perot Resonant Cavity.

Dynamic color-changing materials have attracted broad interest due to their widespread applications in visual sensing, dynamic color display, anticounterfeiting, and image encryption/decryption. In this work, we demonstrate a novel pH-responsive dynamic color-changing material based on a metal-insulator-metal (MIM) Fabry-Perot (FP) cavity with a pH-responsive poly(N,N-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate) (PDMAEMA) brush layer as the responsive insulating layer. The pH-responsive PDMAEMA brush undergoes protonation at a low pH value (pH < 6), which induces different swelling degrees in response to pH and thus refractive index and thickness change of the insulator layer of the MIM FP cavity. This leads to significant optical property changes in transmission and a distinguishable color change spanning the whole visible region by adjusting the pH value of the external environment. Due to the reversible conformational change of the PDMAEMA and the formation of covalent bonds between the PDMAEMA molecular chain and the Ag substrate, the MIM FP cavity exhibits stable performance and good reproducibility. This pH-responsive MIM FP cavity establishes a new way to modulate transmission color in the full visible region and exhibits a broad prospect of applications in dynamic color display, real-time environment monitoring, and information encryption and decryption.

Single-modulator, dual comb serrodyne spectroscopy.

Dual optical frequency comb spectroscopy allows for high speed, broadband measurements without any moving parts. Here, we combine differential chirp downconversion to probe large spectral bandwidths and serrodyne modulation to separate the positive and negative sidebands in a single modulator. As an initial demonstration, we apply this approach to measure a sharp cavity resonance to illustrate the system performance. We then measure methane transitions in the near-infrared and compare the resulting spectra to models based upon the current spectroscopic databases. The serrodyne method has lower hardware requirements compared to many existing approaches, and its simplicity enables a high degree of mutual coherence between the two combs. Further, this method is readily amenable to chip-scale photonic integration.

Vertical InGaN Light-Emitting Diode with Hybrid Distributed Bragg Reflectors.

A vertical-type InGaN light-emitting diode with a resonant cavity was demonstrated with a 9 μm aperture size and a short cavity formed by hybrid distributed Bragg reflectors (DBRs). The approach involved designing epitaxial structures and utilizing an electrochemical etching process to convert heavily doped n-type gallium nitride (n+-GaN) layers into porous GaN layers as a porous-GaN DBR structure. Thirteen pairs of the conductive porous-GaN:Si/GaN:Si DBR structure provided a vertical current path in a vertical-type light-emitting diodes (LED) structure. The LED epitaxial layers were separated from sapphire for membrane-type LED structures through a laser lift-off process. During the free-standing membrane fabrication process, the dielectric DBR deposited on ITO/p-GaN:Mg layers was inverted from top to bottom, thereby establishing the concept of higher reflectivity for the bottom DBR compared to the porous-GaN DBR. The physical cavity length was reduced from about 2.3 μm for the LED membrane to 0.74 μm for the membrane-type LED with the embedded porous-GaN DBR structure. The divergent angles and line width of EL emission light were reduced from 124°/31.7 nm to 44°/3.3 nm due to the resonant cavity effect. The membrane-type LED structures with hybrid DBRs consisted of small divergent angles, narrow line width, and vertical current injection properties that have potential for directional emission light sources and vertical-cavity surface-emitting diode laser applications.

Enhanced fluorescence emission of a single quantum dot in a porous silicon photonic crystal—plasmonic hybrid resonator

Abstract Currently, much interest is attracted to investigating the potential of hybrid systems that exhibit plasmon-induced photoluminescence (PL) enhancement of quantum emitters in terms of optoelectronics and biosensing applications. The implementation of these systems based on photonic microcavities offers benefits due to a stronger localization of the field within the resonant cavity. Porous silicon is one of interesting materials for engineering such microcavities thanks to the simplicity of its fabrication and the possibility to embed emitters from the solution into a ready-made resonator. In this theoretical study, the fluorescence enhancement of a quantum dot (QD) in a hybrid system based on a porous silicon microcavity (pSiMC) and silver nanoplatelets (AgNPs) was investigated using finite element method (FEM) numerical simulations. For this purpose, infinite arrays were simulated by using a periodic unit cell. The pSiMC was designed as two λ/4 distributed Bragg reflectors with alternating refractive indices and a cavity layer of a double thickness between them. For comparison, simulations were also performed for an AgNP and a QD in a reference monolayer with a constant refractive index without a microcavity structure. The results show QD fluorescence enhancement in the AgNP/pSiMC hybrid system, mainly due to the higher excitation rate.