Dielectric Photonic Crystal Slabs Research Articles

Pseudo coherent-perfect-absorption approach toward perfect polarization conversion

Polarization is one of the essential properties of light. Thereby, its manipulation is important for numerous applications. When employing a resonance in a mirror-symmetry system to manipulate polarization, non-zero residual light in the excited polarization channel leads to the shrink in the scope of the polarization manipulation, and a perfect polarization conversion cannot occur. In this work we show that the concept of coherent perfect absorption can be applied to perfect polarization conversion for circular polarization states. We find that the only requirement to achieve a perfect polarization conversion is that the working frequency is the resonant one. More importantly, the range of the output polarization states can be efficiently enlarged, and can span the entire Poincare sphere by combining the momentum dependent radiative coupling rate driven by the bound states in the continuum (BIC) and the phase delay. When applied to realistic design, we adopt a guided mode resonance driven from the symmetry protected BICs in a dielectric photonic crystal slab. Numerical results are in good agreements with our theoretical predictions. We believe this work can deliver important benefits for a variety of applications based on the efficiently light polarization control and management.

Polarization states and far-field optical properties in dielectric photonic crystal slabs.

We study the role of topological singularities like Bound States in a Continuum (BICs) or Circularly Polarized States (CPSs) in determining ellipticity of the far-field polarization in dielectric metasurfaces. Using finite-difference time-domain as well as rigorous coupled-wave analysis simulations, we determine the behavior of the Stokes parameter S3 in the whole k space above the light cone, with special regard to the region close to the singularities. Moreover, we clarify the relation between the topological singularities and the circular dichroism in reflectivity.

Half‐Integer Topological Charge Polarization of Quasi‐Dirac Bound States in the Continuum

AbstractThe non‐trivial polarization topology of bound states in the continuum (BICs) provides new strategies in nanophotonics. The polarization topology depends on the geometric parameters and energy‐momentum dispersion of the system and can be engineered to add specific functionalities for light molding. Herein, such a possibility is investigated by studying the topology of the polarization states associated with the optical field radiated by BICs when Dirac‐cone‐degeneracy is lifted. The opening of a pseudogap in the Dirac cone dispersion of square‐lattice dielectric photonic crystal slabs is achieved by tuning the slab thickness. First, the emergence of half‐integer topological charges without the requirement of BIC annihilation is theoretically shown, which instead occurs when in‐plane inversion symmetry is broken. Then, using spin‐to‐orbital angular momentum conversion, the theory of half‐integer topological charges mediated by BICs is demonstrated and experimentally proved. The same device is able to give rise to vortices with different orbital angular momentum depending on the way it is illuminated, thus improving the potential of optical multiplexing. In addition, the additive character of the topology‐induced phase‐vortex generation is finally demonstrated for both integer and half‐integer charges using also vortex states as input beams, which is of relevance for information delivery.

Twist-tunable moiré optical resonances

Multilayer stacks of twisted optical metasurfaces are considered as a prospective platform for chiral nanophotonic devices. Such structures are primarily used for the realization of circularly polarized light sources, artificial optical rotation, and circular dichroism. At the same time, the behavior of their hybrid photonic modes is strongly affected by the moir\'e-pattern of superimposed periodic constituents. In this work, we show that moir\'e-periodicity in bilayer dielectric photonic crystal slabs leads to an arise of unlimitedly narrow optical resonances, which are very sensitive to the relative twist and gap width between the sublayers. We demonstrate the structure providing twist-tuning of the hybrid mode wavelength in the range of 300--600~nm with quality factor varying from~$10^2$~up~to~$10^5$ correspondingly. The obtained results pave the wave for the utilization of moir\'e-assisted effects in multilayer photonic crystal slabs.

Polaritonic Chern Insulators in Monolayer Semiconductors.

Systems with strong light-matter interaction open up new avenues for studying topological phases of matter. Examples include exciton polaritons, mixed light-matter quasiparticles, where the topology of the polaritonic band structure arises from the collective coupling between matter wave and optical fields strongly confined in periodic dielectric structures. Distinct from light-matter interaction in a uniform environment, the spatially varying nature of the optical fields leads to a fundamental modification of the well-known optical selection rules, which were derived under the plane wave approximation. Here we identify polaritonic Chern insulators by coupling valley excitons in transition metal dichalcogenides to photonic Bloch modes in a dielectric photonic crystal slab. We show that polaritonic Dirac points, which are markers for topological phase transition points, can be constructed from the collective coupling between valley excitons and photonic Dirac cones in the presence of both time-reversal and inversion symmetries. Lifting exciton valley degeneracy by breaking time-reversal symmetry leads to gapped polaritonic bands with nonzero Chern numbers. Through numerical simulations, we predict polaritonic chiral edge states residing inside the topological gaps. Our Letter paves the way for the further study of strong exciton-photon interaction in nanophotonic structures and for exploring polaritonic topological phases and their practical applications in polaritonic devices.

Separating and trapping of chiral nanoparticles with dielectric photonic crystal slabs.

Chiral separation is a crucial step in many chemical synthesis processes, particularly for pharmaceuticals. Here we present a novel method for the realization of both separating and trapping of enantiomers using the dielectric photonic crystal (PhC) slabs, which possess quasi-fourfold degenerate Bloch modes (overlapping double degenerate transverse-electric-like and transverse-magnetic-like modes). Based on the designed structure, a large gradient of optical chirality appears near the PhC slab, leading to the extreme enhancement of chiral optical forces about 3 orders of magnitude larger than those obtained with circularly polarized lights. In this case, our method provides a reference for realizing all-optical enantiopure syntheses.

Strong superchiral fields and an ultrasensitive chiral sensor of biomolecules based on a dielectric photonic crystal slab with air holes

Detection and quantification of chiral enantiomers of biomolecules are of considerable importance for biomedical diagnostics and pathogen analyses. However, the chiral signals from natural molecules are typically small and weak; a long measuring time and a large amount of samples are needed to fulfill the detection limit for the present technique. How to improve the detection efficiency for realizing ultrasensitive probing of chiral molecules has become a key problem. Here we propose a scheme to perform ultrasensitive detection of chiral molecules based on degeneracy states of orthogonal polarization modes in the achiral dielectric nanostructure. The degeneracy states are realized by designing dielectric photonic crystal slabs with air holes. Based on such degeneracy states, homogeneous superchiral fields of both handednesses over arbitrarily large areas can be obtained in a wide spectral range, resulting in the enhancement of the circular dichroism signal by more than three orders of magnitude, thus paving the road toward ultrasensitive characterization and quantification of molecular chirality.

Realization of a complementary medium using dielectric photonic crystals.

By exploiting the scaling invariance of photonic band diagrams, a complementary photonic crystal slab structure is realized by stacking two uniformly scaled double-zero-index dielectric photonic crystal slabs together. The space cancellation effect in complementary photonic crystals is demonstrated in both numerical simulations and microwave experiments. The refractive index dispersion of double-zero-index dielectric photonic crystal is experimentally measured. Using pure dielectrics, our photonic crystal structure will be an ideal platform to explore various intriguing properties related to a complementary medium.

Narrowband thermal emission from a uniform tungsten surface critically coupled with a photonic crystal guided resonance.

We numerically demonstrate narrowband thermal emission with unity emissivity peak in the near-infrared range by critically coupling a flat tungsten surface with guided resonances of a dielectric photonic crystal slab. The tungsten surface is separated from the photonic crystal slab by a vacuum gap. The structure possesses significant tunability for both the center frequency and the linewidth of the thermal emission band. Moreover, the tungsten surface, being un-structured, should exhibit enhanced thermal stability at elevated temperature as compared to tungsten nanostructures.

Enhanced detection limit by dark mode perturbation in 2D photonic crystal slab refractive index sensors

We demonstrate for the first time a 300nm thick, 300μm × 300μm 2D dielectric photonic crystal slab membrane with a quality factor of 10,600 by coupling light to slightly perturbed dark modes through alternating nano-hole sizes. The newly created fundamental guided resonances greatly reduce nano-fabrication accuracy requirements. Moreover, we created a new layer architecture resulting in electric field enhancement at the interface between the slab and sensing regions, and spectral sensitivity of >800 nm/RIU, that is, >0.8 of the single-mode theoretical upper limit of spectral sensitivity.

Photonic band structure calculations for metal-clad two-dimensional photonic crystal slab

We study the effect of metallic cladding on the band structure of a two-dimensional photonic crystal slab. Band structures of a honeycomb patterned two-dimensional photonic crystal slab, with/without a metal-clad or a perfect conductor clad, are calculated using both the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method and the plane wave expansion (PWE) method. We explain the changes of the band structure due to cladding. We also show that the band structure of a metal-clad photonic crystal can be obtained effectively from the odd modes of the air bridge type dielectric photonic crystal slab, thicker than the metal-clad photonic crystal by a factor larger than two.

Imaging properties of dielectric photonic crystal slabs for large object distances

We extend the understanding of the imaging properties of dielectric photonic crystal slabs to object distances that are larger than the slab thickness. We specifically consider hexagonal crystal lattices in the second band. For object distances smaller than the slab thickness, the image distance is a negative linear function of the object distance as expected for negative refractive index materials. The effective refractive index extracted from this linear object-image relation is close to the negative unity value calculated for infinite photonic crystal using the plane wave expansion method. In contrast to previous predictions, we find that a real image can still be formed for object distances up to twice the slab thickness. In this regime the image distance changes little as the object distance increases, and can thus be described as the saturated image regime. Sub-wavelength resolution performance can be approximately maintained even for these larger object distances. The full-width half-maximum spot size at the image is approximately (0.43-0.55)lambda up to object distances 1.5 times the slab thickness. By evaluating the image angular frequency spectrum we show that this sub-wavelength resolution imaging at larger object distances is due to evanescent waves that arise within the slab, rather than being directly transferred from the object. The eventual loss of image resolution is due to interference side lobes which enter the image plane.