Evanescent Wave Coupling Research Articles

High-quality on-chip entangled photon source with broad tunable range based on coupling compensation

This paper introduces a tunable and high-quality photon source that utilizes evanescent-wave coupling phase matching. By adjusting the coupling gap, the signal light can be tuned from 1307 nm to 1493.9 nm, and the idler light can be tuned from 1612.8 nm to 1907 nm. Throughout the entire tuning range, the purity of the photon pairs remains above 92%. In specific tuning ranges (signal photons from 1307 nm to 1421.7 nm and idler photons from 1706.4 nm to 1907 nm), the purity exceeds 99% and the full width at half-maximum of the generated photon spectra is less than 1.85 nm. The photon source is designed using a silicon–organic hybrid waveguide, which effectively minimizes the impact of two-photon absorption and achieves a 15 dB enhancement in four-wave mixing conversion efficiency compared to a strip waveguide. This design may promote efficient and precise generation of high-quality photons at desired frequencies, offering promising potential for various applications in quantum technologies.

Near‐Field Coupling of Janus Dipoles Beyond Polarization Locking

AbstractPolarization, as a fundamental property of light, plays a key role in many phenomena of near‐field coupling, namely the coupling of source's evanescent waves into some guided modes. As a typical example of the polarization‐locked phenomenon in the near‐field coupling, the Janus dipole has the orientation of its near‐field coupling face intrinsically determined by the polarization state of linearly‐polarized surface waves, specifically whether they are transverse‐magnetic (TM) or transverse‐electric (TE) surface waves. Here, a mechanism to achieve the directional near‐field coupling of Janus dipoles beyond polarization locking by leveraging hybrid TM‐TE surface waves is presented. These hybrid surface waves, as eigenmodes with both TM and TE wave components, can be supported by optical interfaces between different filling materials inside a parallel‐plate waveguide. Under the excitation of hybrid surface waves, it is found that the coupling and non‐coupling face of a Janus dipole may be switched, if the Janus dipole itself rotates in a plane parallel to the designed optical interface between different filling materials, without resorting to the change of surface‐wave polarization. The underlying mechanism is due to the capability of hybrid surface waves to extract both the source's TM and TE evanescent waves, which offers an alternative paradigm to regulate the interference in the near‐field coupling.

Optofluidic passive parity-time-symmetric systems.

This research introduces a novel methodology of harnessing liquids to facilitate the realization of parity-time (PT)-symmetric optical waveguides on highly integrated microscale platforms. Additionally, we propose a realistic and detailed fabrication process flow, demonstrating the practical feasibility of fabricating our optofluidic system, thereby bridging the gap between theoretical design and actual implementation. Extensive research has been conducted over the past two decades on PT-symmetric systems across various fields, given their potential to foster a new generation of compact, power-efficient sensors and signal processors with enhanced performance. Passive PT-symmetry in optics can be achieved by evanescently coupling two optical waveguides and incorporating an optically lossy material into one of the waveguides. The essential coupling distance between two optical waveguides in air is usually less than 500 nm for near-infrared wavelengths and under 100 nm for ultraviolet wavelengths. This necessitates the construction of the coupling region via expensive and time-consuming electron beam lithography, posing a significant manufacturing challenge for the mass production of PT-symmetric optical systems. We propose a solution to this fabrication challenge by introducing liquids capable of dynamic flow between optical waveguides. This technique allows the attainment of evanescent wave coupling with coupling gap dimensions compatible with standard photolithography processes. Consequently, this paves the way for the cost-effective, rapid and large-scale production of PT-symmetric optofluidic systems, applicable across a wide range of fields.

Automatic Alignment Method for Controlled Free-Space Excitation of Whispering-Gallery Resonances.

Whispering-gallery mode microresonators have gained wide popularity as experimental platforms for different applications, ranging from biosensing to nonlinear optics. Typically, the resonant modes of dielectric microresonators are stimulated via evanescent wave coupling, facilitated using tapered optical fibers or coupling prisms. However, this method poses serious shortcomings due to fabrication and access-related limitations, which could be elegantly overcome by implementing a free-space coupling approach; although additional alignment procedures are needed in this case. To address this issue, we have developed a new algorithm to excite the microresonator automatically. Here, we show the working mechanism and the preliminary results of our experimental method applied to a home-made silica microsphere, using a visible laser beam with a spatial light modulator and a software control.

Light manipulation for all-fiber devices with VCSEL and graphene-based metasurface.

Light manipulation for all-fiber devices has played a vital role in controllable photonic devices. A graphene-based metasurface is proposed to realize light manipulation. A row of VCSEL-based optical engines with low crosstalk is used as the control light to modulate the signal transmitted in the microstructured fiber. In this configuration, the proposed device can work independently of the wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) system. With an insertion loss of only 0.28 dB, evanescent wave coupling to graphene layers is polarisation-insensitive. The device could be effectively manipulated for a few days (not less than 72 hours), which possesses the capacity to dynamically modulate the signal light with both low-temperature sensitivity and low-wavelength sensitivity. The 35 nm wavelength interval results in a change of only about 0.1 dB in the output light intensity of the microstructured fiber when the wavelength changes from 1530 nm to 1565 nm. Moreover, the modulation depth is approximately 2 dB when the modulating voltage is 2.2 V, which may open avenues for channel detection techniques and have deep implications in top tuning applications.

Enhancing Evanescent Wave Coupling of Near-Surface Waveguides with Plasmonic Nanoparticles.

Evanescent field excitation is a powerful means to achieve a high surface-to-bulk signal ratio for bioimaging and sensing applications. However, standard evanescent wave techniques such as TIRF and SNOM require complex microscopy setups. Additionally, the precise positioning of the source relative to the analytes of interest is required, as the evanescent wave is critically distance-dependent. In this work, we present a detailed investigation of evanescent field excitation of near-surface waveguides written using femtosecond laser in glass. We studied the waveguide-to-surface distance and refractive index change to attain a high coupling efficiency between evanescent waves and organic fluorophores. First, our study demonstrated a reduction in sensing efficiency for waveguides written at their minimum distance to the surface without ablation as the refractive index contrast of the waveguide increased. While this result was anticipated, it had not been previously demonstrated in the literature. Moreover, we found that fluorescence excitation by waveguides can be enhanced using plasmonic silver nanoparticles. The nanoparticles were also organized in linear assemblies, perpendicular to the waveguide, with a wrinkled PDMS stamp technique, which resulted in an excitation enhancement of over 20 times compared to the setup without nanoparticles.

Experimental observations of communication in blackout, topological waveguiding and Dirac zero-index property in plasma sheath

Abstract The plasma sheath causes the spacecraft’s communication signal to attenuate dramatically during the re-entry period, which seriously threatens the astronauts. However, valid experimental protocols have not been obtained hitherto. To realize the propagation of electromagnetic waves in negative permittivity background of the plasma sheath, alumina columns are embedded in the plasma background to form plasma photonic crystals, which can support the coupling of evanescent waves between the alumina columns. We experimentally demonstrate the realization of communication in blackout scenario by achieving a complete passing band in the plasma cutoff region. For high frequency communications in the plasma sheath, electromagnetic wave propagation based on topological edge states is also experimentally demonstrated. Furthermore, we realize a triply-degenerate Dirac cone formed dynamically at the center of the Brillouin zone by modulating the electron density, where electromagnetic wave exhibits high transmittance and does not experience phase accumulation at the Dirac point. Our work thus not only provides an effective approach to overcome the communication blackout problem, but the design can also be served as a promising experimental platform to explore topological electromagnetic phenomena.

HBN-based regulation of near-field radiative heat transfer between planar structures

Nanoscale thermal regulation plays a vital role in many applications, especially in highly-integrated electronics. In this study, we theoretically analyze the near-field radiation heat transfer within hBN-based planar systems, including bare hBN plates, SiC/hBN plates, graphene/hBN plates and Au/hBN plates. We predict that tailoring the shift frequency of phonon could alter the hyperbolic modes (HMs) of hBN, thus allowing for the coupling and decoupling of HMs with SPhPs of SiC and GSPPs of graphene. Therefore, the radiative heat flux in hBN-based systems except for Au/hBN plates can be greatly regulated, and the regulation ratio can reach 159.6 for bare hBN plates, and above 2 for SiC/hBN plates and for graphene/hBN plates. Results may facilitate understanding of the principles of hBN-based evanescent wave coupling and nanoscale thermal management.

Single-photon splitting by polymeric submicropillars structures

Optical splitters are one of the most important interconnects in the optical chips of future optical quantum computers. Here, we introduce novel quantum photonic splitters based on polymeric submicropillars that split the single-photon signal generated by a colloidal quantum dot (QD) into multiple outputs, which can be easily accessed through a conventional confocal scanning optical system. Using a single continuous-wave laser with a low absorption wavelength for both polymer material and QDs, we were able to first deterministically place a single-photon emitter (SPE) within one of the submicropillars and then characterize the single-photon guiding effect of the fabricated structures. The submicropillars, with their size and position which are comprehensively optimized by numerical simulations, act as single-mode directional coupler guiding both the laser excitation and the single-photon emission thanks to the evanescent wave coupling effect. With one-step fabrication, we can create a well-distributed array of “imaginary” SPEs from an original SPE. Our method opens various applications in integrated devices based on solid-state quantum emitters.

The amazing world of self-organized Ge quantum dots for Si photonics on SiN platforms

Beginning with our exciting discovery of germanium (Ge) spherical quantum-dot (QD) formation via the peculiar and symbiotic interactions of Si, Ge, and O interstitials, we have embarked on a journey of vigorous exploration, creating unique configurations of self-organized Ge-QDs/Si-containing layers. Our aim is to generate advanced Ge-QD photonic devices, while using standard, mainstream Si processing techniques. This paper summarizes our portfolio of innovative Ge-QD configurations. With emphasis on both controllability and repeatability, we have fabricated size-tunable, spherical Ge-QDs that are placed at predetermined spatial locations within Si-containing layers (SiO2, Si3N4, and Si) using a coordinated combination of lithographic patterning and self-assembled growth. We have successfully exploited the multi-dimensional, parameter spaces of process conditions in combination with layout designs to achieve exquisite control available through the thermal oxidation of lithographically patterned, poly-Si1 − xGex structures in close proximity with Si3N4/Si layers. In so doing, we have gained insight into the growth kinetics and formation mechanisms of self-organized, Ge spherical QDs embedded within SiO2, Si3N4, and Si layers, respectively. Our Ge-QD configurations have opened up a myriad of process/integration possibilities including top-to-bottom evanescent-wave coupling structures for SiN-waveguided Ge-QD photodetectors and Ge-QD light emitters for Si photonics within Si3N4 integrated photonics platforms for on-chip interconnects and sensing.

A fiber sensor for different curvature measurement based on nano-erbium-ytterbium co-doped fiber cascade structure as both source and sensor

A fiber sensing system based on Nano-Erbium-Ytterbium co-doped fiber (Nano-EYDF) is proposed and demonstrated, where it works as both source and sensor. Especially, a fiber curvature sensor based on Mach-Zehnder interferometer is fabricated in a Nano-EYDF, which is a cascaded structure composed of single-mode fiber (SMF), Nano-EYDF and SMF. Based on the principle of evanescent wave coupling, the light transmitted in the SMF core can be coupled into the Nano-EYDF cladding. Therefore, the Nano-EYDF core mode and cladding mode that satisfy the phase matching conditions can couple evanescent waves to form a double-beam interference. When the external environment changes, the interference spectrum will change, so the curvature sensing can be realized by observing the wavelength shift. The experimental results show when the length of the Nano-EYDF is 20 mm and 25 mm, the transmission spectrum of the sensor appears blue shift in the downforce curvature range of 0–1.76 m−1, and the curvature sensitivity is −9.763 nm/m−1 and −12.787 nm/m−1 respectively. In the propulsion curvature range of 0–0.94 m−1, the transmission spectrum exhibits blue shift, and the curvature sensitivity can be up to −9.261 nm/m−1 and −9.411 nm/m−1, respectively. The sensor is easily fabricated and has high sensitivity, and demonstrates good application prospects in curvature measurement fields such as 3D shape reconstruction and geological monitoring.

The Efficiency Improvement of Multiple Receivers in Wireless Power Transmission by Integrating Metasurfaces.

In this paper, we propose the use of metasurfaces to enhance evanescent wave coupling to improve the wireless power transfer (WPT) efficiency of multiple receivers. A 4 × 4 negative permeability metasurface is designed and placed between the transmitter (Tx) and receiver (Rx) coils for the greatest improvement in transfer efficiency. Through the analysis of the number and position topologies of Rx coils, the efficiency can be greatly improved; the maximum efficiency at longer transmission distances is achieved through the 4 × 4 negative permeability metasurface in the multiple−receiver system. We show with simulation and measurement results that the power transfer efficiency of the system can be improved significantly by integrating metasurfaces. The maximum transfer efficiency is achieved in a multiple−receiver WPT system when the number and topology of Rx coils is case 0 of single transmitter−three receivers (STTR). The results show that the total efficiency of the multiple receivers WPT system can be as high as 97%.

Enhanced Light–Tellurium Interaction through Evanescent Wave Coupling for High Speed Mid‐Infrared Photodetection

AbstractMid‐infrared (MIR) waveguide‐integrated photodetector is essential for various applications in the fields of sensing and optical communications. However, it is challenging to integrate traditional MIR photoactive materials such as HgCdTe or III−V compounds with complementary metal‐oxide‐semiconductor (CMOS)‐compatible silicon platform due to the lattice mismatch. Tellurium (Te), a novel van der Waals (vdW) material with a narrow bandgap, high carrier mobility, and great air stability, is a promising candidate for high‐performance MIR detection. Here, high‐quality Te nanosheets are synthesized using a hydrothermal method and their carrier dynamics are characterized by transient reflection spectrum. The effect of mobility anisotropy on response speed is investigated intuitively by a free space phototransistor. Combining the strong evanescent wave of a waveguide architecture with the synergy effect between the carrier collection path and the highest mobility crystal orientation in Te, an integrated Te photodetector with enhanced light–matter interaction and reduced carrier transit time is achieved. For the first time, the MIR waveguide‐integrated Te photodetector with a responsivity of 2.3 A W−1 and a bandwidth of 4 GHz at 2015 nm is realized, which is the highest speed MIR photodetector based on narrow bandgap vdW materials to date.

Near-Zero-Index Slabs on Bloch Surface Wave Platform for Long-Range Directional Couplers and Optical Logic Gates.

Near-zero-index materials and structures, with their extraordinary optical behaviors of phase-free propagation resulting in directional radiation, provide a possible approach for directional coupling and optical logic gates in photonic integrated circuits. However, the radiation from the near-zero-index structures is limited to a short range of a few hundreds of nanometers. A Bloch surface wave (BSW), an electromagnetic surface wave that can be excited at the interface between an all-dielectric multilayer and a dielectric medium with a low-loss optical mode, provides a solution to increase the propagation length. In this work, we present a nanostructured near-zero-index slab integrated on the all-dielectric metal-free BSW platform for long-range surface wave radiation. By employing the long-range directional surface-wave radiation, a directional coupler and optical logic gates based on the BSW near-zero-index slabs are realized. The proposed directional couplers achieve long coupling distances (the electric-field magnitude ratio between the input slab and output slab is 0.22 with a 50 μm coupling distance), which is 2 orders of magnitude longer than that of conventional directional couplers based on evanescent wave coupling. By controlling the interference pattern of the BSW between the slabs, the XOR logic gate is experimentally demonstrated with a significant extinction ratio of 27.9 dB at telecommunications wavelengths. The BSW near-zero-index logic gates and the directional coupler with long-range light propagation provide an approach to the development of photonic integrated circuits and metal-free surface wave-based applications.

Silicon-Based Integrated Terahertz Polarization Beam Splitters

Terahertz (THz) technology offers multifaceted capabilities and disruptive applications in line-of-sight wireless communication, highly sensitive (bio)sensing, imaging and so on. However, the severe lack of polarization devices comparable to those for other electromagnetic frequencies is impeding moving towards practical applications. Here we demonstrate, for the first time, silicon-based integrated, high polarization extinction ratio, low insertion loss, and compact THz polarization beam splitters (PBSs) fabricated by CMOS-compatible technologies based on dielectric environment variation induced evanescent wave coupling effect. Through comprehensively analyzing working principles of conventional two-waveguide-based PBS, a high-performance three-waveguide PBS is successfully realized. Further optimizing the device parameters and working bandwidth, we achieve an integrated broadband PBS based on cascaded asymmetric directional couplers, whose polarization extinction ratios reach up to 20 dB and 32 dB for transverse electric and transverse magnetic modes, respectively, and their 10-dB bandwidth is 32 GHz for a device length of 15.5 mm. These numbers are the highest in silicon-based integrated THz PBSs so far. We believe our observations provide an effective way for exploring on-chip high-performance THz-PBSs for polarization-diverse systems, accelerating the development and application of on-chip THz photonics.

Seawater salinity detection based on elliptical micro/nano fiber optic probe sensing

The strong evanescent field of micro/nanofiber enables it to have a stronger interaction with the outside world and to better sense the changes of the external environment, thus realizing many types of chemical, biological, and environmental sensors. We applied micro/nano-optics for ocean exploration and proposed a sensing probe based on an elliptical microfiber. The sensor probe utilizes the stability of polarization intermode interference of an elliptical fiber and the high sensitivity of the microfiber evanescent wave coupling to achieve a high accuracy measurement of seawater salinity. Laboratory salinity sensitivity of 45.6 nm/% was achieved under seawater environment using an elliptical microfiber with a diameter of 2.8 μm and an ellipticity of 0.3, which is two or three orders of magnitude higher than that of conventional salinity measurements. This sensing probe is used to measure the salinity of seawater in the coastal area of Qinhuangdao, samples were taken for 7 days in September, and the average salinity of the seawater was measured to be 2.956%, which is basically consistent with the data in the Marine Environmental Impact Assessment Report Form of Qinhuangdao Government Service Center.

Focusing the electromagnetic field to 10\u22126\u03bb for ultra-high enhancement of field-matter interaction

Focusing electromagnetic field to enhance the interaction with matter has been promoting researches and applications of nano electronics and photonics. Usually, the evanescent-wave coupling is adopted in various nano structures and materials to confine the electromagnetic field into a subwavelength space. Here, based on the direct coupling with confined electron oscillations in a nanowire, we demonstrate a tight localization of microwave field down to 10−6λ. A hybrid nanowire-bowtie antenna is further designed to focus the free-space microwave to this deep-subwavelength space. Detected by the nitrogen vacancy center in diamond, the field intensity and microwave-spin interaction strength are enhanced by 2.0 × 108 and 1.4 × 104 times, respectively. Such a high concentration of microwave field will further promote integrated quantum information processing, sensing and microwave photonics in a nanoscale system.

A Stable 1550nm WGM Laser Generated by Yb3+/Er3+ Co-doped Silica Microspheres under μm ASE Source Pumping

The amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) light source at 1 μm was used to excite Yb3+/Er3+ co-doped silica (YEDS) microspheres by evanescent-wave coupling through a taper optical fiber (TOF) to generate a stable 1550 nm laser. Inevitably, the experimental process was accompanied by a frequency up-conversion luminescence whose fluorescence spectrum was collected and analyzed. Pumped by the ASE light source with different power, the system of YEDS microsphere and TOF also generated single-mode laser and multi-longitudinal mode laser. Their peak wavelength, output power of the peak laser, full width at half maximum (FWHM), and side mode suppression ratio (SMSR) were respectively measured. Moreover, the characteristics of a 1550 nm whispering gallery mode (WGM) laser excited by a 1 μm ASE pumping and a tunable laser (TLS) pumping were compared under different variable conditions. It was demonstrated that the ASE pump source has polarization in all directions to excite WGMs in the microsphere cavity, which was different from and superior to the TLS. Therefore, the laser generated by the ASE pump source as an excitation source was not affected by vibration and temperature change. The results show that the 1550 nm laser pumped by ASE can stably output the microsphere WGM mode laser under the interference of vibration and temperature change, which is more suitable for the actual application environment.

Efficient coupling of evanescent waves in rectangular waveguides based on ultrathin planar capacitive metasurfaces

Efficient coupling of evanescent waves in rectangular waveguides based on ultrathin planar capacitive metasurfaces

A Novel Comb-Like Nonreciprocal Evanescent Wave Filter Based on the 1-D Ternary Magnetized Plasma Photonic Crystals

In this article, the magnetized plasma in 1-D ternary periodic photonic crystals is utilized as a kind of single negative material whose real part of permittivity is negative. Some discrete resonant peaks with high transmittance can be observed in the transmission band due to the evanescent wave coupling between plasma layers and dielectric layers. The nonreciprocal effect can be achieved by injecting counter-propagating TM waves into the proposed structure whose time-reversal symmetry and space-reversal symmetry are broken. The transmission band of nonreciprocal evanescent waves can be modulated dynamically due to the tuning of the period number, the plasma frequency, the plasma cyclotron frequency, the filling factor of plasma, and the incident angle. The simulation results indicate that the proposed structure can achieve 100% transmission and strong nonreciprocity, which can supply multichannel unidirectional filters with theoretical references.