Light Field Manipulation Research Articles

Stretchable plasmonic metasurfaces for deformation monitoring

Abstract Metasurfaces have recently gained significant attention due to the strong capacity in light field manipulation. However, most traditional metasurfaces are fabricated on rigid substrates, which fix their functionality after fabrication and limit their applications in dynamic measurement fields. In this work, we designed and fabricated a silver metasurface embedded in a stretchable substrate for sensing applications. This metasurface can generate different point cloud patterns under varying stretch ratios when illuminated by a laser beam. By collecting and analyzing the patterns, we can precisely reconstruct the deformation of the metasurface. Furthermore, the sample exhibits excellent performance under incident light of various wavelengths. These results pave the way for developing microdevices with novel capabilities based on flexible metamaterials.

Ultrafast Laser Manipulation of In-Lattice Plasmonic Nanoparticles.

Plasmonic nanoparticles enable manipulation and enhancement of light fields at deep subwavelength scales, leading to structures and devices for diverse applications in optics. Despite hybrid plasmonic materials display remarkable optical properties due to interactions between components in nanoproximity, scalable production of plasmonic nanostructures within a single-crystalline matrix to achieve an ideal plasmon-crystal interface remains challenging. Here, a novel approach is presented to realize efficient manipulation of in-lattice plasmonic nanoparticles. Employing ultrafast-laser-driven plasmonic nanolithography, metallic nanoparticles with controllable morphology are precisely defined in the crystalline lattice of yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) crystal. Through direct ion implantation, hybrid plasmonic material composed of nanoparticles embedded in a sub-surface amorphous YAG layer is created. Subsequently, femtosecond laser pulses guide formation and reshaping of plasmonic nanoparticles from the amorphous layer into the single-crystalline matrix along direction of light propagation, facilitated by a plasmon-mediated evolution of laser energy deposition. By tailoring resonance modes and optimizing the coupling between structured particle assemblies, a range of applications including polarization-dependent absorption and nonlinearity, controllable photoluminescence, and structural color generation is demonstrated. This research introduces a new approach for fabricating advanced optical materials featuring in-lattice plasmonic nanostructures, paving the way for the development of diverse functional photonic devices.

Generation of arbitrary vector orbital angular momentum beams on higher-order Poincaré spheres based on an all-dielectric metasurface with complex amplitude modulation

Vector orbital angular momentum (OAM) beams, described by higher-order Poincaré (HOP) sphere, are generalized forms of waves carrying OAM with an inhomogeneous polarization of wavefronts. We construct all-dielectric metasurfaces with adjustable amplitude, polarization, and phase to generate arbitrary vector OAM beams. The metasurface is composed of two pairs of silicon nanopillars arranged alternately. Using the interference effect of the four meta-atoms related to the circular polarization, combined with the propagation and geometric phases, two OAM beams with controlled amplitude, phase, and equal topological charge but opposite signs can be obtained under the incidence of orthogonally circularly polarized lights. For the x linearly polarized light, arbitrary vector OAM beams on the HOP sphere are generated via the superposition of the above OAM beams. Additionally, the evolution process of the beam on the longitude and latitude of the Poincaré sphere is revealed by changing the amplitude and phase of the two OAM beams. This work provides a simple, effective, and flexible method for realizing vector OAM beams while having potential implications for the generation and manipulation of vectorial light fields at the micro-nano scale.

Enhancing 2D Photonics and Optoelectronics with Artificial Microstructures.

By modulating subwavelength structures and integrating functional materials, 2D artificial microstructures (2D AMs), including heterostructures, superlattices, metasurfaces and microcavities, offer a powerful platform for significant manipulation of light fields and functions. These structures hold great promise in high-performance and highly integrated optoelectronic devices. However, a comprehensive summary of 2D AMs remains elusive for photonics and optoelectronics. This review focuses on the latest breakthroughs in 2D AM devices, categorized into electronic devices, photonic devices, and optoelectronic devices. The control of electronic and optical properties through tuning twisted angles is discussed. Some typical strategies that enhance light-matter interactions are introduced, covering the integration of 2D materials with external photonic structures and intrinsic polaritonic resonances. Additionally, the influences of external stimuli, such as vertical electric fields, enhanced optical fields and plasmonic confinements, on optoelectronic properties is analysed. The integrations of these devices are also thoroughly addressed. Challenges and future perspectives are summarized to stimulate research and development of 2D AMs for future photonics and optoelectronics.

Programmable generation of counterrotating bicircular light pulses in the multi-terahertz frequency range

The manipulation of solid states using intense infrared or terahertz light fields is a pivotal area in contemporary ultrafast photonics research. While conventional circular polarization has been well explored, the potential of counterrotating bicircular light remains widely underexplored, despite growing interest in theory. In the mid-infrared or multi-terahertz region, experimental challenges lie in difficulties in stabilizing the relative phase between two-color lights and the lack of available polarization elements. Here, we successfully generated phase-stable counterrotating bicircular light pulses in the 14–39 THz frequency range circumventing the above problems. Employing spectral broadening, polarization pulse shaping with a spatial light modulator, and intra-pulse difference frequency generation leveraging a distinctive angular-momentum selection rule within the nonlinear crystal, we achieved direct conversion from near-infrared pulses into the designed counterrotating bicircular multi-terahertz pulses. Use of the spatial light modulator enables programmable control over the shape, orientation, rotational symmetry, and helicity of the bicircular light field trajectory. This advancement provides a novel pathway for the programmable manipulation of light fields, and marks a significant step toward understanding and harnessing the impact of tailored light fields on matter, particularly in the context of topological semimetals.

Evolution of topological singularities below the light line in momentum space.

Polarization singularities that exist in momentum space have brought new opportunities in various fields such as enhanced optical nonlinearity, structured laser sources, and light field manipulation. However, previous researches have predominantly focused on the polarization singularities above the light line, because they have no leakage and are referred to bound states in the continuum. Here, by extending the polarization fields to Fourier components of the evanescent field on a dielectric metasurface, polarization singularities of different Fourier orders are discovered below the light line. When continuously changing the geometrical parameters of the metasurface, a Fourier order transition process of the polarization singularity is observed through the bandgap closing at the boundary of the Brillouin zone, which finally leads to the annihilation of two singularities with opposite topological charges below the light line. These findings expand the understanding of polarization singularities in the near-field region and may find applications in light field manipulation and light-matter interaction.

Miniature snapshot mid-infrared spectrometer based on metal-insulator-metal metasurface

Metasurfaces showcase the performance of light field manipulation at the subwavelength scale, generating tremendous applications in the field of optical imaging and sensing, especially in spectroscopic detection. Here, we demonstrate a spectral detector comprising metal-insulator-metal composite structures working in the mid-infrared band, which can effectively collect and restore target spectral characteristics in the mid-infrared band with a trained reconstruction algorithm. The proposed device consists of snapshot multichannel detection and spectral reconstruction, showing an average spectral reconstruction accuracy approaching 80% of the system. Moreover, we discuss the feasibility of applying this structural design to a miniature spectrometer over a wider infrared wavelength range by proposing a feasible design strategy. Our results provide a novel approach for low-cost and portable mid-infrared spectroscopic detection in ultracompact mid-infrared spectral imaging and sensing elements.

Generation of parallel Bessel beams and cosine Bessel beams based on metasurface

In view of the powerful light field manipulation ability of metasurface and the wide applications of Bessel beams, parallel Bessel beams are generated based on a simple metasurface design. The proposed metasurface consists of cross nanoholes and the orders of the generated parallel Bessel beams can be modulated. Theoretical analysis provides the detailed design principle of metasurface to generate parallel Bessel beams. Parallel Bessel beams and parallel cosine Bessel beams are generated and the simulation and experimental results give the verification. With respect to the single Bessel beam, the generated parallel Bessel beams with controllable orders may bring more conveniences for the applications of Bessel beams. The simple geometry, parallel output and the controllable order will inspire wider applications of Bessel beams.

On-chip integrated metasystem for spin-dependent multi-channel color holography.

On-chip integrated metasurface driven by in-plane guided waves is of great interests in various light-field manipulation applications such as colorful augmented reality and holographic display. However, it remains a challenge to design colorful multichannel holography by a single on-chip metasurface. Here we present metasurfaces integrated on top of a guided-wave photonic slab that achieves multi-channel colorful holographic light display. An end-to-end scheme is used to inverse design the metasurface for projecting off-chip preset multiple patterns. Particular examples are presented for customized patterns that were encoded into the metasurface with a single-cell meta-atom, working simultaneously at RGB color channels and for several different diffractive distances, with polarization dependence. Holographic images are generated at 18 independent channels with such a single-cell metasurface. The proposed design scheme is easy to implement, and the resulting device is viable for fabrication, promising plenty of applications in nanophotonics.

Multichannel focused higher-order Poincaré sphere beam generation based on a dielectric geometric metasurface

Focused vector beams (VBs) are important topic in the areas of light field manipulation. Geometric metasurfaces provide a convenient platform to facilitate the generation of focused VBs. In this study, we propose a dielectric geometric metasurface to generate multichannel focused higher-order Poincaré sphere (HOP) beams. With identical meta-atoms of half-wave plate, the metasurface comprises two sub-metasurfaces, and each of them includes two sets of rings related to Fresnel zones. For meta-atoms on each set of rings, the hyperbolic geometric phase profile is configured so that the mirror-symmetrical position-flip of the off-axis focal point is enabled under the chirality switch of the illuminating circular polarization. With the design of helical geometric phase profiles for the two sets of rings, a sub-metasurface generate two HOP beams at the symmetrical two focal points. The performance of the two sub-metasurfaces enables the metasurface with four sets of rings to generate the array of four HOP beams. The proposed method was validated by theoretical analyses, numerical simulation and experimental conduction. This research would be significant in miniaturizing and integrating optical systems involving applications of VB generations and applications.

Metasurface Empowered Compact Non‐Paraxial Optical Vortex Mode Sorter

AbstractThe optical coordinate transformation based on the ray model can flexibly and efficiently complete the manipulation of complex light fields through a pair of phase plates, and is successfully used to sort orbital angular momentum (OAM) of light. Generally, the phase modulation required by the optical coordinate transformation is derived analytically under the paraxial approximation, however, this would induce the phase modulation error, and thus worsen the quality of the transformed beam. Here, a non‐paraxial design for the spiral coordinate transformation is proposed, where the phase of the unwrapper is obtained by numerically solving the partial differential equations on the coordinate mapping and the phase corrector is obtained by the angular spectrum diffraction integral method. Due to more accurate phase modulation, the non‐paraxial spiral transformation effectively improves the beam quality, and realizes the demultiplexing of OAM modes with higher efficiency and lower cross‐talk. The proposed approach is verified with a compact metasurface‐based optical vortex mode sorter, which is extensible toward OAM‐based multi‐mode systems involving classical and quantum optical information processing.

Optical mode manipulation using deep spatial diffractive neural networks

In this paper, we investigate the theoretical models and potential applications of spatial diffractive neural network (SDNN) structures, with a particular focus on mode manipulation. Our research introduces a novel diffractive transmission simulation method that employs matrix multiplication, alongside a parameter optimization algorithm based on neural network gradient descent. This approach facilitates a comprehensive understanding of the light field manipulation capabilities inherent to SDNNs. We extend our investigation to parameter optimization for SDNNs of various scales. We achieve the demultiplexing of 5, 11 and 100 orthogonal orbital angular momentum (OAM) modes using neural networks with 4, 10 and 50 layers, respectively. Notably, the optimized 100 OAM mode demultiplexer shows an average loss of 0.52 dB, a maximum loss of 0.62 dB, and a maximum crosstalk of -28.24 dB. Further exploring the potential of SDNNs, we optimize a 10-layer structure for mode conversion applications. This optimization enables conversions from Hermite-Gaussian (HG) to Laguerre-Gaussian (LG) modes, as well as from HG to OAM modes, showing the versatility of SDNNs in mode manipulation. We propose an innovative assembly of SDNNs on a glass substrate integrated with photonic devices. A 10-layer diffractive neural network, with a size of 49 mm × 7 mm × 7 mm, effectively demultiplexes 11 orthogonal OAM modes with minimal loss and crosstalk. Similarly, a 20-layer diffractive neural network, with a size of 67 mm × 7 mm × 7 mm, serves as a highly efficient 25-channel OAM to HG mode converter, showing the potential of SDNNs in advanced optical communications.

Chiral quasi bound states in the continuum for augmented reality

Augmented Reality technology enables users to interact with virtual imagines and the real world. The emergence of AR has propelled the development of the next generation of optical devices towards miniaturization, lightweight design, and enhanced light field manipulation capabilities. However, current AR glass still suffer from shortcomings of low efficiency. This work proposes a near-eye display device based on bilayer chiral quasi-BIC (Bound States in the continuum) nonlocal metasurfaces which can reflect narrow bandwidth RGB light with high efficiency while being able to see the natural environment clearly. At the same time, the geometric phase is introduced to realize oblique emission and reflective focusing. Due to its ability to manipulate narrowband light fields, it can reduce the interaction of metasurfaces and environment light, and has potential applications in the fields of imaging and near-eye display.

Direct space–time manipulation mechanism for spatio-temporal coupling of ultrafast light field

Traditionally, manipulation of spatiotemporal coupling (STC) of the ultrafast light fields can be actualized in the space-spectrum domain with some 4-f pulse shapers, which suffers usually from some limitations, such as spectral/pixel resolution and information crosstalk associated with the 4-f pulse shapers. This work introduces a novel mechanism for direct space-time manipulation of ultrafast light fields to overcome the limitations. This mechanism combines a space-dependent time delay with some spatial geometrical transformations, which has been experimentally proved by generating a high-quality STC light field, called light spring (LS). The LS, owing a broad topological charge bandwidth of 11.5 and a tunable central topological charge from 2 to −11, can propagate with a stable spatiotemporal intensity structure from near to far fields. This achievement implies the mechanism provides an efficient way to generate complex STC light fields, such as LS with potential applications in information encryption, optical communication, and laser-plasma acceleration.

Multifunctional all-dielectric quarter-wave plate metasurfaces for generating focused vector beams of Bell-like states

Abstract The generation of vector beams using metasurfaces is crucial for the manipulation of light fields and has significant application potential, ranging from classical physics to quantum science. This paper introduces a novel dielectric metasurface composed of quarter-wave plate (QWP) meta-atoms, known as a QWP metasurface, designed to generate focused vector beams (VBs) of Bell-like states under right circularly polarized illumination. The propagation phase imparted on both the co- and cross-polarized components of the output field constructs hyperbolic and helical phase profiles with topological charge l p , whereas the Pancharatnam–Berry (PB) phase acts only on the cross-polarized component to construct another helical phase profile with topological charge l g . Thus, the co- and cross-polarized components form two orthogonal vector vortex (VV) modes with topological charges l p and l p + l g , respectively. When the parameter conditions are satisfied by matching the incident polarization chirality σ and topological charges l p and l g , the focused VBs of Bell-like states are generated by simultaneously manipulating the two VV modes, in contrast to existing QWP metasurfaces. The polarization states of the generated VBs are manipulated using the initial orientation angle θ 0 of the meta-atom. Overall, this research provides an innovative strategy for metasurface design, enhancing the functionality of metasurface devices for a broader range of application scenarios.

Quarter-Wave Plate Metasurfaces for Generating Multi-Channel Vortex Beams.

Metasurfaces of quarter-wave plate (QWP) meta-atoms have exhibited high flexibility and versatile functionalities in the manipulation of light fields. However, the generation of multi-channel vortex beams with the QWP meta-atom metasurfaces presents a significant challenge. In this study, we propose dielectric metasurfaces composed of QWP meta-atoms to manipulate multi-channel vortex beams. QWP meta-atoms, systematically arranged in concentric circular rings, are designed to introduce the modulations via the propagation phase and geometric phase, leading to the generation of co- and cross-polarized vortex beams in distinct channels. Theoretical investigations and simulations are employed to analyze the modulation process, confirming the capability of QWP meta-atom metasurfaces for generating the multi-channel vortex beams. This study presents prospective advancements for the compact, integrated, and multifunctional nanophotonic platforms, which have potential applications in classical physics and quantum domains.

Dynamical evolution of exciton-polariton Bose-Einstein condensate under coupled interaction

Abstract We studied the exciton-polariton Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) under light field manipulation by considering the coupled interaction of the system between exciton-polariton and light. Based on the coupled Gross-Pitaevskii equation (GPE) model and with modified variational method, we analytically derived the solutions of the excitonic system under the polar angle direction perturbation and system rotation. We identified that for different rotational angular velocities and different coupled strengths, the system evolves from a meta-stable oscillation state to monotonically decaying state, with potential for the study of quantum vortex identification for such kind of coupled systems. Our theoretical results can be used to guide the study of the evolution mode of the exciton-polariton system involving coupled interaction.

Measurement of phase modulation time dynamics of liquid crystal spatial light modulator

Liquid crystal spatial light modulators for precise dynamic manipulation of coherent light fields, used in diffractive optoelectronic optical data processing systems, are considered. This paper presents the results of a study of the temporal dynamics of the HoloEye PLUTO-2 VIS-016 liquid crystal spatial light modulator for analysis of light fields rate modulation. Experiments using binary phase computer generated holograms and binary focusing phase diffractive optical elements were conducted. Based on experimental data, the time characteristics of the modulator response were determined. It was found that when the rise time of the diffraction efficiency was 146 ms after the hologram displaying onto the SLM, and when switching to a new hologram, the decay time was 97 ms. These results allowed the dynamic generation of an alternating holograms at a refresh rate of 2 Hz with an interference level of –16 dB. Increasing the frequency of fringe pattern updates increases the level of interframe noise in the generated holograms, and when updated at the specification frequency, the generated distributions cannot be separated. Determining the actual frame rate based on the rise and decay times of the diffraction efficiency makes it possible to correctly calculate the minimum operating time of an information optical system containing a liquid crystal spatial light modulator.

Optical color routing enabled by deep learning.

Nano-color routing has emerged as an immensely popular and widely discussed subject in the realms of light field manipulation, image sensing, and the integration of deep learning. The conventional dye filters employed in commercial applications have long been hampered by several limitations, including subpar signal-to-noise ratio, restricted upper bounds on optical efficiency, and challenges associated with miniaturization. Nonetheless, the advent of bandpass-free color routing has opened up unprecedented avenues for achieving remarkable optical spectral efficiency and operation at sub-wavelength scales within the area of image sensing applications. This has brought about a paradigm shift, fundamentally transforming the field by offering a promising solution to surmount the constraints encountered with traditional dye filters. This review presents a comprehensive exploration of representative deep learning-driven nano-color routing structure designs, encompassing forward simulation algorithms, photonic neural networks, and various global and local topology optimization methods. A thorough comparison is drawn between the exceptional light-splitting capabilities exhibited by these methods and those of traditional design approaches. Additionally, the existing research on color routing is summarized, highlighting a promising direction for forthcoming development, delivering valuable insights to advance the field of color routing and serving as a powerful reference for future endeavors.

Light Field Manipulation Based on On-Chip Integrated Artificial Microstructures (Invited)

Light Field Manipulation Based on On-Chip Integrated Artificial Microstructures (Invited)