Metallic Slit Arrays Research Articles

Double-layered subwavelength metallic slit array for performance-improvement of a fiber-optic silicon Fabry–Perot temperature sensor

Double-layered subwavelength metallic slit array for performance-improvement of a fiber-optic silicon Fabry–Perot temperature sensor

Broadband high-performance terahertz polarizer based on a dense array of 5 nm gap slit antennas.

Critical factors for terahertz polarizers include broadband operation, high transmittance, and a good extinction ratio. In this paper, using a 5 nm-wide metallic slit array with a 200 nm periodicity as a wire grid polarizer, we achieved over 95% transmittance with an average extinction ratio of 40 dB, over the entire spectrum as defined by the terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (0.4 ∼ 2 THz). Theoretical calculations revealed that the slit array can show 100% transmission up to 5 THz, and wider bandwidths with a higher cutoff frequency can be achieved by reducing the slit periodicity. These results provide a novel approach for achieving a broadband THz polarizer and open a new path for seamless integration of the polarizers with nanophotonic applications.

Extreme Diffraction Control in Metagratings Leveraging Bound States in the Continuum and Exceptional Points

AbstractCoupled resonances in non‐Hermitian systems can lead to exotic optical features, such as bound states in the continuum (BICs) and exceptional points (EPs), which have been recently emerged as powerful tools to control the propagation and scattering of light. Yet, similar tools to control diffraction and engineer spatial wavefronts have remained elusive. Here, it is shown that, by operating a metagrating around BICs and EPs, it is possible to achieve an extreme degree of control over coupling to different diffraction orders. Subwavelength metallic slit arrays stacked on a metal‐insulator‐metal waveguide, enabling a careful control of the coupling between localized and guided modes are explored. By tuning the coupling strength from weak to strong, the overall spectral response can be tailored and the emergence of singular features, like BICs and EPs can be enabled. Perfect unitary diffraction efficiency with large spectrum selectivity is achieved around these singular features, with promising applications for selective wavefront shaping, filtering, and sensing.

Multi-functional high-efficiency light beam splitter based on metagrating.

Inspired by the concept of phase-gradient metasurfaces (PGMs), we present a way to design a multi-functional PGM-based light beam splitter (LBS) operating in the optical regime by engineering the anomalous diffraction properties. As an example of a proof of concept, the designed LBS is a purely metallic slit array with gradient slit width, termed metagrating. It is shown that the designed LBS can simultaneously achieve high-efficiency light beam splitting on both energy and polarization, and it has broadband and wide-angle response. In addition, we also show that the Ohmic loss of metals plays an important role in determining the diffraction efficiency of each diffraction order, which is the physics for designing the LBS that can deliver the incident energy equally into the reflection and refraction sides. Our work enriches the existing methods of designing LBSs and particularly provides a route for the design of multi-functional LBSs with high performance.

Optical beam splitting and asymmetric transmission in bi-layer metagratings

In this work, inspired by advances in twisted two-dimensional materials, we design and study a new type of optical bi-layer metasurface system, which is based on subwavelength metal slit arrays with phase-gradient modulation, referred to as metagratings (MGs). It is shown that due to the found reversed diffraction law, the interlayer interaction that can be simply adjusted by the gap size can produce a transition from optical beam splitting to high-efficiency asymmetric transmission of incident light from two opposite directions. Our results provide new physics and some advantages for designing subwavelength optical devices to realize efficient wavefront manipulation and one-way propagation.

Phase-Gradient Metasurfaces Based on Local Fabry–Pérot Resonances

In this work, we present a new mechanism for designing phase-gradient metasurfaces (PGMs) to control an electromagnetic wavefront with high efficiency. Specifically, we design a transmission-type PGM, formed by a periodic subwavelength metallic slit array filled with identical dielectrics of different heights. It is found that when Fabry–Pérot (FP) resonances occur locally inside the dielectric regions, in addition to the common phenomenon of complete transmission, the transmitted phase differences between two adjacent slits are exactly the same, being a nonzero constant. These local FP resonances ensure total phase shift across a supercell, fully covering a range of 0 to 2π, satisfying the design requirements of PGMs. Further research reveals that, due to local FP resonances, there is a one-to-one correspondence between the phase difference and the permittivity of the filled dielectric. A similar approach can be extended to the reflection-type case and other wavefront transformations, creating new opportunities for wave manipulation.

High-Q plasmonic graphene absorbers for electrical switching and optical detection

In this work, we report an intensive theoretical study on the achieving of multiple ultra-sharp and near-unity absorption in a cavity enabled graphene absorber. The plasmonic-induced magnetic resonance, i.e., magnetic plasmon is excited and localized efficiently via the one-dimensional metallic oblique slit array. The slit concentrates highly for the plasmonic field in a limited spatial cavity and simultaneously intensifies the graphene-field coupling, which leads to the emergency of the multi-band high-quality (Q) factor (190) ultra-sharp perfect absorption. Although the graphene-slit interaction area is just 17.7% of the structural size, the maximal absorption efficiency reaches 99.8%. In the near-infrared range, a large spectral intensity change of 82% is achieved when the graphene’s Fermi energy is manipulated by a slight value of 0.03 eV, which directly introduces a viewable switching process between the operation “on” and “off” states. The optical sensing sensitivity is also up to 1276 nm/RIU and the FOM factor reaches 106. During the application for temperature detecting, the resolution limit can be as down as 3 × 10−3 °C (K), suggesting a desirable temperature detector. Moreover, polarization-adjustable and angle-insensitive properties for the plasmonic graphene absorber could further promote enormous applications for the active optoelectronic devices.

Tailoring radiative properties with magnetic polaritons in deep gratings and slit arrays based on structural transformation

Magnetic polaritons which refer to the couplings between incident electromagnetic waves with magnetic excitation inside the structures play an important role in tailoring thermal radiative properties. Many researchers devote themselves to studying the geometric effects of the micro/nanostructures based on magnetic polaritons, and many wavelength-selective devices are designed. However, the links between different structures on thermal radiative properties based on structural transformation are not investigated yet. In this work, the idea that deep slit arrays and deep gratings can be equivalent conversion approximately when studying the radiative properties is proposed. Magnetic polariton resonant conditions of deep metal gratings and slit arrays are investigated. Considering the symmetry of the structures, when gratings and slit arrays have same geometry parameters except that the slit heights are twice that of the grating depths, the phenomena that they have almost identical magnetic polariton resonant frequencies are observed. The reason for almost identical magnetic polariton resonant conditions is attributed to that the symmetry of the structures leads to the similar electromagnetic field distributions. Moreover, equivalent inductor-capacitor circuit model is also used to analytically illuminate and confirm almost same MP resonant frequencies. The idea provided in this paper may benefit design of the wavelength-selective devices based on magnetic polaritons and further studies on tailoring radiative properties from perspective of structural transformation.

Marked effects of lateral displacement on the optical transmission properties of stacked artificial dielectric systems composed of metallic sub-wavelength slit arrays

Metallic sub-wavelength slit-array slabs act just like dielectrics when the incident wavelength is longer than the slit interval. However, their stacked structures do not always exhibit optical properties equivalent to conventional dielectric multilayers, which should be due to the lateral periodicity. This work investigated in detail the lateral displacement dependence on the characteristics of the Fabry–Perot-like waveguide resonance modes of two-tier systems. Simulation studies clarified the behavior of the resonance modes and the physical mechanism underpinning the transmission disappearance by the lateral displacement. Furthermore, we determined that the critical frequency, above which the even-order modes exhibit blue-shifts with increases in the air gap spacing, can be predicted very accurately using a simple equation including the lateral displacement. Additionally, the transmission characteristics assessed experimentally were compared with the simulation results. The geometrically-tunable unique optical characteristics are expected to promote the future applications of artificial dielectrics operating in low-frequency optical regions.

Terahertz beam focusing through designed oblique metal-slit array

Manipulation of propagating beams is essential in applications, and the potentially arising phenomena offer attractive optical components. However, the design of optical components using only naturally occurring materials has approached physical limits, and artificial materials such as metamaterials and metasurfaces are a way forward to open the door to sophisticated optical components. This paper shows manipulation of terahertz beams through designed oblique metal-slit arrays where a common metal-slit array does not perform as a lens. The oblique metal-slit array has a refractive index determined as a function of a steep angle. The lens consists of multiple metal plates with a designed oblique angle, and a convex output structure produces a focusing effect. We also suggest that the Brewster phenomenon in the lens can simply enhance the electric field intensity at the focal point. The Brewster condition of the lens is correlated with a jagged edged face on the input side with an appropriate metal-slit spacing and thickness. The phenomenon would be applicable to numerous promising components and applications such as gain-enhancement optical components and perfect impedance-matching polarizers.

Terahertz Radiation from Combined Metallic Slit Arrays

We report an approach to efficiently generate terahertz radiation from a combined periodic structure. The proposed configuration is composed of two metallic slit arrays deliberately designed with different periodic length, slit width and depth. We found that the combination of the two slit arrays could provide special electromagnetic modes, which exhibit nonradiative property above the surface of one slit array and radiative property inside the other one. An electron beam holding proper energy could resonate with those modes to generate strong and directional electromagnetic radiations in the terahertz regime, indicating that the approach has the potential in developing high-performance terahertz radiation sources.

Epsilon-near-zero three-dimensional metamaterial for manipulation of terahertz beams

Metamaterials offer the potential of unprecedented refractive indices and evolution into metadevices for the manipulation of electromagnetic waves. However, the potential of the epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) concept has not been fully demonstrated in the terahertz waveband. Most conventional ENZ lenses have a uniform distribution of refractive indices in spite of their three-dimensional structure. Here, inspired by the ENZ concept, we demonstrate the two-dimensional distribution of a three-dimensional ENZ lens realized by circular openings of varying diameters on metal plates and apply it to a metal-slit array lens with gradient indices of 0<neff<1. The measurements of a fabricated metal-slit array lens with circular openings observe the focusing effect of a terahertz wave. We also apply the ENZ concept to the design of microlens arrays. The control of the gradient of the ENZ potentially offers a wide range of applications.

A design to tune the frequency in a terahertz filter based on dual-layered metallic slit arrays

A tunable terahertz filter based on reconfigurable dual-layered subwavelength metallic slit arrays is designed and theoretically analyzed. Reconfigurability is attained via mechanical tuning of relative shift between the slits on adjacent metallic films. Due to the desired application, the device parameters can be determined such that it operates in any frequency range. In this research, a filter with tuning range between 530 and 860 GHz is proposed, which is highly demanded in terahertz imaging systems. This polarization-sensitive filter has low insertion loss throughout its operating frequency range.

Insertion effects of natural dielectric between artificial dielectrics formed by metallic sub-wavelength slit arrays

We investigated the optical transmission properties of a metamaterial system in which a natural dielectric is inserted between metallic sub-wavelength slit arrays that behave as an artificial dielectric when the incident light wavelength is longer than the slit periodicity. Transmission spectra were measured using terahertz time-domain spectroscopy, and the experimental results were analyzed by simulations based on the finite-difference time-domain method. We revealed that the resonance characteristics are defined by the two diffraction-limit frequencies for the inner and outer openings of the slits, which are different for the insertion of the dielectric. We also determined further details on the blue-shift behavior specific to the even-order resonance modes by accounting for the refractive index of the inserted intermediate dielectric. In addition, we experimentally demonstrated that insertion of a dielectric having a high refraction index enhances the frequency repulsion at the anticrossing, i.e., the coupling strength, between the symmetric and antisymmetric optical modes. These experimental and theoretical results will be essential for understanding and developing applications for hybrid systems composed of dielectrics with both fixed and widely tunable refractive indices.

Broadband optical transmission through sandwich-shaped multilayer tapered metallic slit arrays

The non-resonant extraordinary optical transmission (EOT) can achieve broadband transmission, which is significant for broadband light harvesting devices. A metallic single slit nanostructure or slit array structure, due to simple structure and easy-to integration, has been used to construct a light source in the nanostructures based on the surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs). To obtain broadband transmission, in this paper, we propose a sandwich-shaped multilayer tapered metallic slit arrays. The transmission properties of the multilayer tapered metallic slit arrays were investigated using the finite element method (FEM). Results show that, compared with monolayer tapered metallic slit arrays structure, multilayer tapered metallic slit arrays can achieve more transmission peaks in the spectra and leading to broadband transmission in the infrared; the tapered provides a gradual impedance variation from the entrance to the exit of the slits, the light is strongly localized and enhanced at the slit exits and the dielectric layer, in contrast with straight slits. In addition, the effects of the thickness of the dielectric layer, the position of dielectric layer, the period of the arrays and the width of the slit entrance on the transmission property were also studied. These results would be helpful for designing the broadband transmission properties of multilayer structures and may be applied value in the fields of nano-light source design, photonic integrated circuits and optoelectronic circuits and so on.

Waveguide resonance mode response of stacked structures of metallic sub-wavelength slit arrays

Detailed measurements of the optical properties of two-tier systems composed of metallic plates perforated with periodic sub-wavelength slit patterns were carried out using terahertz time-domain spectroscopy. We demonstrate that the transmission properties observed experimentally for various configurations can be reproduced successfully by simulations based on the finite-differential time-domain method. Fabry–Perot-like waveguide resonance mode behaviors specific to this quasi-dielectric system were then investigated. For structures with no lateral displacement between the slit-array plates, mode disappearance phenomena, which are caused by destructive interference between the odd-order mode and the blue- or red-shifted even-order modes, were observed experimentally. The uncommon behavior of the even-order modes was examined precisely to explain the slit-width dependence. For structures with half-pitched displacement between the plates, extraordinarily strong transmission was observed experimentally, even when the optical paths were shut off. This result was interpreted in terms of the propagation of surface plasmon polaritons through very thin and labyrinthine spacings that inevitably exist between the metallic plates. Furthermore, the optical mode disappearance phenomena are revealed to be characterized by anticrossing of the two mixing modes formed by even- and odd-order modes. These experimental observations that are supported theoretically are indispensable to the practical use of this type of artificial dielectric and are expected to encourage interest in optical mode behaviors that are not typically observed in conventional dielectric systems.

Multifunctional metasurface: from extraordinary optical transmission to extraordinary optical diffraction in a single structure

We show that, a metasurface composed of subwavelength metallic slit array embedded in an asymmetric environment can exhibit either extraordinary optical transmission (EOT) or extraordinary optical diffraction (EOD). By employing an analytical model expansion method and the diffraction order chart in k-vector space, we found that the resonance decaying pathway of the local slit cavity mode can be tuned to either 0th or -1st diffraction order by changing the parallel wavevector, which gives rise to enhanced 0th transmission (EOT) of the structure for small incident angles, and enhanced -1st diffraction (EOD) for large incident angles. Based on this appealing feature, a multifunctional metasurface that can switch its functionality between transmission filter, mirror and off-axis lens is demonstrated. Our findings provide a convenient way to construct multifunctional integrated optical devices on a single planar device.

TE-polarized design for metallic slit lenses: a way to deep-subwavelength focusing over a broad wavelength range.

Slit arrays based on noble metals have been widely proposed as planar transverse-magnetic (TM)-lenses, illuminated by a linearly polarized light with the polarization perpendicular to slits and implementing the focusing capability beyond the diffraction limit. However, due to intrinsic plasmonic losses, these TM-lenses cannot work efficiently in the ultraviolet wavelengths. In this Letter, taking advantage of the unique transmission through metallic slits not involving plasmonic losses, a metallic slit array with transverse-electric (TE)-polarized design is proposed, showing for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, the realization of sub-diffraction-limit focusing for ultraviolet light. Additionally, in contrast to the situations of TM-lenses, a wider slit leads to a greater phase delay and much larger slits can be arranged to construct the TE-lenses, which is quite beneficial for practical fabrication. Furthermore, deep-subwavelength focusing can be achieved by utilizing the immersing technology.

Plasmonic sensor with variable claddings based on metallic slit arrays

We propose a plasmonic sensor with variable refractive index (RI), which exhibits high sensitivity and extraordinary optical transmission (EOT). Its variable RI is attributed to its dielectric layers and metallic slit arrays. According to simulation results, the third resonant wavelength has a wavelength sensitivity of 800 nm/RIU and an ultra-high transmittance of 0.8 by adjusting the RIs of the upper and lower dielectrics, incident light angle, and structural geometric parameters. With its unique features, the proposed structure holds considerable potential for extensive application to metal–dielectric grating sensors operating at visible and near-infrared frequencies.

Anisotropic polarization beam splitter based on metal slit array

Polarizing beam splitter (PBS) can separate the propagating directions of two incident orthogonally polarized light beams. However, conventional PBS and multi-layered metamaterial structures are complicated and neither of them can meet the requirements for broadband characteristics due to their resonant characters. In this paper, an anisotropic beam splitter based on metal slit array of the metal-dielectric structure is proposed in order to simplify the structure and improve the beam splitting efficiency. Because of the transverse momentum generated by the inhomogeneous interface, the transverse magnetic (TM) wave is negatively reflected from the surface of the gold film after it has entered into the slit with the waveguide mode of the plasma. When the free electrons on the metal surface oscillate, the transverse electric (TE) wave parallel to the grating direction can cause electrons to oscillate along the grating direction, so that the TE light cannot enter into the slit, resulting in specular reflection. The finite element method is used to study the effects of TM and TE polarized light such as negative reflection (NR) and specular reflection (SR). The results show that when the incident angle of the polarized light is set to be in a range from 20 to 70, the incident TM light has a strong NR of about 0.9, but the TE light is weakly reflected and decreases sharply with the increase of the wavelength. The ideal NR points of the beam splitter and the perfect symmetrical response of the reflection surface are calculated, and the ideal NR point satisfies P=/(2sin 0). When the incident light angle changes, the variations of the wavelength of the negative and zero order reflection peak are different from those of TM and TE wave, which is more conducive to the tuning of the interaction between light and grating structure. The NR and SR spectral reflectance of different polarized light beams are calculated by rigorous coupled-wave analysis, and the extinction ratios in the two cases are both 106. In addition, those designs of plasmonic splitters will pave the way for the practical applications of plasmonic devices in data storages and optical holography.