Waveguide Modes Research Articles

Inverse Faraday Effect in Ferrite–Garnet Films in the Near-Infrared Range

The magneto-optical Faraday effect is determined by the electric dipole and magnetic dipole transitions in a transparent magnetic material. At the same time, the inverse Faraday effect is still described by an expression that includes only electric dipole transitions. The magnetic dipole contribution to the inverse Faraday effect is considered theoretically, and the dependence of the inverse Faraday effect on the wavelength in the near-infrared range (where the magnetic dipole contribution becomes significant) is obtained by the example of a ferrite–garnet film. It is shown that, although both contributions to the inverse Faraday effect always take place for homogeneous films, only the magnetic-dipole inverse Faraday effect manifests itself for films with a periodic nanostructure upon excitation by a TE waveguide mode, which may be useful for its experimental observation.

Broadband Enhancement of Magneto-Optical Effects in Hybrid Waveguide-Plasmonic Surfaces for Sensing.

Conventional magnetophotonic nanostructures typically function within narrow wavelength and incident angle ranges, where resonance is observed and magneto-optical (MO) effects are amplified. Expanding these operational ranges may allow for improved applications, including in (bio)sensing devices. In this study, we describe a hybrid magnetoplasmonic waveguide grating (HMPWG) in which the coupling of plasmonic resonances and waveguide modes leads to enhanced MO effects and sensitivity, according to full-wave electromagnetic simulations. High transverse magneto-optical Kerr effect (TMOKE) signals were observed for the full range of wavelengths and angles investigated, i.e., for θinc ≥ 1° and 500 nm ≤ λ ≤ 850 nm. As a proof-of-concept we verified that using the HMPWG nanostructure with an aqueous solution as superstrate one may obtain a sensitivity in variation of the refractive index unit (RIU) of S = 166°/RIU and S = 230 nm/RIU in angle and wavelength interrogation modes, respectively. Upon comparing with conventional magnetoplasmonic gratings, which only enable excitation of plasmonic resonances, we demonstrate that HMPWG nanostructures can be further optimized to reach not only high sensitivity but also high resolution in sensing and biosensing.

Six-wave interaction in multimode waveguides with Kerr nonlinearity with allowance for the Gaussian structure of pump waves

The quality of wavefront conjugation in the case of six-wave interaction in two-dimensional multimode waveguides with Kerr nonlinearity is analyzed under the condition that one of the pump waves excites a zero waveguide mode and the amplitude distribution of the other pump wave at the waveguide end facet varies according to the Gauss law. It is shown that in a waveguide with infinitely conducting walls, the half-width of the modulus of the point spread function of a six-wave radiation converter is completely determined by the transverse size of the waveguide and weakly depends on the width of the Gaussian pump wave. In a parabolic-index profile waveguide, a decrease in the width of the Gaussian pump wave at the waveguide ends commonly leads to a monotonic decrease in the half-width of the point spread function modulus.

Guided wave propagation in a high-speed rotating concrete shell reinforced by advanced nanocomposites

This paper investigates the propagation of guided waves in a high-speed rotating concrete shell reinforced with graphene oxide powders (GOP) using higher-order shear deformation theory (HSDT). The study addresses the complexities introduced by initial hoop tension and provides a comprehensive analytical solution procedure. Concrete shells are widely used in various engineering applications due to their robustness and durability; however, their mechanical performance can be significantly enhanced by the incorporation of GOP, which improves the material properties, such as tensile strength and modulus of elasticity. The analysis begins with the formulation of the governing equations based on HSDT, which accurately captures the effects of transverse shear deformation and rotary inertia, crucial for high-speed rotating structures. The presence of initial hoop tension, resulting from the centrifugal forces in the rotating shell, is integrated into the model to reflect real-world conditions. The modified equations are then solved analytically to obtain the dispersion relations for the guided wave modes. The results reveal that the inclusion of GOP significantly alters the wave propagation characteristics, enhancing the shell’s ability to transmit high-frequency waves with minimal attenuation. The initial hoop tension is found to shift the frequencies of the guided wave modes, indicating a coupling effect between the mechanical loading and wave propagation. This study provides valuable insights into the dynamic behavior of reinforced concrete shells in high-speed rotational environments, offering a potential pathway for the design of advanced structural components in aerospace, automotive, and civil engineering applications.

Mode-folded thin-film lithium niobate phase shifter for channel scalable optical interconnect with high switching efficiency.

Paralleled optical interconnection has been widely used in optical transceivers. Reconfigurable photonic integration with scalable channel numbers is thus highly useful in timely adjusting the link capacity to the changing traffic patterns in data centers or high-performance computing (HPC) systems. In this paper, a 1×8 Mach-Zehnder switch (MZS) over thin-film lithium niobate is proposed and experimentally demonstrated for 1-to-8 channel scalable optical interconnects, with high switching efficiency through utilizing the mode-folded phase shifter. The three-mode phase shifter recirculates the light three times, undergoing phase changing with different waveguide modes. Simultaneously, the multimode waveguiding within the phase shifter results in a pronounced enhancement of the optical field confinement, further improving the Pockels effect for all modes. A 3.5-time improvement of the switching efficiency is experimentally demonstrated, exhibiting a low Vπ·L of 0.6 V⋅cm. The proposed MZS also features low channel crosstalk (below -20 dB over 1530-1565 nm) and nanosecond-order switching time, paving the way towards channel scalable and versatile MSA-compatible optical interconnect.

Research on the algorithm for optimal selection of detection modes for rail crack detection

In the application of ultrasonic guided wave testing for rail crack detection, it is necessary to select a guided wave mode that is more sensitive to cracks as the detection mode. However, ultrasonic guided waves have multi-mode and dispersive characteristics. In order to extract mode information from complex signals, this paper proposes an optimal detection mode selection method based on the sensitivity of guided wave modes to cracks. This method is different from the traditional method of determining mode types by calculating the mode velocity through the arrival time of wave packets in the time domain signal. Based on the dispersion characteristics and mode features of guided wave modes, this paper establishes a crack sensitivity evaluation index. In a wide frequency band and among numerous modes, the guided wave modes suitable for detecting cracks in different regions of the full cross-section of rails are accurately selected. Experimental results show that the guided wave modes selected by the mode selection method proposed in this paper, based on the crack area energy and crack reflection intensity evaluation indexes, can accurately identify rail cracks, laying a foundation for the research on rail crack detection and localization methods.

Optical intensity figures of merit of insulator-metal-insulator and metal-insulator-metal thin-film stacks

This paper discusses the quality factors Q and the intensity figures of merit (IFoM) evaluating the intensity and leakage of modes of the reflection flux and of the plane-wave and locally excited transmitted fluxes of insulator-metal-insulator (IMI) and metal-insulator-metal (MIM) 2D planar thin-film stacks, here air-Au-glass and air-Au-SiO2-Au-glass stacks respectively. These thin film stacks sustain a single surface plasmon polariton (SPP) and multiple planar waveguide (PWG) modes. The Q and IFoM of the 3D dispersion graph (in-plane wave vector k ρ /k 0 ∈ [0, 1.52]/frequency ω ∈ [0.5, 2.7] eV/observable dispersion) are calculated and analyzed along 2D cuts where either the in-plane wave vector k ρ /k 0 or the frequency ω are varied the other independent variable being kept fixed. Here these two cuts are called spatial (ω fixed) and frequency (k ρ /k 0 fixed) domains. Due to a lower leakage, the Q and IFoM of the IMI and MIM thin film stack modes are significantly larger in the spatial domain than in the frequency domain. In the spatial domain the IMI and MIM stack modes dominate at low and high frequencies respectively. In the frequency domain, the Q and IFoM of a MIM stack mode is always larger than that of an IMI stack. Our results span a large domain of frequencies in the SPP and RPP region and of the in-plane wave vector whereas the results in the literature presented above concern only particular laser frequencies and limited in-plane wave vector values. Our Q and IFoM of the 2D planar thin film stack modes, obtained with optimized independent variables, are larger than those of other planar thin film stacks but smaller than some 2D/3D nano scale samples with an involved geometry. The simplicity of producing these simple IMI and MIM stacks permit their use in the applications.

High modulation efficiency sinusoidal vertical PN junction phase shifter in silicon-on-insulator

In this paper, a sinusoidal vertical PN junction phase shifter on a silicon waveguide is designed, and the results demonstrate that modifying the shape of the PN junction significantly increases the area of the depletion region within the standard waveguide width of 500 nm, thereby enhancing the overlap between the depletion region and optical waveguide modes under reverse bias conditions. Furthermore, by adjusting the sinusoidal amplitude (A) of the doping contact interface, it is observed that when A=0.065µm, the resulting sinusoidal PN junction most effectively enhances the interaction between carriers and photons, leading to the highest modulation efficiency and the lowest loss. Based on this, further adjustment of the doping concentration distribution in the waveguide was conducted using a doping compensation method. It is observed that setting the doping concentration at 3×1018cm−3 in the heavily doped region and at 1×1018cm−3 in the lightly doped region enables the phase shifter to achieve high modulation efficiency while maintaining low loss. This is attributed to the highest optical intensity being concentrated in the central region of the waveguide, as well as to the positive correlation between doping concentration and modulation efficiency. The final designed device with a length of 1.5 mm successfully attained a low V π L of 0.58V⋅cm, resulting in high modulation efficiency. By employing traveling wave electrodes and ensuring that the effective refractive index of the radio frequency (RF) matches the optical group index (OGI), circuit-level simulations were conducted. The device exhibited a 3 dB bandwidth of 8.85 GHz and eye diagrams of up to 40 Gbit/s, with a maximum extinction ratio (ER) of 8.27 dB and a bit error rate (BER) of 8.83×10−6, which can be widely used in the field of high-speed silicon optical modules.

Vortex lattice state transitions in water surface waves

Surface waves can generate an ordered vortex lattice of fluid particles on the air-water interface. Here, the transitions of the lattice structure are observed through experiments and modelled analytically. A fully-immersed square waveguide system is positioned at the center of a larger bath which directs particles into counter-rotating vortices. Flow interactions with the bath free-surface alter the ordered structure, and a state transition is initiated by the increase of the waveguide immersion depth. It manifests as a change in the orbital momentum and spin properties of the vortices, and develops through the combination of reflected-wave attenuation and mean flow effects from the classical Stokes drift and Eulerian currents. Transitions from a perfect antiferromagnetic state to weakly-ordered ones are achieved, including a monopole vortex reminiscent of spectral condensates in thin fluid layers. Order in the disordered flow is uncovered through velocity field corrections after invoking time-scale separation. The lattice structures are modelled analytically through a superposition of mean flow contributions from the waveguide and bath modes. The results open a new platform for investigating the dynamics of wave and vortex lattice interactions, and devising new techniques to characterize complex flow phenomena on the air-water interface.

Optimizing guided wave propagation for sensitive axial stress measurement in steel pipes

Steel pipe structures are commonly used in the industrial field. Stress-induced structural failures can have a significant impact on equipment safety. Therefore, effective stress monitoring is a crucial area of research. Constrained by the multi-frequency and multi-modal characteristics of ultrasonic guided waves, the limitations of traditional stress measurement methods based on these waves lie in the lack of a systematic analysis of the impact of multi-modal fused signals on stress measurement. To explore the optimal guided wave stress measurement strategy, a mathematical model for the propagation of longitudinal guided waves in prestressed steel pipes, based on the principles of acoustoelasticity, is proposed. Using this model, the sensitivity of stress to each sub-mode of the longitudinal guided waves is analyzed, leading to the identification of the optimal guided wave mode (L(0,2) mode) and frequency range. In order to avoid the excitation of other low-sensitivity modes, further analysis of the optimal parameters for the piezoelectric array is conducted. Simulation results indicate that the designed transducer can effectively excite the target mode with high purity. The stress sensitivity of the target mode was experimentally determined to be −2.5×10−5MPa−1, which closely aligns with the theoretical results. Comparative analysis of the experiments emphasizes the influence of modal control on measurement outcomes. By selecting and controlling the appropriate mode, the maximum relative error in stress measurement is observed to be 5%.

Non-reciprocity in a silicon photonic ring resonator with time-modulated regions.

Non-reciprocity and breaking of the time-reversal symmetry is conventionally achieved using magneto-optic materials. However, the integration of these materials with complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS)-compatible platforms is challenging. Temporal modulation is a well-suited approach for achieving non-reciprocity in integrated photonics. However, existing experimental implementations based on this method in silicon uses traveling-wave modulation in the whole structure or tandem ring or waveguide modulators, and they lead to high insertion loss and large footprint. In this work we achieve, to the best of our knowledge, the first experimental demonstration of non-reciprocity in a compact single silicon photonic ring resonator with time-modulated regions, fabricated with a CMOS-compatible commercial foundry. We demonstrate symmetry breaking of counter-rotating modes in an active silicon photonic ring resonator by applying phase-shifted RF signals to only two small p-i-n junctions on the ring, without employing traveling-wave modulation in the whole structure. The non-reciprocity is caused by the cross-coupling between the counter-rotating modes of the ring, which breaks their degeneracy. By reversing the polarity of the RF phase difference (e.g. (45°,-45°) asymmetric phases) opposite resonance wavelengths are obtained, with a 16-dB contrast between the transmissions of the asymmetric phases and a low insertion loss of 0.6 dB under 27 dBm RF power. We achieve the highest ratio of the asymmetric transmission to the insertion loss, among the state-of-the-art silicon non-reciprocal integrated optical structures based on time varying modulation. The non-reciprocal ring can be used as a magnetic-free, low-loss, compact, and CMOS-compatible integrated optical isolator.

Room Temperature Emission Line Narrowing and Long‐Range Photon Transport in Colloidal Quantum Wells Coupled to Metasurface Resonance

AbstractHighly efficient and spectrally pure single photon sources are desirable in fundamental studies of quantum physics and in many varied applications like in quantum metrology and quantum cryptography. 2D semiconductor colloidal quantum wells (CQWs) are quite appropriate as nanoscale photon sources because of their giant oscillator strengths and large absorption cross sections. The integration of such sources with dielectric metasurfaces exhibiting narrow resonances provides an excellent platform for highly efficient light‐matter interactions and the development of on‐chip light sources with high spectral purity. Here details on the use of capillary filling method are reported to achieve photonic coupling of CQWs to a metasurface resonator (MSR) featuring a square‐lattice geometry of holes on a slab‐waveguide to achieve strongly enhanced and almost spectrally pure emission of ≈3% of the original out‐of‐plane emission line‐width of the quantum emitters at room temperature. Long‐range exciton‐mediated photon transport facilitated by in‐plane slab waveguide modes is demonstrated and a theoretical basis to explain all the experimental data including that in terms of the MSR‐modified Lamb shifts and Purcell decays is provided. The results demonstrate a new platform with emergent photonic properties and suggest possibility of their use in on‐chip photonic quantum information processing.

High extinction ratio TE-Pass polarizer using the effect of superstrate layer in Ge-Clad optical waveguide

Attenuation characteristics of germanium (Ge) film clad planar optical waveguide are theoretically studied at the spectral wavelength of 0.6328 μm. Thin films of Ge are found to possess greater attenuation values than the other recognized materials. The existence of these greater attenuations is caused by lossy modes that are sustained by these films. It has been shown that the attenuation of the TM mode can be greatly increased by adding a high-index buffer layer between the Ge layer and the dielectric guide. It occurred because of the resonant coupling between the lossy modes supported by the Ge layer and the waveguide modes. Moreover, it is claimed that by adding a dielectric superstrate layer above the Ge thin film, the strength of the TM mode in the proposed structure can be further attenuated to an ultra-high value. In this study, a TE pass polarizer is proposed having a high extinction ratio of 30582.15 dB. Attenuation results are presented, after optimization of several parameters like thicknesses of Ge, buffer, and superstrate layers along with environmental stability of the suggested structure. The generated field distribution profiles are also in good agreement with the obtained attenuation results.

Waveguide modes of exchange spin waves in epitaxial YIG films

It has been shown that exchange spin wave (ESW) waveguide modes can be excited in epitaxial ferrite films. This is facilitated by the presence of a thin transition layer at the interface between the ferrite film and the non-magnetic substrate. A method for calculating the dispersion and energy characteristics of ESW waveguide modes is proposed. It is shown that the propagation of ESW modes is accompanied by the transfer of exchange power in the plane of the film. As the wave numbers increase indefinitely, the dispersion of the ESW modes asymptotically approaches the quadratic dispersion law. At zero wave numbers, the frequencies of the ESW modes coincide with the frequencies of uniform spin wave resonances. The possibility of crossing the dispersion branches of different ESW modes is demonstrated, which indicates the possibility of intermodal magnon-magnon hybridization.

Mode conversion of fundamental guided ultrasonic wave modes at part-thickness crack-like defects

Guided ultrasonic waves can be employed for efficient structural health monitoring (SHM) and non-destructive evaluation (NDE), as they can propagate long distances along thin structures. The scattering (S0 mode) and mode conversion of low frequency guided waves (S0 to A0 and SH0 wave modes) at part-thickness crack-like defects was studied to quantify the defect detection sensitivity. Three-dimensional (3D) Finite Element (FE) modelling was used to predict the mode conversion and scattering of the fundamental guided wave modes. Experimentally, the S0 mode was excited by a piezoelectric (PZT) transducer in an aluminum plate. A laser vibrometer was used to measure the out-of-plane displacement to characterize the mode-converted A0 mode, employing baseline subtraction to achieve mode and pulse separation. Good agreement between FE model predictions and experimental results was obtained for perpendicular incidence of the S0 mode. The influence of defect depth and length on the scattering and mode conversion was studied and the sensitivity for part-thickness defects was quantified. The maximum mode conversion (S0-A0 mode) occurred for ¾ defect depth and the amplitude of the mode-converted A0 and scattered S0 modes mostly increased linearly as the defect length increased with an almost constant A0/S0 mode scattered amplitude ratio. Similar forward and backward scattering amplitude was found for the mode converted A0 mode. The mode conversion of the S0 to SH0 mode has the highest sensitivity for short defects, but the SH0 mode amplitude only increased slightly for longer defects. Employing the information contained in the mode-converted, scattered guided ultrasonic wave modes could improve the detection sensitivity and localization accuracy of SHM algorithms.

Polygon search algorithm for ultra-compact multifunctional integrated photonics design

Ultra-compact multifunctional integrated photonic modules have great practical significance to photonic integrated circuits (PICs). However, the design effect and efficiency of the existing mainstream inverse design algorithms are incompetent when designing these modules. We analyze their shortcomings in this task, and propose a new, to our knowledge, inverse design algorithm named polygon search (PS) algorithm to address these problems. We utilize the PS algorithm to design an integrated dual-channel mode-conversion-crossing waveguide module. This module integrates three functions: interconversion between TE0 and TE1, interconversion between TE0 and TE2, and channel crossing within only a 4 μm×4 μm footprint, and its performance is verified by experimental testing. It not only greatly reduces the total footprint of many PICs but also greatly improves their fabricating robustness. Furthermore, we propose a PS-designed mode mixer and a PS-designed bending waveguide, and connect them with the integrated modules to form a four-channel crossing-mode-division-multiplexing system. This system can provide multiple modes on the basis of channel crossing and transmit the output signal in the same direction in parallel within a single output waveguide, which significantly increases the communication bandwidth and decreases the footprint of PICs. At last, we demonstrate the effect and efficiency advantages of the PS algorithm over several mainstream inverse design algorithms by a comprehensive contrast experiment and explain these advantages in theory from several perspectives.

Ultra-fast perovskite electro-optic modulator and multi-band transmission up to 300 Gbit s−1

The gap between the performance of optoelectronic components and the demands of fiber-optic communications has narrowed significantly in recent decades. Yet, the expansion of data communications traffic remains substantial, with fiber-link speeds increases anticipated in the near future. Here, we demonstrate an ultra-high-speed electro-optic waveguide modulator constructed using a thin film of lanthanum-modified lead zirconate titanate with a ferroelectric phase exhibiting a strong Pockels effect. The modulator has a wide optical window; thus, the modulation was demonstrated for 1550 and 1310 nm wavelengths. This device showed electro-optical intensity signaling with line rates of 172 Gbit s−1, in conjunction with on–off keying modulation; this performance could be increased to 304 Gbit s−1 using four-level pulse modulation. The signaling performance of this modulator was found to be robust, with stable performance at temperatures as high as 100 °C. This technology is expected to have applications in a wide range of classical optoelectronic devices and in quantum science and technology.

Design and Simulation of High-Efficiency Broadband Terahertz Graphene Composite Waveguide Modulators

Design and Simulation of High-Efficiency Broadband Terahertz Graphene Composite Waveguide Modulators

Broadband ridge waveguide to rectangular waveguide transition design in D‐band

AbstractThis article presents a D‐band (110–170 GHz) double ridge waveguide (WG) to standard rectangular WG transition with an E‐bend near the WG end. The transition incorporates metal ridge steps as impedance transformers, resulting in a compact total size of 3.53 mm × 1.95 mm × 1 mm. Fabricated using micro metal additive manufacturing with copper in a monolithic back‐to‐back configuration, the transition demonstrates a bandwidth of 50% (105–175 GHz) with an average insertion loss of 0.72 dB and return loss better than 15 dB, respectively. Measurement results align closely with simulation expectations, with deviations attributed to fabrication and assembly errors.

Nanostructures in Organic Light‐Emitting Diodes: Principles and Recent Advances in the Light Extraction Strategy

AbstractOrganic light‐emitting diodes (OLEDs) in recent years have emerged as a leading display technology and the popularity of OLEDs is attributed to their numerous advantages, including the ability to produce natural color, achieve a true black state, consume low consumption, exhibit fast response, and be compatible with flexible devices. However, limitations in the performance persist, e.g., the out‐coupling efficiency, which currently stands at ≈20% due to issues such as trapped modes and plasmon loss. Many researchers, therefore, have actively proposed the integration of various nanostructures to address the challenges and enhance OLED performance. The structures play a crucial role in facilitating strong optical interaction with surface plasmon and waveguide modes, thereby improving the extraction of trapped modes. To mitigate the confinement, layers to modulate the refractive index are introduced to extract the confined light and redirect it into the out‐coupled mode. In this review, a comprehensive overview of the principle and effectiveness of these nanostructures in enhancing OLED performance is provided. Various applications of OLEDs are explored based on nanostructures such as nanoparticles, nanomeshes, metasurface, bioinspired structures, and scattering layers. By implementing and refining these nanostructures, significant advancements in OLED performance are anticipated.