Free-space Photons Research Articles

20‐1: Invited Paper: Increasing OLED Stability: Plasmonic PHOLED

In this paper we introduce a new light emitting device where phosphorescent emitters are intentionally coupled to the surface plasmon mode of the cathode. This achieves a decay rate enhancement and with subsequent conversion of the energy to photons in free space, we realize net gains in efficiency and stability.

Majorana bosonic quasiparticles from twisted photons in free space

The speed of light in vacuum, $c$, is a fundamental constant of nature. Photons belonging to a structured beam of finite transverse size, generated by a spatial light modulator, have been observed to travel with a group velocity, $v_g$, which is smaller than $c$ also when propagating in vacuum [1-3]. This is an effect that depends on the geometry of the beam. From quantum mechanical considerations, these photons must in any case propagate at the speed of light. This paradox can be resolved by taking into account a projection effect. What was measured in these experiments as group velocity was in fact its projection onto the beam propagation axis [4]. This depends on the divergence of the beams used in these experiments. We have found that for hypergeometric beams carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM), generated by sources with equal aperture [5-8], $v_g$ obeys an OAM/velocity relationship similar to that proposed by Majorana between spin and mass for bosonic and fermionic relativistic particles. This relationship, depending on the geometrical properties of the beam, can pave the way for an alternative estimation of OAM or to implement a time buffer in optical communications.

Finding the Photon Mass from Maxwell's Equations and Compton Scattering Theory

The question of whether particles of light have mass has been asked in natural philosophy for centuries, starting with theories such as the corpuscular theory of Newton and contemporaries, based in turn on older ideas back to classical times. In the early twentieth century, Planck and Einstein introduced the concept of the photon, the quantum of light energy. It was proposed by Einstein and others, notably in about 1906, that the photon has mass. The behavior of a photon is strange. The aim of this work is to attempt to theoretically investigate the rest mass of a photon from Maxwell’s equation and Compton scattering theory. In this paper the equation of the electric field intensity in the presence of polarization in vacuum is derived. Maxwell's equations can describe state of electromagnetic waves in any medium. Their physical content is familiar; these equations are derived from the laws of electricity and magnetism. According to electromagnetic theory, the rest mass of photon in free space is zero and also photon has non-zero rest mass, as well as wavelength-dependent. To apply Maxwell's equations and Compton scattering theory this is modified to find the photon rest mass is of the order ~10-49 g which is comparable to that obtained by Coulomb experiment which is of the order ~10-44 g. Our theoretical work on the speculative mass of the photon must be experimentally verified and may open up plausible new applications in different fields.

Surface plasmon polariton pulse shaping via two-dimensional Bragg grating pairs

Abstract We demonstrate control over the spatial and temporal properties of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) launched from nanohole arrays in silver. The arrays provide wave vector matching to allow the conversion of free-space photons into counter-propagating SPPs. SPPs launched from multiple arrays interfere at well-defined spatial positions, and the interference fringes form an all-SPP periodic nano-optical grating which evolves in space and time as the SPPs propagate. The spatio-temporal characteristics of the optical grating can be tuned through various nanohole array parameters such as tilt angle, separation, and array width. In addition, we examine multiperiodic arrays (MPAs) consisting of arrays with different pitches placed adjacent to one another. This platform allows the temporal interference of SPPs with different central wavelengths to be tailored through the MPA geometric and structural parameters. The temporal interference serves as an encoded signal, whereby the frequency components can be controlled by the array properties.

Deep strong light-matter coupling in plasmonic nanoparticle crystals.

In the regime of deep strong light-matter coupling, the coupling strength exceeds the transition energies of the material1-3, fundamentally changing its properties4,5; for example, the ground state of the system contains virtual photons and the internal electromagnetic field gets redistributed by photon self-interaction1,6. So far, no electronic excitation of a material has shown such strong coupling to free-space photons. Here we show that three-dimensional crystals of plasmonic nanoparticles can realize deep strong coupling under ambient conditions, if the particles are ten times larger than the interparticle gaps. The experimental Rabi frequencies (1.9 to 3.3 electronvolts) of face-centred cubic crystals of gold nanoparticles with diameters between 25 and 60 nanometres exceed their plasmon energy by up to 180 per cent. We show that the continuum of photons and plasmons hybridizes into polaritons that violate the rotating-wave approximation. The coupling leads to a breakdown of the Purcell effect-the increase of radiative damping through light-matter coupling-and increases the radiative polariton lifetime. The results indicate that metallic and semiconducting nanoparticles can be used as building blocks for an entire class of materials with extreme light-matter interaction, which will find application in nonlinear optics, the search for cooperative effects and ground states, polariton chemistry and quantum technology4,5.

Dipolar interactions between localized interlayer excitons in van der Waals heterostructures.

Although photons in free space barely interact, matter can mediate interactions between them resulting in optical nonlinearities. Such interactions at the single-quantum level result in an on-site photon repulsion, crucial for photon-based quantum information processing and for realizing strongly interacting many-body states of light. Here, we report repulsive dipole-dipole interactions between electric field-tuneable, localized interlayer excitons in the MoSe2/WSe2 heterobilayer. The presence of a single, localized exciton with an out-of-plane, non-oscillating dipole moment increases the energy of the second excitation by ~2 meV-an order of magnitude larger than the emission linewidth and corresponding to an inter-dipole distance of ~7 nm. At higher excitation power, multi-exciton complexes appear at systematically higher energies. The magnetic field dependence of the emission polarization is consistent with the spin-valley singlet nature of the dipolar molecular state. Our finding represents a step towards the creation of excitonic few- and many-body states such as dipolar crystals with spin-valley spinor in van der Waals heterostructures.

Duplicating Plasmonic Hotspots by Matched Nanoantenna Pairs for Remote Nanogap Enhanced Spectroscopy.

Plasmonic nanoantennas are capable of reversibly interconverting free-space radiation with localized modes at the nanoscale. However, optical access to a single nanoantenna, through a laser beam, is always accompanied by disruptive background perturbations and heating effects. Remote spectroscopy is one promising route to overcome these effects. Here, we demonstrate excitation-collection-separated enhanced spectroscopy using a matched nanoantenna pair. The receiving and transmitting antennas are geometrically separated but bridged by the propagating surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) on the metal film. The receiving antenna, consisting of a silver nanowire on a mirror, ensures a high light-to-plasmon conversion efficiency. The transmitting antenna consists of a silver nanocube over a mirror and is impedance matched to free space photons and the propagating SPPs. As a proof-of-principle, we demonstrate remote surface-enhanced Raman scattering with a high signal-to-noise ratio. This matched nanoantenna pair may have applications for remote entanglement of quantum emitters, biochemistry detection, or optical interconnects.

Rest mass of photon on the surface of matter

The behavior of a photon is strange. It possesses both wave nature and particle nature. Some experiments show both behaviors of photons can exist simultaneously, while some other experiment state that both properties do not co-exists simultaneously. According to electromagnetic theory, the rest mass of photon in free space is zero and also photon has non-zero rest mass, as well as wavelength-dependent. The very recent experiment revealed its non-zero value as 10-54kg(5.610×10-25MeVc-2). Even experimental results concluded that within matter (dispersive) the photon shows its imaginary rest mass. We have no exact answer as to why photon incarnates itself with versatile mass. Here we try to theoretically investigate about the rest mass of a photon. When it touches the surface of matter, it makes illusion and mathematically the rest mass is a complex number. Rest mass of photon depends upon scalar curvature of the surface of matter and wavelength of the photon. Photon itself reveals illusion posing with mass because of its dual nature. We have investigated the wave-particle duality of light, coexistence of wave and particle nature through morphing due to pliable character of light wave. Our theoretical work about the photon’s illusive mass will have to be experimentally verified and it might open plausible new applications in the secure communication of information.

Photon counting LIDAR at 2.3µm wavelength with superconducting nanowires.

In this work, we show a proof-of-principle benchtop single-photon light detection and ranging (LIDAR) depth imager at 2.3µm, utilizing superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs). We fabricate and fiber-couple SNSPDs to exhibit enhanced photon counting performance in the mid-infrared. We present characterization results using an optical parametric oscillator source and deploy these detectors in a scanning LIDAR setup at 2.3µm wavelength. This demonstrates the viability of these detectors for future free-space photon counting applications in the mid-infrared where atmospheric absorption and background solar flux are low.

High-Responsivity MSM Solar-Blind UV Photodetector Based on Annealed ITO/Ag/ITO Structure Using RF Sputtering

In this paper, a novel ITO/Ag/ITO (IAI) multilayer UV photodetector was successfully prepared via RF magnetron sputtering technique to achieve the dual-benefit of improved photoresponse and outstanding visible blindness properties. The influence of the annealing process on the performance of the elaborated IAI UV photodetector was carried out. Moreover, the structural and photoelectrical properties of the sputtered tri-layered structures with and without annealing effects were also analyzed. It was found that the elaborated UV -photodetector provides near perfect UV absorbance of 96%. This achievement is attributed to the improved light trapping capability and tunable plasmonic resonance effects induced by the efficient optical coupling between free-space UV photons and Ag plasmons. It was also revealed that the heat treatment paves a new path toward preparing efficient visible-blind UV photodetectors, where the annealed sample demonstrated a superior rejection ratio of 225 as compared to that of the unannealed counterpart. Besides, electrical characterization underlined the ability of the annealed IAI UV photodetector at 500°C for offering exciting opportunities, where it exhibits a high responsivity of 3.8mA/W at self-powered condition. Therefore, by well optimizing both IAI multilayer geometry and annealing conditions, we were able to elaborate an ultrathin photodetector suitable for high-performance and flexible UV sensing applications.

Phonon Polaritons in Monolayers of Hexagonal Boron Nitride

Phonon polaritons in van der Waals materials reveal significant confinement accompanied with long propagation length: important virtues for tasks pertaining to the control of light and energy flow at the nanoscale. While previous studies of phonon polaritons have relied on relatively thick samples, here reported is the first observation of surface phonon polaritons in single atomic layers and bilayers of hexagonal boron nitride (hBN). Using antenna-based near-field microscopy, propagating surface phonon polaritons in mono- and bilayer hBN microcrystals are imaged. Phonon polaritons in monolayer hBN are confined in a volume about one million times smaller than the free-space photons. Both the polariton dispersion and their wavelength-thickness scaling law are altered compared to those of hBN bulk counterparts. These changes are attributed to phonon hardening in monolayer-thick crystals. The data reported here have bearing on applications of polaritons in metasurfaces and ultrathin optical elements.

Launching of hyperbolic phonon-polaritons in h-BN slabs by resonant metal plasmonic antennas

Launching and manipulation of polaritons in van der Waals materials offers novel opportunities for field-enhanced molecular spectroscopy and photodetection, among other applications. Particularly, the highly confined hyperbolic phonon polaritons (HPhPs) in h-BN slabs attract growing interest for their capability of guiding light at the nanoscale. An efficient coupling between free space photons and HPhPs is, however, hampered by their large momentum mismatch. Here, we show —by far-field infrared spectroscopy, infrared nanoimaging and numerical simulations— that resonant metallic antennas can efficiently launch HPhPs in thin h-BN slabs. Despite the strong hybridization of HPhPs in the h-BN slab and Fabry-Pérot plasmonic resonances in the metal antenna, the efficiency of launching propagating HPhPs in h-BN by resonant antennas exceeds significantly that of the non-resonant ones. Our results provide fundamental insights into the launching of HPhPs in thin polar slabs by resonant plasmonic antennas, which will be crucial for phonon-polariton based nanophotonic devices.

Angular momentum transfer from photon polarization to an electron spin in a gate-defined quantum dot

Gate-defined quantum dots (QDs) are such a highly-tunable quantum system in which single spins can be electrically coupled, manipulated, and measured. However, the spins in gate-defined QDs are lacking its interface to free-space photons. Here, we verify that a circularly-polarized single photon can excite a single electron spin via the transfer of angular momentum, measured using Pauli spin blockade (PSB) in a double QD. We monitor the inter-dot charge tunneling which only occur when the photo-electron spin in one QD is anti-parallel to the electron spin in the other. This allows us to detect single photo-electrons in the spin-up/down basis using PSB. The photon polarization dependence of the excited spin state was finally confirmed for the heavy-hole exciton excitation. The angular momentum transfer observed here is a fundamental step providing a route to instant injection of spins, distributing single spin information, and possibly towards extending quantum communication.

Surface Plasmon Launching by Polariton Superradiance

The condition of phase matching prohibits the transfer of excitation from free-space photons to surface plasmon polaritons (SPP). We propose and analyze a scheme that excites an ensemble of emitters in a collective state, which is phase matched with the SPP by the optical pulses used for its preparation. By a collective enhancement the ensemble, hence, emits an SPP in a well defined direction. We demonstrate the scheme by analyzing the launching of near-infrared graphene SPP. Our theory incorporates the dispersive and dissipative properties of the plasmon modes to evaluate the non-Markovian emission by the ensembles and will also be applicable for other types of surface polaritons.

Projector-based renormalization approach to electron-hole-photon systems in their nonequilibrium steady state

We present an extended version of the projector-based renormalization method that can be used to address not only equilibrium but also non-equilibrium situations in coupled fermion-boson systems. The theory is applied to interacting electrons, holes and photons in a semiconductor microcavity, where the loss of cavity photons into vacuum is of particular importance. The method incorporates correlation and fluctuation processes beyond mean-field theory in a wide parameter range of detuning, Coulomb interaction, light-matter coupling and damping, even in the case when the number of quasiparticle excitations is large. This enables the description of exciton and polariton formation, and their possible condensation through spontaneous phase symmetry breaking by analyzing the ground-state, steady-state and spectral properties of a rather generic electron-hole-photon Hamiltonian, which also includes the coupling to two fermionic baths and a free-space photon reservoir. Thereby, the steady-state behavior of the system is obtained by evaluating expectation values in the long-time limit by means of the Mori-Zwanzig projection technique. Tracking and tracing different order parameters, the fully renormalized single-particle spectra and the steady-state luminescence, we demonstrate the Bose-Einstein condensation of excitons and polaritons and its smooth transition when the excitation density is increased.

Molecular Emission near Metal Interfaces: The Polaritonic Regime.

The strong coupling of a dense layer of molecular excitons with surface-plasmon modes in a metal gives rise to polaritons (hybrid light-matter states) called plexcitons. Surface plasmons cannot directly emit into (or be excited by) free-space photons due to the fact that energy and momentum conservation cannot be simultaneously satisfied in photoluminescence. Most plexcitons are also formally nonemissive, even though they can radiate via molecules upon localization due to disorder and decoherence. However, a fraction of them are bright even in the presence of such deleterious processes. In this Letter, we theoretically discuss the superradiant emission properties of these bright plexcitons, which belong to the upper energy branch and reveal huge photoluminescence enhancements compared to bare excitons, due to near-divergences in the density of photonic modes available to them. Our study generalizes the well-known problem of molecular emission next to a metal interface to the polaritonic regime.

A quantum optical storage box

Quantum Optics The development of information technologies based on quantum optics relies crucially on the ability to generate and propagate single photons in free space or optic fibers over vast distances. However, information processing also requires memory or storage functionality, and the ability to hold on to photons tends to pose a challenge. Seri et al. used femtosecond laser pulses to micromachine waveguides in an optical crystal of Pr3+:Y2SiO5. By identifying irradiation conditions that avoid damage to the crystal, they found that the properties of the waveguide, such as the storage time for single photons, are enhanced. Relatively long storage times, combined with compatibility with other optical processing technologies, could provide a powerful platform for developing complex integrated quantum architectures. Optica 5 , 934 (2018).

Electronically Tunable Perfect Absorption in Graphene.

The demand for dynamically tunable light modulation in flat optics applications has grown in recent years. Graphene nanostructures have been extensively studied as means of creating large effective index tunability, motivated by theoretical predictions of the potential for unity absorption in resonantly excited graphene nanostructures. However, the poor radiative coupling to graphene plasmonic nanoresonators and low graphene carrier mobilities from imperfections in processed graphene samples have led to low modulation depths in experimental attempts at creating tunable absorption in graphene devices. Here we demonstrate electronically tunable perfect absorption in graphene, covering less than 10% of the surface area, by incorporating multiscale nanophotonic structures composed of a low-permittivity substrate and subwavelength noble metal plasmonic antennas to enhance the radiative coupling to deep subwavelength graphene nanoresonators. To design the structures, we devised a graphical method based on effective surface admittance, elucidating the origin of perfect absorption arising from critical coupling between radiation and graphene plasmonic modes. Experimental measurements reveal 96.9% absorption in the graphene plasmonic nanostructure at 1389 cm-1, with an on/off modulation efficiency of 95.9% in reflection.

Interference Eraser Experiment Demonstrated with All-Plasmonic Which-Path Marker Based on Reverse Spin Hall Effect of Light

We report on the reciprocal spin Hall effect of light in T-shaped nanoaperture arrays. Specifically, we demonstrate that the information tied to surface plasmons trajectories can be encoded into free-space spin-carrying photons. The functionality of the system to act as a circular polarizer is therefore implemented in an interference eraser experiment where the device is used as a which-path marker. Complementarity between the wave-like and particle-like behavior of surface plasmons is verified, hence, further demonstrating the outlook for miniaturized optical elements toward on-chip quantum experiments. This work underscores the high potential of plasmonic devices in the realization of integrated polarization optics, hence, opening promising prospects for nanoscale optical communications and quantum photonic network.

Broadband Negative Refraction of Highly Squeezed Hyperbolic Polaritons in 2D Materials.

Negative refraction of highly squeezed polaritons is a fundamental building block for nanophotonics, since it can enable many unique applications, such as deep-subwavelength imaging. However, the phenomenon of all-angle negative refraction of highly squeezed polaritons, such as graphene plasmons with their wavelength squeezed by a factor over 100 compared to free-space photons, was reported to work only within a narrow bandwidth (<1 THz). Demonstrating this phenomenon within a broad frequency range remains a challenge that is highly sought after due to its importance for the manipulation of light at the extreme nanoscale. Here we show the broadband all-angle negative refraction of highly squeezed hyperbolic polaritons in 2D materials in the infrared regime, by utilizing the naturally hyperbolic 2D materials or the hyperbolic metasurfaces based on nanostructured 2D materials (e.g., graphene). The working bandwidth can vary from several tens of THz to over a hundred of THz by tuning the chemical potential of 2D materials.