Slow Light Applications Research Articles

Controllable dual resonances of Fano and EIT in a graphene-loaded all-dielectric GaAs metasurface and its sensing and slow-light applications

Abstract Active nanophotonic metasurfaces have attracted considerable attention for their promise to develop compact, tunable optical metadevices with advanced functions. In this work, we theoretically demonstrated the dynamically controllable dual resonances of Fano and electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) using a graphene-loaded all-dielectric metasurface with U-shaped gallium arsenide (GaAs) nanobars operating in the near-infrared region. The destructive interference between a subradiant mode (i.e., a dark mode) supported by two vertical GaAs bars and two radiative modes (i.e., two bright modes) supported by a horizontal GaAs nanobar gives rise to a Fano resonance and an EIT window with high transmission and a large quality factor (Q-factor) in the transmission spectrum. Importantly, the transmission amplitudes can be flexibly modulated by adjusting the graphene Fermi levels without rebuilding the nanostructures. This modulation results from the controllable light absorption by the loaded graphene monolayer due to its interband losses in the near-infrared spectrum. Furthermore, the peak wavelengths of the Fano resonance and EIT window with high Q-factors are highly sensitive to variations in the refractive index (RI) of the surrounding medium, giving the proposed metasurface a relatively good sensitivity of ~700 nm/RIU and a high figure of merit (FOM) of 280, making it an effective RI sensor. Additionally, the metasurface features an adjustable slow light effect, indicated by the adjusted group delay time ranging from 0.12 ps to 0.38 ps. Therefore, the metasurface system proposed in this work offers a viable platform for advanced multi-band optical sensing, low-loss slow light devices, switches, and potential applications in nonlinear optical fields.

Multiple Brillouin Zone Winding of Topological Chiral Edge States for Slow Light Applications.

Photonic Chern insulators are known for their topological chiral edge states (CESs), whose absolute existence is determined by the bulk band topology, but concrete dispersion can be engineered to exhibit various properties. For example, the previous theory suggested that the edge dispersion can wind many times around the Brillouin zone to slow down light, which can potentially overcome fundamental limitations in conventional slow-light devices: narrow bandwidth and keen sensitivity to fabrication imperfection. Here, we report the first experimental demonstration of this idea, achieved by coupling CESs with resonance-induced nearly flat bands. We show that the backscattering-immune hybridized CESs are significantly slowed down over a relatively broad bandwidth. Our work thus paves an avenue to broadband topological slow-light devices.

Graphene metamaterials-based plasmon-induced terahertz modulator for high-performance multiband filtering and slow light applications.

We proposed multilayered graphene (Gr)-based surface plasmon resonance-induced high-performance terahertz (THz) modulators with tunable resonance frequencies. Previously reported Gr metamaterials-based THz plasmonic modulators had small group delay, low extinction ratio (ER), and difficult-to-tune resonant frequency without changing structural parameters in the THz range. A comprehensive investigation employing the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulation technique revealed high group delay, broad tunability independent of structural parameters, and large ER for our proposed quadband and pentaband plasmonic modulators. We obtained tunable group delays with a maximum of 1.02 ps and 1.41 ps for our proposed quadband and pentaband plasmonic modulators, respectively, which are substantially greater compared to previously reported Gr-based metamaterial structures. The maximum ER of 22.3 dB was obtained, which was substantially high compared to previous reports. Our proposed modulators were sensitive to the polarization angle of incident light; therefore, the transmittance at resonant frequencies was increased while the polarization angle varied from 0° to 180°. These high-performance plasmonic modulators have emerging potential for the design of optical buffers, slow light devices, multistop band filters, integrated photonic circuits, and various optoelectronic systems.

Sensing and slow light applications of graphene plasmonic terahertz structure

In this work, Ansys FDTD is used to design and simulate a terahertz metamaterial structure based on periodic continuous pattern graphene monolayer, and the high-quality PIT phenomena are obtained by continuously adjusting structural parameters. To validate the designed structure, the simulated transmission curve (reflection curve) obtained is compared with the theoretical transmission curve (reflection curve) derived from coupled-mode theory. It is observed that these two results exhibit a remarkably high degree of overlap. The resonant frequency and Fermi energy reveals a perfect linear correlation between them with the resonant frequency increasing proportionally with Fermi energy increasing. Dynamic tuning of PIT can be realized by adjusting the Fermi energy of graphene. For a more in-depth study of its sensing characteristics, the structure is placed in different environments. As the refractive index of the detection medium increases, the resonant frequency gradually decreases, demonstrating a redshift phenomenon. By manipulating the resonant frequency of the PIT sensor, the selective detection of specific target can berealized. After analyzing the sensitivity and FOM values of the structure, it is found that the maximum sensitivity is 1.457 THz/RIU. At a resonant frequency of 6.8174 THz, FOM reaches 30.5652. In summary, the sensor structure designed in this work has dual frequency sensing characteristics and can be used for dual frequency detection. Moreover, compared with other sensor structures, it demonstrates superior sensing performance. Additionally, in studying the slow light effect of the structure, it is found that as the Fermi energy increases, the group index and phase shift at the transparency window continue to increase. At the Fermi energy of 1.2 eV, the group index reaches a high value of 584. This is because in the PIT phenomenon, transparent peaks are formed due to multimodal coupling. This coupling will significantly improve the dispersion characteristics near the transparent peak, resulting in a large group index near the transparent peak. Furthermore, with the increase of carrier mobility, the group index and phase shift of the structure also gradually increase. At a carrier mobility of 0.75 m²/(V·s), the group refractive index is 456, and reaches 1010 at 2.0 m²/(V·s). In this study, the slow-light performance of graphene structure can be optimized through jointly adjusting the Fermi energy and carrier mobility. This research provides theoretical support and methods for designing advanced graphene-based sensors and devices for slow-light applications.

Active control of an electromagnetically induced transparency analogue in a coupled dual bound states in the continuum system integrated with graphene.

Electronically induced transparency (EIT) is a coherent optical phenomenon that induces interference within atoms, allowing certain specific frequencies of light to pass through atomic media without being absorbed. However, EIT systems face challenges related to narrow transparency windows and precise control of slow light. We propose an interference structure based on a coupled dual bound states in the continuum (BIC) system to emulate the EIT-like effect. By integrating quasi-BIC (bright mode) with BIC (dark mode), our design successfully achieves an EIT-like effect in a narrow bright mode with a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of less than 1 nm. Its notable features are the bright mode's wide tunability achieved through structural parameter adjustment and a significant group delay of up to 14.43 ps. Additionally, integrating graphene into the BIC structure introduced a form of active tunability akin to the EIT-like effect. We numerically calculate the coupling structure, and its intrinsic mechanism is analyzed. Analysis based on coupled-mode theory confirms that this active modulation primarily stems from changes in the BIC structure's loss. Due to its special frequency selectivity and insensitivity to the polarization of the light source, this narrow-band EIT-like structure is particularly suitable for high-precision optical sensing and spectroscopy. The significant group delay of this structure enhances the interaction between light and matter, improving the accuracy and efficiency of optical signal control and data transmission, opening up new avenues for slow light applications and making significant progress in the development of active tunable optical switches and modulators.

Thermometry of liquid water through slow light imaging spectroscopy.

This work presents the first, to the best of our knowledge, experimental demonstration of slow light imaging spectroscopy for thermometry of liquid water. This novel technique for measuring temperature relies on detecting the spectral shift of Brillouin peaks in water using the temporal delay through a cell containing an atomic vapor. Stand-off sensing capabilities are achieved by time-domain measurements of Brillouin scattering tuned to be near a rubidium atomic resonance and passed through a cell filled with rubidium vapor. An injection seeded optical parametric oscillator (OPO) is demonstrated to be a versatile light source for slow light imaging spectroscopy applications. The narrow OPO pulse spectrum allows for a precise profiling of slow light features of rubidium and accurate tracking of the temperature dependence of Brillouin scattering spectral shift. A comparison between the experimental data and numerical simulation over a temperature range of 20 to 99 degrees Celsius shows a good agreement for both qualitative and quantitative results.

Investigating the slow light in a 2D heterostructure photonic crystal composed of circular rods and holes in the square lattices

This theoretical work proposed a two-dimensional heterostructure of photonic crystal and investigated it for slow light applications. The structure includes two photonic crystals: circular Ge rods in the air background and circular holes in the Ge background. It is assumed that both of the crystals have square lattices. The band structures of the individual photonic crystals were studied to choose appropriate rod and hole radii to achieve common photonic band gaps. The effect of the possible combinations of the rod and hole radii was investigated on the group indices, bandwidths, and group index-bandwidth products. The optimum rod and hole radii were achieved. Moreover, the effect of displacements of the rods relative to the hole cylinders was studied, and the optimum displacement was calculated to achieve a high group index-bandwidth product value.

Slow-Light Enhanced Liquid and Gas Sensing Using 2-D Photonic Crystal Line Waveguides—A Review

Photonic crystals (PhCs) are periodically structured dielectric materials that have attracted significant research interest in the last two decades for their ability to slow down the group velocity of a propagating pulse envelope with promising sensing applications. This review article discusses the properties of 2-D PhCs including the slow-light phenomenon, bandgap generation, and application of these properties for gas and liquid sensing. Waveguide generation by introducing defects with light guiding and confinement is discussed. In addition, for 2-D PhC line waveguides, a comprehensive review on the slow-light principle and phenomenon of slow-light enhanced sensing for gases and liquids is discussed. 1-D and 3-D PhCs are also reviewed for bandgap generation and defects in PhCs along with present fabrication challenges and future trends. Our study highlights an increase in the detection capabilities of PhC-based sensors paving way for high-sensitivity detectors with applications in ubiquitous monitoring of gases and liquids.

Actively Controllable Terahertz Metal-Graphene Metamaterial Based on Electromagnetically Induced Transparency Effect.

A metal–graphene metamaterial device exhibiting a tunable, electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) spectral response at terahertz frequencies is investigated. The metamaterial structure is composed of a strip and a ring resonator, which serve as the bright and dark mode to induce the EIT effect. By employing the variable conductivity of graphene to dampen the dark resonator, the response frequency of the device shifts dynamically over 100 GHz, which satisfies the convenient post-fabrication tunability requirement. The slow-light behavior of the proposed device is also analyzed with the maximum group delay of 1.2 ps. The sensing performance is lastly studied and the sensitivity can reach up to 100 GHz/(RIU), with a figure of merit (FOM) value exceeding 4 . Therefore, the graphene-based metamaterial provides a new miniaturized platform to facilitate the development of terahertz modulators, sensors, and slow-light applications.

Dynamically tunable slow light effect based on graphene terahertz metamaterial

Recently, the terahertz metamaterials with tunable EIT effect have a wide application range, especially in slow light applications area. However, the traditional tuning means are very difficult to implement, such as superconductor and MEMS, which limit their application range. For this reason, we proposed a terahertz EIT metamaterial structure consisting of two metallic strips, a split ring resonator and a graphene ribbon. The numerical results demonstrate that a transparency window is induced by the destructive interference of the bright mode and dark mode and moreover, the amplitude of the transparency window can be actively modulated by changing Fermi energy of graphene via electrostatic doping. The tunable response can attribute to the increasing conductivity of graphene, weakening near field coupling between the bright mode and dark modes. Therefore, these results have important reference for future development of slow light devices and sensors.

Photonic Moiré lattice waveguide with a large slow light bandwidth and delay-bandwidth product.

We proposed an effective approach to enlarge the slow light bandwidth and normalized-delay-bandwidth product in an optimized moiré lattice-based photonic crystal waveguide that exhibits intrinsic mid-band characteristics. A flatband corresponding to a nearly constant group index of 34 over a wide bandwidth of 82 nm centered at 1550 nm with near-zero group velocity dispersion was achieved. A large normalized-delay-bandwidth product of 0.5712 with a relative dispersion of 0.114%/µm was obtained, which is a significant improvement if compared with previous results. Our results indicate that the photonic moiré lattice waveguide could advance slow light applications.

Guiding-mode-assisted double-BICs in an all-dielectric metasurface.

The electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) effect realized in a metasurface is potential for slow light applications for its extreme dispersion variation in the transparency window. Herein, we propose an all-dielectric metasurface to generate a double resonance-trapped quasi bound states in the continuum (BICs) in the form of EIT or Fano resonance through selectively exciting the guiding modes with the grating. The group delay of the EIT is effectively improved up to 2113 ps attributing to the ultrahigh Q-factor resonance carried by the resonance-trapped quasi-BIC. The coupled harmonic oscillator model and a full multipole decomposition are utilized to analyze the physical mechanism of EIT-based quasi-BIC. In addition, the BIC based on Fano and EIT resonance can simultaneously exist at different wavelengths. These findings provide a new feasible platform for slow light devices in the near-infrared region.

Slow light in topological coupled-corner-state waveguide

We theoretically propose a uide (CCSW), which is composed of a zigzag edge-like structure based on C-4 symmetrical lattice. CCSW mode is achieved by weak coupling between a sequence of higher order topological corner state (TCS). Based on the tight-binding approximation, the flat dispersion relation of CCSW mode is obtained, and suitable for slowing down light. The characteristics of slow light, including the group index, group velocity dispersion, normalized bandwidth and normalized delay-bandwidth product, are discussed in detail. At the Eigen frequency of individual TCS, the group velocity dispersion of CCSW mode is zero. Importantly, the CCSW mode shows strong robustness when introducing disorders, compared with the conventional Coupled-Resonator-Optical Waveguide based on photonic crystal defect cavities. Our findings may find topological slow light applications such as optical buffers, the processing of optical signals, optical delay lines and so on.

Dual-band electromagnetically induced transparent metamaterial with slow light effect and energy storage

The realization of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) on metamaterials has special properties, such as strong slow-light, frequency-selection and so on, which have allowed EIT to be widely used in the fields of slow-light, optical storages and filters. In this paper, a metamaterial with two pairs of split ring resonators and one cut-wire is designed to achieve dual-band EIT effect at 0.5–2.14 GHz and 0.4–2.10 GHz with independently tunable bandwidths of 1.64 GHz and 2.7 GHz, respectively. The coupled Lorentz model is adopted to principally study the coupling characteristics between dark and bright modes. It is shown that the coupling strength between the dark and bright modes could be modulated by the coupling distance, which make the dual-band transparent window could be independently modulated by only changing the coupling distance between the bright and dark mode. The group delay and energy storage are also simulated by setting the Gaussian pulse signal passing through the EIT structure. The results show that the group delay of the designed EIT structure is 16.9 times that of the same thickness of dielectric material. The manufactured metamaterial is tested in a microwave anechoic chamber. The experimental and theoretical results are well consistent. These results could be beneficial for the development of EIT research toward some up-and-coming novel slow-light, optical storage, sensor and optical filter applications.

Graphene-based tunable plasmon-induced transparency utilizing circular and two rectangular gold rings in the near-infrared spectrum

A plasmonic induced transparency utilizing one circular and two rectangular gold rings in silicon substrate covered by a monolayer graphene sheet is investigated numerically and theoretically in the near infra-red spectrum. Three-dimensional finite difference time domain (3D-FDTD) simulations are employed to extract the set of geometrical parameters to achieve a 1200–2200 nm transparency window. By sweeping the Fermi level of the graphene, we study transmissions, phase shifts, and group delays of the proposed structure. The group delay was about 0.02 ps (ps) for 0.6 electron-volt(eV) Fermi level, and it showed the capability of slow light applications. Moreover, a linear modulation index of 11% was achieved at λ = 1550 nm for 4-layer graphene. The results offered that the plasmonic induced transparency (PIT) effect may be used in the slow-light devices and active plasmonic modulation in the communication wavelength.

Sensing and slow light applications based on graphene metasurface in terahertz

A simple structure graphene metasurface composed of a continuous graphene strip and a truncated graphene strip is designed and investigated for sensing and slow light applications in terahertz. The results reveal that plasmonic-induced transparency (PIT) can be produced in our designed graphene metasurface with the destructive interference between bright and dark modes. Transmission, reflectivity, and absorbance spectra of optical response effectively tuned by the Fermi level, and numerical results are consistent with theoretical results of developed coupled mode theory (CMT). In addition, PIT window is also tuned by the polarization angle of the linearly polarized plane light. Intriguingly, owing to the surface plasmon has field enhancement and strong dispersion, our proposed graphene metasurface exhibit potential optical applications, such as the sensing and the slow light. The sensitivity and Figure of merit (FOM) for sensing characteristics reach up to 0.7928 THz/RIU and 8.12, respectively. The largest group index is of 511 for slow light effect. Therefore, our proposed graphene-based metasurface may be expected to make an important contribution in micro-nano optical sensing and slow light devices.

Exploring the Slow Light Features of Lattice Shifted Twist Induced Photonic Crystal Waveguides with Ring Like Holes

In this paper, slow light features of an engineered photonic crystal waveguide are presented. The combined effect of lattice shift, lattice twist and introduction of ring-like holes (rings) in the innermost rows on the slow light features is studied. The rings are introduced in the first and second innermost rows of the waveguide. Slow light is characterized by calculating group index, second and fourth-order dispersions, and delay-bandwidth products. MIT Photonic Bands software is used for simulation. With rings in the innermost rows, a flat band of 17.71 nm is observed with a group index value of 12.72 and a flat band of 40.16 nm with a group index of 7.77. The normalized delay bandwidth product (NDBP) is observed as 0.1378 in the first structure and 0.1874 in the second structure with the proposed effects. These values are nearly 4.3 times higher in comparison with the NDBP value of the base structure (0.0436) and approximately 2 times higher than the engineered structure (0.0927). These structures are useful in slow light applications.

Refractive index sensing and switching of leaky states in a metasurface.

We theoretically propose leaky states in an electro-optic (EO)-based all-dielectric metasurface. The EO substrate tunes leaky modes to the desired wave band with changes in applied voltage (Vapp). For refractive index (RI) sensing, the highest figure-of-merit (FoM) in this work is 9166, quality factor (Q-factor) is 1.7450e4, sensitivity is 407 nm/RIU (in RI range of 1.00-1.03), minimum detectable RI is 1.0542e-4, and relative sensitivity is 9.94e-4V-1. The structure sustains the figure and line shape of leaky modes, high Q-factor, and FoM at different Vapp and EO-coefficients. Our FoM and Q-factor are high, and the minimum detectable RI is smaller than previously reported. The giant Q-factor is promising for optical filters, modulation, and slow-light device applications.

Broadband Topological Slow Light through Brillouin Zone Winding.

Topological photonic insulators have attracted significant attention for their robust transport of light, impervious to scattering and disorder. This feature is ideally suited for slow light applications, which are typically limited by disorder-induced attenuation. However, no practical approach to broadband topologically protected slow light has been demonstrated yet. In this work, we achieve slow light in topologically unidirectional waveguides based on periodically loading an edge termination with suitably tailored resonances. The resulting edge state dispersion can wind around the Brillouin zone multiple times sustaining broadband, topologically robust slow light, opening exciting opportunities in various photonic scenarios.

Electromagnetic-Induced Transparency and Slow Light in Plasmonic Metasurfaces

We report numerically electromagnetic-induced transparency (EIT) and Fano resonances in simple plasmonic metasurfaces consisting of gold nanobars arranged in pi, H, and four-shaped fashion. The bright and dark elements in the metasurfaces are responsible for the emergence of EIT and Fano effects in the transmission spectrum. The concept of symmetry breaking is also introduced by incorporating multiple cavities in the metasurface, which relaxes the dipole coupling selection rules resulting in a mixture of dipole and higher order modes that interact and engenders EIT and Fano modes simultaneously in a nanostructure. Furthermore, the EIT and Fano resonances experience a significant red shift by increasing the refractive index of the background medium due to which high sensitivity of around 574 nmRIU−1, figure of merit of 32, and contrast ratio of 41% are realized. Moreover, the effective group index of the proposed metasurface is retrieved and is observed to be very high around the steep asymmetric Fano line shape and within the EIT window, signifying its potential use in slow light applications.