Transverse Electric Research Articles

Design and Manufacture of Polarization-Independent 3D SOI Vertical Optical Coupler.

An optical coupler is a key input/output (I/O) device in a photonic integrated circuit (PIC), which plays the role of light-source import and modulated light output. In this research, a vertical optical coupler consisting of a concave mirror and a half-cone edge taper was designed. We optimized the structure of mirror curvature and taper through finite-difference-time-domain (FDTD) and ZEMAX simulation to achieve mode matching between SMF (single-mode fiber) and the optical coupler. The device was fabricated via laser-direct-writing 3D lithography, dry etching and deposition on a 3.5 µm silicon-on-insulator (SOI) platform. The test results show that the overall loss of the coupler and its connected waveguide at 1550 nm was 1.11 dB in transverse-electric (TE) mode and 2.25 dB in transverse-magnetic (TM) mode.

Quad-Band Metamaterial Perfect Absorber with High Shielding Effectiveness Using Double X-Shaped Ring Resonator.

This study assesses quad-band metamaterial perfect absorbers (MPAs) based on a double X-shaped ring resonator for electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding applications. EMI shielding applications are primarily concerned with the shielding effectiveness values where the resonance is uniformly or non-sequentially modulated depending on the reflection and absorption behaviour. The proposed unit cell consists of double X-shaped ring resonators, a dielectric substrate of Rogers RT5870 with 1.575 mm thickness, a sensing layer, and a copper ground layer. The presented MPA yielded maximum absorptions of 99.9%, 99.9%, 99.9%, and 99.8% at 4.87 GHz, 7.49 GHz, 11.78 GHz, and 13.09 GHz resonance frequencies for the transverse electric (TE) and transverse magnetic (TM) modes at a normal polarisation angle. When the electromagnetic (EM) field with the surface current flow was investigated, the mechanisms of quad-band perfect absorption were revealed. Moreover, the theoretical analysis indicated that the MPA provides a shielding effectiveness of more than 45 dB across all bands in both TE and TM modes. An analogous circuit demonstrated that it could yield superior MPAs using the ADS software. Based on the findings, the suggested MPA is anticipated to be valuable for EMI shielding purposes.

Polarization-Insensitive, Wideband Terahertz Absorber Comprised of Fan-like Metasurface

In this manuscript, we studied a wideband metasurface-based terahertz (THz) absorber. The metasurface of the proposed absorber was comprised of fan-like periodic resonators made of nickel (Ni). The absorptivity of the proposed absorber was analyzed from 3.5 to 5 THz. The wideband absorptivity is observed with an absorption above 75% from 3.7 to 4.7 THz. The polarization-insensitive behavior of the absorber is depicted due to the symmetric nature of the top metasurface. The absorption feature was also analyzed for the transverse electric (TE) and transverse magnetic (TM) operating modes for the obliquity of the incidence wave. The surface current density shows that absorption is achieved due to the electric resonance of the proposed absorber. The proposed absorber would be useful for several applied areas covering medical science, communication, safety supervision, chemical sensing, and imaging.

Polarization-selective modulation of meandered-line metamaterials with graphene surface plasmonics

Periodic metal lines are the first kind of metamaterials, which typically exhibit plasmonic resonances to the normally incident waves polarized perpendicularly to them, i.e., transverse magnetic (TM) waves. Meandered lines can obtain resonances for both TM and transverse electric (TE) incidences and have found important applications in chirality and polarization conversion. Recently, several stimuli have been investigated to dynamically modulate the optical properties of periodic lines, which simultaneously tune both TE and TM resonances and show little polarization dependence. In this work, metal-graphene hybrid meandered-line metamaterials are designed for polarization-selective modulation at terahertz frequencies for the first time. The periodic lines meandered in S-shape resonate at 103 GHz for TE waves and at 195 and 320 GHz for TM waves, respectively. Graphene strips are patterned in pairs right at the bending corners along the polarization direction of TE waves, which produce even plasmonic dipole mode for TE incidence. In contrast, they are asymmetric with respect to the TM waves and generate odd coupling mode under TM incidence. These modes with various field concentrations exhibit considerable modulation difference to the graphene conductivity variation. As the graphene chemical potential sweeps, TE transmittance is modulated from 0.7 to 0.47 at 100 GHz, and TM transmittance is modulated just from 0.4 to 0.39 at 190 GHz and from 0.57 to 0.52 at 289 GHz, respectively. The corresponding modulation axial ratio is as large as 23 and 4.6 under a low bias from -1.2 to 1.2 V. This work paves a new way to control terahertz waves polarization-selectively.

MXene nanorods-based metasurface wideband absorber for infrared regime

This paper presents a wideband MXene-based metamaterial absorber made of subwavelength-sized periodic nanorods of MXene operating in the infrared regime. The top metasurface structure comprises a simple design and is made of a thin layer of MXene that features high tunability and high absorption characteristics. It is noticed that the proposed absorber shows absorption of above 80% over a wide range, from 1150 to 2500 nm. This significant absorption results due to localized surface plasmonic resonance (LSPR) of the top metasurface of periodic nanorods. The designed MXene-based optical absorber features a polarization-insensitive nature and demonstrates almost the same absorption over the wider portion of the spectrum for both transverse electric (TE) mode and transverse magnetic (TM) mode. Moreover, the proposed absorber shows a stable absorption for the obliquity incident angles up to 50°. The simulation results of the proposed absorber are verified using the Fabry-Parrot interference theory, and both results show a good agreement. The given absorber shows potential for various exciting applications, such as solar cells, sensors, and infrared imaging.

Polarization angle tailored multitasking metasturcure: electromagnetically induced transparency, electromagnetically induced absorption, linear-to-circular polarization conversion

In this work, simultaneous implementation of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT), electromagnetic induced absorption (EIA), and linear-to-circular polarization conversion (LTCPC) in the terahertz band is proposed in a metasturcture (MS) associated with tailoring the polarization angle (θ). The linear polarization (LP) waves with different θ can trigger different phenomena. EIT can be achieved with the incidence of transverse electric (TE) waves (θ = 0°), transverse magnetic (TM) waves (θ = 90°) cause the appearance of EIA, while a LP wave with θ = 45° induces the appearance of the LTCPC phenomenon. For TE waves, the EIT transparent window accompanied by the slow light effect has emerged from 0.288 to 0.797 THz, where the maximum group delay has arrived at 2.51 ps. For TM waves, an absorption peak of EIA is observed at 0.497 THz. The LTCPC phenomenon is well obtained with θ = 45° at 0.399 and 0.634 THz, where the transmission coefficient highly reaches 0.571 and 0.650. The optimal axis ratios (ARs) of LTCPC are 2.08 dB at 0.389 THz and 2.18 dB at 0.634 THz, respectively. Noteworthy, the two-oscillator and circuit models are adopted for the theoretical analysis of the EIT and EIA, and the conclusions obtained are in general agreement with the simulation results.

The electromagnetic scattering from multiple arbitrarily shaped cavities with inhomogeneous anisotropic media

We study the electromagnetic scattering problem from multiple arbitrarily shaped cavities filled with inhomogeneous anisotropic media. A local-refined Petrov-Galerkin finite element interface (PGFEI) method is developed for solving the scattering problem. By introducing the transparent boundary condition, the unbounded scattering problem can be reduced into bounded domain problem with coupled boundary conditions on the apertures of multiple cavities. The multiple cavity scattering in transverse magnetic (TM) and transverse electric (TE) polarizations are both investigated based on uniform non-body-fitted meshes. We adopt the level-set functions to capture the irregular cavity wall and the interfaces of inhomogeneous media. The special basis is constructed to satisfy the jump conditions across the interfaces of different materials further. The local-refined algorithm is proposed to enhance the accuracy of the solutions around the discontinuous interfaces. The generation of the grid points facilitates a special numbering scheme which enables a stepwise Schur complement decomposition of the discrete linear system derived by the PGFEI method. It could be an alternative method for solving the scattering problems which have similar structures. The proposed method can handle matrix coefficients caused by the permittivity and permeability tensor of anisotropic media. Numerical experiments illustrate the validity and efficiency of the method for solving the scattering from multiple arbitrarily shaped cavities with inhomogeneous anisotropic media in TM and TE polarization.

A Compact Polarization MMI Combiner Using Silicon Slot-Waveguide Structures.

The study of designing a compact transverse electric (TE)/transverse magnetic (TM) polarization multimode interference (MMI) combiner based on silicon slot-waveguide technology is proposed for solving the high demands for high-speed ability alongside more energy power and minimizing the environmental impact of power consumption, achieving a balance between high-speed performance and energy efficiency has become an important consideration in an optical communication system. The MMI coupler has a significant difference in light coupling (beat-length) for TM and TE at 1550 nm wavelength. By controlling the light propagation mechanism inside the MMI coupler, a lower order of mode can be obtained which can lead to a shorter device. The polarization combiner was solved using the full-vectorial beam propagation method (FV-BPM), and the main geometrical parameters were analyzed using Matlab codes. Results show that after a short light propagation of 16.15 μm, the device can function as TM or TE combiner polarization with an excellent extinction ratio of 10.94 dB for TE mode and 13.08 dB for TM mode with low insertion losses of 0.76 dB (TE) and 0.56 dB (TM) and the combiner function well over the C-band spectrum. The polarization combiner also has a robust MMI coupler length tolerance of 400 nm. These attributes make it a good candidate for using this proposed device in photonic integrated circuits for improving power ability at the transmitter system.

Polarization-insensitive epsilon-mu-near-zero effect in two-dimensional annular photonic crystals

We report polarization-insensitive epsilon-mu-near-zero (EMNZ) effect for both transverse-electric (TE) and transverse-magnetic (TM) polarizations in two types of two-dimensional (2D) annular PCs (APCs). The square-lattice air-ring (or dielectric-ring) type 2D APC can support non-accidental Dirac-like degeneracy for three low-energy TE (or TM) bands and accidental Dirac-like degeneracy for three higher-energy TM (or TE) bands at the same frequency. We rigorously demonstrate the polarization-insensitive EMNZ effect in 2D APCs based on the S-parameters inversion technique.

Optically Transparent Metasurface with High RF Transmittance and Wide‐Angle Stability for Dual Bands and Dual Polarizations

AbstractGlass windows are an important part of indoor‐to‐outdoor wireless communication channels, but the transmission loss of the normal glass limits the quality of the radio frequency (RF) signals, especially for the transverse‐electric (TE) polarized waves incident at large angles due to the impendence mismatch. Although some design methods for wide‐angle high RF transmission (WHRT) have been proposed recently, they can only work in a single frequency band. Here, an optically transparent metasurface is presented to realize high RF transmissions for dual polarizations in dual bands (2.2–3.2 and 4.4–5.2 GHz) and wide incidence angles (0–80°). The central frequencies of the two bands can be tuned independently by changing the structural parameters. A theory based on the transmission line (TL) model is proposed to explain the mechanism of the design, and a prototype is fabricated by using flexible printed circuit technology. The measured results of the prototype have good agreement with numerical calculations and full‐wave simulations. The design is expected to be beneficial to improve the quality of wireless signals in 5G systems.

High-Mode Purity 1 μm Cylindrical Vector Beam All-Fiber Laser Based on a Symmetric Two-Mode Coupler

Cylindrical vector beams (CVBs) are the product of polarization modulation of optical fields, and possess both unique focusing characteristics and excellent properties applicable to machining, imaging, communication and other fields. Mode selection couplers comprise a promising new method to realize the long-term stable output of cylindrical vector beam all-fiber lasers. Mode selection couplers have the advantages of a simple structure, high mode conversion efficiency and high mode purity. However, the production process of conventional asymmetric mode selection couplers is more complicated. Therefore, in this paper, a symmetric two-mode coupler with a 1 μm band is designed and fabricated using the finite element method, beam propagation method and fused pull-cone method, and a set of all-fiber passive mode-locked lasers based on symmetric dual-mode couplers are constructed. Finally, we obtain cylindrical vector beam outputs with central wavelengths of 1038.97 nm/1067.72 nm, a repetition rate of 8.78 MHz, pulse durations of 660 ps/656 ps, maximum average powers of 5.25 mW/5.2 mW, and the high mode purity of TM (transverse magnetic)01 mode and TE (transverse electric)01 mode is 97.18% and 97.07%, respectively.

Oblique incidence-insensitive metamaterial absorber using strong magnetic coupling resonance for low-frequency microwave absorption

In this work, we presented an oblique incidence-insensitive metamaterial absorber (MA) based on the strong magnetic coupling resonance using the printed circuit board process, and the spacer is produced by a typical magnetic absorber material (MAM). As for reflection loss (RL) at oblique angles, it can achieve high-efficiency absorption for both transverse-electric (TE) and transverse-magnetic (TM) polarizations with a wide angular range from 0° to 60° in the low frequency of 2.33 GHz to 3.44 GHz. In addition, the magnetic coupling mechanism of the metamaterial absorber was deeply analyzed. Comparing the results of the simulation and experiment, it displays excellent absorption performance of the proposed absorber in TE and TM modes under large oblique incidence angles.

Numerical simulation of efficient solar absorbers and thermal emitters based on multilayer nanodisk arrays

In this work, we design a solar absorber and thermal emitter with ultra-broadband perfect absorption and high thermal radiation efficiency. The solar absorber has a high absorption efficiency of 91.5 % in the full wavelength range (280–4000 nm), and the weighted average absorption efficiency (AM1.5) is as high as 99 % by the finite difference time domain method (FDTD) simulation calculation. And the absorption bandwidth with absorption efficiency greater than 90 % reaches 2929 nm (280–3209 nm), and the average absorption efficiency in this band is as high as 97.4 %. Such strong absorption is due to the plasmon resonance and near-field coupling of the multilayer nanodisks. In addition to being used in solar absorbers, the structure also has potential applications in thermal emitters. The novelty of this work is to explore the application of the structure in the field of thermal radiation, and the optimal working temperature of the structure for thermal radiation is obtained. Through calculation, we approximately consider that the optimal working temperature of the structure as a thermal emitter is 2000 K, and the thermal radiation efficiency at this temperature is 94.8 %. The structure proposed by us is polarization-independent, insensitive to incident angle changes, the absorption spectra of transverse electric (TE) mode and transverse magnetic (TM) mode are the same, and the absorption efficiency remains 80 % even when the incident angle is increased to 60°. The excellent performance makes the structure widely used in the fields of solar energy absorption and emission.

Effects of orientational and positional randomness of particles on photonic band gap

A recent work [PRL, 126, 208002 (2021)] has explored how thermal noise-induced randomness in a self-assembled photonic crystal affects photonic band gaps (PBGs). For the system of a two-dimensional photonic crystal composed of a self-assembled array of rods with square cross sections, it was found that its PBGs can exist over an extensive range of packing densities. Counterintuitively, at intermediate packing densities, the transverse magnetic (TM) band gap of the self-assembled system can be larger than that of its corresponding perfect system (rods arranged in a perfect square lattice and having identical orientations). Due to shape anisotropicity, the randomness in the self-assembled system contains two kinds of randomness, i.e., positional and orientational randomness of the particles. In this work, we further investigate how PBGs are influenced solely by positional or orientational randomness. We find that compared to the perfect situation, the introduction of only orientational randomness decreases the transverse electric (TE) band gap while having no obvious effects on the transverse magnetic (TM) band gap. In contrast, the introduction of only positional randomness decreases the TE band gap significantly, while it can widen or narrow the TM band gap, depending on the parameter range. We also discuss the thermal (i.e., self-assembled) system where two kinds of randomness are present. Our study contributes to a better understanding of the role orientational randomness and positional randomness play on PBGs, and may benefit the PBG engineering of photonic crystals through self-assembly approaches.

Design of a bidirectional TM01(TE01)-LP01 mode converter with a metasurface-on-fiber.

Mode conversion is crucial for coupling a light source to a desired waveguide. While traditional mode converters such as fiber Bragg gratings and long-period fiber gratings exhibit high transmission and conversion efficiency, the mode conversion of two orthogonal polarizations remains challenging. Here, we present a bidirectional metasurface mode converter that can convert the transverse electric (TE)01 or transverse magnetic (TM)01 mode to the fundamental mode (LP01) with orthogonal polarization, and vice versa. The mode converter is located on a facet of a few-mode fiber and connected to a single mode fiber. Through simulations, we find that 99.9% of the TM01 or TE01 mode is converted into the x- or y-polarized LP01 mode, and that 99.96% of the x- or y-polarized LP01 mode is converted to the TM01 or TE01 mode. Furthermore, we expect a high transmission of over 84.5% for all mode conversions, up to 88.7% for TE01 to y-polarized LP01 conversion.

Wideband reflective half- and quarter-wave plate metasurface based on multi-plasmon resonances

In this article, a single-layer reflective anisotropic metasurface (MS) is proposed, which presents both half- and quarter-wave plate operation in different microwave frequency regimes. The unit cell of the proposed metasurface consists of a tilted rectangular plane with triangular ends accompanied by an equidistant-filled triangle on both sides. The unit cell is printed on a dielectric substrate backed by a metallic plane. The proposed meta-plate transforms horizontal polarization into vertical and vice versa in two wide frequency bands, 7.1-15.3 GHz and 19.8-21.7 GHz. Similarly, a linearly polarized (LP) wave is transformed into a circularly polarized (CP) wave and vice versa at 7.9 GHz and 21.8 GHz. The wide bandwidth is acquired through three plasmonic resonances occurring at 8.2 GHz, 12.7 GHz and 20.8 GHz, where the cross-polarization conversion ratio reaches almost 100%. Moreover, quarter and half-wave plate operations occurring at 7.9 GHz and 7.1-15.3 GHz, respectively, are robust to changes in oblique incidence angle (up to 45°) both for transverse-electric (TE) and transverse-magnetic (TM) polarizations. The physical mechanism behind polarization conversion is also explained through surface current distribution. The proposed meta-plate structure is fabricated and validated through experimental measurements. The wide bandwidth, high efficiency, angular stability, and simple structure make the proposed metastructure incredible for numerous microwave applications such as antennas, radars, and satellite communication.

Anisotropic Thermo‐Optic Mach–Zehnder Interferometer on LNOI for Polarization Handling and Multiplexing

AbstractThin‐film lithium niobate (LN) on insulator (LNOI) is emerging as a promising integrated photonic platform. Thermo‐optic (TO) Mach–Zehnder interferometers (MZIs) on LNOI are demonstrated to be a viable and often preferred alternative to their electro‐optic counterparts for low‐speed and static applications, where stability and repeatability are crucial. Harnessing the unique and strong anisotropic TO effect of LN, a novel and versatile anisotropic TO MZI on x‐cut LNOI for polarization handling and multiplexing is proposed and experimentally implemented. Each MZI arm consists of a two‐section anisotropic TO phase shifter along the y‐ and z‐directions of the LN crystal, leading to anisotropic temperature dependence of the effective refractive indices for the transverse‐electric (TE) and transverse‐magnetic (TM) polarizations. A polarization‐insensitive switch and a polarization beam splitter are implemented with the MZI device, which features low excess loss of ≈0.2–1.8 dB and a high extinction ratio of ≈20–45 dB in the telecom C‐band (1530–1565 nm). More intriguingly, arbitrary splitting ratios and even arbitrary combinations of unitary transmission matrices can be further implemented for both polarizations simultaneously. The versatile configurations of this anisotropic TO MZI have important implications for large‐scale photonic computing and interconnect.

Multiband polarization insensitive metamaterial absorber for radar cross-section reduction

In this paper, a polarization-insensitive, metamaterial absorber with more than 91 % absorptivity is investigated numerically and experimentally for radar cross-section reduction at X, Ku, and K bands. The unit cell structure of the absorber is comprised of a symmetrically arranged defective L-shaped patch made of copper metal, which is imprinted on a metal-backed FR-4 lossy dielectric substrate. The proposed absorber yields multiband absorption response at distinct absorption peaks at 11.1, 15.5, and 16.3 GHz along with the broadband response of 4.8 GHz from 18.6 to 23.4 GHz (absorption peaks at 18.9, 20, 21.9, and 23 GHz) in the absorption spectra. The Characteristic mode analysis has been carried out and presented to verify the modes and resonance in the structure. The physical absorption phenomenon is clarified by presenting the induced electric field, top and bottom surface current distribution, and various retrieved constitutive electromagnetic parameters. The structure is studied for various polarization angles for both transverse electric (TE) and transverse magnetic (TM) waves at normal incidence which shows strict insensitivity to the direction of arrival of electromagnetic(EM) signal. The structure is also investigated under oblique incidence for both TE and TM waves where the response holds good up to 50° incident angles in both cases. The novelty of the proposed absorber lies in its multiband response at X, Ku, and K bands through a unique metallic pattern on a thin FR-4 substrate along with characteristics of broadband, polarization insensitiveness, wide incidence angle independence, and compactness incorporated in a single and simple design without using external components. A prototype of the absorber has been fabricated and simulated results are validated with measured results. All the above-mentioned attributes in a simple design make it commercially suitable for radar cross-section (RCS) reduction and energy harvesting applications at X, Ku, and K bands.

Multi-functional dual-path self-aligned polarization interference lithography.

Manufacturing sharp features is one of the most desired requirements for lithography. Here, we demonstrate a dual-path self-aligned polarization interference lithography (Dp-SAP IL) for fabricating periodic nanostructures, featuring high-steepness and high-uniformization. Meanwhile, it can manufacture quasicrystals with adjustable rotation symmetry. We reveal the change of the non-orthogonality degree under different polarization states and incident angles. We find that incident light's transverse electric (TE) wave results in high interference contrast at arbitrary incident angles, with a minimum contrast of 0.9328, that is, realizing the self-alignment of the polarization state of incident light and reflected light. We experimentally demonstrate this approach by fabricating a series of diffraction gratings with periods ranging from 238.3 nm to 851.6 nm. The steepness of each grating is greater than 85 degrees. Different from the traditional interference lithography system, Dp-SAP IL realizes a structure color using two mutually perpendicular and non-interference paths. One path is for the photolithography of patterns onto the sample, and the other path is for generating nanostructures on the patterns. Our technique showcases the feasibility of obtaining high contrast interference fringes by simply tuning the polarization, with the potential for cost-effective manufacturing of nanostructures such as quasicrystals and structure color.

Structure-independent flat bands induced by discontinuity plasma-air interface in photonic crystals

The band structures of transverse electric (TE) polarized dispersive photonic crystals are generally more complicated than those of transverse magnetic (TM) polarized photonic crystals. Here, by simplifying the governing equations of a TE polarized dispersion system and conducting the band structure analysis, we deduce the Hermitian eigenstates of the vector electric field. The results exhibit the double degeneracy eigenstates in the triangular lattice for lower eigenfrequencies and numerous plasmon-induced flat band modes in the interface of the plasma and air for higher eigenfrequencies. Moreover, we illustrate that the surface plasmon modes tend to present the quantized eigenfrequencies, which is due to the boundary condition imposed by the cylindrical geometry. However, when the eigenfrequency approaches the surface plasma frequency, the localization of the field on the boundary becomes stronger, which weakens the coupling between sites and reduces the dependence of the flat bands on the lattice structure. Unlike the generation mechanism of the lattice-induced flat bands, such plasma frequency-dependent localization at the interface enables a robust flat band characteristic immune to the lattice disorder and provides a novel degree of freedom to control the energy band. Our findings are expected to be useful for electromagnetic wave manipulation and field enhancement.