PECASE: Parity-Time Symmetric Nanophotonic Materials and Metamaterials
Abstract
The aim of the program was to develop a new class of nanoscale optical components and devices capable of lossless, asymmetric,nonlinear, and non-reciprocal light propagation across wavelength and sub-wavelength scales. Key Accomplishments from 2014 to 2019 included: (1) Design of nanoscale optical diodes; (2) Design of nanoscale optical isolators; (3) The first high-quality factor phase gradient metasurfaces; (4) Design of PT-symmetric plasmonic apertures for polarization rotation; (5) Design of broadband non-Hermitian metamaterials; and (6) Enantioselective optical trapping. In the final year of the grant, key accomplishments include: 1. Design and fabrication of the first high-quality (high-Q) factor phase gradient metasurfaces. These metasurfaces have Q-factors in the thousands, and enable arbitrary optical transfer functions like beam-steering, beam-splitting, and lensing. They lay the foundation for efficient nonlinear and electro-optic modulation of metasurfaces. 2. Design of power-limiting lenses based on high-Q metasurfaces. We designed high-Q lenses, and use the intrinsic nonlinearity of Si to modulate the focal intensity and focal length. These lenses operate in the near-infrared, and several high-Q resonances can be embedded in the structure for multiplexed operation. 3. A new method for self-isolated lasing, based on high-Q chiral metasurfaces. We designed a sub-micron-thick lasing cavity that is inherently protected from reflections. This device utilizes spin-selective selection rules in Raman lasers with a circularly-polarized pump. A signal with an arbitrary polarization state transmits with amplification in one direction, but its reflection is suppressed by approximately an order of magnitude in the metasurface cavity, resulting in isolation.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 31, 2020
- Accession Number
- AD1111628
Entities
People
- Jennifer Dionne
Organizations
- Stanford University