Engineering Photonic Nanomaterials for Transport Control
Abstract
The objective of this proposal is to design nanostructured photonic materials to achieve coherent control of light transport. If photonic materials are microscopically disordered, optical waves are randomly scattered in all directions, and the incoherent transport of light is described by the diffusion process. To overcome the fundamental limitations imposed by random scattering and incoherent diffusion, we explore the coherent control of wave transport. By manipulating the interference of scattered waves, the way light propagates in a strongly scattering medium can be fundamentally altered, in violation of the standard random walk (diffusive) behavior. Extremetransport behavior, such as 100% transmission of light through a multiple scattering medium, becomes possible. A laser beam, with properly tailored wavefront, can be focused deep into a turbid medium, allowing the targeted delivery of energy. The proposed experimental and numerical studies aim to find the optimal photonic nanomaterials for efficient, deterministic control of coherent wave transport. The deterministic aperiodic structures with varying degree of spatial correlations will be designed and fabricated. In addition,the structural anisotropy and the spatial inhomogeneity will be engineered to steer light flow and tailor the spatial distribution of energy intensity inside the photonic nanomaterials. Another goal is to control wave transport in nonlinear dynamic materials. Nonlinear perturbations of the refractive indices via optical pumping result in spatial and temporal modulations of photonicnanomaterials, leading to emergent spatial-temporal behaviors of light transport.The proposed work may bring conceptual and technological breakthroughs in coherent control of wave transport in photonic nanomaterials. It will pave the way for the inverse design of photonic nanomaterials for desired transport behaviors.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Mar 11, 2020
- Source ID
- N000142012197
Entities
People
- Hui Cao
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy
- Yale University