Schematic diagram of a metagrid that converts usually incident gentle into unidirectional SPPs. The unit cell of the metagrating consists of two completely different nanostructures and induces tailor-made optical losses. Credit: POSTECH
Scientists from Korea’s POSTECH and the US’ Northeastern University have efficiently manipulated gentle utilizing non-Hermitian meta-gratings, turning optical loss right into a useful instrument. They’ve developed a brand new technique for controlling gentle route utilizing specifically designed meta-grating couplers. This breakthrough may advance quantum sensor analysis and result in a variety of recent functions, reminiscent of illness analysis and air pollution detection.
Light is a really delicate and susceptible bodily phenomenon. Light may be absorbed or mirrored on the floor of a cloth relying on the matter’s properties or change its type and be transformed into thermal power. Upon reaching a metallic materials’s floor, gentle additionally tends to lose power to the electrons contained in the metallic, a broad vary of phenomena we name “optical loss.”
Production of ultra-small optical components that make the most of gentle in numerous methods may be very tough for the reason that smaller the scale of an optical part leads to a better optical loss. However, lately, the non-Hermitian concept, which makes use of optical loss in a wholly completely different manner, has been utilized to optics analysis. New findings in physics are being made adopting non-Hermitian concept that embraces optical loss, exploring methods to utilize the phenomenon, in contrast to basic physics the place optical loss is perceived as an imperfect part of an optical system. A ‘blessing in disguise’ is that which initially appears to be a catastrophe however which finally leads to good luck. This analysis story is a blessing in disguise in physics.
Visualization of sunshine incident on a metagrating and its conversion into unidirectional SPPs. (Simulation) Credit: POSTECH
Prof. Junsuk Rho (Departments of Mechanical Engineering and Chemical Engineering) from POSTECH and PhD candidates Heonyeong Jeong and Seokwoo Kim (Mechanical Engineering) from POSTECH, and Prof. Yongmin Liu of Northeastern University (NEU) in Boston and their joint analysis group had been capable of management the route of sunshine beams utilizing non-Hermitian meta-grating methods. The paper was featured in Science Advances, the international academic journal.
When light is incident on a metal surface, the electrons in the metal oscillate collectively as a single body with the light wave. The phenomenon is called surface plasmon polariton or SPP. A ‘grating coupler’ is widely used as an auxiliary device to control the directions of the SPPs. The efficiency of the device is limited in that it converts the right-angle incident light into SPPs in unintended directions.
Observation of the interference pattern between the SPP propagating to the right and the SPP reflected by the metagrating. Due to the unidirectionality of the metagrating, the SPP does not transmit through the metagrid in the opposite direction. Credit: POSTECH
The research team applied non-Hermitian theory to overcome the drawback. To start, the team calculated the theoretical exceptional point near which a certain optical loss occurs. Then, they validated its effectiveness through experiments using their specially designed non-Hermitian meta-grating coupler. The meta-grating coupler proved effective in providing unidirectional control of SSPs, which was nearly impossible with other grating couplers. They also could make light and SPP propagate in opposite directions by controlling the size and distance of meta-gratings. The research team was able to achieve the conversion of incident light into SSPs back to normal light using the same meta-grating device.
The research findings can be useful in quantum sensor research in various areas, such as detection of antigens for disease diagnosis or harmful gases in the atmosphere, which, combined with engineering, could open the door to a wide range of applications. Prof. Junsuk Rho, who led the team, said, “This research brought non-Hermitian optics to the nano-scale territory. It will contribute to the development of future plasmonic devices that have excellent direction controllability and performance.”
Reference: “Subwavelength control of light transport at the exceptional point by non-Hermitian metagratings” by Yihao Xu, Lin Li, Heonyeong Jeong, Seokwoo Kim, Inki Kim, Junsuk Rho and Yongmin Liu, 12 May 2023, Science Advances.
DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adf3510
The research was funded by the US National Science Foundation, Samsung Science and Technology Foundation, and the National Research Foundation of Korea.
