Somnath Ghosh

Bio: Somnath Ghosh is an academic researcher from Indian Institute of Technology, Jodhpur. The author has contributed to research in topics: Microstructured optical fiber & Optical fiber. The author has an hindex of 28, co-authored 287 publications receiving 3318 citations. Previous affiliations of Somnath Ghosh include University of Calcutta & Indian Institute of Science.

Nonadiabatic Modal Dynamics Around Exceptional Points in an All-Lossy Dual-Mode Optical Waveguide: Toward Chirality-Driven Asymmetric Mode Conversion

Abstract: Recent technological advances have boosted research related to $e\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}x\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}c\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}e\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}p\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}t\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}i\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}o\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}n\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}a\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}l$ $p\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}o\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}i\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}n\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}t\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}s$ (EPs), singularities arising in non-Hermitian quantum mechanics that once seemed purely mathematical. Device-level implementation of EPs has been primarily in gain-loss-balanced toroidal optical microcavities, but too much gain can cause such a system to become unstable. This study proposes an all-lossy dual-mode planar waveguide structure, in which the topological properties of an EP are achieved by patterning the longitudinal loss profile only. This scheme needs no active pumping, is accessible to many conventional optical elements, and offers a platform for topological control of light signals.

Exceptional Point and Toward Mode Selective Optical Isolation

Abstract: Dynamical encirclement of an Exceptional Point (EP) and corresponding time-asymmetric mode evolution properties due to breakdown in adiabatic theorem have been a key to range of exotic physical effects in various open atomic, molecular and optical systems. Here, exploiting a gain-loss assisted dual-mode optical waveguide that hosts a dynamical EP-encirclement scheme, we have explored enhanced nonreciprocal effect in the dynamics of light with onset of saturable nonlinearity in the optical medium. We propose a prototype waveguide-based isolation scheme with judicious tuning of nonlinearity level where one can pass only a chosen mode in any of the desired directions as per device requirement. The deliberate presence of EP enormously enhances the nonreciprocal transmission contrast even up to 40 dB over the proposed device length with a scope of further scalability. This exclusive topologically robust mode selective all-optical isolation scheme will certainly offer opportunities in integrated photonic circuits for efficient coupling operation from external sources and improve device performances.

Tuning vertical alignment and field emission properties of multi-walled carbon nanotube bundles

Abstract: We report the growth of vertically aligned carbon nanotube bundles on Si substrate by thermal chemical vapor deposition technique. Vertical alignment was achieved without any carrier gas or lithography-assisted deposition. Growth has been carried out at 850 °C for different quantities of solution of xylene and ferrocene ranging from 2.25 to 3.00 ml in steps of 0.25 ml at a fixed concentration of 0.02 gm (ferrocene) per ml. To understand the growth mechanism, deposition was carried out for different concentrations of the solution by changing only the ferrocene quantity, ranging from 0.01 to 0.03 gm/ml. A tunable vertical alignment of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) has been achieved by this process and examined by scanning and transmission electron microscopic techniques. Micro-crystalline structural analysis has been done using Raman spectroscopy. A systematic variation in field emission (FE) current density has been observed. The highest FE current density is seen for the film grown with 0.02 gm/ml concentration, which is attributed to the better alignment of CNTs, less structural disorder and less entanglement of CNTs on the surface. The alignment of CNTs has been qualitatively understood on the basis of self-assembled catalytic particles.

I and i

Abstract: There is, I think, something ethereal about i —the square root of minus one. I remember first hearing about it at school. It seemed an odd beast at that time—an intruder hovering on the edge of reality. Usually familiarity dulls this sense of the bizarre, but in the case of i it was the reverse: over the years the sense of its surreal nature intensified. It seemed that it was impossible to write mathematics that described the real world in …

Exceptional points in optics and photonics.

Abstract: BACKGROUND Singularities are critical points for which the behavior of a mathematical model governing a physical system is of a fundamentally different nature compared to the neighboring points. Exceptional points are spectral singularities in the parameter space of a system in which two or more eigenvalues, and their corresponding eigenvectors, simultaneously coalesce. Such degeneracies are peculiar features of nonconservative systems that exchange energy with their surrounding environment. In the past two decades, there has been a growing interest in investigating such nonconservative systems, particularly in connection with the quantum mechanics notions of parity-time symmetry, after the realization that some non-Hermitian Hamiltonians exhibit entirely real spectra. Lately, non-Hermitian systems have raised considerable attention in photonics, given that optical gain and loss can be integrated as nonconservative ingredients to create artificial materials and structures with altogether new optical properties. ADVANCES As we introduce gain and loss in a nanophotonic system, the emergence of exceptional point singularities dramatically alters the overall response, leading to a range of exotic functionalities associated with abrupt phase transitions in the eigenvalue spectrum. Even though such a peculiar effect has been known theoretically for several years, its controllable realization has not been made possible until recently and with advances in exploiting gain and loss in guided-wave photonic systems. As shown in a range of recent theoretical and experimental works, this property creates opportunities for ultrasensitive measurements and for manipulating the modal content of multimode lasers. In addition, adiabatic parametric evolution around exceptional points provides interesting schemes for topological energy transfer and designing mode and polarization converters in photonics. Lately, non-Hermitian degeneracies have also been exploited for the design of laser systems, new nonlinear optics phenomena, and exotic scattering features in open systems. OUTLOOK Thus far, non-Hermitian systems have been largely disregarded owing to the dominance of the Hermitian theories in most areas of physics. Recent advances in the theory of non-Hermitian systems in connection with exceptional point singularities has revolutionized our understanding of such complex systems. In the context of optics and photonics, in particular, this topic is highly important because of the ubiquity of nonconservative elements of gain and loss. In this regard, the theoretical developments in the field of non-Hermitian physics have allowed us to revisit some of the well-established platforms with a new angle of utilizing gain and loss as new degrees of freedom, in stark contrast with the traditional approach of avoiding these elements. On the experimental front, progress in fabrication technologies has allowed for harnessing gain and loss in chip-scale photonic systems. These theoretical and experimental developments have put forward new schemes for controlling the functionality of micro- and nanophotonic devices. This is mainly based on the anomalous parameter dependence in the response of non-Hermitian systems when operating around exceptional point singularities. Such effects can have important ramifications in controlling light in new nanophotonic device designs, which are fundamentally based on engineering the interplay of coupling and dissipation and amplification mechanisms in multimode systems. Potential applications of such designs reside in coupled-cavity laser sources with better coherence properties, coupled nonlinear resonators with engineered dispersion, compact polarization and spatial mode converters, and highly efficient reconfigurable diffraction surfaces. In addition, the notion of the exceptional point provides opportunities to take advantage of the inevitable dissipation in environments such as plasmonic and semiconductor materials, which play a key role in optoelectronics. Finally, emerging platforms such as optomechanical cavities provide opportunities to investigate exceptional points and their associated phenomena in multiphysics systems.