Helicity dependent directional surface plasmon polariton excitation using a metasurface with interfacial phase discontinuity
TL;DR: Huang et al. as mentioned in this paper demonstrated a reconfigurable, unidirectional coupling scheme for excitation of collective oscillations of the electrons at a metal surface, the so-called surface plasmon-polaritons.
Abstract: Researchers have now demonstrated a reconfigurable, unidirectional coupling scheme for excitation of collective oscillations of the electrons at a metal surface, the so-called surface plasmon-polaritons. Lingling Huang and co-workers achieved an efficient and controllable coupling of photons in free space to these surface states on a metal film — a task important for the future development of nanoscale optoelectronic circuitry — by employing a nanostructured thin metal film on a glass substrate. The nanostructured metal film features an array of rectangular nano-apertures arranged in a carefully designed orientation and pattern. Such a ‘plasmonic metasurface’ couples photons to surface plasmon-polaritons while depending crucially on the circular polarization state of the incident light. As a result, when circularly polarized light strikes the surface, the handedness of the light dictates the propagation direction of the resulting surface plasmon-polaritons.
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TL;DR: The design of the hologram integrates a ground metal plane with a geometric metasurface that enhances the conversion efficiency between the two circular polarization states, leading to high diffraction efficiency without complicating the fabrication process.
Abstract: Using a metasurface comprising an array of nanorods with different orientations and a backreflector, a hologram image can be obtained in the visible and near-infrared with limited loss of light intensity.
2,075 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors provide an overview of the fundamental origins and important applications of the main spin-orbit interaction phenomena in modern optics that play a crucial role at subwavelength scales, including spin-Hall effects in inhomogeneous media and at optical interfaces, spindependent effects in non-paraxial (focused or scattered) fields, spin-controlled shaping of light using anisotropic structured interfaces (metasurfaces).
Abstract: This Review article provides an overview of the fundamental origins and important applications of the main spin–orbit interaction phenomena in modern optics that play a crucial role at subwavelength scales. Light carries both spin and orbital angular momentum. These dynamical properties are determined by the polarization and spatial degrees of freedom of light. Nano-optics, photonics and plasmonics tend to explore subwavelength scales and additional degrees of freedom of structured — that is, spatially inhomogeneous — optical fields. In such fields, spin and orbital properties become strongly coupled with each other. In this Review we cover the fundamental origins and important applications of the main spin–orbit interaction phenomena in optics. These include: spin-Hall effects in inhomogeneous media and at optical interfaces, spin-dependent effects in nonparaxial (focused or scattered) fields, spin-controlled shaping of light using anisotropic structured interfaces (metasurfaces) and robust spin-directional coupling via evanescent near fields. We show that spin–orbit interactions are inherent in all basic optical processes, and that they play a crucial role in modern optics.
1,642 citations
TL;DR: Huang et al. as mentioned in this paper developed ultrathin plasmonic metasurfaces to provide 3D optical holographic image reconstruction in the visible and near-infrared regions for circularly polarized light.
Abstract: Holographic techniques allow for the construction of 3D images by controlling the wave front of light beams. Huang et al. develop ultrathin plasmonic metasurfaces to provide 3D optical holographic image reconstruction in the visible and near-infrared regions for circularly polarized light.
1,129 citations
TL;DR: In this article, an ultrathin invisibility skin cloak is proposed to cover a 3D arbitrarily shaped object by complete restoration of the phase of the reflected light at 730-nanometer wavelength.
Abstract: Metamaterial-based optical cloaks have thus far used volumetric distribution of the material properties to gradually bend light and thereby obscure the cloaked region Hence, they are bulky and hard to scale up and, more critically, typical carpet cloaks introduce unnecessary phase shifts in the reflected light, making the cloaks detectable Here, we demonstrate experimentally an ultrathin invisibility skin cloak wrapped over an object This skin cloak conceals a three-dimensional arbitrarily shaped object by complete restoration of the phase of the reflected light at 730-nanometer wavelength The skin cloak comprises a metasurface with distributed phase shifts rerouting light and rendering the object invisible In contrast to bulky cloaks with volumetric index variation, our device is only 80 nanometer (about one-ninth of the wavelength) thick and potentially scalable for hiding macroscopic objects
870 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a uniform array of silicon nanodisks can exhibit close-to-unity transmission at resonance in the visible spectrum, and a single-layer gradient metasurface utilizing this concept is shown to achieve around 45% transmission into the desired order.
Abstract: Recently, metasurfaces have received increasing attention due to their ability to locally manipulate the amplitude, phase and polarization of light with high spatial resolution. Transmissive metasurfaces based on high-index dielectric materials are particularly interesting due to the low intrinsic losses and compatibility with standard industrial processes. Here, it is demonstrated numerically and experimentally that a uniform array of silicon nanodisks can exhibit close-to-unity transmission at resonance in the visible spectrum. A single-layer gradient metasurface utilizing this concept is shown to achieve around 45% transmission into the desired order. These values represent an improvement over existing state-of-the-art, and are the result of simultaneous excitation and mutual interference of magnetic and electric-dipole resonances in the nanodisks, which enables directional forward scattering with a broad bandwidth. Due to CMOS compatibility and the relative ease of fabrication, this approach is promising for creation of novel flat optical devices.
599 citations
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TL;DR: By altering the structure of a metal's surface, the properties of surface plasmons—in particular their interaction with light—can be tailored, which could lead to miniaturized photonic circuits with length scales that are much smaller than those currently achieved.
Abstract: Surface plasmons are waves that propagate along the surface of a conductor. By altering the structure of a metal's surface, the properties of surface plasmons--in particular their interaction with light--can be tailored, which offers the potential for developing new types of photonic device. This could lead to miniaturized photonic circuits with length scales that are much smaller than those currently achieved. Surface plasmons are being explored for their potential in subwavelength optics, data storage, light generation, microscopy and bio-photonics.
10,689 citations
TL;DR: Recent advances at the intersection of plasmonics and photovoltaics are surveyed and an outlook on the future of solar cells based on these principles is offered.
Abstract: The emerging field of plasmonics has yielded methods for guiding and localizing light at the nanoscale, well below the scale of the wavelength of light in free space. Now plasmonics researchers are turning their attention to photovoltaics, where design approaches based on plasmonics can be used to improve absorption in photovoltaic devices, permitting a considerable reduction in the physical thickness of solar photovoltaic absorber layers, and yielding new options for solar-cell design. In this review, we survey recent advances at the intersection of plasmonics and photovoltaics and offer an outlook on the future of solar cells based on these principles.
8,028 citations
Book•
15 May 2007
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors discuss the role of surface plasmon polaritons at metal/insulator interfaces and their application in the propagation of surfaceplasmon waveguides.
Abstract: Fundamentals of Plasmonics.- Electromagnetics of Metals.- Surface Plasmon Polaritons at Metal / Insulator Interfaces.- Excitation of Surface Plasmon Polaritons at Planar Interfaces.- Imaging Surface Plasmon Polariton Propagation.- Localized Surface Plasmons.- Electromagnetic Surface Modes at Low Frequencies.- Applications.- Plasmon Waveguides.- Transmission of Radiation Through Apertures and Films.- Enhancement of Emissive Processes and Nonlinearities.- Spectroscopy and Sensing.- Metamaterials and Imaging with Surface Plasmon Polaritons.- Concluding Remarks.
7,238 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a two-dimensional array of optical resonators with spatially varying phase response and subwavelength separation can imprint phase discontinuities on propagating light as it traverses the interface between two media.
Abstract: Conventional optical components rely on gradual phase shifts accumulated during light propagation to shape light beams. New degrees of freedom are attained by introducing abrupt phase changes over the scale of the wavelength. A two-dimensional array of optical resonators with spatially varying phase response and subwavelength separation can imprint such phase discontinuities on propagating light as it traverses the interface between two media. Anomalous reflection and refraction phenomena are observed in this regime in optically thin arrays of metallic antennas on silicon with a linear phase variation along the interface, which are in excellent agreement with generalized laws derived from Fermat’s principle. Phase discontinuities provide great flexibility in the design of light beams, as illustrated by the generation of optical vortices through use of planar designer metallic interfaces.
6,763 citations
TL;DR: This paper introduces the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) sensor and describes how its exquisite sensitivity to size, shape and environment can be harnessed to detect molecular binding events and changes in molecular conformation.
Abstract: Recent developments have greatly improved the sensitivity of optical sensors based on metal nanoparticle arrays and single nanoparticles. We introduce the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) sensor and describe how its exquisite sensitivity to size, shape and environment can be harnessed to detect molecular binding events and changes in molecular conformation. We then describe recent progress in three areas representing the most significant challenges: pushing sensitivity towards the single-molecule detection limit, combining LSPR with complementary molecular identification techniques such as surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, and practical development of sensors and instrumentation for routine use and high-throughput detection. This review highlights several exceptionally promising research directions and discusses how diverse applications of plasmonic nanoparticles can be integrated in the near future.
6,352 citations