Showing papers on "Transformation optics published in 2017"

Information metamaterials and metasurfaces

Abstract: Traditionally, “metamaterials” have been described by effective medium parameters due to the subwavelength nature of unit particles. The continuous nature of medium parameters makes traditional metamaterials behave as analog metamaterials. Recently, the concept of coding metamaterials or “metasurfaces” has been proposed, in which metamaterials are characterized by digital coding particles of “0” and “1” with opposite phase responses. It has been demonstrated that electromagnetic waves can be manipulated by changing the coding sequences of “0” and “1”. The coding particles provide a link between the physical world and digital world, leading to digital metamaterials and even field programmable metamaterials, which can be used to control electromagnetic waves in real time. The digital coding representation of metamaterials or metasurfaces can also allow the concepts and signal processing methods in information science to be introduced to physical metamaterials, thereby realizing extreme control of electromagnetic waves. Such studies have set the foundation of information metamaterials and metasurfaces. In this review article, the coding, digital, and field programmable metamaterials and metasurfaces are systematically summarized and analyzed with particular emphases on the information and digital convolution aspects. The future trend of information metamaterial/metasurface is predicted, including software-defined metamaterials/metasurfaces and cognitive metamaterials/metasurfaces.

Topology optimization of anisotropic broadband double-negative elastic metamaterials

Abstract: As the counterpart of electromagnetic and acoustic metamaterials, elastic metamaterials are artificial periodic elastic composite materials offering the possibility to manipulate elastic wave propagation in the subwavelength scale through different mechanisms. For the promising superlensing in the medical ultrasonic detection, double-negative metamaterials possessing the negative effective mass density and elastic modulus simultaneously can be utilized as the ideal superlens for breaking the diffraction limit. In this paper, we present a topology optimization scheme to design the two-dimensional (2D) single-phase anisotropic elastic metamaterials with broadband double-negative effective material properties and demonstrate the superlensing effect at the deep-subwavelength scale. We also discuss the impact of several design parameters adopted in the objective function and constraints on the optimized results. Unlike all previously reported mechanisms, the present optimized structures exhibit the novel quadrupolar or multipolar resonances for the negative effective mass density and negative effective elastic modulus. In addition, negative refraction of the transverse waves in a single-phase material is observed. Most optimized structures in this paper can serve as the anisotropic zero-index metamaterials for the longitudinal or transverse waves at a certain frequency. The cloaking effect is demonstrated for both the longitudinal and transverse waves. Moreover, with the particular constraints in the optimization procedure, a super-anisotropic metamaterial exhibiting the double-negative and hyperbolic dispersions in two principal directions within two different frequency ranges is obtained. The developed optimization scheme provides a robust computational tool for negative-index engineering of elastic metamaterials and may guide the design and optimization of other types of metamaterials, including the electromagnetic and acoustic metamaterials. The unusual properties of our optimized structures can inspire new ideas and novel applications including the low-frequency vibration attenuation, flat lens and ultrasonography for elastic waves.

Engineering the magnetic plasmon resonances of metamaterials for high-quality sensing.

Abstract: We present a powerful method to enhance the magnetic plasmon (MP) resonances of metamaterials composed of periodic arrays of U-shaped metallic split-ring resonators (SRRs) for high-quality sensing. We show that by suspending the metamaterials to reduce the effect of the substrate, the strong diffraction coupling of MP resonances can be achieved, which leads to a narrow-band mixed MP mode with a large magnetic field enhancement. It is also shown that for such a diffraction coupling, the magnetic field component of the lattice resonance mode of periodic arrays must be parallel to the induced magnetic moment in the metallic SRRs. Importantly, the sensitivity and the figure of merit (FOM) of the suspended metamaterials can reach as high as 1300 nm/RIU and 40, respectively. These results suggest that the proposed metamaterials may find great potential applications in label-free biomedical sensing.

Implementing Quantum Search Algorithm with Metamaterials.

Abstract: Metamaterials, artificially structured electromagnetic (EM) materials, have enabled the realization of many unconventional EM properties not found in nature, such as negative refractive index, magnetic response, invisibility cloaking, and so on. Based on these man-made materials with novel EM properties, various devices are designed and realized. However, quantum analog devices based on metamaterials have not been achieved so far. Here, metamaterials are designed and printed to perform quantum search algorithm. The structures, comprising of an array of 2D subwavelength air holes with different radii perforated on the dielectric layer, are fabricated using a 3D-printing technique. When an incident wave enters in the designed metamaterials, the profile of beam wavefront is processed iteratively as it propagates through the metamaterial periodically. After ≈N roundtrips, precisely the same as the efficiency of quantum search algorithm, searched items will be found with the incident wave all focusing on the marked positions. Such a metamaterial-based quantum searching simulator may lead to remarkable achievements in wave-based signal processors.

Steady method to retrieve effective electromagnetic parameters of bianisotropic metamaterials at one incident direction in the terahertz region

Abstract: We propose a steady method to extract the effective constitutive parameters of a slab of bianisotropic split-ring resonator metamaterial from reflection and transmission coefficients. The effective permittivity, permeability and magnetoelectric coupling coefficient of bianisotropic metamaterial can be simply retrieved by our derived analytical inversion equations. In our retrieval method, the transmission and reflection coefficients in only one direction of wave propagation were applied. The method was verified by the retrieval constitutive parameters for different metamaterials, among which one is isotropic structure and the other one is bianisotropic metamaterial. The intrinsic difference between the normal isotropic metamaterial and the bianisotropic metamaterial was evidently revealed. The resonant characteristic of the split ring resonator metamaterial including electric coupling to magnetic resonance was verified by the extracted effective constitutive parameters. The proposed method can be effectively applied in investigation of bianisotropic performance of metamaterials.

Self-Focusing and the Talbot Effect in Conformal Transformation Optics

Abstract: Transformation optics has been used to propose various novel optical devices. With the help of metamaterials, several intriguing designs, such as invisibility cloaks, have been implemented. However, as the basic units should be much smaller than the working wavelengths to achieve the effective material parameters, and the sizes of devices should be much larger than the wavelengths of illumination to work within the light-ray approximation, it is a big challenge to implement an experimental system that works simultaneously for both geometric optics and wave optics. In this Letter, by using a gradient-index microstructured optical waveguide, we realize a device of conformal transformation optics (CTO) and demonstrate its self-focusing property for geometry optics and the Talbot effect for wave optics. In addition, the Talbot effect in such a system has a potential application to transfer digital information without diffraction. Our findings demonstrate the photon controlling ability of CTO in a feasible experiment system.

Terahertz Reflecting and Transmitting Metasurfaces

Abstract: Bridging the terahertz gap requires synergism between the microwave and photonic communities. Advances in each of these two communities are often complementary but sometimes overlooked. One example is the manipulation of waves, known as anomalous diffraction via the use of metamaterials. This is achieved by controlling the surface impedance of each pixel at the interface of two different materials or alternately the phase and magnitude of the wave diffracted off the pixel. In this paper, a review of developments in wave manipulation from microwave to optical frequencies is presented, together with our new results in the terahertz regime. Generation of phase curves for pixel design requires a priori information on material properties at terahertz frequencies. Fabrication of terahertz devices entails micromachining in the clean room while their experimental validation demands both amplitude and phase information. Through judicial selection of practices in microwave and photonic communities, we can further the exploration of wave phenomena at terahertz frequencies.

Transformation Optics: From Classic Theory and Applications to its New Branches

Abstract: In the modern world, the ability to manipulate and control electromagnetic waves has greatly changed people's lives. Novel optical and electromagnetic phenomena and devices will lead to new scientific trends and techniques in the future. The exploration of new theories of optical design and new materials for optical engineering has attracted great attention in recent years. Transformation optics (TO) provides a new way to design optical devices with extraordinary predesigned functions such as invisibility cloaks and electromagnetic wormholes. As the development of artificial electromagnetic media (e.g. metamaterials and metasurfaces) progresses, many of these novel optical devices designed by TO have been experimentally demonstrated and used in specific applications. Starting from the basic theory of transformation optics, we review its applications, extensions, new branches and recent developments in this paper.

Meta-Chirality: Fundamentals, Construction and Applications.

Abstract: Chiral metamaterials represent a special type of artificial structures that cannot be superposed to their mirror images. Due to the lack of mirror symmetry, cross-coupling between electric and magnetic fields exist in chiral mediums and present unique electromagnetic characters of circular dichroism and optical activity, which provide a new opportunity to tune polarization and realize negative refractive index. Chiral metamaterials have attracted great attentions in recent years and have given rise to a series of applications in polarization manipulation, imaging, chemical and biological detection, and nonlinear optics. Here we review the fundamental theory of chiral media and analyze the construction principles of some typical chiral metamaterials. Then, the progress in extrinsic chiral metamaterials, absorbing chiral metamaterials, and reconfigurable chiral metamaterials are summarized. In the last section, future trends in chiral metamaterials and application in nonlinear optics are introduced.

Acoustic wave science realized by metamaterials.

Abstract: Artificially structured materials with unit cells at sub-wavelength scale, known as metamaterials, have been widely used to precisely control and manipulate waves thanks to their unconventional properties which cannot be found in nature. In fact, the field of acoustic metamaterials has been much developed over the past 15 years and still keeps developing. Here, we present a topical review of metamaterials in acoustic wave science. Particular attention is given to fundamental principles of acoustic metamaterials for realizing the extraordinary acoustic properties such as negative, near-zero and approaching-infinity parameters. Realization of acoustic cloaking phenomenon which is invisible from incident sound waves is also introduced by various approaches. Finally, acoustic lenses are discussed not only for sub-diffraction imaging but also for applications based on gradient index (GRIN) lens.

Local phase method for designing and optimizing metasurface devices.

Abstract: Metasurfaces have attracted significant attention due to their novel designs for flat optics. However, the approach usually used to engineer metasurface devices assumes that neighboring elements are identical, by extracting the phase information from simulations with periodic boundaries, or that near-field coupling between particles is negligible, by extracting the phase from single particle simulations. This is not the case most of the time and the approach thus prevents the optimization of devices that operate away from their optimum. Here, we propose a versatile numerical method to obtain the phase of each element within the metasurface (meta-atoms) while accounting for near-field coupling. Quantifying the phase error of each element of the metasurfaces with the proposed local phase method paves the way to the design of highly efficient metasurface devices including, but not limited to, deflectors, high numerical aperture metasurface concentrators, lenses, cloaks, and modulators.

Observation of reflectionless absorption due to spatial Kramers-Kronig profile.

Abstract: As a fundamental phenomenon in electromagnetics and optics, material absorption has been extensively investigated for centuries. However, omnidirectional, reflectionless absorption in inhomogeneous media has yet to be observed. Previous research on transformation optics indicated that such absorption cannot easily be implemented without involving gain media. A recent theory on wave propagation, however, implies the feasibility to implement such absorption requiring no gain, provided that the permittivity profile of this medium can satisfy the spatial Kramers–Kronig relations. In this work, we implement such a profile over a broad frequency band based on a novel idea of space–frequency Lorentz dispersion. A wideband, omnidirectionally reflectionless absorption is then experimentally observed in the gigahertz range, and is in good agreement with theoretical analysis and full-wave simulations. The proposed method based on the space–frequency dispersion implies the practicability to construct gain-free omnidirectionally non-reflecting absorbers. Reflectionless absorption independent of the angle of incidence usually requires the introduction of gain media into the system. Here, Ye et al. implement a recent theoretical proposal to achieve this with a spatially varying permittivity, showing that this approach is experimentally feasible.

Modeling and design for electromagnetic surface wave devices

Abstract: A great deal of interest has re-emerged recently in the study of surface waves. The possibility to control and manipulate electromagnetic wave propagations at will opens many new research areas and leads to lots of novel applications in engineering. In this paper, we will present a comprehensive modeling and design approach for surface wave cloaks, based on Graded-Refractive-Index materials and the theory of Transformation Optics. It can be also applied to any other forms of surface wave manipulation, in terms of amplitude and phase. In this paper, we will present a general method to illustrate how this can be achieved from modeling to the final design. The proposed approach is validated to be versatile and allows ease in manufacturing, thereby demonstrating great potential for practical applications.

Compact sorting of optical vortices by means of diffractive transformation optics

Abstract: The orbital angular momentum (OAM) of light has recently attracted a growing interest as a new degree of freedom in order to increase the information capacity of today’s optical networks, both for free-space and optical fiber transmission Here we present our work of design, fabrication, and optical characterization of diffractive optical elements for compact OAM mode division demultiplexing based on optical transformations Samples have been fabricated with 3D high-resolution electron beam lithography on a polymethylmethacrylate resist layer spun over a glass substrate Their high compactness and efficiency make these optical devices promising for integration into next-generation platforms for OAM modes processing in telecom applications

A Retrieval Method of Effective Electromagnetic Parameters for Inhomogeneous Metamaterials

Abstract: In this paper, we develop a method to extract effective electromagnetic parameters of inhomogeneous metamaterials. Starting with a two-layer inhomogeneous structure, the relationship between S-parameters and effective electromagnetic parameters of each layer, including wave impedance and refractive index, is derived. A recursion procedure in terms of S-parameters is developed to deal with an m-layer inhomogeneous structure. To ensure consistency and correctness of the retrieved electromagnetic parameters, an iterative solution procedure is proposed. An iterative error analysis is given to show that with the increase of iterative steps, the resulting error is accumulated. Therefore, a direct solution approach based on nonlinear equation systems is developed. Several inhomogeneous examples, including material and metamaterial structures, are given to demonstrate validity, feasibility, and noise insensitivity of the proposed method.

Nonlocal Effects in Transition Hyperbolic Metamaterials

Abstract: Light–matter interactions at a particular point in a material may be dominated by properties of the medium at this point, or they could be affected by the electromagnetic properties of the medium in the surrounding regions. In the former case, the medium is said to be local, while in the latter, it is nonlocal. Recent studies of light–matter interactions in composite optical metamaterials showed that nonlocal effects enable new optical phenomena that are not acounted for by the conventional, local effective medium description. Up until now the majority of studies focused on metamaterials with spatially uniform material parameters. However, optical metamaterials with electromagnetic material parameters gradually changing from positive to negative values, so-called transition materials, have been predicted to induce a strong enhancement of the local electric or magnetic field in the vicinity of the zero refractive index point. This opens new opportunities for sensing and low-intensity nonlinear optical appl...

Multilayered inclusions in locally resonant metamaterials : two-dimensional versus three-dimensional modeling

Abstract: Locally resonant metamaterials (LRMs) controlling low-frequency waves due to resonant scattering are usually characterized by narrow band gaps (BGs) and a poor wave filtering performance. To remedy this shortcoming, multiresonant metamaterial structures with closely located BGs have been proposed and widely studied. However, the analysis is generally limited to two-dimensional (2D) structures neglecting the finite height of any real resonator. The aim of this paper is the comparison of the wave dispersion for two- and three-dimensional (3D) metamaterial models and evaluation of the applicability ranges of 2D results. Numerical study reveals that dual-resonant structures with cylindrical inclusions possess only a single (compared to two in the 2D case) BG for certain height-to-width ratios. In contrast, the wave dispersion in metamaterials with multiple spherical resonators can be accurately evaluated using a 2D approximation, enabling a significant simplification of resource-consuming 3D models.

Invisibility Cloaking Scheme by Evanescent Fields Distortion on Composite Plasmonic Waveguides with Si Nano-Spacer.

Abstract: A new, composite plasmonic waveguide based electromagnetic cloaking scheme is proposed with Si nano-spacer. Here we show, that the scattering fields of an object located on the cloak do not interact with the evanescent field, resulting in object’s invisibility. Finite difference time domain (FDTD) numerical calculations were performed to extract the modal distributions and surface intensities on a composite plasmonic waveguide with a metasurface overlayer. Spatially varying effective permittivity was analytically calculated using transformation optics. Cloaking was demonstrated for a cylindrical object with diameter of 70% from the waveguide width on a high index ridge waveguide structure with silicon nitride guiding layer on silica substrate. Our results open the door to new integrated photonic devices, harnessing from evanescent fields distortion on composite plasmonic waveguides and dielectric nano-spacers for the variety of applications from on-chip optical devices to all-optical processing.

Hyperbolic metamaterials: Novel physics and applications

Abstract: Hyperbolic metamaterials were originally introduced to overcome the diffraction limit of optical imaging. Soon thereafter it was realized that hyperbolic metamaterials demonstrate a number of novel phenomena resulting from the broadband singular behavior of their density of photonic states. These novel phenomena and applications include super resolution imaging, new stealth technologies, enhanced quantum-electrodynamic effects, thermal hyperconductivity, superconductivity, and interesting gravitation theory analogues. Here we briefly review typical material systems, which exhibit hyperbolic behavior and outline important novel applications of hyperbolic metamaterials. In particular, we will describe recent imaging experiments with plasmonic metamaterials and novel VCSEL geometries, in which the Bragg mirrors may be engineered in such a way that they exhibit hyperbolic metamaterial properties in the long wavelength infrared range, so that they may be used to efficiently remove excess heat from the laser cavity. We will also discuss potential applications of three-dimensional self-assembled photonic hypercrystals, which are based on cobalt ferrofluids in external magnetic field. This system bypasses 3D nanofabrication issues, which typically limit metamaterial applications. Photonic hypercrystals combine the most interesting features of hyperbolic metamaterials and photonic crystals.

Tunable transformation optical waveguide bends in liquid

Abstract: Optical waveguide bends are indispensable to integrated optical systems, and many methods to mitigate bend loss have thus been proposed. Transformation optics (TO) causes light to travel around a bend as if it was propagating in a straight waveguide, eliminating the bend loss. Many reported TO waveguide bends have utilized solid materials, but there are fundamental difficulties for real applications because of their complex fabrication, lack of reconfiguration, and the so-called effective medium condition. Here, we develop a method to overcome these problems using the convection–diffusion of liquids. It enables real-time tunable transformation optical waveguide bends using natural liquid diffusion while still exhibiting the major merits of quasi-conformal mapping. We have experimentally demonstrated bending in visible light by 90 and 180° while preserving the intensity profile at a reasonably high level of fidelity. This work bridges fluid dynamics and optics and has the potential for application in on-chip biological, chemical, and biomedical measurements, as well as detectors and tunable optical systems.

Design of Coating Materials for Cloaking and Directivity Enhancement of Cylindrical Antennas Using Transformation Optics

Abstract: In this letter, a novel bifunctional coating layer is proposed for a cylindrical antenna using transformation optics. This layer not only cloaks the omnidirectional antenna from an external source, but also enhances its directivity at the same time. To achieve this, an appropriate coordinate transformation is established so that the cylindrical wavefronts originating from the antenna would be transformed into plane waves. The material properties of the proposed cover are numerically derived by solving the Laplace's equation. Full-wave simulations are performed to verify both the directivity enhancement and cloaking functions of the designed coating layer. Thus, it can be effectively utilized in highly scattering multiple-antenna environments as a shielding mechanism.

Tunable Visible Cloaking Using Liquid Diffusion

Abstract: A method is introduced for the design of invisibility cloaks inspired by fluid dynamics that is different from traditional transformation optics. The inhomogeneous refractive index of the liquid cloak controlled by the natural liquid diffusion is analogous to its counterpart designed by transformation optics. Here, a tunable liquid visible cloak is experimentally presented by the natural diffusion of miscible flows. This method avoids the use of complex nanostructures in its solid counterpart, and provides a simple and low-cost approach. This implies that optofluidics can be used as a technology to make real-time reconfigurable transformation optic devices.

Cloaking of Thermoelectric Transport.

Abstract: The ability to control electromagnetic fields, heat currents, electric currents, and other physical phenomena by coordinate transformation methods has resulted in novel functionalities, such as cloaking, field rotations, and concentration effects. Transformation optics, as the underlying mathematical tool, has proven to be a versatile approach to achieve such unusual outcomes relying on materials with highly anisotropic and inhomogeneous properties. Most applications and designs thus far have been limited to functionalities within a single physical domain. Here we present transformation optics applied to thermoelectric phenomena, where thermal and electric flows are coupled via the Seebeck coefficient. Using laminates, we describe a thermoelectric cloak capable of hiding objects from thermoelectric flow. Our calculations show that such a cloak does not depend on the particular boundary conditions and can also operate in different single domain regimes. These proof-of-principle results constitute a significant step forward towards finding unexplored ways to control and manipulate coupled transport.

Electromagnetic wave propagations in conjugate metamaterials.

Abstract: In this work, by employing field transformation optics, we deduce a special kind of materials called conjugate metamaterials, which can support intriguing electromagnetic wave propagations, such as negative refractions and lasing phenomena. These materials could also serve as substrates for making a subwavelength-resolution lens, and the so-called “perfect lens” is demonstrated to be a limiting case.

Metamaterial characterization by applying different boundary conditions on triangular split ring resonator type metamaterials

Abstract: This study aims to demonstrate the effects of the different boundary conditions on triangular split ring resonator (TSRR)-shaped metamaterials in X band frequency regime. Three different TSSR-shaped metamaterials are designed and simulated in a certain frequency range. TSSR-shaped metamaterials are utilized to show that the use of different boundary conditions may result in completely different electromagnetic responses. Characterization is explained by applying 5 different boundary conditions. To verify simulation results, an experimental study is realized for the unit cell boundary condition. Both experimental and simulation results are complying with each other. For further investigation, electrical energy density and surface current distributions are simulated and discussed.

Errata to “Full-Vector Finite-Element Beam Propagation Method for Helicoidal Waveguides and its Application to Twisted Photonic Crystal Fibers”

Abstract: A full-vector beam propagation method based on a finite-element scheme for a helicoidal system is developed. The permittivity and permeability tensors of a straight waveguide are replaced with equivalent ones for a helicoidal system, obtained by transformation optics. A cylindrical, perfectly matched layer is implemented for the absorbing boundary condition. To treat wide-angle beam propagation, a second-order differentiation term with respect to the propagation direction is directly discretized without using a conventional Pade approximation. The transmission spectra of twisted photonic crystal fibers are thoroughly investigated, and it is found that the diameters of the air holes greatly affect the spectra. The calculated results are in good agreement with the recently reported measured results, showing the validity and usefulness of the method developed here.

Self-assembled nanostructured metamaterials*

Abstract: The concept of metamaterials emerged in the years 2000 with the achievement of artificial structures enabling nonconventional propagation of electromagnetic waves, such as negative phase velocity or negative refraction. The electromagnetic response of metamaterials is generally based on the presence of optically resonant elements —or meta-atoms— of sub-wavelength size and well-designed morphology so as to provide the desired electric and magnetic optical properties. Top-down technologies based on lithography techniques have been intensively used to fabricate a variety of efficient electric and magnetic resonators operating from microwave to visible light frequencies. However, the technological limits of the top-down approach are reached in visible light where a huge number of nanometre-sized elements is required. We show here that the bottom-up fabrication route based on the combination of nanochemistry and the self-assembly methods of colloidal physics provide an excellent alternative for the large-scale synthesis of complex meta-atoms, as well as for the fabrication of 2D and 3D samples exhibiting meta-properties in visible light.

Scalable variable-index elasto-optic metamaterials for macroscopic optical components and devices.

Abstract: Optical metamaterials with an artificial subwavelength structure offer new approaches to implement advanced optical devices. However, some of the biggest challenges associated with the development of metamaterials in the visible spectrum are the high costs and slow production speeds of the nanofabrication processes. Here, we demonstrate a macroscale (>35 mm) transformation-optics wave bender (293 mm2) and Luneburg lens (855 mm2) in the broadband white-light visible wavelength range using the concept of elasto-optic metamaterials that combines optics and solid mechanics. Our metamaterials consist of mesoscopically homogeneous chunks of bulk aerogels with superior, broadband optical transparency across the visible spectrum and an adjustable, stress-tuneable refractive index ranging from 1.43 down to nearly the free space index (∼1.074). The experimental results show that broadband light can be controlled and redirected in a volume of >105λ × 105λ × 103λ, which enables natural light to be processed directly by metamaterial-based optical devices without any additional coupling components. Large-scale graded-index metamaterial devices are difficult to fabricate owing to limitations of typical micro- and nanofabrication approaches. Here, Shinet al. demonstrate millimetre-scale transformation elements based on elasto-optic metamaterials made from aerogels.