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Nature Photonics 11, 415 (2017). doi:10.1038/nphoton.2017.96

Authors: Amir Arbabi, Ehsan Arbabi, Yu Horie, Seyedeh Mahsa Kamali & Andrei Faraon

Metasurfaces are two-dimensional arrangements of subwavelength scatterers that control the propagation of optical waves. Here, we show that cascaded metasurfaces, each performing a predefined mathematical transformation, provide a new optical design framework that enables new functionalities not yet demonstrated with single metasurfaces. Specifically, we demonstrate that retroreflection can be achieved with two vertically stacked planar metasurfaces, the first performing a spatial Fourier transform and its inverse, and the second imparting a spatially varying momentum to the Fourier transform of the incident light. Using this concept, we fabricate and test a planar monolithic near-infrared retroreflector composed of two layers of silicon nanoposts, which reflects light along its incident direction with a normal incidence efficiency of 78% and a large half-power field of view of 60°. The metasurface retroreflector demonstrates the potential of cascaded metasurfaces for implementing novel high-performance components, and enables low-power and low-weight passive optical transmitters.

A century-old tenet in physics and engineering asserts that any type of system, having bandwidth , can interact with a wave over only a constrained time period t inversely proportional to the bandwidth (t· ~ 2). This law severely limits the generic capabilities of all types of resonant and wave-guiding systems in photonics, cavity quantum electrodynamics and optomechanics, acoustics, continuum mechanics, and atomic and optical physics but is thought to be completely fundamental, arising from basic Fourier reciprocity. We propose that this "fundamental" limit can be overcome in systems where Lorentz reciprocity is broken. As a system becomes more asymmetric in its transport properties, the degree to which the limit can be surpassed becomes greater. By way of example, we theoretically demonstrate how, in an astutely designed magnetized semiconductor heterostructure, the above limit can be exceeded by orders of magnitude by using realistic material parameters. Our findings revise prevailing paradigms for linear, time-invariant resonant systems, challenging the doctrine that high-quality resonances must invariably be narrowband and providing the possibility of developing devices with unprecedentedly high time-bandwidth performance.

Feynman stated that the double-slit experiment “…has in it the heart of quantum mechanics. In reality, it contains the only mystery” and that “nobody can give you a deeper explanation of this phenomenon than I have given; that is, a description of it” [Feynman R, Leighton R, Sands M (1965)...

Nature Photonics. doi:10.1038/nphoton.2017.93

Authors: Yichen Shen, Nicholas C. Harris, Scott Skirlo, Mihika Prabhu, Tom Baehr-Jones, Michael Hochberg, Xin Sun, Shijie Zhao, Hugo Larochelle, Dirk Englund & Marin Soljačić

Nature Photonics 11, 331 (2017). doi:10.1038/nphoton.2017.90

Author: Rachel Won

Anderson localization is an interference effect crucial to the understanding of waves in disordered media. However, localization is expected to become negligible when the features of the disordered structure are much smaller than the wavelength. Here we experimentally demonstrate the localization of light in a disordered dielectric multilayer with an average layer thickness of 15 nanometers, deep into the subwavelength regime. We observe strong disorder-induced reflections that show that the interplay of localization and evanescence can lead to a substantial decrease in transmission, or the opposite feature of enhanced transmission. This deep-subwavelength Anderson localization exhibits extreme sensitivity: Varying the thickness of a single layer by 2 nanometers changes the reflection appreciably. This sensitivity, approaching the atomic scale, holds the promise of extreme subwavelength sensing.

We theoretically demonstrate a high-sensitivity, graphene-plasmon based refractive index sensor working in the mid-infrared at room temperature. The bulk figure of merit of our sensor reaches values above $10$, but the key aspect of our proposed plasmonic sensor is its surface sensitivity which we examine in detail. We have used realistic values regarding doping level and electron relaxation time, which is the limiting factor for the sensor performance. Our results show quantitatively the high performance of graphene-plasmon based refractive index sensors working in the mid-infrared.

We study second-harmonic generation (SHG) arising from surface nonlinearity at a metal-dielectric interface using a spectral decomposition method. Since our method avoids the need to consider the generalized boundary condition across the metal-dielectric interface in the presence of a perpendicular surface source, we retrieve the known discontinuity of the tangential component of the electric field ($E_{\parallel}^ {2\omega}$) for a general geometry, based on a purely mathematical argument. Further, we reaffirm the standard convention of the implementation of this condition, namely, that the surface dipole source radiates as if placed outside the metal surface for arbitrary geometries. We also study and explain the spectral dependence of the discontinuity of the tangential component of the electric field at second harmonic. Finally, we note that the default settings of the commercial numerical package COMSOL Multiphysics fail to account for the $E_{\parallel}^ {2\omega}$-discontinuity. We provide a simple recipe that corrects the boundary condition within these existing settings.

Nature Photonics. doi:10.1038/nphoton.2015.28

Author: Luc Thévenaz

Large light–sound interaction in nanoscale silicon wires is experimentally demonstrated, making integrated nonlinear optical devices a reality.

Photonic crystals (PCs) have emerged as one of the most widely used platforms for controlling light–matter interaction in solid-state systems. They rely on Bragg scattering from wavelength-sized periodic modulation in the dielectric environment for manipulating the electromagnetic field. A complementary approach to manipulate light–matter interaction is offered by artificial media...

We derive four laws relating the absorptivity and emissivity of thermal emitters. Unlike the original Kirchhoff radiation law derivations, these derivations include diffraction, and so are valid also for small objects, and can also cover nonreciprocal objects. The proofs exploit two recent approaches. First, we express all fields in terms...

Diffusion relaxes density fluctuations toward a uniform random state whose variance in regions of volume v=ℓd scales as σρ2≡⟨ρ2(ℓ)⟩−⟨ρ⟩2∼ℓ−d. Systems whose fluctuations decay faster, σρ2∼ℓ−λ with d