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- Title
Interference-assisted kaleidoscopic meta-plexer for arbitrary spin-wavefront manipulation.
- Authors
Xu, He-Xiu; Hu, Guangwei; Li, Ying; Han, Lei; Zhao, Jianlin; Sun, Yunming; Yuan, Fang; Wang, Guang-Ming; Jiang, Zhi Hao; Ling, Xiaohui; Cui, Tie Jun; Qiu, Cheng-Wei
- Abstract
Achieving simultaneous polarization and wavefront control, especially circular polarization with the auxiliary degree of freedom of light and spin angular momentum, is of fundamental importance in many optical applications. Interferences are typically undesirable in highly integrated photonic circuits and metasurfaces. Here, we propose an interference-assisted metasurface-multiplexer (meta-plexer) that counterintuitively exploits constructive and destructive interferences between hybrid meta-atoms and realizes independent spin-selective wavefront manipulation. Such kaleidoscopic meta-plexers are experimentally demonstrated via two types of single-layer spin-wavefront multiplexers that are composed of spatially rotated anisotropic meta-atoms. One type generates a spin-selective Bessel-beam wavefront for spin-down light and a low scattering cross-section for stealth for spin-up light. The other type demonstrates versatile control of the vortex wavefront, which is also characterized by the orbital angular momentum of light, with frequency-switchable numbers of beams under linearly polarized wave excitation. Our findings offer a distinct interference-assisted concept for realizing advanced multifunctional photonics with arbitrary and independent spin-wavefront features. A variety of applications can be readily anticipated in optical diodes, isolators, and spin-Hall meta-devices without cascading bulky optical elements. Interferences are typically considered useless and even adverse in highly integrated photonic circuits and metasurfaces. The approach from Cheng-Wei Qiu from the National University of Singapore and colleagues is to exploit interference between hybrid meta-atoms based on pairs of nested microscale rings, each with a small opening. With this counterintuitive recipe, they successfully reported multiplexed functions, i.e., emission of complex vortices and diode-like optical switching devices that manipulates spin lights. By using computer simulations to examine the effects of optical scattering with differently-oriented split rings in periodic arrays, the team identified interference patterns that offered simultaneous control over the helical spin and propagation of circularly polarized light. One proposed metasurface produces narrow beams with pure spin-down states that may have applications in optical tweezing or stealth technology. Another layout generates multiple swirling light vortices by filtering to pure spin-up states. It paves an unexpected paradigm to realizing optical diodes, isolators, and spin-Hall meta-devices without cascading bulky optical elements.
- Publication
Light: Science & Applications, 2019, Vol 8, Issue 1, p1
- ISSN
2047-7538
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1038/s41377-018-0113-y