Search

Electromagnetically induced transparency in metamaterials allows to engineer structures which transmit narrow spectral ranges of radiation while exhibiting a large group index. Implementation of this phenomenon frequently calls for strong near-field coupling of bright (dipolar) resonances to dark (multipolar) resonances in the metamolecules comprising the metamaterials. The sharpness and contrast of the resulting transparency windows thus depends strongly on how closely these metamolecules can be placed to one another, placing constraints on fabrication capabilities. In this manuscript, we demonstrate that the reliance on near-field interaction strength can be relaxed, and the magnitude of the electromagnetic-induced transparency enhanced, by exploiting the long-range coupling between metamolecules in periodic lattices. By placing dolmen structures resonant at THz frequencies in a periodic lattice, we show a significant increase of the transparency window when the in-plane diffraction is tuned to the resonant frequency of the metamolecules, as confirmed by direct mapping of the THz near-field amplitude across a lattice of dolmens. Through the direct interrogation of the dark resonance in the near field, we show the interplay of near- and far-field couplings in optimizing the response of planar dolmen arrays via diffraction-enhanced transparency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We demonstrate that highly tunable nanowire arrays with optimized diameters, volume fractions, and alignment form one of the strongest optical scattering materials to date. Using a new broad-band technique, we explore the scattering strength of the nanowires by varying systematically their diameter and alignment on the substrate. We identify strong Mie-type internal resonances of the nanowires which can be tuned over the entire visible spectrum. The tunability of nanowire materials opens up exciting new prospects for fundamental and applied research ranging from random lasers to solar cells, exploiting the extreme scattering strength, internal resonances, and preferential alignment of the nanowires. Although we have focused our investigation on gallium phosphide nanowires, the results can be universally applied to other types of group III-V, II-VI, or IV nanowires.