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The circular Bragg phenomenon is the circular-polarization-state-selective reflection of light in a spectral regime called the circular Bragg regime. In continuation of an expository review on this phenomenon published in 2014, an album of theoretical results is provided in this decadal update. Spectral variations of intensity-dependent and phase-dependent observable quantities in the reflection and transmission half-spaces are provided in relation to the polarization state and the direction of propagation of the incident plane wave., Comment: 20 pages, 11 figures

The geometric phase has acquired interest for optical devices such as achromatic phase shifters, spatial light modulators, frequency shifters, and planar lenses for wavefront engineering. Numerical work with Reusch piles with a large number of layers per period suggests that the geometric phase of the reflected/transmitted plane wave may be sensitive to nanoscale morphological differences, and the geometric-phase spectrum could contain signatures of morphological details that depend on the fabrication technique.

Closed-form expressions were recently derived for depolarization dyadics for truncated spheres and truncated spheroids, and the formalism was extended to truncated ellipsoids. These results were exploited to develop an implementation of the Maxwell Garnett homogenization formalism for the relative permittivity parameters of homogenized composite mediums (HCMs) arising from an isotropic host medium impregnated with isotropic inclusions that are truncated spheres, spheroids, and ellipsoids. In so doing, the anisotropy of the HCM was related to the geometry of the inclusions: in general, the more the shape of the inclusions deviated from spherical, the greater was the degree of anisotropy exhibited by the HCM.

A slab made of a dielectric structurally chiral medium (DSCM) strongly reflects the co-handed circularly polarized plane wave, but not the cross-handed circularly polarized plane wave, in a spectral regime called the circular Bragg regime. The effect of inserting a central phase defect in a DSCM slab with a modest number of structural periods is a spectral reflection hole in the circular Bragg regime, for co-handed incidence only. However, if the incident plane wave is left-circularly polarized, the geometric phase of the transmitted plane wave contains evidence of both the circular Bragg regime and the spectral reflection hole, regardless of the structural handedness of the DSCM. This evidence is indicative of the type of phase defect. The effect of inserting a central phase defect in a DSCM slab with a large number of structural periods is a spectral transmission hole in the circular Bragg regime, for cross-handed incidence only. The spectral transmission hole may be difficult to observe experimentally because of absorption inside the DSCM slab, but it will still be evident in the geometric phase of the transmitted plane wave, if the incident plane wave is left-circularly polarized., Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures

Depolarization dyadics play a central role in theoretical studies involving scattering from small particles and homogenization of particulate composite materials. Closed-form expressions for depolarization dyadics have been developed for truncated spheres and truncated spheroids, and the formalism has been extended to truncated ellipsoids; the evaluation of depolarization dyadics for this latter case requires numerical integration. The H\"{o}lder continuity condition has been exploited to fix the origin of the coordinate system for the evaluation of depolarization dyadics.These results will enable theoretical studies involving scattering from small particles and homogenization of particulate composite materials to accommodate particles with a much wider range of shapes than was the case hitherto.

Polymer banknotes are being increasingly adopted to replace older banknotes. Since banknotes are forensically important substrates for fingermark detection and identification, we present a single-step process to enhance the visualization of fingermarks on banknotes using columnar thin films (CTFs) of nickel. This single-step vacuum technique enhances the quality grade of fingermarks maximally, whether the fingermarks are aged for one or seven days before CTF deposition. This work represents progress over currently available sequences of diverse techniques for enhancing fingermarks on polymer banknotes., Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures

CDs and DVDs are forensically important substrates for latent fingermarks. Upright columnar thin films (CTFs) grown conformally over these substrates were shown to significantly enhance the visual quality of fingermarks. Enhancement to maximum possible grade for visual quality occurred, even for the samples that were developed three days after the fingermarks were placed on them. The CTFs were deposited by directing a collimated vapor flux of an evaporant material towards the substrate placed at an angle and made to rotate rapidly., Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures

The propagation of surface-plasmon-polariton (SPP) waves at the planar interface of a metal and a dielectric material was investigated for a dielectric material with strongly temperature-dependent constitutive properties. The metal was silver and the dielectric material was vanadium multioxide impregnated with a combination of active dyes. Depending upon the volume fraction of vanadium multioxide, either attenuation or amplification of the SPP waves may be achieved; the degree of attenuation or amplification is strongly dependent on both the temperature and whether the temperature is increasing or decreasing. At intermediate volume fractions of vanadium multioxide, for a fixed temperature, a SPP wave may experience attenuation if the temperature is increasing but experience amplification if the temperature is decreasing.

The planewave response of a bicontrollable metasurface absorber with graphene-patched pixels was simulated in the X band using commercial software. Each square meta-atom is a 4x4 array of 16 pixels, some patched with graphene and the others unpatched. The pixels are arranged on a PVC skin which is placed on a copper-backed YIG substrate. Graphene provides electrostatic controllability and YIG provides magnetostatic controllability. Our design delivers absorptance equal to or in excess of 0.9 over a 100-MHz spectral regime in the X band, with 360 MHz/kA magnetostatic controllabity rate and 1 Hz m/V electrostatic controllability rate. Notably, electrostatic control via graphene in the GHz range is novel., Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, 1 table

A Huygens bianisotropic medium is a linear homogeneous medium for which the Huygens principle can be formulated. When a bounded 3D scattering object composed of a linear bianisotropic medium, whether homogeneous or not, is embedded in a Huygens bianisotropic medium, the excess field phasors inside that object act as volume current densities, and the tangential components of the internal field phasors on the surface of the same object act as surface current densities, to radiate identical field phasors in the external region.

The Bruggeman homogenization formalism was used to numerically investigate the dielectric properties of a columnar thin film (CTF) made from vanadium dioxide. For visible and near-infrared wavelengths, the CTF is electromagnetically equivalent to a homogeneous orthorhombic material. Over the 58 deg C -- 72 deg C temperature range, the eigenvalues of the CTF's relative permittivity dyadic are highly sensitive to temperature, and vary according to whether the CTF is being heated or cooled. The anisotropy revealed through the eigenvalues, and the anisotropy of the associated hysteresis, were investigated in relation to temperature for CTFs of different porosities and columnar cross sections. When the free-space wavelength is 800 nm, the CTF is a dissipative dielectric material that exhibits temperature-dependent anisotropy and anisotropic hysteresis. In contrast, when the free-space wavelength is 1550 nm, the CTF can be either a dissipative dielectric material, a hyperbolic material or a metal-like material, depending on the temperature and the porosity of the CTF. As the porosity of the CTF decreases from 0.55 to 0.3, the anisotropy of the CTF becomes more pronounced, as does the anisotropy of the hysteresis. Only relatively modest variations in anisotropy and hysteresis arise in response to varying the columnar cross-sectional shape, as compared to the variations induced by varying the porosity.

Vanadium dioxide (VO2) transforms from purely monoclinic to purely tetragonal on being heated from 58 deg C to 72 deg C, the transformation being reversible but hysteretic. Electromagnetically, VO2 transforms from a dissipative dielectric to another dissipative dielectric if the free-space wavelength is less than 1100 nm, but from a dissipative dielectric to a plasmonic metal (or vice versa) if the free-space wavelength exceeds 1100 nm. Calculating the extinction, total scattering, absorption, radiation-pressure, back-scattering, and forward-scattering efficiencies of a VO2 sphere, we found clear signatures of thermal hysteresis in (i) the forward-scattering, back-scattering, and absorption efficiencies for free-space wavelength less than 1100 nm, and (ii) the forward-scattering, back-scattering, total scattering, and absorption efficiencies for free-space wavelength more than 1100 nm. Vacuum and null-permittivity quasistates occur between 58 deg C and 72 deg C, when tetragonal VO2 is a plasmonic metal, once each on the heating branch and once each on the cooling branch of thermal hysteresis. But none of the six efficiencies show significant differences between the two quasistates., Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures

We conceptualized three-array scalable metasurfaces comprising only three thin strip grids and numerically demonstrated their characteristics in the mid-infrared spectral regime for switchable polarization manipulation and related asymmetric diodelike transmission (AT). A few or all of the grids were taken to be made of VO$_2$, a phase-change material. For each proposed metasurface, two effective structures and, therefore, two different functionalities exist, corresponding to the metallic and insulating phases of VO$_2$. The achieved scenarios of functionality switching that depend on the VO$_2$ phase are shown to significantly depend in the way in which VO$_2$ is incorporated to the metasurface. Switchable bands of polarization manipulation are up to 40 THz wide. The AT band can be modulated when Fabry--Perot (anti-)resonances come into play., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures

The homogenization of vaterite impregnated with gold nanoparticles was accomplished using the extended Maxwell Garnett formalism. The extended formalism takes into account the intrinsic anisotropy of vaterite as well as the size, shape, and orientation of the nanoparticles. Size-dependent permittivity was used for the gold nanoparticles. Numerical studies revealed that the homogenized composite material's permittivity parameters are acutely sensitive to the size, shape, orientation, and volume fraction of the gold nanoparticles.

The extended boundary condition method (EBCM) was formulated for the perturbation of a source electric potential by a 3D object composed of a homogeneous anisotropic dielectric medium whose relative permittivity dyadic is positive definite. The formulation required the application of Green's second identity to the exterior region to deduce the electrostatic counterpart of the Ewald--Oseen extinction theorem. The electric potential inside the object was represented using a basis obtained by implementing an affine bijective transformation of space to the Gauss equation for the electric field. The EBCM yields a transition matrix that depends on the geometry and the composition of the 3D object, but not on the source potential.

The boundary-value problem for the perturbation of an electric potential by a homogeneous anisotropic dielectric sphere in vacuum was formulated. The total potential in the exterior region was expanded in series of radial polynomials and tesseral harmonics, as is standard for the Laplace equation. A bijective transformation of space was carried out to formulate a series representation of the potential in the interior region. Boundary conditions on the spherical surface were enforced to derive a transition matrix that relates the expansion coefficients of the perturbation potential in the exterior region to those of the source potential. Far from the sphere, the perturbation potential decays as the inverse of the distance squared from the center of the sphere, as confirmed numerically.

Ordinarily, a trimaterial structure comprising a sufficiently thin metal film interposed between two homogeneous dielectric materials guides compound plasmon-polariton (CPP) waves, for which the fields on both sides of the metal film decay exponentially with distance from the nearest metal/dielectric interface. However, if one of the dielectric materials is anisotropic then the trimaterial structure can guide an exceptional CPP wave for a particular propagation direction. On the side of the metal film occupied by the anisotropic dielectric material, the fields of the exceptional CPP wave decay as the product of a linear function and an exponential function of the distance from the nearest metal/dielectric interface. The canonical boundary-value problem for CPP-wave propagation has been analyzed and solved numerically; thereby, the spatial field profiles for exceptional CPP waves for a uniaxial-dielectric/metal/isotropic-dielectric structure have been established.

A stepwise chirping of the periodicity of a chiral sculptured thin film is shown to considerably enhance the bandwidth of the Bragg regime, thereby extending the frequency range of operation as a circular{polarization filter.

Radars often use correlation of received signals with transmitted signals to identify targets. However, when a target translates at a high uniform speed, the correlation of the transmitted and received signals depends strongly on the target's velocity, even after the two-way Doppler shift has been removed. This is true whether the target is made of highly dispersive material or not.

An exceptional surface wave can propagate in an isolated direction, when guided by the planar interface of two homogeneous dielectric partnering mediums of which at least one is anisotropic, provided that the constitutive parameters of the partnering mediums satisfy certain constraints. Exceptional surface waves are distinguished from unexceptional surface waves by their localization characteristics: the fields of an exceptional surface wave in the anisotropic partnering medium decay as a combined linear-exponential function of distance from the interface, whereas the decay is purely exponential for an unexceptional surface wave. If both partnering mediums are anisotropic then a doubly exceptional surface wave can exist for an isolated propagation direction. The decay of this wave in both partnering mediums is governed by a combined linear-exponential function of distance from the interface.

Power-conversion efficiency is a critical factor for the wider adoption of solar-cell modules. Thin-film solar cells are cheap and easy to manufacture, but their efficiencies are low compared to crystalline-silicon solar cells and need to be improved. A thin-film solar cell with two absorber layers (instead of only one), with bandgap energy graded in both, can capture solar photons in a wider spectral range. With a 300-nm-thick CIGS~absorber layer and an 870-nm-thick CZTSSe~absorber layer, an efficiency of $34.45\%$ is predicted by a detailed optoelectronic model, provided that the grading of bandgap energy is optimal in both absorber layers., Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures

Guided by the planar interface of two dissimilar linear, homogeneous mediums, a Voigt surface wave arises due to an exceptional point of either of the two matrixes necessary to describe the spatial characteristics in the direction normal to the planar interface. There is no requirement for either or both partnering mediums to be dissipative, unlike a Voigt plane wave which can propagate only in a dissipative medium.

The Lorenz--Mie formulation of electromagnetic scattering by a homogeneous, isotropic, dielectric-magnetic sphere was extended to incorporate topologically insulating surface states characterized by a surface admittance $\gamma$. Closed-form expressions were derived for the expansion coefficients of the scattered field phasors in terms of those of the incident field phasors. These expansion coefficients were used to obtain analytical expressions for the total scattering, extinction, forward scattering, and backscattering efficiencies of the sphere. Resonances exist for relatively low values of $\gamma$, when the sphere is either nondissipative or weakly dissipative. For large values of $\gamma$, the scattering characteristics are close to that of a perfect electrically conducting sphere, regardless of whether the sphere is composed of a dissipative or nondissipative material, and regardless of whether that material supports planewave propagation with positive or negative phase velocity.

An optoelectronic optimization was carried out for an AlGaAs solar cell containing (i) an n-AlGaAs absorber layer with a graded bandgap and (ii) a periodically corrugated Ag backreflector combined with localized ohmic Pd-Ge-Au backcontacts. The bandgap of the absorber layer was varied either sinusoidally or linearly. An efficiency of 33.1% with the 2000-nm-thick n-AlGaAs absorber layer is predicted with linearly graded bandgap along with silver backreflector and localized ohmic backcontacts, in comparison to 27.4% efficiency obtained with homogeneous bandgap and a continuous ohmic backcontact. Sinusoidal grading of the bandgap {is predicted to enhance} the maximum efficiency to 34.5%. Thus, grading the bandgap of the absorber layer, along with a periodically corrugated Ag backreflector and localized ohmic Pd-Ge-Au backcontacts can help realize ultrathin and high-efficient AlGaAs solar cells for terrestrial applications.

A coupled optoelectronic model was implemented along with the differential evolution algorithm to assess the efficacy of grading the bandgap of the CZTSSe layer for enhancing the power conversion efficiency of thin-film CZTSSe solar cells. Both linearly and sinusoidally graded bandgaps were examined, with the molybdenum backreflector in the solar cell being either planar or periodically corrugated. Whereas an optimally graded bandgap can dramatically enhance the efficiency, the effect of periodically corrugating the backreflector is modest at best. An efficiency of 21.74% is predicted with sinusoidal grading of a 870-nm-thick CZTSSe layer, in comparison to 12.6% efficiency achieved experimentally with a 2200-nm-thick homogeneous CZTSSe layer. High electron-hole-pair generation rates in the narrow-bandgap regions and a high open-circuit voltage due to a wider bandgap close to the front and rear faces of the CZTSSe layer are responsible for the high enhancement of efficiency.

Very weak left/right asymmetry in reflection and transmission is offered by a layer of a topological insulator on top of a layer of an anisotropic dielectric material, but it can be enhanced very significantly by using a periodic multilayer of both types of materials. This is an attractive prospect for realizing one-way terahertz devices, because both types of materials can be grown using standard physical-vapor-deposition techniques.

The propagation of Dyakonov-Tamm (DT) surface waves guided by the planar interface of two nondissipative materials $A$ and $B$ was investigated theoretically and numerically, via the corresponding canonical boundary-value problem. Material $A$ is a homogeneous uniaxial dielectric material whose optic axis lies at an angle $\chi$ relative to the interface plane. Material $B$ is an isotropic dielectric material that is periodically nonhomogeneous in the direction normal to the interface. The special case was considered in which the propagation matrix for material $A$ is non-diagonalizable because the corresponding surface wave-named the Dyakonov-Tamm-Voigt (DTV) surface wave-has unusual localization characteristics. The decay of the DTV surface wave is given by the product of a linear function and an exponential function of distance from the interface in material $A$; in contrast, the fields of conventional DT surface waves decay only exponentially with distance from the interface. Numerical studies revealed that multiple DT surface waves can exist for a fixed propagation direction in the interface plane, depending upon the constitutive parameters of materials $A$ and $B$. When regarded as functions of the angle of propagation in the interface plane, the multiple DT surface-wave solutions can be organized as continuous branches. A larger number of DT solution branches exist when the degree of anisotropy of material $A$ is greater. If $\chi = 0^\circ$ then a solitary DTV solution exists for a unique propagation direction on each DT branch solution. If $\chi > 0^\circ$, then no DTV solutions exist. As the degree of nonhomogeneity of material $B$ decreases, the number of DT solution branches decreases., Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1910.10972

We study the convergence properties of the two-dimensional Rigorous Coupled Wave Approach (RCWA) for p-polarized monochromatic incident light. The RCWA is a semi-analytical numerical method that is widely used to solve the boundary-value problem of scattering by a grating. The approach requires the expansion of all electromagnetic field phasors and the relative permittivity as Fourier series in the spatial variable along the direction of the periodicity of the grating. In the direction perpendicular to the grating periodicity, the domain is discretized into thin slices and the actual relative permittivity is replaced by an approximation. The approximate relative permittivity is chosen so that the solution of the Maxwell equations in each slice can be computed without further approximation. Thus, there is error due to the approximate relative permittivity as well as the trucation of the Fourier series. We show that the RCWA embodies a Galerkin scheme for a perturbed problem, and then we use tools from the Finite Element Method to show that the method converges with increasing number of retained Fourier modes and finer approximations of the relative permittivity. Numerical examples illustrate our analysis, and suggest further work.

The incorporation of materials with controllable electromagnetic constitutive parameters allows the conceptualization and realization of controllable metasurfaces. With the aim of formulating and investigating a tricontrollable metasurface for efficiently absorbing terahertz radiation, we adopted a pixel-based approach in which the meta-atoms are biperiodic assemblies of discrete pixels. We patched some pixels with indium antimonide (InSb) and some with graphene, leaving the others unpatched. The bottom of each meta-atom was taken to comprise a metal-backed substrate of silicon nitride. The InSb-patched pixels facilitate the thermal and magnetic control modalities, whereas the graphene-patched pixels facilitate the electrical control modality. With proper configuration of patched and unpatched pixels and with proper selection of the patching material for each patched pixel, the absorptance spectrums of the pixelated metasurface were found to contain peak-shaped features with maximum absorptance exceeding 0.95, full-width-at-half-maximum bandwidth of less than 0.7~THz, and the maximum-absorptance frequency lying between 2~THz and 4~THz. The location of the maximum-absorptance frequency can be thermally, magnetically, and electrically controllable. The lack of rotational invariance of the optimal meta-atom adds mechanical rotation as the fourth control modality.

Solutions of the boundary-value problem for electromagnetic waves guided by a layer of a homogeneous and isotropic (metal or dielectric) material sandwiched between a structurally chiral material (SCM) and a periodically multi-layered isotropic dielectric (PMLID) material were numerically obtained and analyzed. If the sandwiched layer is sufficiently thick, the two bimaterial interfaces decouple from each other, and each interface may guide one or more electromagnetic surface waves (ESWs) by itself. Depending on the constitution of the two materials that partner to form an interface, the ESWs can be classified as surface-plasmon-polarition (SPP) waves, Tamm waves, Dyakonov-Tamm waves, or Uller-Zenneck waves. When the sandwiched layer is sufficiently thin, the ESWs for single bimaterial interfaces coalesce to form compound guided waves (CGWs). The phase speeds, propagation distances, and spatial profiles of the electromagnetic fields of CGWs are different from those of the ESWs. The energy of a CGW is distributed in both the SCM and the PMLID material, if the sandwiched layer is sufficiently thin. Some CGWs require the sandwiched layer to have a minimum thickness. Indeed, the coupling between the two faces of the sandwiched layer is affected by the ratio of the thickness of the sandwiched layer to the skin depth in that material and the rates at which the fields of the ESWs guided individually by the two interfaces decay away from their respective guiding interfaces.

Dyakonov-Voigt (DV) surface waves guided by the planar interface of (i) material $A$ which is a uniaxial dielectric material specified by a relative permittivity dyadic with eigenvalues $\epsilon^s_A$ and $\epsilon^t_A$, and (ii) material $B$ which is an isotropic dielectric material with relative permittivity $\epsilon_B$, were numerically investigated by solving the corresponding canonical boundary-value problem. The two partnering materials are generally dissipative, with the optic axis of material $A$ being inclined at the angle $\chi \in [ 0^\circ, 90^\circ ]$ relative to the interface plane. No solutions of the dispersion equation for DV surface waves exist when $\chi=90^\circ$. Also, no solutions exist for $\chi \in ( 0^\circ, 90^\circ )$, when both partnering materials are nondissipative. For $\chi \in [ 0 ^\circ, 90^\circ )$, the degree of dissipation of material $A$ has a profound effect on the phase speeds, propagation lengths, and penetration depths of the DV surface waves. For mid-range values of $\chi$, DV surface waves with negative phase velocities were found. For fixed values of $\epsilon^s_A$ and $\epsilon^t_A$ in the upper-half-complex plane, DV surface-wave propagation is only possible for large values of $\chi$ when $| \epsilon_B|$ is very small.

Theoretical formalisms for the homogenization of particulate composites are identified as following either the direct scattering approach (DSA) or the indirect scattering approach (ISA). Both approaches can take inclusion size-dependence and distribution statistics into account. However, the DSA is generally limited to mediums with direction-independent constitutive properties and inclusions with simple shapes, but the ISA is not hobbled thus.

The concept of local homogenization is invoked in the visible and the sub-visible frequency regimes to estimate the permittivity dyadics of a thin-film helicoidal bianisotropic mediums (TFHBMs)~---~a canonical class of sculptured thin films with helicoidally periodic microstructure~---~made of a metal. Examination of the components of the permittivity dyadics, as well as of the co- and the cross-polarized reflectances of axially excited, metallic TFHBM halfspaces, reveals that three different absorbing-dielectric-to-metal transitions will occur as the metallic volumetric fraction is increased, but only two will be optically sensed using normally incident plane waves. The first transition is show to virtually eliminate the circular Bragg phenomenon characteristically displayed by axially excited, dielectric TFHBMs.

Near-field phase-shifting contact lithography is modeled to characterize electromagnetic absorption in a photoresist layer with one face in contact with a quartz binary phase-shift mask. The broadband ultraviolet illumination is represented as a frequency-spectrum of normally incident plane waves. A rigorous coupled-wave analysis is carried out to determine the absorption spectrum of the photoresist layer. The specific absorption rate in the photoresist layer is calculated and examined in relation to the geometric parameters. Columnar features in the photoresist layer are of higher quality on broadband illumination in contrast to monochromatic illumination, in conformity with some recent experimental results. Feature resolution and profile are noticeably affected by the depth of the grooves in the phase-shift mask. Ideally, the feature linewidth can be less than about 100 nm for broadband illumination in the transverse-magnetic mode. These conclusions are subject to modification by the photochemistry-wavelength characteristics of the photoresist.

The introduction of either a central layer defect or a central twist defect in a periodic structurally chiral material generates circular-polarization-sensitive spectral holes in the remittance spectrums for normally incident plane waves. We propose and theoretically establish here the third method to generate such spectral holes using two-section chiral sculptured thin films (STFs). Both sections of the proposed device have the same periodicity and handedness, but their dielectric properties are different and related in a specific way. The concept of pseudoisotropy is highly relevant for the production of the proposed device.

A chiral sculptured thin film is fabricated from patinal titanium oxide using the serial bideposition technique. Axial transmittance spectrums are measured over a spectral region encompassing the Bragg regime for axial excitation. The same spectrums are calculated using a nominal structure-property relationship model and the parameter space of the model is explored for best fits of the calculated and measured transmittances. Ambiguity arising on calibrating the model against axial transmittance measurements is shown to be resolvable using non--axial transmittance measurements.