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Resonances in optical systems are useful for many applications, such as frequency comb generation, optical filtering, and biosensing. However, many of these applications are difficult to implement in optical metasurfaces because traditional approaches for designing multiresonant nanostructures require significant computational and fabrication efforts. To address this challenge, we introduce the concept of Fourier lattice resonances (FLRs) in which multiple desired resonances can be chosen a priori and used to dictate the metasurface design. Because each resonance is supported by a distinct surface lattice mode, each can have a high quality factor. Here, we experimentally demonstrate several metasurfaces with flexibly placed resonances (e.g., at 1310 and 1550 nm) and Q-factors as high as 800 in a plasmonic platform. This flexible procedure requires only the computation of a single Fourier transform for its design, and is based on standard lithographic fabrication methods, allowing one to design and fabricate a metasurface to fit any specific, optical-cavity-based application. This work represents a step toward the complete control over the transmission spectrum of a metasurface. acceptedVersion

Exploring the interaction of light with time-varying media is an intellectual challenge that, in addition to fundamental aspects, provides a pathway to multiple promising applications. Time modulation constitutes here a fundamental handle to control light on entirely different grounds. That holds particularly for complex systems simultaneously structured in space and time. However, a realistic description of time-varying materials requires considering their material dispersion. The combination thereof has barely been considered but is crucial since dispersion accompanies materials suitable for dynamic modulation. As a canonical scattering problem from which many general insights can be obtained, a self-consistent analytical theory of light scattering by a sphere made from a time-varying material exemplarily assumed to have a Lorentzian dispersion is developed and applied. The eigensolutions of Maxwell's equations in the bulk are discussed and a dedicated Mie theory is presented. The proposed theory is verified with full-wave simulations. Peculiar effects are disclosed, such as energy transfer from the time-modulation subsystem to the electromagnetic field, amplifying carefully structured incident fields. Since many phenomena can be studied on analytical grounds with the proposed formalism, it represents an indispensable tool that enables exploration of electromagnetic phenomena in time-varying and spatially structured finite objects of other geometries.

Bianisotropy is a powerful concept enabling asymmetric optical response, including asymmetric reflection, absorption, optical forces, light trapping, and lasing. The physical origin of these asymme...

We propose tunable nonlinear antennas based on an epsilon-near-zero material with a large optical nonlinearity. We show that the absorption and scattering cross sections of the antennas can be cont...

Optical metasurfaces consist of a 2D arrangement of scatterers, and they control the amplitude, phase, and polarization of an incidence field on demand. Optical metasurfaces are the cornerstone for a future generation of flat optical devices in a wide range of applications. The rapidly growing advances in nanofabrication have made the versatile design and analysis of these ultra-thin surfaces an ever-growing necessity. However, despite their importance, a comprehensive theory to describe the optical response of periodic metasurfaces in closed-form and analytical expressions has not been formulated, and prior attempts were frequently approximate. Here, we develop a theory that analytically links the properties of the scatterer, from which a periodic metasurface is made, to its optical response via the lattice coupling matrix. The scatterers are represented by their polarizability or T matrix, and our theory works for normal and oblique incidence. We provide explicit expressions for the optical response up to octupolar order in both spherical and Cartesian coordinates. Several examples demonstrate that our analytical tool constitutes a paradigm shift in designing and understanding optical metasurfaces. Novel fully-diffracting metagratings and particle-independent polarization filters are proposed, and novel insights into the response of Huygens' metasurfaces under oblique incidence are provided. Our analytical expressions are a powerful tool for exploring the physics of metasurfaces and designing novel flat optics devices., Comment: 43 pages (Main: 23, SM: 20), 9 Figures, 2 Tables

Bianisotropic media can be used to engineer absorbance, scattering, polarization, and dispersion of electromagnetic waves. However, the demonstration of a tunable light-induced bianisotropy at optical frequencies is still lacking. Here, we propose an experimentally feasible concept for a light-induced tunable bianisotropic response in a homogeneous sphere made of an epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) material. By exploiting the large linear absorption and the large possible intensity-dependent changes in the permittivity of ENZ materials, the direction-dependent scattering and absorption cross sections could be obtained. Our findings pave the way for further studies and applications in the optical regime requiring full dynamic control of the bianisotropic behavior.

Publisher Copyright: © 2021 IEEE. We derive the dispersion relation of eigenmodes propagating in a time-varying and dispersive medium. We use these eigenmodes to analytically study the scattering of light by a sphere made from a time-varying and dispersive medium. These results are compared to full-wave optical simulations and excellent agreement is observed. With that, we provide tools and outline a path towards further explorations of light scattering by time-varying finite particles.

A dense cloud of atoms with randomly changing positions exhibits coherent and incoherent scattering. We show that an atomic cloud of subwavelength dimensions can be modeled as a single scatterer where both coherent and incoherent components of the scattered photons can be fully explained based on effective multipole moments. This model allows us to arrive at a relation between the coherent and incoherent components of scattering based on the conservation of energy. Furthermore, using superposition of four plane waves, we show that one can selectively excite different multipole moments and thus tailor the scattering of the atomic cloud to control the cooperative shift, resonance linewidth, and the radiation pattern. Our approach provides a new insight into the scattering phenomena in atomic ensembles and opens a pathway towards controlling scattering for applications such as generation and manipulation of single-photon states., 14 pages, 4 figures

We theoretically demonstrate that it is possible to obtain several orders of magnitude second-harmonic power difference for the forward and backward illuminations by adjusting geometrical parameters coinciding with quasi-BICs. Our study paves the way towards generation of directional higher-order waves.

We propose novel quantum antennas and metamaterials with a strong magnetic response at optical frequencies. Our design is based on the arrangement of natural quantum emitters with only electric dipole transition moments at distances smaller than a wavelength of light but much larger than their physical size. In particular, we show that an atomic dimer can serve as a magnetic antenna at its antisymmetric mode to enhance the decay rate of a magnetic transition in its vicinity by several orders of magnitude. Furthermore, we study metasurfaces composed of atomic bilayers with and without cavities and show that they can fully reflect the electric and magnetic fields of light, thus, forming nearly perfect electric or magnetic mirrors. The proposed metamaterials will embody the intrinsic quantum functionalities of natural emitters such as atoms, ions, color center, or molecules and can be fabricated with available state-of-the-art technologies, promising several applications both in classical optics and quantum engineering.

When considering light scattering from a sphere, the ratios between the expansion coefficients of the scattered and the incident field in a spherical basis are known as the Mie coefficients. Generally, Mie coefficients depend on many degrees of freedom, including the dimensions and electromagnetic properties of the spherical object. However, for fundamental research, it is important to have easy expressions for all possible values of Mie coefficients within the existing physical constraints and which depend on the least number of degrees of freedom. While such expressions are known for spheres made from non-absorbing materials, we present here, for the first time to our knowledge, corresponding expressions for spheres made from absorbing materials. To illustrate the usefulness of these expressions, we investigate the upper bound for the absorption cross section of a trimer made from electric dipolar spheres. Given the results, we have designed a dipolar ITO trimer that offers a maximal absorption cross section. Our approach is not limited to dipolar terms, but indeed, as demonstrated in the manuscript, can be applied to higher order terms as well. Using our model, one can scan the entire accessible parameter space of spheres for specific functionalities in systems made from spherical scatterers.

The solution to the electromagnetic scattering of a sphere was published by Gustav Mie more than hundred years ago and is well-known as the Mie theory. In Mie theory, the ratio between the scattered and the incident field coefficients in the spherical basis is expressed in terms of the Mie coefficient. These Mie coefficients depend in an intricate manner on the spheres’ radius and the involved material properties of both the sphere and the ambient. To enable a systematic analysis of the accessible optical properties from spheres, these explicit expressions are not useful because they are too complicated. These Mie coefficients simply contain too many degrees of freedom. For fundamental research, it is of utmost importance to have easy expressions at hand that express all values of Mie coefficients that are accessible in general. The precise geometrical and material properties of a sphere that offer these coefficients can be identified in a secondary step. But if these accessible coefficients depend on the least number of degrees of freedom, they would allow for a systematic analysis of all observable effects using spherical scatterers. These desired simple expressions have been previously identified only for non-absorbing materials. However, a model for absorbing particles has never been reported. Here, while using the optical theorem we derive the generic equations to express any possible Mie coefficient of an absorbing sphere. Our model for absorbing particles can facilitate the study of absorbing systems such as perfect absorbers, optical torque calculations, cooling, thermal emitters etc. Using the proposed model, one can systematically analyse through all the possible space and search for specific functionality as it will be demonstrated at selected applications at the talk.

The multipole expansion is a key tool in the study of light-matter interactions. All the information about the radiation of and coupling to electromagnetic fields of a given charge-density distribution is condensed into few numbers: The multipole moments of the source. These numbers are frequently computed with expressions obtained after the long-wavelength approximation. Here, we derive exact expressions for the multipole moments of dynamic sources that resemble in their simplicity their approximate counterparts. We validate our new expressions against analytical results for a spherical source, and then use them to calculate the induced moments for some selected sources with a non-trivial shape. The comparison of the results to those obtained with approximate expressions shows a considerable disagreement even for sources of subwavelength size. Our expressions are relevant for any scientific area dealing with the interaction between the electromagnetic field and material systems., Comment: 21 pages, 3 figures

Geometrical chirality is a property of objects that describes three-dimensional mirror-symmetry violation and therefore it requires a non-vanishing spatial extent. In contrary, optical chirality describes only the local handedness of electromagnetic fields and neglects the spatial geometrical structure of optical beams. In this manuscript, we put forward the physical significance of geometrical chirality of spatial structure of optical beams, which we term "Kelvin's chirality". Further, we report on an experiment revealing the coupling of Kelvin's chirality to optical chirality upon transmission of a focused beam through a planar medium. Our work emphasizes the importance of Kelvin's chirality in all light-matter interaction experiments involving structured light beams with spatially inhomogeneous phase and polarization distributions., Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures

We propose a tunable coherent perfect absorber based on ultrathin nonlinear metasurfaces. The nonlinear metasurface is made of plasmonic nanoantennas coupled to an epsilon-near-zero material with a large optical nonlinearity. The coherent perfect absorption is achieved by controlling the relative phases of the input beams. We show that the optical response of the nonlinear metasurface can be tuned from a complete to a partial absorption by changing the intensity of the pump beam. The proposed nonlinear metasurface can be used to design optically tunable thermal emitters, modulators, and sensors., Comment: 2019 Optical Society of America. Optical Society of America]. One print or electronic copy may be made for personal use only. Systematic reproduction and distribution, duplication of any material in this paper for a fee or for commercial purposes, or modifications of the content of this paper are prohibited

We introduce here the concept of optical force rectifier based on parity-time symmetric metasurfaces. Directly linked to the properties of non-Hermitian systems engineered by balanced loss and gain constituents, we show that light can exert asymmetric pulling or pushing forces on metasurfaces depending on the direction of the impinging light. This generates a complete force rectification in the vicinity of the exceptional point. Our findings have the potential to spark the design of applications in optical manipulation where the forces, strictly speaking, act unidirectionally. R.A. and B.G. would like to acknowledge financial support from the Max Planck Society. J.C. acknowledges the support from the European Research Council (ERC) through Starting Grant No. 714577 PHONOMETA and from the MINECO through a Ramón y Cajal grant (Grant No. RYC-2015-17156). This project has been performed in cooperation with the Labex ACTION program (Contract No. ANR-11-LABX-0001-01) and was supported by the French Investissements d’Avenir program, Project ISITE-BFC (Contract No. ANR-15-IDEX-03).

Plasmonic nanoantennas can feature a sophisticated spectral response that may be the springboard for a plethora of applications. Particularly, spectrally sharp Fano resonances have been at the focus of interest because of their promising applications in sensing. Usually, the observation of Fano resonances requires nanostructures that exhibit multiple plasmonic resonances such as higher-order multipole moments. We show that similar spectral features can be observed with nanoantennas sustaining solely electric-dipolar resonances. The considered nanoantennas consist of multiple concentric gold nanorings separated by thin dielectric spacers. These nanoantennas host multiple resonances with disparate line widths in the visible and near-infrared. We theoretically and experimentally show that the interference of these resonances causes Fano features and scattering dark states. The electric-dipolar character permits the use of a simplified dense-array theory to predict the response of arrays of such nanoantennas ...

Photons are massless, yet can exert force on small particles. This $r\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}a\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}d\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}i\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}a\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}t\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}i\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}o\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}n$ $p\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}r\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}e\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}s\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}s\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}u\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}r\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}e$, though discussed by Kepler, still needs investigation for modern systems. This study reveals that the optical force exerted on a parity-time-symmetric bilayer with balanced gain and loss can be $a\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}s\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}y\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}m\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}m\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}e\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}t\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}r\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}i\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}c$, depending on the direction of impinging light. The authors explain the direct physical link of the optical pulling/pushing force to the optical characteristics embedded in the bilayer, which has a non-Hermitian Hamiltonian. This finding suggests taking advantage of the optically generated asymmetric force to tailor flexural vibrations, for contactless probing of mechanical deformations.

We explore the optical properties of a meta-atom made of plasmonic nanopatches that possess an increasing degree of complexity. We show that if two nanopatches are strongly coupled and have a different geometrical footprint, the meta-atom exhibits a resonant magnetoelectric response, in addition to the anticipated resonant electric and magnetic response. Thus, it behaves similarly as the so-called omega particle, but with the unique advantage that frequency and strength of this magnetoelectric resonance can be independently tuned and modified with respect to the corresponding values of the electric resonance. This allows a metasurface of such meta-atoms to possess widely controlled reflection and transmission coefficients, e.g., the regimes of strongly asymmetric reflectance and perfect absorption become possible. Alternatively, an individual meta-atom of such kind can act as a directive nanoantenna with zero backscattered fields (Huygens' scatterer).

An optical metamaterial, operating in between the MID/IR and the visible domain, which uses the effect of extreme coupling between closely spaced nanostructured gold metal plates and a planar gold substrate was realized by means of electron beam lithography and lift-off technique. This regime is only accessible by using an ultrathin oxide layer between metal plates and substrate, where the oxide layerisrealized by atomic layer deposition here. The involved fabrication is discussed in detail. The metamaterial shows the predicted effect of perfect absorption with multiple resonances in the spectral range from 100 THz to 600 THz. The plasmonic based resonance frequencies are very sensitive to the plate size of the grating and the spacer thickness.

Patterned graphene, as an atomically thin layer, supports localized surface plasmon-polaritons (LSPPs) at mid-infrared or far-infrared frequencies. This provides a pronounced optical force/torque in addition to large optical cross sections and will make it an ideal candidate for optical manipulation. Here, we study the optical force and torque exerted by a linearly polarized plane wave on circular and oval graphene flakes. Whereas the torque vanishes for circular flakes, the finite torque allows rotating and orienting oval flakes relative to the electric field polarization. Depending on the wavelength, the alignment is either perpendicular or parallel. In our contribution, we rely on full-wave numerical simulation but also on an analytical model that treats the graphene flakes in dipole approximation. The presented results reveal a good level of control on the spatial alignment of graphene flakes subjected to far-infrared illumination., Copyright 2016 Optical Society of America. One print or electronic copy may be made for personal use only. Systematic reproduction and distribution, duplication of any material in this paper for a fee or for commercial purposes, or modifications of the content of this paper are prohibited. Online abstract link

Ultrafast single-photon detectors with high efficiency are of utmost importance for many applications in the context of integrated quantum photonic circuits. Detectors based on superconductor nanowires attached to optical waveguides are particularly appealing for this purpose. However, their speed is limited because the required high absorption efficiency necessitates long nanowires deposited on top of the waveguide. This enhances the kinetic inductance and makes the detectors slow. Here, we solve this problem by aligning the nanowire, contrary to usual choice, perpendicular to the waveguide to realize devices with a length below 1 μm. By integrating the nanowire into a photonic crystal cavity, we recover high absorption efficiency, thus enhancing the detection efficiency by more than an order of magnitude. Our cavity enhanced superconducting nanowire detectors are fully embedded in silicon nanophotonic circuits and efficiently detect single photons at telecom wavelengths. The detectors possess subnanosecond decay (∼120 ps) and recovery times (∼510 ps) and thus show potential for GHz count rates at low timing jitter (∼32 ps). The small absorption volume allows efficient threshold multiphoton detection.

The high potential of bottom-up fabrication strategies for realizing sophisticated optical sensors combining the high sensitivity of a surface plasmon resonance with the exceptional properties of stimuli-responsive hydrogel is demonstrated. The sensor is composed of a periodic hole array in a gold film whose holes are filled with gold-capped poly(N-isoproyl-acrylamide) (polyNIPAM) microspheres. The production of this sensor relies on a pure chemical approach enabling simple, time-efficient, and cost-efficient preparation of sensor platforms covering areas of cm(2). The transmission spectrum of this plasmonic sensor shows a strong interaction between propagating surface plasmon polaritons at the metal film surface and localized surface plasmon resonance of the gold cap on top of the polyNIPAM microspheres. Computer simulations support this experimental observation. These interactions lead to distinct changes in the transmission spectrum, which allow for the simultaneous, sensitive optical detection of refractive index changes in the surrounding medium and the swelling state of the embedded polyNIPAM microsphere under the gold cap. The volume of the polyNIPAM microsphere located underneath the gold cap can be changed by certain stimuli such as temperature, pH, ionic strength, and distinct molecules bound to the hydrogel matrix facilitating the detection of analytes which do not change the refractive index of the surrounding medium significantly.

Controlling the transport, trapping, and filtering of nanoparticles is important for many applications. By virtue of their weak response to gravity and their thermal motion, various physical mechanisms can be exploited for such operations on nanoparticles. However, the manipulation based on optical forces is potentially most appealing since it constitutes a highly deterministic approach. Plasmonic nanostructures have been suggested for this purpose, but they possess the disadvantages of locally generating heat and trapping the nanoparticles directly on surface. Here, we propose the use of dielectric rings made of high permittivity materials for trapping nanoparticles. Thanks to their ability to strongly localize the field in space, nanoparticles can be trapped without contact. We use a semi-analytical method to study the ability of these rings to trap nanoparticles. Results are supported by full-wave simulations. Application of the trapping concept to nanoparticle filtration is suggested., 5 figures

We theoretically consider electrically small reciprocal particles, which show bianisotropic magneto-electric coupling. We study how strong the magneto-electric effect can be in comparison with the electric and magnetic polarizations induced directly by the corresponding electric and magnetic incident fields. In particular, we prove that it is not possible to realize a passive reciprocal particle, which would have exactly zero electric or magnetic polarizability but still exhibit magneto-electric coupling effects. On the other hand, we prove that magnetoelectric coupling coefficient can be very large as compared to both electric and magnetic polarizabilities of the same particle, in contrast to some claims found in the literature.

Optical force and torque provide unprecedented control on the spatial motion of small particles. A valid scientific question, that has many practical implications, concerns the existence of fundamental upper bounds for the achievable force and torque exerted by a plane wave illumination with a given intensity. Here, while studying isotropic particles, we show that different light-matter interaction channels contribute to the exerted force and torque; and analytically derive upper bounds for each of the contributions. Specific examples for particles that achieve those upper bounds are provided. We study how and to which extent different contributions can add up to result in the maximum optical force and torque. Our insights are important for applications ranging from molecular sorting, particle manipulation, nanorobotics up to ambitious projects such as laser-propelled spaceships., 5 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables, Supplemental Material (27 pages, 6 figures)

Nanolaminate metamaterials recently attracted a lot of attention as a novel second-order nonlinear material that can be used in integrated photonic circuits. Here, we explore theoretically and numerically the opportunity to enhance the nonlinear response from such nanolaminates by exploiting Fano resonances supported in grating-coupled waveguides. The enhancement factor of the radiated second harmonic signal compared to a flat nanolaminate can reach values as large as 35 for gold gratings and even 7000 for MgFsub2/subgratings. For the MgFsub2/subgrating, extremely high-Q Fano resonances are excited in such all-dielectric system that result in strong local fields in the nonlinear waveguide layer to boost the nonlinear conversion. A significant portion of the nonlinear signal is also strongly coupled to a dark waveguide mode, which remains guided in the nanolaminate. The strong excitation of a dark mode at the second harmonic frequency provides a viable method for utilizing second-order nonlinearities for light generation and manipulation in integrated photonic circuits.

We theoretically investigate the optical force exerted on an isotropic particle illuminated by a superposition of plane waves. We derive explicit analytical expressions for the exerted force up to quadrupolar polarizabilities. Based on these analytical expressions, we demonstrate that an illumination consisting of two tilted plane waves can provide a full control on the optical force. In particular, optical pulling, pushing, and lateral forces can be obtained by the proper tuning of illumination parameters. Our findings might unlock multiple applications based on a deterministic control of the spatial motion of small particles.

The multipolar decomposition of current distributions is used in many branches of physics. Here, we obtain new exact expressions for the dipolar moments of a localized electric current distribution. The typical integrals for the dipole moments of electromagnetically small sources are recovered as the lowest order terms of the new expressions in a series expansion with respect to the size of the source. All the higher order terms can be easily obtained. We also provide exact and approximated expressions for dipoles that radiate a definite polarization handedness (helicity). Formally, the new exact expressions are only marginally more complex than their lowest order approximations.

The polarization response of molecules ormeta-atoms to external electric and magnetic fields, which defines the electromagnetic properties of materials, can either be direct (electric field induces electric moment and magnetic field induces magnetic moment) or indirect (magnetoelectric coupling in bianisotropic scatterers). Earlier studies suggest that there is a fundamental bound on the indirect response of all passive scatterers: It is believed to be always weaker than the direct one. In this paper, we prove that there exist scatterers which overcome this bound substantially. Moreover, we show that the amplitudes of electric and magnetic polarizabilities can be negligibly small as compared to the magnetoelectric coupling coefficients. However, we prove that if at least one of the direct-excitation coefficients vanishes, magnetoelectric coupling effects in passive scatterers cannot exist. Our findings open a way to a new class of electromagnetic scatterers and composite materials.

On the one hand, electromagnetic dual particles preserve the helicity of light upon interaction. On the other hand, chiral particles respond differently to light of opposite helicity. These two properties on their own constitute a source of fascination. Their combined action, however, is less explored. Here, we study on analytical grounds the force and torque as well as the optical cross sections of dual chiral particles in the dipolar approximation exerted by a particular wave of well-defined helicity: A circularly polarized plane wave. We put emphasis on particles that possess a maximally electromagnetic chiral and hence dual response. Besides the analytical insights, we also investigate the exerted optical force and torque on a real particle at the example of a metallic helix that is designed to approach the maximal electromagnetic chirality condition. Various applications in the context of optical sorting but also nanorobotics can be foreseen considering the particles studied in this contribution., Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures

Recently, it has been shown that a metasurface of plasmonic nanospheres deposited on a highly refractive substrate requires a bianisotropic magnetoelectric coupling for its effective description. The effect has been coined substrate-induced bianisotropy. It leads to an asymmetric reflectance similar to bianisotropic metasurfaces. In this work, through a circuit model, we show that such bianisotropy does not necessarily emerge for all substrated metasurfaces. Indeed, we show that the thickness of the metasurface plays a crucial role to encounter substrate-induced bianisotropy. Moreover, by taking advantage of substrate-induced bianisotropy, we present the necessary conditions for the circuit model parameters to compensate the asymmetric reflectance generated by an intrinsically bianisotropic metasurface. We finally express that, in substrated metasurfaces, the asymmetric reflectance and the bianisotropic response are two separate issues albeit with interdependencies.

The study of high-index dielectric nanoparticles currently attracts a lot of attention. They do not suffer from absorption but promise to provide control on the properties of light comparable to plasmonic nanoparticles. To further advance the field, it is important to identify versatile dielectric nanoparticles with unconventional properties. Here, we show that breaking the symmetry of an all-dielectric nanoparticle leads to a geometrically tunable magneto-electric coupling, i.e. an omega-type bianisotropy. The suggested nanoparticle exhibits different backscatterings and, as an interesting consequence, different optical scattering forces for opposite illumination directions. An array of such nanoparticles provides different reflection phases when illuminated from opposite directions. With a proper geometrical tuning, this bianisotropic nanoparticle is capable of providing a $2\pi$ phase change in the reflection spectrum while possessing a rather large and constant amplitude. This allows creating reflectarrays with near-perfect transmission out of the resonance band due to the absence of an usually employed metallic screen., Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures

Based on an analytic approach, we present a theoretical review on the absorption, scattering, and extinction of both dipole scatterers and regular arrays composed of such scatterers i.e., metasurfaces. Besides offering a tutorial by outlining the maximum absorption limit for electrically/magnetically resonant dipole particles/metasurfaces, we give an educative analytical approach to their analysis. Moreover, we put forward the analysis of two known alternatives in providing perfect absorbers out of electrically and or magnetically resonant metasurfaces; one is based on the simultaneous presence of both electric and magnetic responses in so called Huygens metasurfaces while the other is established upon the presence of a back reflector in so called Salisbury absorbers. Our work is supported by several numerical examples to clarify the discussions in each stage.

The excitation of localized or delocalized surface plasmon polaritons in nanostructured or extended graphene has attracted a steadily increasing attention due to their promising applications in sensors, switches, and filters. These single resonances may couple and intriguing spectral signatures can be achieved by exploiting the entailing hybridization. Whereas thus far only the coupling between localized or delocalized surface plasmon polaritons has been studied in graphene nanostructures, we consider here the interaction between a localized and a delocalized surface plasmon polariton. This interaction can be achieved by two different schemes that reside on either evanescent near- field coupling or far-field interference. All observable phenomena are corroborated by analytical considerations, providing insight into the physics and paving the way for compact and tunable optical components at infrared and terahertz frequencies., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures

Genuinely homogeneous metamaterials, which may be characterized by local effective constitutive relations, are required for many spectacular metamaterial applications. Such metamaterials have to be made of meta-atoms, i.e., subwavelength resonators, which exhibit only electric and or magnetic dipole and negligible higher-order multipolar polarizabilities in the spectral range of interest. Here, we show that these desired meta-atoms can be designed by exploiting the extreme coupling regime. Appropriate meta-atoms are identified by performing a multipole analysis of the field scattered from the respective meta-atom. To design those particular meta-atoms it is important to disclose the frequency and angular-dependent polarizability of both dipole moments. We demonstrate the applicability of a purely analytical model to accurately calculate for a normally incident plane wave reflection and transmission from meta-surfaces made of periodically arranged meta-atoms. With our work we identify a possible route towards the engineering of artificial materials while only considering the response from its constituents. Our approach is generally applicable to all spectral domains and can be used to evaluate and design metamaterials made from different constituting materials, e.g., metals, dielectrics, or semiconductors.

We propose enhancing the upconversion efficiency of photons at 1540 nm to 980 nm in trivalent Erbium doped fused silica by carefully tailored double-resonant plasmonic nanoring antennas. Our proposal is substantiated within an experimental study.

A double-patterning process for scalable, efficient, and deterministic nanoring array fabrication is presented. It enables gaps and features below a size of 20 nm. A writing time of 3 min/cm2 makes this process extremely appealing for scientific and industrial applications. Numerical simulations are in agreement with experimentally measured optical spectra. Therefore, a platform and a design tool for upcoming next generation plasmonic devices like hybrid plasmonic quantum systems are delivered.

The availability of novel technologies that enable the fabrication of bulk metamaterials made it necessary to develop a theoretical language to discuss their properties appropriately. Here we use the fundamental Bloch mode approximation to explore bulk properties of metamaterials that operate at terahertz frequencies. We demonstrate that this approximation is valid in the case of terahertz meta-foil metamaterials. While relying on theoretical and experimental results, we show that the fundamental Bloch mode approximation can explain minuscule details that are unique to the bulk metamaterial. Various applications such as cylindrical lenses, terahertz cloaks, and sensors will benefit from our analysis.

We suggest a novel switchable plasmonic dipole nanoantenna operating at mid-infrared frequencies that exploits phase-change materials. We show that the induced dipole moments of a nanoantenna, where a germanium antimony telluride (Gesub3/subSbsub2/subTesub6/subor GST for short) nanopatch acts as a spacer between two coupled metallic nanopatches, can be controlled in a disruptive sense. By switching GST between its crystalline and amorphous phases, the nanoantenna can exhibit either an electric or a balanced magneto-electric dipole-like radiation. While the former radiation pattern is omnidirectional, the latter is directive. Based on this property exciting switching devices can be perceived, such as a metasurface whose functionality can be switched between an absorber and a reflector. The switching between stable amorphous and crystalline phases occurs on timescales of nanoseconds and can be achieved by an electrical or optical pulse.

All-dielectric reciprocal metasurface based on bianisotropic scatterers operating at microwave frequencies is demonstrated experimentally. Experimental studies of a single bianisotropic particle supporting both electric and magnetic Mie-type resonances are performed, and reveal that the particle with a broken symmetry exhibits different back-scattering for the opposite excitation directions. A metasurface composed of the all-dielectric bianisotropic particles is fabricated and experimentally investigated in the frequency range of 4–9 GHz. The measured data demonstrate that the metasurface is characterized by different reflection phases when being excited from the opposite directions. At the frequency 6.8 GHz, the metasurface provides a 2π phase change in the reflection spectrum with the amplitude close to 1.

In this paper, we will introduce THz graphene antennas that strongly enhance the emission rate of quantum systems at specific frequencies. The tunability of these antennas can be used to selectively enhance individual spectral features. We will show as an example that any weak transition in the spectrum of coronene can become the dominant contribution. This selective and tunable enhancement establishes a new class of graphene-based THz devices, which will find applications in sensors, novel light sources, spectroscopy, and quantum communication devices.

Recently perfect metamaterial absorbers triggered some fascination since they permit the observation of an extreme interaction of light with a nanostructured thin film. For the first time we evaluate here the functionality of such perfect absorbers if they are applied on curved surfaces. We probe their optical response and discuss potential novel applications. Examples are the complete suppression of back-scattered light from the covered objects, rendering it cloaked in reflection, and their action as optical black holes.