Shear Bloch waves and coupled phonon–polariton in periodic piezoelectric waveguides

Coupled electro-elastic SH waves propagating in a periodic piezoelectric finite-width waveguide are considered in the framework of the full system of Maxwell’s electrodynamic equations. We investigate Bloch–Floquet waves under homogeneous or alternating boundary conditions for the elastic and electromagnetic fields along the guide walls. Zero frequency stop bands, trapped modes as well as some anomalous features due to piezoelectricity are identified. For mixed boundary conditions, by modulating the ratio of the length of the unit cell to the width of the waveguide, the minimum widths of the stop bands can be moved to the middle of the Brillouin zone. The dispersion equation has been investigated also for phonon–polariton band gaps. It is shown that for waveguides at acoustic frequencies, acousto-optic coupling gives rise to polariton behavior at wavelengths much larger than the length of the unit cell but at optical frequencies polariton resonance occurs at wavelengths comparable with the period of the waveguide.     

Terahertz phonon polariton imaging

In this article, we primarily review the time-resolved imaging of THz phonon polariton, which is generated by femtosecond laser in ferroelectric crystal. We pay more attention to the imaging in thin crystal, which can be used as an integration platform for terahertz-optics or terahertz-electrics. The imaging techniques, which can get quantitatively in-focus time-resolved images, are introduced in more detail. They have made enormous progress in recent years, and are powerful tools for the research of phonon polariton, optics, and THz wave. We also briefly introduce the generation principle and general propagation properties of THz phonon polariton.     

Infrared Polaritonic Biosensors Based on Two-Dimensional Materials

In recent years, polaritons in two-dimensional (2D) materials have gained intensive research interests and significant progress due to their extraordinary properties of light-confinement, tunable carrier concentrations by gating and low loss absorption that leads to long polariton lifetimes. With additional advantages of biocompatibility, label-free, chemical identification of biomolecules through their vibrational fingerprints, graphene and related 2D materials can be adapted as excellent platforms for future polaritonic biosensor applications. Extreme spatial light confinement in 2D materials based polaritons supports atto-molar concentration or single molecule detection. In this article, we will review the state-of-the-art infrared polaritonic-based biosensors. We first discuss the concept of polaritons, then the biosensing properties of polaritons on various 2D materials, then lastly the impending applications and future opportunities of infrared polaritonic biosensors for medical and healthcare applications.     

Numerical investigation of the enhanced unidirectional surface plasmon polaritons generator

A unidirectional surface plasmon polaritons(SPPs) generator with greatly enhanced generation efficiency is proposed. The SPPs generator consists of an asymmetric single nanoslit coated with a polyviny alcohol(PVA) film and a silver rectangle block. The generation efficiency of this SPPs generator is investigated using the finite difference time domain method. Due to the presence of the silver rectangle block, the SPPs generation efficiency of the asymmetric single nanoslit with PVA film can be greatly enhanced and the corresponding wavelength with the maximum enhancement factor can be tuned flexibly. The influence of the structural parameters on the generation efficiency is also investigated for the enhanced unidirectional SPPs generator.     

基于人工表面等离激元的双通带频率选择结构设计

本文提出了一种基于人工表面等离激元的频率选择结构的设计方法：将设计的频率选择表面和金属鱼骨结构阵列相结合得到一种新的频率选择结构.文中采用这种方法设计了一种具有陡截止和高透、高抑制性能的双通带频率选择结构.该结构由金属鱼骨结构阵列和上下两层相同的频率选择表面复合而成.通过仿真可得,该结构的两个通带频率范围分别是3.0–4.1和10.5–10.9 GHz,透射率均在-0.5 dB以上.透射率低于-10 dB的频率范围是4.7–9.2和12.1–18 GHz.在12.4–15.5 GHz频率范围内,该结构的透射率甚至低于-20 dB.在通带内,电磁波可以高效地透过该结构;在阻带内,该结构对电磁波的透射具有较好的抑制作用.测试结果表明用这种方法设计出的频率选择结构的实际性能和仿真基本一致.在金属鱼骨结构空隙中填入轻质泡沫后该结构具有一定的力学承载性能,可以实现结构功能一体化的设计.     

Surface polaritons in planar chiral nihility meta-material waveguides

Chiral nihility meta-material is a special case of chiral medium, in which both the permittivity and permeability are equal to zero. The feature of surface wave modes (or surface polaritons) in the planar chiral nihility waveguides which the core or cladding consist of chiral nihility meta-materials is investigated. The dispersion curves, electromagnetic fields, energy flow distribution and the power of surface wave modes in the planar chiral nihility waveguides are presented for typical parameters. Some novel peculiarities such as anomalous dispersion curves, the power flows opposite to the wave vector propagation direction in the planar chiral nihility waveguides have been found.     

表面等离极化激元对电荷输运影响的自洽场理论研究

采用自洽场方法获得体系电荷密度分布，根据激子理论分析体系电荷密度矩阵，推导出表面等离极化激元（SPP）的频谱分布，并在原子轨道函数基上构造电流输运的矩阵等式，然后采用SPP频谱规范电流输运矩阵得到电流输运多项式的表达形式.进而提出因SPP影响电流输运而导致负阻现象的物理图像. 关键词： 电荷输运 表面等离极化激元 电荷密度     

Wave refraction and backward magnon–plasmon polaritons in left-handed antiferromagnet/semiconductor superlattices

Characteristics of the bulk electromagnetic waves in teraHertz frequency region are examined in a left-handed superlattice (SL) which consists of alternating layers of nonmagnetic semiconductor and nonconducting antiferromagnetic materials. General problem on the sign of the refractive index for anisotropic media is considered. It is shown that the phase refraction index is always positive while the group refractive index can be negative when some general conditions are fulfilled. Effective permittivity and permeability tensors of the SL are derived for perpendicular and parallel orientation of the magnetic anisotropy axis with respect to the plane of the layers. Problem of anomalous refraction for transverse electric and transverse magnetic-type polarized waves is examined in such media. Analytical expressions for both the phase and group refractive indices are obtained for various propagated modes. It is shown that, in general, three different types of the refracted waves with different relative orientation of the phase and group velocity vectors are possible in left-handed media. Unusual peculiarities of the backward modes corresponding to the coupled magnon–plasmon polaritons are considered. It is shown, in particular, that the number of the backward modes depends on the free charge carrier's density in semiconductor layers, variation of which allows to create different frequency regions for the wave propagation.     

Infrared studies on ion irradiated quartz

Damage produced inα- and fused quartz bombarded with low energy (∼ 100 keV) D⁺, He⁺ and Ar⁺ ions, has been studied by observing the changes in their spectrum. Besides bulk reflectivity, the attenuated total reflection spectrum has also been studied, the latter with a view to obtaining the surface polariton frequencies. It is observed that for the same fluence, the changes following D⁺ irradiation are much higher compared to that for Ar⁺ irradiation. The variation of the surface polariton frequency inα-quartz with the damage energy deposited has the same trend as observed earlier for refractive index. Some annealing studies have also been performed in argon-irradiated samples. These studies indicate that whereas in fused quartz the damaged layer recovers completely, inα-quartz there is a residual amorphization even after annealing. A two-layer model is proposed which gives a reasonable simulation of the observedir properties.     

Enhanced Raman Scattering from Vibro‐Polariton Hybrid States

Ground‐state molecular vibrations can be hybridized through strong coupling with the vacuum field of a cavity optical mode in the infrared region, leading to the formation of two new coherent vibro‐polariton states. The spontaneous Raman scattering from such hybridized light–matter states was studied, showing that the collective Rabi splitting occurs at the level of a single selected bond. Moreover, the coherent nature of the vibro‐polariton states boosts the Raman scattering cross‐section by two to three orders of magnitude, revealing a new enhancement mechanism as a result of vibrational strong coupling. This observation has fundamental consequences for the understanding of light‐molecule strong coupling and for molecular science.