Calculation of the vectorial field distribution of an axicon illuminated by a linearly polarized Guassian beam

An analytical expression describing the vectorial field distribution of Gaussian light beams diffracted by an axicon is obtained. The theoretical analysis and simulation calculation show that for the linearly x-polarized light incident on an axicon, the y-component of the diffraction field is very small and the x-component dominates. The intensity of the z-component along the propagation direction is related with the open angle and index of axicon. The open angle plays the more important role in determining the polarization than does the index. For a small open angle, the z-polarized effect can be neglected and the scalar method is simple and valid to evaluating the diffraction field distribution of axicon. However, the vectorial method has to be used for great open angle.     

Surface-plasmon-polariton waves guided by the uniformly moving planar interface of a metal film and dielectric slab

We explored the effects of relative motion on the excitation of surface-plasmon-polariton (SPP) waves guided by the planar interface of a metal film and a dielectric slab, both materials being isotropic and homogeneous. Electromagnetic phasors in moving and non-moving reference frames were related directly using the corresponding Lorentz transformations. Our numerical studies revealed that, in the case of a uniformly moving dielectric slab, the angle of incidence for SPP-wave excitation is highly sensitive to (i) the ratio β of the speed of motion to speed of light in free space and (ii) the direction of motion. When the direction of motion is parallel to the plane of incidence, the SPP wave is excited by p-polarized (but not s-polarized) incident plane waves for low and moderate values of β, while at higher values of β the total reflection regime breaks down. When the direction of motion is perpendicular to the plane of incidence, the SPP wave is excited by p-polarized incident plane waves for low values of β, but s-polarized incident plane waves at moderate values of β, while at higher values of β the SPP wave is not excited. In the case of a uniformly moving metal film, the sensitivity to β and the direction of motion is less obvious.     

Brewster Anomalies in Opaque Random Amorphous Multilayers a-Si:H/a-Si3N4+x:H

Reflectance anomalies of random amorphous multilayers are shown to be different dependence on the incident angle for s- and p-polarized light by simulation. Disappearance of these anomalies has especially been observed for p-polarized light propagation at a certain incident angle. It is shown that this incident angle is the extended Brewster angle defined for opaque materials. This phenomenon, i.e., the disappearance of reflectance anomalies, is the Brewster anomaly in random amorphous multilayers made with absorbent materials. Preliminary results of experiments are also presented.     

The role of bound electrons in the non-local surface response of metals

P-polarized light has the unique feature of probing the surface region of a metal which gives rise to effects not taken into account in a classical (Fresnel) treatment. Previous calculations of this non-local effect have been restricted to free-electron metals. Within a simple framework we will here consider the modifications because of the presence of bound electrons. The somewhat surprising result is that a system with both free and bound electrons will still be possible to analyze in free-electron terms, provided we plot the experimental results with a normalization which removes all dependence of the angle of incidence.     

Asymmetric planar luminescent waveguide based on amorphous silicon carbide with polarized radiation in leaky modes

Plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition is used to fabricate asymmetric planar luminescent waveguides (APWs) based on amorphous silicon-carbide films with submicron thickness on quartz substrates. Narrow peaks of linearly (P and S) polarized radiation related to the emission in the APW leaky modes are detected in the APW emission spectra from the end surface of a substrate under excitation of photoluminescence. The dependence of the spectral positions of peaks on the angle at which the radiation is emitted from the end surface and the film thickness is analyzed. At grazing angles of emission, the radiation wavelength is almost independent of the angle. It is demonstrated that the difference between the wavelengths of the P- and S-polarized peaks in the PL spectra decreases with an increase in the waveguide thickness. The waveguide works as an optical microcavity for leaky modes. The amplitude of the S-polarized peak is higher than the amplitude of the P-polarized peak due to the fact that the Q factor for the S-polarized leaky modes is greater than the Q factor for the P-polarized leaky mode. The luminescent APWs can be used to generate optical beams with radial and azimuthal polarizations.     

Reflection of the light beam carrying orbital angular momentum from a lossy medium

It is shown that after reflection from a lossy medium the s- or p-polarized paraxial light beam carrying the orbital angular momentum suffers the 2D shift of the beam's centre of gravity relative the geometric optic axis. The direction as well as the length of the 2D vector, which describes the shift, change smoothly with the change of the angle of incidence.     

Magnetorefractive effect in nanocomposites: Dependence on the angle of incidence and on light polarization

The polarization and angular dependences of the magnetorefractive effect (MRE) in metal-insulator nanocomposites in reflection and transmission geometries have been calculated in terms of the high-frequency, spin-dependent tunneling mechanism. The MRE exhibits a weak polarization and angular response at small angles of incidence. The MRE in reflection and transmission starts to grow strongly with increasing angle of incidence. The MRE in reflection in nanocomposites with metal contents corresponding to the insulating phase near the percolation threshold reaches the largest values with p-polarized light at an angle of incidence close to the Brewster angle. The results of the calculation are in a qualitative agreement with experimental data.     

Light transmission in inhomogeneous birefringent medium as a function of propagation and observation angles

We use the Mueller matrix for inhomogeneous linear birefringent media derived in Savenkov et al. [Mueller-matrix model of an inhomogeneous linear birefringent medium: single scattering case. JQSRT 2007;106:475–86] to generate new results on the forward scattering of light using Cloude's coherence matrix method. We show that the intensity of scattered light (m₁₁) as a function of observation angle depends on the difference between refractive indices along the eigen polarizations resulting in intensity lost when unpolarized light propagates parallel to the optical axes compared to propagation orthogonal to the optical axis. For a given inhomogeneity (roughness), depolarization strongly depends on the direction of light propagation in the medium. The depolarization at 90° propagation angle is minimal for any value of inhomogeneity. Sample calculations are based on calcite.     

Modulation polarimetry of the topological effect in gold-organic nanocomposite films

The phenomenon of surface plasmon resonance in composite films consisting of gold nanoclusters in matrices of organic molecular materials calix[4]arene and poly(N-vinylcarbazole) has been investigated. The internal reflection coefficients R _s ² and R _p ² of s- and p-polarized light and their physical difference ρ = R _s ² ? R _p ² have been measured according to the Kretschmann scheme as a function of the angle of light incidence θ at different wavelengths λ in the range 400–1000 nm. The angular characteristics reflect the cluster structure of the films, which is confirmed by electron microscopy. A topological size effect has been revealed. This effect is associated with the dependence of the excitation energy efficiency of surface plasmons on the azimuth of the linearly polarized light, the shape, and the distribution of nanoclusters in the coordinate space. The dependences ρ(λ) demonstrate that the local plasmon resonance is excited by both s- and p-polarized light, whereas the polariton resonance is excited by s-polarized light. The sign of the curvature of the dependence ρ(θ) determines the predominance of the excitation energy efficiency of electromagnetic modes with one of the two states of polarization of the excitation radiation.     

A terahertz single-polarization single-mode photonic crystal fiber with a rectangular array of micro-holes in the core region

A single-polarization single-mode (SPSM) photonic crystal fiber with a rectangular array of micro-holes in the core region was designed in the terahertz frequency range near 1 THz. Based on the asymmetric arrangement of the micro-holes, birefringence between the fundamental x-polarized and y-polarized modes is introduced. A SPSM operation of the terahertz fiber can be supported due to the different mode indices of the x-polarized and y-polarized modes. The SPSM operation band is about 320 GHz with a central frequency of 1 THz. In addition, the proposed terahertz fiber also shows a good property of reduced propagation loss comparing with the dielectric absorption.     

Electric field controlled higher-order diffraction images of paraelectric potassium lithium tantalate niobate

We report some electric field controlled photorefractive higher-order diffraction phenomena of a paraelectric phase potassium lithium tantalate niobate crystal doped with iron. In experiments, a p-polarized semiconductor laser (532 nm) was used to record grating at a small incident angle. Higher-order diffraction images were observed when the signal beam was focused behind and in front of the crystal. Then the higher-order diffraction images were reconstructed by a p-polarized He–Ne laser (632.8 nm) in the direction perpendicular to the surface. The higher-order diffraction images could be controlled by the external electric field. A theory about the higher-order diffraction images of the K and 2K grating is developed. The results show that the even order diffraction images of the K grating and the odd order diffraction of the 2K grating overlap each other. The odd order diffraction images of the K grating are diffracted in unattached direction. The electric field controlled higher-order diffraction image provides a useful method for optical information processing.     

Applying the phase difference property of polarization angle for measuring the concentration of solutions

This paper proposes a simple method for measuring the concentration of solutions based on the phase difference of internal reflection polarization angle and circularly polarized heterodyne interferometry. For a circularly polarized heterodyne light beam incident on the boundary surface between a hemispherical prism and a test solution, the reflected light passes through a properly oriented analyzer for interference. The phase difference between s- and p-polarized light is sensitive to the solution concentration when the incident angle equals the internal reflection polarization angle. Based on these effects, the resulting phase difference makes it possible to analyze the concentration of solution through heterodyne interferometry. The experiments in this study confirm the feasibility of this method, which provides the advantages of simple installation, ease of operation, and high accuracy.     

Lossy effects on the lateral shifts in negative-phase-velocity medium

Theoretical investigations of the lateral shifts of the reflected and transmitted beams were performed, using the stationary-phase approach, for the planar interface of a conventional medium and a lossy negative-phase-velocity medium. The lateral shifts exhibit different behaviors beyond and below a certain angle, for both incident p-polarized and incident s-polarized plane waves. Loss in the negative-phase-velocity medium affects lateral shifts greatly, and may cause changes from negative to positive values for p-polarized incidence.     

Quantized longitudinal exciton-polaritons in periodic metal–semiconductor nanostructures

We theoretically investigate the optical properties of one-dimensional photonic crystals composed of two alternating layers, namely a semiconductor film and a metallic one. The nonlocal optical response of the semiconductor is here described by using a resonant excitonic dielectric function, whereas the local response function of the metal film is modeled with Drude formula. We calculate optical spectra of the metal–semiconductor 1D photonic crystal for both s- and p-polarization geometries. In both cases the spectra exhibit a rich resonance structure due to the coupling of size-quantized excitons inside the semiconductor film with light. We show the difference between s- and p-polarization reflectivity as the angle of incidence is increased. In the p-polarization geometry, besides transverse exciton-polariton modes, longitudinal polarization waves are excited producing additional spectral resonances. The spectra become radically different when the frequency corresponding to the minimum of the first photonic pass-band is close to the exciton resonance, since such a frequency is distinct for s- and p-polarized modes. We also show how reflectivity spectra for both polarizations are modified with varying the metal filling fraction which controls the width of the gap below the lowest frequency band.     

On the optical absorption due to particle-hole excitations in thin metal films

We present here a qualitative discussion on the optical absorption due to particle-hole excitations in thin metal films. We show that in sufficiently thin films, such excitations yield resonant absorption, when P-polarized light is obliquely incident on the metal surface. For instance, for frequency ω #62; ε_F where ε_F is the Fermi-energy, such resonances occur whenever ω satisfies the condition ω/ε_F = (1 + nπ/dq_F)² - 1, where n = 1,3,5,…,q_F is the Fermi wave-vector and d is the thickness of the film. The experimental observability of this effect is also discussed.     

Optical transmission through metal/dielectric multilayer films perforated with periodic subwavelength slits

The transmission of p-polarized plane wave through Ag/SiO₂ multilayer films perforated with periodic subwavelength air slits is investigated by using the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. The results show that the optical transmission property is mediated by the interference among the propagating coupled-SPP modes along the lateral direction inside the SiO₂ layers and the conditions of Fabry-Pérot-like resonance along the longitudinal direction together. When some geometric parameters are suitably initialized, the high transmission peaks can split into more peaks as the functional layer (metal/dielectric/metal sandwich stack) number increases, and the wavelength of the same-order transmission peak exhibits a red shift as the grating period increases.     

Traveling of light through a 1D photonic crystal containing a defect layer with resonant dispersion

Spectral properties of a 1D photonic crystal that is comprised of two multilayered dielectric mirrors and a nanocomposite layer between them as a structural defect are studied. The nanocomposite consists of silver nanoballs dispersed in a transparent matrix and is characterized by an effective resonant permittivity. The spectral manifestation of the defect mode splitting for the s-polarized waves is studied as a function of the angle of incidence and concentration of nanoballs. Specific features of the transmission spectra for the s- and p-polarized waves are established for the angle of incidence equal to the Brewster angle of the seeding photonic crystal. It is shown, in particular, that, in the region of the continuous transmission spectrum of the spolarized waves, there arises an additional bandgap caused by mixing of the resonant mode with photonic modes.     

Surface photoemission from ultrathin potassium films adsorbed on tungsten

The initial stage of formation of ultrathin potassium films on W(100) is studied by threshold photoemission spectroscopy using p-and s-polarized light in a photon energy range of 1.6–3.5 eV. It is found that the photoemission current spectrum depends on the surface coverage by the alkaline atoms. Mathematically, this shows up as the dependence of the matrix elements responsible for photoemission excitation on surface coverage. The matrix elements vary because the photoelectron escape depth is small; hence, the emission comes from the surface layer under irradiation by both p-and s-polarized light.     

New nonlinear intensity Kerr effect in the polar geometry

The problem of the electromagnetic wave reflection on the second optical harmonic from a semi-infinite optically isotropic magnetic medium is considered for the uniform magnetization direction corresponding to the polar Kerr effect. In the first approximation in magnetization, the method of Green’s tensor functions is used to derive expressions for the complex amplitudes of the wave fields for the incidence of s-and p-polarized waves (as well as of their superposition) on the medium. It is shown that, in the latter case, the nonlinear polar Kerr effect is of the intensity type. The dependences of the intensity effect on the angle of incidence of the inducing wave and on the angle of its polarization, which were obtained in numerical experiments, are presented. A comparative analysis of the linear and nonlinear intensity Kerr effects is carried out.     

Dual-band asymmetric transmission of linearly polarized wave using Π-shaped metamaterial

A bilayered chiral metamaterial with Π-shaped structure is proposed, which demonstrates to exhibit dual-band asymmetric transmission (AT) of linearly polarized electromagnetic (EM) waves in two opposite directions. Incident x-polarized wave is almost converted to y-polarized wave while incident y-polarized wave is locked through the Π-shaped slab at 10.82 GHz; incident y-polarized wave is almost converted to x-polarized wave while incident x-polarized wave cannot pass through the Π-shaped slab at 14.1 GHz. The property of the AT is similar to the diode-switching characteristics, and the EM wave can be switched on/off by changing the polarization state of the incident wave. The surface current distributions of the Π-shaped structure are discussed to look into the physical mechanism.