衍射极限尺度下的亚波长电磁学

作为波的本性之一,衍射是现代物理学的重要研究内容.衍射导致自由空间中波的能量不能被无限小地聚集,从而为成像、光刻、光存储、光波导等技术设定了一个原理性的障碍——衍射极限.对于电磁波和光波而言,尽管通过提高介质的折射率可以压缩衍射效应,但由于自然界中材料的折射率有限,该方法存在很大限制.近年来,随着表面等离子体光学的兴起,表面等离子体在超越传统衍射极限方面的能力和应用前景受到了学术界的关注.本文从亚波长电磁学的角度出发,介绍衍射极限研究的历史,综述了突破衍射极限的理论方法.首先,利用金属介质表面等离子体激元的短波长特性,可将等效波长压缩一个数量级以上,在纳米尺度实现光波的聚焦或定向传输;更进一步,通过人为设计超构材料和超构表面,利用结构化金属和介质中的局域谐振、耦合等特殊电磁响应,可实现亚波长局域相位调制、超宽带色散调控、近完美吸收、光子自旋轨道耦合等,从而突破传统理论的诸多局限,为下一代电磁学和光学功能器件奠定重要基础.     

超构透镜的色差调控应用

超构表面是由精心设计和排布的亚波长纳米单元组成的平面元件,其可以在微观尺度下调制电磁场,从而实现波前的任意调控.目前,它已被用来灵活地操纵相位、偏振、振幅等各种光学参数.超构透镜是超构表面中相当重要且非常活跃的一个研究方向,由于其厚度在波长量级,与传统光学透镜相比,能够显著增加光学器件的集成度并且降低结构复杂度.但是,...     

超构表面的振幅调控及其功能器件研究进展

超构表面是一种具有亚波长特征尺寸的人工平面结构材料,可以在亚波长尺度上对入射电磁波的振幅、相位、偏振、频率、光谱等参量进行精密且灵活的调控,近年来备受关注.振幅是光波的基本参量之一,本文将从振幅调控的角度出发,对基于超构表面材料的振幅调控机理进行分析,主要包括通过改变纳米结构的尺寸和方向角对振幅进行调控,同时对基于振幅...     

基于伴随仿真的偏振复用超构透镜

偏振成像技术在目标探测、生物医学等领域具有重要应用价值,基于超构表面设计的偏振成像系统可以有效避免传统偏振成像系统存在的结构复杂、体积和质量大等问题,有利于实现光学系统微型化、轻量化和集成化.然而,传统超构表面设计方法忽略了超构表面结构的局部非周期性引起的近场电磁耦合,在大数值孔径的条件下会严重影响器件的衍射效率.为了...     

基于超构材料的Cherenkov辐射

Cherenkov辐射(Cherenkov radiation, CR)是自由电子速度超过介质中光速时产生的电磁辐射,其在粒子探测、生物医学、电磁辐射源等领域具有重要的应用价值.近年来,人们发现由不同材料和结构组成的超构材料具有新奇的力学、声学和光学特性.电磁波在超构材料中的传播、耦合和辐射可以具有与传统材料完全不同的奇特性质.将传统真空电子学与微纳光电子学结合,探索自由电子与超构材料的相互作用,成为近期不少研究者关注的热点之一.超构材料的引入打破了传统材料和结构中电磁学规律的限制,自由电子在其中产生的辐射以及与辐射的相互作用表现出许多新现象和新效应.本文首先回顾了CR的基本概念和辐射原理,在此基础上介绍了自由电子与双曲超材料、负折射率材料、高Q值超材料以及超表面相互作用产生辐射的相关工作,重点阐述在这些不同功能的超构材料中产生CR的机理及其特性,涉及的工作包括无阈值CR、反向CR、受激CR以及辐射偏振和相位的调控.自由电子与各种新型超构材料相互作用的研究和发展,为实现新型高效的集成化自由电子器件提供了新的途径.     

非线性光学超构表面

在线性光学范畴内,人们已经通过亚波长尺度的超薄超构表面成功实现了对光的众多新颖特性的调控功能.其主要理念是通过对具有亚波长尺度且空间方向变化的超构功能基元进行特定的排列,从而实现对光的偏振、相位和振幅的有效控制.近来,超构表面上的非线性光学特性也引起了大家的广泛关注.在本综述中,我们对非线性光学超构表面的设计、超构功能单元的材料和对称性选择、非线性手性光学、非线性贝里几何相位和非线性波前整形等内容进行了总结;最后对非线性光学超构表面在调控光与物质的相互作用中面临的挑战和前景进行了展望.     

超构表面高效调控电磁波

实现自由调控电磁波不仅具有重要的科学研究意义,而且是通讯、能源、国防等领域的迫切需求。为了解决自然材料调控电磁波能力受限的问题,人们提出了人工超构材料这一新概念,实现了负折射、光学隐身等奇异的电磁效应。然而,经过多年的发展,超构材料仍存在结构复杂、损耗偏高、难以集成调谐等挑战。最近,本团队与国际同行一起提出了超构表面的新概念。超构表面基于电磁波在平面微结构上散射时获得的界面相位突变,充分利用人工微结构的"排列序构"这一自由度,实现了对电磁波振幅、相位、偏振及波前分布的有效调控,克服了超构材料遇到的瓶颈问题。本文主要回顾了本团队在偏振调控、波前调控及动态调控等方面开展的创新性研究。     

非线性光学超构表面

非线性光学超构表面是一类由空间变化的超构功能基元组成的超薄非线性光学器件。通过合理选择超构功能基元的材料组成、空间对称性,人们可以在亚波长尺度上对超构表面上产生的非线性光波的偏振、相位、振幅等自由度进行多维度光场调控。文章介绍了在非线性光学超构表面上实现谐波、四波混频、太赫兹波辐射的设计与原理,并讨论了如何在非线性光学超构表面上实现非线性光的波束调控、全息成像、光学图像加密等功能。     

光学超构材料芯片上类比引力的研究进展

光学超构材料是一种人工设计的微结构材料,它的出现打破了传统材料设计思维的局域性,为在微纳尺度上人为调控电磁波提供了新的范式,实现了具有超越自然界常规材料的光学性质.尤其是超构材料具有将光和电磁辐射耦合到亚波长尺度的能力,满足了高速发展的现代科学技术对光学元器件的高性能、微型化以及集成化的新要求.因此,基于超构材料的光子芯片带来很多令人鼓舞的应用,如突破衍射极限的完美成像、多功能的集成光学器件等.更有意思的是,超构材料光子芯片还可以用来模拟一些广义相对论的现象,尤其是探索一些尚未被实验证实的与引力相关的现象.本文从不同类型的超构材料芯片出发,简要介绍了在光学超构材料芯片上开展的类比引力的研究,最后对其发展现状、优势与面临的挑战进行了相应的总结与展望.     

微纳光电子与激光专题编者按

微纳光电子技术是目前发展迅速、研究活跃、应用性强的前沿交叉领域之一.人们利用亚波长尺度微纳结构对电磁波振幅、偏振、相位、角动量等进行调控,设计出多种功能性器件,例如:完美吸波器、反射镜/偏折器、光学相控阵天线、超材料/超表面器件、超透镜、轨道角动量(OAM)器件、光频率梳、片上激光器等.可用于微纳光电子器件设计和分析的...     

Metamaterials and their application in microwaves: A review

A metamaterial is a composite material that has attracted the attention of researchers since the late 1990s-early 2000s. This material contains an artificial periodic structure, which modifies its permittivity and permeability and, thereby, makes it possible to control the dispersion, refraction, and reflection of electromagnetic waves in the metamaterial. Analytical and experimental studies of the properties of metamaterials, as well as their applications, cover a wide frequency range from radio waves to the visible range. In recent years, considerable progress has been made toward the application of these materials in the microwave range (1–100 GHz). Works on development and application of metamaterials in the microwave range published over the last 8–10 years are reviewed. Artificial transmission lines as 1D metamaterials are discussed. Resonators, filters, and phase shifters based on the “metamaterial philosophy” are considered. Special attention is given to the application of metamaterials in the antenna technology.     

Loss of Invisibility in Metamaterials under Thermal Fluctuation Induced Radiation

Metamaterials have been extensively investigated for the development of invisibility cloaks; however, the role of nonequilibrium thermal fluctuations in the operation of metamaterial‐based cloaking remains an unexplored avenue. Here, an analytical study on nonequilibrium thermal fluctuations induced charges and currents in metamaterials which generate electromagnetic modes is presented. It is argued that thermally induced charges in metamaterials cannot remain shielded from incoming electromagnetic radiation and excitation of such charges, by incoming electromagnetic waves, can enhance specific modes, whose radiation limits the invisibility effects associated with metamaterial‐based cloaking. The analysis leads to the conclusion that thermodynamic equilibrium is an essential condition of the invisibility of metamaterial‐based cloaking.     

Manipulate light polarizations with metamaterials: From microwave to visible

Polarization is an important characteristic of electromagnetic (EM) waves, and efficient manipulations over EM wave polarizations are always desirable in practical applications. Here, we review the recent efforts in controlling light polarizations with metamaterials, at frequencies ranged from microwave to visible. We first presented a 4 × 4 version transfer matrix method (TMM) to study the scatterings by an anisotropic metamaterial of EM waves with arbitrary propagating directions and polarizations. With the 4 × 4 TMM, we discovered several amazing polarization manipulation phenomena based on the reflection geometry and proposed corresponding model metamaterial systems to realize such effects. Metamaterial samples were fabricated with the help of finite-difference-time-domain (FDTD) simulations, and experiments were performed to successfully realize these ideas at both microwave and visible frequencies. Efforts in employing metamaterials to manipulate light polarizations based on the transmission geometry are also reviewed.     

Manipulate light polarizations with metamaterials: From microwave to visible

Polarization is an important characteristic of electromagnetic (EM) waves, and efficient manipulations over EM wave polarizations are always desirable in practical applications. Here, we review the recent efforts in controlling light polarizations with metamaterials, at frequencies ranged from microwave to visible. We first presented a 4 × 4 version transfer matrix method (TMM) to study the scatterings by an anisotropic metamaterial of EM waves with arbitrary propagating directions and polarizations. With the 4 × 4 TMM, we discovered several amazing polarization manipulation phenomena based on the reflection geometry and proposed corresponding model metamaterial systems to realize such effects. Metamaterial samples were fabricated with the help of finite-difference-time-domain (FDTD) simulations, and experiments were performed to successfully realize these ideas at both microwave and visible frequencies. Efforts in employing metamaterials to manipulate light polarizations based on the transmission geometry are also reviewed.     

一种基于超材料的宽带、反射型90°极化旋转体设计

根据各向异性媒质理论, 设计了一种宽带、反射型超材料极化旋转体, 能够将线极化波极化方向旋转90°, 极化转化率大于90%的工作带宽为5.5–14.5 GHz. 该极化旋转体由两层介质板、金属双开口谐振环和金属底板周期排列构成, 具有各向异性的特点, 单元两对角线方向的电场分量反射系数相同, 反射相位相差180°, 导致其极化旋转特性. 利用表面电流分布图, 分析不同极化波入射时该极化旋转体的谐振状态, 实验和仿真结果符合较好. 该极化旋转体在新型天线设计和隐身技术等方面具有广阔的应用前景.     

电磁编码超材料的理论与应用

本文系统地对编码超材料、数字超材料及现场可编程超材料的新进展进行了综述,讨论其对电磁波的实时调控和构造多功能器件的能力。首先,引入1-bit编码超材料,由"0"和"1"两种编码单元构成,分别对应于相位相反的电磁响应。通过控制不同的"0"和"1"编码序列,可以调控电磁波,并实现不同功能。这种1-bit编码超材料可以扩展到2-bit,甚至更高比特。其次,介绍了一种由开关二极管来控制的数字编码超材料,每个编码单元可通过二极管的开和关来获得不同的相位响应,进而获得不同的数字态。结合现场可编程门阵列(FPGA)控制系统,实现了对数字超材料的实时可编程设计,构造出现场可编程超材料。最后,研究了编码超材料对太赫兹波的调控,包括太赫兹波宽带漫散射及其对目标雷达散射截面(RCS)的缩减、各向异性编码超材料对太赫兹波的极化调控和波束调控等。数值仿真和实验测试结果吻合很好,验证了编码超材料的出色性能,展示了编码超材料调控电磁波的多功能性。编码超材料对微波及太赫兹波的实时控制可用于制作波束分离、波束偏折、极化转换等功能器件,也可在宽带范围内有效缩减目标RCS。     

Circular polarization converters based on bi-layered asymmetrical split ring metamaterials

In this paper, a kind of bi-layered asymmetrical split ring metamaterial was proposed as a circular polarization converter. Simulations and experiments at the microwave regime showed that the proposed structures can achieve the conversions from right-handed circularly polarized electromagnetic waves to left-handed ones and the reversed conversions in the opposite propagating direction. The linear to circular polarization transmission coefficients and the surface currents were investigated to understand the mechanism of the circular polarization conversions. Moreover, we optimized the proposed metamaterials by increasing the distance between the two metal layers. The proposed circular polarization converters have applications in microwave wave plates and metamaterial antennas.     

Theory,experiment and applications of metamaterials

In this review article, a brief introduction on the theory, experiments and applications of metamaterials is presented. The main focuses are concentrated on the composing meta-atoms, the method of transformation optics, the experimental demonstration of negative refraction, and the realizations of invisibility cloaks and electromagnetic black hole. At the end of this review, some typical applications of metamaterials, including high-performance antennas made of zero-refractive-index materials, inhomogeneous metamaterial lenses, and planar metasurfaces, are introduced in details.     

太赫兹波段超材料的制作、设计及应用

本文从制作方法、结构设计和材料选择几方面综述了超材料在太赫兹波段的电磁响应特性和潜在应用。首先,介绍了获得不同维度、具有特异电磁响应以及结构可调超材料的各种微加工制作方法,进而分析和讨论了超材料的电磁响应特性。文中指出,结构设计可以控制超材料的电磁响应特性,如各向异性、双各向异性、偏振调制、多频响应、宽带响应、不对称透射、旋光性和超吸收等。超材料的电磁响应依赖于周围微环境的介电性质,因而可用于制作对环境敏感的传感器件。此外,电光、磁光、相变、温度敏感等功能材料的引入可以获得光场、电场、磁场、温度等主动控制的太赫兹功能器件。最后,简单介绍了超材料在太赫兹波段进一步发展所面临的机遇和挑战。