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.     

可见光波段超材料的平面聚焦效应

基于超材料双鱼网结构物理模型,设计了树枝状结构+树枝状结构、树枝状结构+银膜和树枝状结构+氧化铟锡玻璃三种可见光波段超材料复合结构.采用双模板辅助化学电沉积方法,制备出金属银树枝状结构阵列和银膜,分别实现了这三种复合结构.透射和反射实验表明,三种复合结构具有类似的行为.比较发现,树枝状结构+氧化铟锡玻璃复合结构具有损耗低和平面聚焦效应明显的优点.通过调节实验条件,分别制备出能够实现平面聚焦的红绿蓝三种可见光波段超材料. 关键词： 超材料 银树枝状结构 可见光 平面聚焦     

Spin Hall effect of a light beam in anisotropic metamaterials

<正>We theoretically investigate a switchable spin Hall effect of light(SHEL) in reflection for three specific dispersion relations at an air-anisotropic metamaterial interface.The displacements of horizontal and vertical polarization components vary with the incident angle at different dispersion relations.The transverse displacements can be obtained with the relevant metamaterial whose refractive index can be arbitrarily tailed.The results of the SHEL in the metarnaterial provide a new way for manipulating the transverse displacements of a specific polarization component.     

Metamaterial-based source and scattering enhancements: From microwave to optical frequencies

A brief review of metamaterial applications to source and scattering problems in the microwave and optical frequency regimes is given. Issues associated with modelling these systems are discussed. Electrically small radiating and scattering systems are emphasized. Single negative, double negative, and zero-index versions of these metamaterial-based systems are introduced that provide a means to manipulate their efficiency, bandwidth, and directivity characteristics.     

Second-harmonic wave induced by vortex beams with radial and azimuthal polarizations

The author investigated second-harmonic (SH) wave patterns generated by focused vortex beams with radial and azimuthal polarizations. Expressions for electric field components near the focus through a dielectric interface were obtained based on vector diffraction theory. Furthermore, the (110) and (001) planes of a crystal classified in the symmetry group 4?3m were considered as second order nonlinear optical medium to analyze nonlinear polarization and the intensity distributions of the SH wave in the far-field were simulated for topological charge m = 1 and 2. Numerical simulations indicated that the intensity and emission pattern of the SH wave depended principally on the electric field component and distribution near the focus. In particular, for the (001) plane, the intensity of the SH wave was strongly correlated with the existence of a longitudinal electric field.     

Maximal degree of polarization for visible light scattered by an aqueous droplet

The maximal degree of polarization (DOP) for the visible solar light scattered by an aqueous droplet at a given scattering angle is found in this paper. Based on the Lorenz-Mie theory, the numerical expression for the DOP of the light scattered by any spherical particle is deduced. For the given scattering angle and aqueous droplet, the DOP dependent on wavelength is calculated according to familiar solar spectral colors. The maximal DOP of each spectral color is exhibited and some analyses are given. This analysis may contribute to applications of indicating atmospheric conditions and polarized light compass navigation.     

Generation of diffraction-free vectorial elliptic hollow beams with space-varying inhomogeneous polarizations

Diffraction-free vectorial elliptic hollow beams (vEHBs) are generated by an optical system composed of a short elliptic hollow fiber (EHF) and an axicon. Each beam has a closed elliptic annular intensity profile and space-varying polarization states in its diffraction-free distance of more than 1 m. The generated beams have a counter-clockwise or clockwise periodically-rotated inhomogeneous polarization. And the spin angular momentum (SAM) of the vEHBs is 1ħ or -1ħ which is consistent with the type of dual-mode in the EHF and the periodic polarization rotations of the vEHBs. The vEHBs have potential applications in optically trapping and micromanipulating the micro- or nano-particles, quantum information transmission, and Bose-Einstein condensates, etc.     

Interaction of two light beams with different polarizations in TGS

By ellipsometric measurements we have observed the polarization variations of the primary light beam, with wavelength λ₁=5145 ?, interacting with the secondary light beam of controlled variable polarization, transmitted through a TGS crystal layer. We present a theoretical explanation based on the second-order optical nonlinearity of TGS. Received: 4 December 2001 / Revised version: 28 May 2002 / Published online: 25 October 2002 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +48-22/660-5447, E-mail: petyk@if.pw.edu.pl     

超材料微波磁导率色散行为的电可调控性研究

研究在开口金属谐振环(SRR)结构嵌入一个电容二极管后,通过电压调控二极管的电容使得SRR结构的等效电容值发生改变,能实现对SRR的谐振频率和等效磁导率的调控,从而提出了一种智能的微波磁性超材料结构.采用时域差分有限元法(Finite-Difference Time-Domain)和恢复算法模拟了变容二极管的工作电压变化下,SRR结构谐振频率和磁导率的变化规律.研究结果表明工作电压增大使变容二极管的电容值减小时,将导致SRR结构的谐振频率向低频段移动,其磁导率的共振频率也将向低频移动.最后指出了SRR结构与常规磁性材料(如铁氧体)磁导率色散行为的不同之处. 关键词： 超材料 微波磁导率     

A broadband Schottky point contact mixer for visible laser light and microwave harmonics

Frequency differences of up to 900 GHz between two laser lines near 568 nm were measured by mixing laser light and harmonics of 90 GHz microwave radiation. The Schottky point contact diodes used consisted of tungsten tips onn-GaAs bases with different degrees of doping. The formation of the contacts and the sensitivity and frequency limitations of the device are discussed.     

同轴正交偏振双脉冲序列受激布里渊散射抽运放大的实现方法

利用受激布里渊散射放大时抽运光与种子光可以有一时间延迟的特性,设计了一个同轴传播正交偏振双脉冲序列的偏振控制装置,使同轴传播的两个正交偏振脉冲光束在放大时具有相同的偏振态,从而实现了两束光的抽运放大.     

利用电磁左手材料调控电磁波的偏振反转

通过各向异性的电磁介质板的反射,电磁波的偏振状态可以被任意地调节,在特定的条件下甚至可以完全反转.本文在微波测量系统的基础上设计了一个测量偏振反转的实验,在特定的频率观测到了偏振反转的极大值.另外还提出了一个提高偏振反转率的方案并通过实验验证了其有效性.通过转移矩阵方法计算得到了偏振反转的理论结果并与实验结果进行了对比.     

复合结构螺旋超材料对光波前的高效调控

近年来,超材料和超表面因为一些不同于传统材料的新奇性质一直被广泛研究,而基于超材料或者是超表面的波前控制也是其中的一个热门研究领域.迄今为止,已经提出了很多不同的结构来对反射光和透射光的波前进行调控,在已知的结构中,反射光的波前调控效率已经可以达到较高数值,但是很少有报道能够使用超材料简单高效地调制透射光的波前.本文提出了一种由相同几何结构的左旋和右旋结构复合而成的螺旋超材料.通过使用时域有限差分方法进行仿真,发现这种螺旋结构将会在入射光和透射光之间引入一个可控的相位变化,从而可直接对透射光波前进行调控.仿真结果还表明,该复合结构螺旋超材料在较宽的波长范围内可以达到近64%的透射率.最后通过将该螺旋材料沿着X轴排布成有着连续相位变化的阵列,可以在近红外区域(1.0—1.4μm)观察到反常折射现象,仿真结果与理论计算得出的反常折射角十分符合.     

Full Manipulation of the Power Intensity Pattern in a Large Space-Time Digital Metasurface: From Arbitrary Multibeam Generation to Harmonic Beam Steering Scheme

Beyond the scope of space-coding metasurfaces, space-time digital metasurfaces can substantially expand the application scope of digital metamaterials. In this paper, by adopting a superposition operation of terms with unequal coefficients, Huygens' principle, and a proper time-varying biasing mechanism, some useful closed-form formulas in the class of large digital metasurfaces are presented for predicting the absolute directivity of scatted beams. Moreover, in the harmonic beam steering scheme, by applying several suitable assumptions, two separate expressions are derived for calculating the exact total radiated power at harmonic frequencies and total radiated power for scattered beams located at the end-fire direction. Despite the simplifying assumptions applied, it is proved that the provided formulas can still be a good and fast estimate for developing a large digital metasurface with a predetermined power intensity pattern. The effect of quantization level and metasurface dimensions as well as the limitation on the maximum scan angle in harmonic beam steering are addressed. Several demonstrative examples numerically demonstrated through MATLAB software and the good agreement between simulations and theoretical predictions are observed. The author believes that the proposed straightforward approach discloses a new opportunity for various applications such as multiple-target radar systems and communication.     

Non-Bragg band gaps and light manipulation of composite structures with metamaterials

A review is presented of various composite structures containing double-negative metamaterials or two types of single-negative metamaterials. In particular, non-Bragg band gaps arising from phase-compensation or tunneling effects and their manipulation of light are stressed. The non-Bragg band gaps that are robust against incident directions, thickness randomness and are easily tuned by changing the structural parameters can not only expand our ability in controlling the flow of light, but also provide new mechanisms for the design of photonic devices.     

Metamaterials and plasmonics: From nanoparticles to nanoantenna arrays,metasurfaces, and metamaterials

The rise of plasmonic metamaterials in recent years has unveiled the possibility of revolutionizing the entire field of optics and photonics, challenging well-established technological limitations and paving the way to innovations at an unprecedented level To capitalize the disruptive potential of this rising field of science and technology, it is important to be able to combine the richness of optical phenomena enabled by nanoplasmonics in order to realize metamaterial components, devices, and systems of increasing complexity. Here, we review a few recent research directions in the field of plasmonic metamaterials, which may foster further advancements in this research area. We will discuss the anomalous scattering features enabled by plasmonic nanoparticles and nanoclusters, and show how they may represent the fundamental building blocks of complex nanophotonic architectures. Building on these concepts, advanced components can be designed and operated, such as optical nanoantennas and nanoantenna arrays, which, in turn, may be at the basis of metasurface devices and complex systems. Following this path, from basic phenomena to advanced functionalities, the field of plasmonic metamaterials offers the promise of an important scientific and technological impact, with applications spanning from medical diagnostics to clean energy and information processing.     

Controlling acoustic orbital angular momentum with artificial structures: From physics to application

Acoustic orbital angular momentum (OAM) associated with helicoidal wavefront recently attracts rapidly-growing attentions, offering a new degree of freedom for acoustic manipulation. Due to the unique dynamical behavior and inherent mode orthogonality of acoustic OAM, its harnessing is of fundamental interests for wave physics, with great potential in a plethora of applications. The recent advance in materials physics further boosts efforts into controlling OAM-carrying acoustic vortices, especially acoustic metasurfaces with planar profile and subwavelength thickness. Thanks to their unconventional acoustic properties beyond attainable in the nature, acoustic artificial structures provide a powerful platform for new research paradigm for efficient generation and diverse manipulation of OAM in ways not possible before, enabling novel applications in diverse scenarios ranging from underwater communication to object manipulation. In this article, we present a comprehensive view of this emerging field by delineating the fundamental physics of OAM-metasurface interaction and recent advances in the generation, manipulation, and application of acoustic OAM based on artificial structures, followed by an outlook for promising future directions and potential practical applications.     

X波段极化可重构高功率微波辐射器仿真设计

为了提高高频段高功率微波反射面天线的馈电效率,同时使波束波导馈线更加紧凑,提出一种新型的X波段极化可重构高功率微波辐射器结构。通过波纹喇叭辐射器产生准高斯的HE11模辐射,采用双相位修正镜组成的波束变换系统实现将准高斯波束转换为电场分布更为均匀的平顶波束或其余期望分布的波束,平顶分布的输出波束可使得馈源在相同介质窗尺寸下获得更高的功率容量,同时实现了波束传播方向的90转弯;此外采用双圆极化栅网的级联组合,实现了对输出波束极化特性的调变。通过全电磁波仿真分析验证了该辐射器的设计思路。     

Interference of plane light waves with different polarizations and the Jones matrix formalism

A new method is developed to solve the interference problem that involves two plane monochromatic waves of equal frequency provided these waves, in general, have different polarizations and their wave vectors are arbitrarily oriented. Using a three-dimensional generalized Jones vector, we find analytical solutions for the spatial-intensity distribution of the total wave and (at certain orientations of the wave vectors) for the parameters characterizing its polarization state. The results of the work are applied to wide variety of interference problems.