Nonlinear spin-orbit coupling in optical thin films.

Tunable generation of vortex beams holds relevance in various fields, including communications and sensing. In this paper, we demonstrate the feasibility of nonlinear spin-orbit interactions in thin films of materials with second-order nonlinear susceptibility. Remarkably, the nonlinear tensor can mix the longitudinal and transverse components of the pump field. We observe experimentally our theoretical predictions in the process of second-harmonic generation from a thin film of aluminum gallium arsenide, a material platform widely spread for its role in the advancement of active, nonlinear, and quantum photonic devices. In particular, we prove that a nonlinear thin film can be used to produce vector vortex beams of second-harmonic light when excited by circularly-polarized Gaussian beams.

Design of vanadium-dioxide-based resonant structures for tunable optical response.

Phase change materials are suitable for tunable photonic devices where the optical response can be altered under external stimuli, such as heat, an electrical or an optical signal. In this scenario, we performed numerical simulations to study the optical properties of a flat unpatterned resonant structure and a grating, both coated with a thin film of vanadium dioxide (VO2). Our results suggest that it is possible to modulate broadband and narrowband reflectance spectra of the resonant structures in the visible to near-infrared range by more than 40 % when the VO2 undergoes an insulator-to-metal phase transition. Resonant devices with a tunable spectral response may find application in sensors, filters, absorbers, and detectors.

Near-infrared to ultra-violet frequency conversion in chalcogenide metasurfaces.

Chalcogenide photonics offers unique solutions for a broad range of applications from mid-infrared sensing to integrated, ultrafast, ultrahigh-bandwidth signal processing. However, to date its usage has been limited to the infrared part of the electromagnetic spectrum, thus avoiding ultraviolet and visible ranges due to absorption of chalcogenide glasses. Here, we experimentally demonstrate and report near-infrared to ultraviolet frequency conversion in an As2S3-based metasurface, enabled by a phase locking mechanism between the pump and the inhomogeneous portion of the third harmonic signal. Due to the phase locking, the inhomogeneous component co-propagates with the pump pulse and encounters the same effective dispersion as the infrared pump, and thus experiences little or no absorption, consequently opening previously unexploited spectral range for chalcogenide glass science and applications, despite the presence of strong material absorption in this range.

Reconfigurable and optically transparent microwave absorbers based on deep eutectic solvent-gated graphene.

Electrolytically tunable graphene "building blocks" for reconfigurable and optically transparent microwave surfaces and absorbers have been designed and fabricated by exploiting Deep Eutectic Solvents (DESs). DESs have been first explored as electrolytic and environmentally friendly media for tuning sheet resistance and Fermi level of graphene together with its microwave response (reflection, transmission and absorption). We consider the tunability of the reconfigurable surfaces in terms of transmittance, absorption and reflectance, respectively, over the X and Ku bands when the gate voltage is varied in the -1.4/+1.4 V range. The numerical simulations and experimental measurements also show the ability of the absorber, in the Salisbury screen configuration, to achieve near perfect absorption with a modulation of about 20%. These results could find applications in several technological fields, ranging from electromagnetic pollution to integrated multi-physical regulation systems, thereby helping the advance of the performance of microwave cloaking systems, stealth windows, frequency selective surfaces, modulators and polarizers.

Viscoelastic optical nonlocality of low-loss epsilon-near-zero nanofilms.

Optical nonlocalities are elusive and hardly observable in traditional plasmonic materials like noble and alkali metals. Here we report experimental observation of viscoelastic nonlocalities in the infrared optical response of epsilon-near-zero nanofilms made of low-loss doped cadmium-oxide. The nonlocality is detectable thanks to the low damping rate of conduction electrons and the virtual absence of interband transitions at infrared wavelengths. We describe the motion of conduction electrons using a hydrodynamic model for a viscoelastic fluid, and find excellent agreement with experimental results. The electrons' elasticity blue-shifts the infrared plasmonic resonance associated with the main epsilon-near-zero mode, and triggers the onset of higher-order resonances due to the excitation of electron-pressure modes above the bulk plasma frequency. We also provide evidence of the existence of nonlocal damping, i.e., viscosity, in the motion of optically-excited conduction electrons using a combination of spectroscopic ellipsometry data and predictions based on the viscoelastic hydrodynamic model.

Nested plasmonic resonances: extraordinary enhancement of linear and nonlinear interactions.

Plasmonic resonators can provide large local electric fields when the gap between metal components is filled with an ordinary dielectric. We consider a new concept consisting of a hybrid nanoantenna obtained by introducing a resonant, plasmonic nanoparticle strategically placed inside the gap of an aptly sized metallic antenna. The system exhibits two nested, nearly overlapping plasmonic resonances whose signature is a large field enhancement at the surface and within the bulk of the plasmonic nanoparticle that leads to unusually strong, linear and nonlinear light-matter coupling.

Anomalous nonlinear absorption in epsilon-near-zero materials: optical limiting and all-optical control.

We investigate nonlinear absorption in films of epsilon-near-zero materials. The combination of large local electric fields at the fundamental frequency and material losses at the harmonic frequencies induce unusual intensity-dependent phenomena. We predict that the second-order nonlinearity of a low-damping, epsilon-near-zero slab produces an optical limiting effect that mimics a two-photon absorption process. Anomalous absorption profiles that depend on low permittivity values at the pump frequency are also predicted for third-order nonlinearities. These findings suggest new opportunities for all-optical light control and novel ways to design reconfigurable and tunable nonlinear devices.

Optically Transparent Microwave Polarizer Based On Quasi-Metallic Graphene.

In this paper, we report on the engineering and the realization of optically transparent graphene-based microwave devices using Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD) graphene whose sheet resistance may be tailored down to values below 30 Ω/sq. In particular, we show that the process was successfully used to realize and characterize a simple, optically transparent graphene-based wire-grid polarizer at microwave frequencies (X band). The availability of graphene operating in a quasi-metallic region may allow the integration of graphene layers in several microwave components, thus leading to the realization of fully transparent (and flexible) microwave devices.

One-Dimensional Chirality: Strong Optical Activity in Epsilon-Near-Zero Metamaterials.

We suggest that electromagnetic chirality, generally displayed by 3D or 2D complex chiral structures, can occur in 1D patterned composites whose components are achiral. This feature is highly unexpected in a 1D system which is geometrically achiral since its mirror image can always be superposed onto it by a 180 deg rotation. We analytically evaluate from first principles the bianisotropic response of multilayered metamaterials and we show that the chiral tensor is not vanishing if the system is geometrically one-dimensional chiral; i.e., its mirror image cannot be superposed onto it by using translations without resorting to rotations. As a signature of 1D chirality, we show that 1D chiral metamaterials support optical activity and we prove that this phenomenon undergoes a dramatic nonresonant enhancement in the epsilon-near-zero regime where the magnetoelectric coupling can become dominant in the constitutive relations.

Role of antenna modes and field enhancement in second harmonic generation from dipole nanoantennas.

We study optical second harmonic generation from metallic dipole antennas with narrow gaps. Enhancement of the fundamental-frequency field in the gap region plays a marginal role on conversion efficiency. In the symmetric configuration, i.e., with the gap located at the center of the antenna axis, reducing gap size induces a significant red-shift of the maximum conversion efficiency peak. Either enhancement or inhibition of second-harmonic emission may be observed as gap size is decreased, depending on the antenna mode excited at the harmonic frequency. The second-harmonic signal is extremely sensitive to the asymmetry introduced by gap's displacements with respect to the antenna center. In this situation, second-harmonic light can couple to all the available antenna modes. We perform a multipolar analysis that allows engineering the far-field SH emission and find that the interaction with quasi-odd-symmetry modes generates radiation patterns with a strong dipolar component.

Wideband plasmonic beam steering in metal gratings.

We demonstrate controllable light deflection in thick metal gratings with periodic subwavelength slits filled with an active material. Under specific illumination conditions, the grating becomes nearly transparent and acts as a uniform optical phased-array antenna where the phase of the radiating elements is controlled by modifying the index of refraction of the material that fills each slit. The beam-steering operational regime occurs in a wide wavelength band, and it is relatively insensitive to the input angle.

Deep-subwavelength waveguiding via inhomogeneous second-harmonic generation.

We theoretically investigate second-harmonic generation in extremely narrow, subwavelength semiconductor and dielectric waveguides. We discuss a guiding mechanism characterized by the inhibition of diffraction and the suppression of cutoff limits in the context of a light trapping phenomenon that sets in under conditions of general phase and group velocity mismatch between the fundamental and the generated harmonic.

Nonlinear response of GaAs gratings in the extraordinary transmission regime.

We theoretically describe a way to enhance harmonic generation from subwavelength slits milled on semiconductor substrates in strongly absorptive regimes. The metal-like response typical of semiconductors, like GaAs and GaP, triggers enhanced transmission and nonlinear optical phenomena in the deep UV range. We numerically study correlations between linear and nonlinear responses and their intricacies in infinite arrays, and highlight differences between nonlinear surface and magnetic sources, and intrinsic χ((2)) and χ((3)) contributions to harmonic generation. The results show promising efficiencies at wavelengths below 120 nm, and reveal coupling of TE and TM polarizations for pump and harmonic signals. A downconversion process that can regenerate pump photons with polarization orthogonal to the incident pump is also discussed.

Experimental demonstration of a novel bio-sensing platform via plasmonic band gap formation in gold nano-patch arrays.

In this paper we discuss the possibility of implementing a novel bio-sensing platform based on the observation of the shift of the leaky surface plasmon mode that occurs at the edge of the plasmonic band gap of metal gratings, when an analyte is deposited on top of the metallic structure. We report numerical calculations, fabrication and experimental measurements to prove the sensing capability of a two-dimensional array of gold nano-patches in the detection of a small quantity of Isopropyl Alcohol (IPA) deposited on top of sensor surface. The calculated sensitivity of our device approaches a value of 1000 nm/RIU with a corresponding Figure of Merit (FOM) of 222 RIU(-1). The presence of IPA can also be visually estimated by observing a color variation in the diffracted field. We show that color brightness and intensity variations can be ascribed to a change in the aperture size, keeping the periodicity constant, and to different types of analyte deposited on the sample, respectively. Moreover, we demonstrate that unavoidable fabrication imperfections revealed by the presence of rounded corners and surface roughness do not significantly affect device performance.

Observation of photorefractive simultons in lithium niobate.

Spatial and temporal locking of fundamental and second harmonic pulses was realized by means of photorefractive nonlinearity and highly mismatched harmonic generation. Due to the presence of both phase-locked and unlocked second harmonic pulses, a twin simultonic state was observed. Simultonic filamentation occurring at high pumping rates allowed us to determine a relation between the simulton's waist and its intensity.

Surface spontaneous parametric down-conversion.

Surface spontaneous parametric down-conversion is predicted as a consequence of continuity requirements for electric- and magnetic-field amplitudes at a discontinuity of chi;{(2)} nonlinearity. A generalization of the usual two-photon spectral amplitude is suggested to describe this effect. Examples of nonlinear layered structures and periodically poled nonlinear crystals show that surface contributions to spontaneous down-conversion can be important.

Inhibition of linear absorption in opaque materials using phase-locked harmonic generation.

We theoretically predict and experimentally demonstrate inhibition of linear absorption for phase and group velocity mismatched second- and third-harmonic generation in strongly absorbing materials, GaAs, in particular, at frequencies above the absorption edge. A 100-fs pump pulse tuned to 1300 nm generates 650 and 435 nm second- and third-harmonic pulses that propagate across a 450-microm-thick GaAs substrate without being absorbed. We attribute this to a phase-locking mechanism that causes the pump to trap the harmonics and to impress on them its dispersive properties.

Energy considerations for a superlens based on metal/dielectric multilayers.

We investigate the resolution and absorption losses of a Ag/GaP multilayer superlens. For a fixed source to image distance the resolution is independent of the position of the lens but the losses depend strongly on the lens placement. The absorption losses associated with the evanescent waves can be significantly larger than losses associated with the propagating waves especially when the superlens is close to the source. The interpretation of transmittance values greater than unity for evanescent waves is clarified with respect to the associated absorption losses.

Gap solitons in a nonlinear quadratic negative-index cavity.

We predict the existence of gap solitons in a nonlinear, quadratic Fabry-Pérot negative index cavity. A peculiarity of a single negative index layer is that if magnetic and electric plasma frequencies are different it forms a photonic band structure similar to that of a multilayer stack composed of ordinary, positive index materials. This similarity also results in comparable field localization and enhancement properties that under appropriate conditions may be used to either dynamically shift the band edge, or for efficient energy conversion. We thus report that an intense, fundamental pump pulse is able to shift the band edge of a negative index cavity, and make it possible for a weak second harmonic pulse initially tuned inside the gap to be transmitted, giving rise to a gap soliton. The process is due to cascading, a well-known phenomenon that occurs far from phase matching conditions that limits energy conversion rates, it resembles a nonlinear third-order process, and causes pulse compression due to self-phase modulation. The symmetry of the equations of motion under the action of either an electric or a magnetic nonlinearity suggests that both nonlinear polarization and magnetization, or a combination of both, can lead to solitonlike pulses. More specifically, the antisymmetric localization properties of the electric and magnetic fields cause a nonlinear polarization to generate a dark soliton, while a nonlinear magnetization spawns a bright soliton.

Enhancement and inhibition of second-harmonic generation and absorption in a negative index cavity.

We study second-harmonic generation in a negative-index material cavity. The transmission spectrum shows a bandgap between the electric and magnetic plasma frequencies. The nonlinear process is made efficient by local phase-matching conditions between a forward-propagating pump and a backward-propagating second-harmonic signal. By simultaneously exciting the cavity with counterpropagating pulses, and by varying their relative phase difference, one is able to enhance or inhibit linear absorption and the second-harmonic conversion efficiency.