Filippo Alpeggiani

Spatial distribution of phase singularities in optical random vector waves

Phase singularities are dislocations widely studied in optical fields as well as in other areas of physics. With experiment and theory we show that the vectorial nature of light affects the spatial distribution of phase singularities in random light fields. While in scalar random waves phase singularities exhibit spatial distributions reminiscent of particles in isotropic liquids, in vector fields their distribution for the different vector components becomes anisotropic due to the direct relation between propagation and field direction. By incorporating this relation in the theory for scalar fields by Berry and Dennis [Proc. R. Soc. A 456, 2059 (2000)], we quantitatively describe our experiments.

Nanoscale chiral valley-photon interface through optical spin-orbit coupling

Nanoscale chiral valley-photon interface Occupation of different valleys within the band structure of some materials can be used to encode information. That information is typically encoded in terms of the chirality or polarization of emitted photons. Gong et al. combined a plasmonic silver nanowire with a flake of the transition metal dichalcogenide WS2 to form a nanophotonic platform for the transfer of solid-state spin into optical information over mesoscopic distances. The direction of light emission from the nanowire was strongly dependent on the spin-orbit coupling of light and the WS2 layer. Such a highly efficient interface should prove useful for developing valleytronics into a practical on-chip technology. Science, this issue p. 443 Valley-dependent directional emission is demonstrated via spin-orbit coupling with a plasmonic nanowire. The emergence of two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenide materials has sparked intense activity in valleytronics, as their valley information can be encoded and detected with the spin angular momentum of light. We demonstrate the valley-dependent directional coupling of light using a plasmonic nanowire–tungsten disulfide (WS2) layers system. We show that the valley pseudospin in WS2 couples to transverse optical spin of the same handedness with a directional coupling efficiency of 90 ± 1%. Our results provide a platform for controlling, detecting, and processing valley and spin information with precise optical control at the nanoscale.

Effective bichromatic potential for ultra-high Q-factor photonic crystal slab cavities

We introduce a confinement mechanism in photonic crystal slab cavities, which relies on the superposition of two incommensurate one-dimensional lattices in a line-defect waveguide. It is shown that the resulting photonic profile realizes an effective quasi-periodic bichromatic potential for the electromagnetic field confinement yielding extremely high quality (Q) factor nanocavities, while simultaneously keeping the mode volume close to the diffraction limit. We apply these concepts to pillar- and hole-based photonic crystal slab cavities, respectively, and a Q-factor improvement by over an order of magnitude is shown over existing designs, especially in pillar-based structures. Thanks to the generality and easy adaptation of such confinement mechanism to a broad class of cavity designs and photonic lattices, this work opens interesting routes for applications where enhanced light–matter interaction in photonic crystal structures is required.

Persistence and lifelong fidelity of phase singularities in optical random waves

Phase singularities are locations where light is twisted like a corkscrew, with positive or negative topological charge depending on the twisting direction. Among the multitude of singularities arising in random wave fields, some can be found at the same location, but only when they exhibit opposite topological charge, which results in their mutual annihilation. New pairs can be created as well. With near-field experiments supported by theory and numerical simulations, we study the persistence and pairing statistics of phase singularities in random optical fields as a function of the excitation wavelength. We demonstrate how such entities can encrypt fundamental properties of the random fields in which they arise.

Quasinormal-Mode Expansion of the Scattering Matrix

It is well known that the quasinormal modes (or resonant states) of photonic structures can be associated with the poles of the scattering matrix of the system in the complex-frequency plane. In this work, the inverse problem, i.e., the reconstruction of the scattering matrix from the knowledge of the quasinormal modes, is addressed. We develop a general and scalable quasinormal-mode expansion of the scattering matrix, requiring only the complex eigenfrequencies and the far-field properties of the eigenmodes. The theory is validated by applying it to illustrative nanophotonic systems with multiple overlapping electromagnetic modes. The examples demonstrate that our theory provides an accurate first-principles prediction of the scattering properties, without the need for postulating ad hoc nonresonant channels.

The origin and limit of asymmetric transmission in chiral resonators

We develop a theoretical formalism which explains asymmetric transmission (AT) in chiral resonators from their eigenmodes. We derive a fundamental limit for AT and propose the design of a chiral photonic crystal offering 84% AT.

Surface plasmons and strong light-matter coupling in metallic nanostructures

Interaction between a radiating dipole and light can be effectively enhanced due to the excitation of surface plasmons at metal-dielectric interfaces. Such an enhancement can trigger the appearance of strong-coupling effects in light-matter interaction, e.g., vacuum Rabi splitting in the emission spectrum of the dipole. We present a theoretical study of the transition to the strong-coupling regime for a radiating dipole in proximity of some metallic nanostructures of experimental interest, notably nanoshells and nanocones. Our formalism is applicable to both fully analytical and numerical approaches.

Reconstructing the scattering matrix of photonic systems from quasinormal modes

The scattering matrix is a fundamental tool to quantitatively describe the properties of resonant systems. In particular, it enables the understanding of many photonic devices of current interest, such as photonic metasurfaces and nanostructured optical scatterers. In this contribution, we show that the scattering matrix of a photonic system is completely determined by its quasinormal modes, i.e., the self-sustaining electromagnetic excitations at a complex frequency. On the basis of temporal coupled-mode theory, we derive an expression for the expansion of the scattering matrix on quasinormal modes, which is directly applicable to an arbitrary number of modes and input/output channels. Our theory does not require any ad-hoc assumptions, such as the fitting of an additional nonresonant background. We validate and discuss the theoretical formalism with some illustrative examples. This demonstrates that the theory represents a powerful and predictive tool for calculating the highly structured spectra of resonant nanophotonic systems, and, at the same time, a key for unravelling the physical mechanisms at the heart of such intricate spectral structures.

The Origin of Asymmetric Transmission in Chiral Photonic Crystals

We present a fundamental limit to asymmetric transmission (AT) in strongly chiral photonic crystals. We develop a theory that fully predicts AT from eigenmode properties, and show that near-unity AT can be reached in suitable designs.

A liquid of optical vortices in a photonic sea of vector waves

Phase singularities arise in scalar random waves, with spatial distribution reminiscent of particles in liquids. Supporting near-field experiment with analytical theory we show how such spatial distribution changes when considering vector waves.