Honglin Yu

Sharp Fano resonance induced by a single layer of nanorods with perturbed periodicity

In this paper, we report the formation of extremely sharp (Quality factor Q~ + ∞) FR in a single layer of dielectric nanorods with perturbed periodicity. The interference between the broadband Fabry-Perot (F-P) resonance and defect induced dark mode results in refractive index sensitivity (S) of 1312.75 nm/RIU and figure of merit (FOM) of 500, offering an excellent platform for biological sensing and detection.

Fabrication of anisotropically arrayed nano-slots metasurfaces using reflective plasmonic lithography

Nanofabrication technology with high-resolution, high-throughput and low-cost is essential for the development of nanoplasmonic and nanophotonic devices. At present, most metasurfaces are fabricated in a point by point writing manner with electron beam lithography or a focused ion beam, which imposes a serious cost barrier with respect to practical applications. Near field optical lithography, seemingly providing a high-resolution and low-cost way, however, suffers from the ultra shallow depth and poor fidelity of obtained photoresist patterns due to the exponential decay feature of evanescent waves. Here, we propose a method of surface plasmonic imaging lithography by introducing a reflective plasmonic lens to amplify and compensate evanescent waves, resulting in the production of nano resist patterns with high fidelity, contrast and enhanced depth beyond that usually obtained by near field optical lithography. As examples, a discrete and anisotropically arrayed nano-slots mask pattern with different orientations and a size of 40 nm × 120 nm could be imaged in photoresist and transferred successfully onto a metal layer through an etching process. Evidence for the pattern quality is given by virtue of the fabricated metasurface lens devices showing good focusing performance in experiments. It is believed that this method provides a parallel, low-cost, high-throughput and large-area nanofabrication route for fabricating nanostructures of holograms, vortex phase plates, bio-sensors and solar cells etc.

Highly efficient wavefront manipulation in terahertz based on plasmonic gradient metasurfaces.

Polarization conversion efficiency is vitally important to highly efficient wavefront manipulation based on phase discontinuities. However, previous single-layer phase gradient metasurfaces have suffered from low polarization conversion efficiency (at most 25%). Here we present a three-layer structure to enhance polarization conversion efficiency. The average efficiency is 76% for circularly polarized incident light converted to its opposite handedness. By arraying metallic antennas with varied optical axes for circularly polarized incident light, the efficiency of anomalous refraction is apparently increased, and the focused intensity of flat lenses can be significantly enhanced in the terahertz regime. It is expected that this scheme has potential applications in detection, focusing, and imaging.

Conversion of broadband energy to narrowband emission through double-sided metamaterials

In this paper, an energy harvesting/re-radiating device is proposed to realize high efficiency energy conversion in the solar thermo-photovoltaic system. Such device consists of double-sided metamaterials which are assembled by a broadband absorber working in the major solar spectrum, and a back-by-back narrowband emitter working in the infrared band. It is theoretically proved that most of solar light (from 0.28 μm to 4 μm) can be collected, and then, converted to a sharp emission at the maximal response energy level (~0.4 eV) of photovoltaic cells in thermal equilibrium state. The impact of high temperature (as large as 966 K) and the parasitic radiation on the performance is discussed and compensated by geometric optimization.

Large-area, broadband and high-efficiency near-infrared linear polarization manipulating metasurface fabricated by orthogonal interference lithography

Manipulation of the polarization state using electromagnetic metasurface has attracted considerable attention in recent years. However, most previously demonstrated single-layer polarization conversion metasurfaces suffer from low polarization conversion efficiency, narrow operation bandwidth, or huge fabrication challenges, especially for the visible and near-infrared frequencies. In this letter, a broadband and high-efficiency reflective linear polarization converter composed of ellipse-shaped plasmonic planar resonator was demonstrated in the near-infrared region. A polarization conversion ratio in power larger than 91.1% is achieved from 730 nm to 1870 nm. Furthermore, orthogonal interference lithography is adopted to prepare the large-area optical polarization conversion metasurface. The fabrication strategy unplugs the bottleneck of the fabrication of the large-area metasurface in the optical regime, promising an unprecedented progress for optical communication and integrated optics.

Fano resonance induced by mode coupling in all-dielectric nanorod array

We propose an efficient way to realize Fano-type resonances at optical frequencies based on a low-loss dielectric nanorod array. An ultrahigh Q factor (larger than 10000) is numerically demonstrated, which is attributed to the mode interference between the broadband Fabry-Perot (FP) resonance and the narrowband guided mode stemming from coupled quadrupoles. A wide gap region for field enhancement is formed between adjacent rods, making such a structure an ideal platform for related applications such as biological sensing and nonlinear devices

Efficient generation and tight focusing of radially polarized beam from linearly polarized beam with all-dielectric metasurface

We propose a single layer all-dielectric metasurface lens to simultaneously convert and focus an incident linear polarization into a radial beam with high efficiency and high numerical aperture (NA). It shows a better focusing property compared with the linearly polarized metasurface lens for high NA. A tight spot size (0.502λ) is achieved for the NA = 0.94. Additionally, the emergent polarization can in principle be switched flexibly between radially and azimuthally polarized beams by the adjustment of incident polarization direction. It is expected that our scheme may have potential value in microscopy, material processing, medicine, particles accelerating and trapping, and so on.

Color display and encryption with a plasmonic polarizing metamirror

Abstract Structural colors emerge when a particular wavelength range is filtered out from a broadband light source. It is regarded as a valuable platform for color display and digital imaging due to the benefits of environmental friendliness, higher visibility, and durability. However, current devices capable of generating colors are all based on direct transmission or reflection. Material loss, thick configuration, and the lack of tunability hinder their transition to practical applications. In this paper, a novel mechanism that generates high-purity colors by photon spin restoration on ultrashallow plasmonic grating is proposed. We fabricated the sample by interference lithography and experimentally observed full color display, tunable color logo imaging, and chromatic sensing. The unique combination of high efficiency, high-purity colors, tunable chromatic display, ultrathin structure, and friendliness for fabrication makes this design an easy way to bridge the gap between theoretical investigations and daily-life applications.

Broadband terahertz absorber based on dispersion-engineered catenary coupling in dual metasurface

Abstract Terahertz (THz) absorbers have attracted considerable attention due to their potential applications in high-resolution imaging systems, sensing, and imaging. However, the limited bandwidth of THz absorbers limits their further applications. Recently, the dispersion management of metasurfaces has become a simple strategy for the bandwidth extension of THz devices. In this paper, we used the capability of dispersion management to extend the bandwidth of THz absorbers. As a proof-of-concept, a dual metasurface-based reflective device was proposed for broadband near-unity THz absorber, which was composed of two polarization-independent metasurfaces separated from a metallic ground by dielectric layers with different thickness. Benefiting from the fully released dispersion management ability in adjusting the dimensions of the metasurfaces, we obtained an absorbance above 90% in the frequency range from 0.52 to 4.4 THz and the total thickness for the bandwidth approaching the theoretical Rozanov limit. The experimental results verified the ability of dispersion management in designing broadband absorbers and the performance of the designed absorber. The underlying physical mechanism of dispersion management was interpreted in the general equivalent circuit theory and transmission line model. In addition, the catenary optical model was used to further interpret the physics behind this dual metasurface. Moreover, we found that the alignment deviations between the dual metasurface had little impact on the performance of the designed absorber, which indicates that the dual-metasurface does not require center alignment and is easy to be fabricated. The results of this work could broaden the application areas of THz absorbers.

Plasmonic Metasurfaces for Switchable Photonic Spin–Orbit Interactions Based on Phase Change Materials

Abstract Metasurfaces with intense spin–orbit interactions (SOIs) offer an appealing platform for manipulation of polarization and wavefront. Reconfigurable beam manipulation based on switchable SOIs is highly desired in many occasions, but it remains a great challenge since most metasurfaces lack the flexibility and the optical performance is fixed once fabricated. Here, switchable SOIs are demonstrated numerically and experimentally via the combination of plasmonic metasurfaces with phase change materials (PCMs). As a proof‐of‐concept, three metadevices possessing switchable SOIs are fabricated and investigated, which enable spin Hall effect, vortex beam generation, and holography when the PCM is in the amorphous state (corresponding to the “ON” state of SOI). When the PCM changes into the crystalline state (corresponding to the “OFF” state of SOI), these phenomena disappear. Experimental measurements show that a high polarization conversion contrast between “ON” and “OFF” states is obtained within a broadband wavelength range from 8.5 to 10.5 µm. The switchable photonic SOIs proposed here may provide a promising route to design reconfigurable devices for applications such as beam steering, dynamic holographic display, and encrypted optical communications.