Marios Mattheakis

Luneburg lens waveguide networks

We investigate certain configurations of Luneburg lenses that form light propagating and guiding networks. We study single Luneburg lens dynamics and apply the single lens ray tracing solution to various arrangements of multiple lenses. The wave propagating features of the Luneburg lens networks are also verified through direct numerical solutions of Maxwell?s equations. We find that Luneburg lenses may form efficient waveguides for light propagation and guiding. The additional presence of nonlinearity improves the focusing characteristics of the networks.

Epsilon-near-zero behavior from plasmonic Dirac point: Theory and realization using two-dimensional materials

The electromagnetic response of a two-dimensional metal embedded in a periodic array of a dielectric host can give rise to a plasmonic Dirac point that emulates Epsilon-Near-Zero (ENZ) behavior. This theoretical result is extremely sensitive to tructural features like periodicity of the dielectric medium and thickness imperfections. We propose that such a device can actually be realized by using graphene as the 2D metal and materials like the layered semiconducting transition-metal dichalcogenides or hexagonal boron nitride as the dielectric host. We propose a systematic approach, in terms of design characteristics, for constructing metamaterials with linear, elliptical and hyperbolic dispersion relations which produce ENZ behavior, normal or negative diffraction.

Extreme events in complex linear and nonlinear photonic media

Ocean rogue waves (RW) are huge solitary waves that have for long triggered the interest of scientists. The RWs emerge in a complex environment and it is still under investigation if they are due to linear or nonlinear processes. Recent works have demonstrated that RWs appear in various other physical systems such as microwaves, nonlinear crystals, cold atoms, etc. In this work we investigate optical wave propagation in strongly scattering random lattices embedded in the bulk of transparent glasses. In the linear regime we observe the appearance of extreme waves, RW-type, that depend solely on the scattering properties of the medium. Interestingly, the addition of nonlinearity does not modify the RW statistics, while as the nonlinearities are increased multiple-filamentation and intensity clamping destroy the RW statistics. Numerical simulations agree nicely with the experimental findings and altogether prove that optical rogue waves are generated through the linear strong scattering in such complex environments.

Phase Transition in

Surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) are coherent electromagnetic surface waves trapped on an insulator-conductor interface. The SPPs decay exponentially along the propagation due to conductor losses, restricting the SPPs propagation length to few microns. Gain materials can be used to counterbalance the aforementioned losses. We provide an exact expression for the gain, in terms of the optical properties of the interface, for which the losses are eliminated. In addition, we show that systems characterized by lossless SPP propagation are related to PT symmetric systems. Furthermore, we derive an analytical critical value of the gain describing a phase transition between lossless and prohibited SPPs propagation. The regime of the aforementioned propagation can be directed by the optical properties of the system under scrutiny. Finally, we perform COMSOL simulations verifying the theoretical findings.

\mathcal {PT}

We address light propagation properties in complex media consisting of random distributions of lenses that have specific focusing properties. We present both analytical and numerical techniques that can be used to study emergent properties of light organization in these media. As light propagates, it experiences multiple scattering leading to the formation of light bundles in the form of branches; these are random yet occur systematically in the medium, particularly in the weak scattering limit. On the other hand, in the strong scattering limit we find that coalescence of branches may lead to the formation of extreme waves of the “rogue wave” type. These waves appear at specific locations and arise in the linear as well as in the nonlinear regimes. We present both the weak and strong scattering limit and show that these complex phenomena can be studied numerically and analytically through simple models.

Symmetric Active Plasmonic Systems

We use a simple dynamical model and explore coherent dynamics of wavepackets in complex networks of optical fibers. We start from a symmetric lattice and through the application of a Monte–Carlo criterion we introduce structural disorder and deform the lattice into a small-world network regime. We investigate in the latter both structural (correlation length) as well as dynamical (diffusion exponent) properties and find that both exhibit a rapid crossover from the ordered to the fully random regime. For a critical value of the structural disorder parameter ρ ≈ 0.25 transport changes from ballistic to sub-diffusive due to the creation strongly connected local clusters and channels of preferential transport in the small world regime.

Extreme Waves and Branching Flows in Optical Media

Graphene as well as more generally Dirac solids constitute two dimensional materials where the electronic flow is ultra relativistic. When a Dirac solid is deposited on a different substrate surface with roughness, a local random potential develops through an inhomogeneous charge impurity distribution. This external potential affects profoundly the charge flow and induces a chaotic pattern of current branches that develops through focusing and defocusing effects produced by the randomness of the surface. An additional bias voltage may be used to tune the branching pattern of the charge carrier currents. We employ analytical and numerical techniques in order to investigate the onset and the statistical properties of carrier branches in Dirac solids. We find a specific scaling-type relationship that connects the physical scale for the occurrence of branches with the characteristic medium properties, such as disorder and bias field. We use numerics to test and verify the theoretical prediction as well as a perturbative approach that gives a clear indication of the regime of validity of the approach. This work is relevant to device applications and may be tested experimentally.

Small-world networks of optical fiber lattices

Here we investigate the case of extreme waves in disordered Luneburg-type photonic networks both theoretically and experimentally. We present characteristic theoretical and experimental results, which clearly demonstrate the existence of such events. We observe this phenomenon in the linear optics regime. We shall discuss the conditions under which rogue waves can be observed in our system, while we will also discuss the relative role between linear and nonlinear contributions.