Mingbo Pu

Catenary optics for achromatic generation of perfect optical angular momentum

The nanoscale structures inspired by the natural catenaries can achromatically spin light wave. The catenary is the curve that a free-hanging chain assumes under its own weight, and thought to be a “true mathematical and mechanical form” in architecture by Robert Hooke in the 1670s, with nevertheless no significant phenomena observed in optics. We show that the optical catenary can serve as a unique building block of metasurfaces to produce continuous and linear phase shift covering [0, 2π], a mission that is extremely difficult if not impossible for state-of-the-art technology. Via catenary arrays, planar optical devices are designed and experimentally characterized to generate various kinds of beams carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM). These devices can operate in an ultra-broadband spectrum because the anisotropic modes associated with the spin-orbit interaction are almost independent of the incident light frequency. By combining the optical and topological characteristics, our approach would allow the complete control of photons within a single nanometric layer.

Engineering the dispersion of metamaterial surface for broadband infrared absorption

We propose a broadband infrared absorber by engineering the frequency dispersion of metamaterial surface (metasurface) to mimic an ideal absorbing sheet. With a thin layer of structured nichrome, a polarization-independent absorber with absorption larger than 97% is numerically demonstrated over a larger than one octave bandwidth. It is shown that the bandwidth enhancement is related with the transformation of the Drude model of free electron gas in metal film to the Lorentz oscillator model of a bound electron in the structured metallic surface. We believe that the concept of dispersion engineering may provide helpful guidance for the design of a broadband absorber.

Ultrathin broadband nearly perfect absorber with symmetrical coherent illumination

As highlighted by recent articles [Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 053901 (2010) and Science 331, 889-892 (2011)], the coherent control of narrowband perfect absorption in intrinsic silicon slab has attracted much attention. In this paper, we demonstrate that broadband coherent perfect absorber (CPA) can be achieved by heavily doping an ultrathin silicon film. Two distinct perfect absorption regimes are derived with extremely broad and moderately narrow bandwidth under symmetrical coherent illumination. The large enhancement of bandwidth may open up new avenues for broadband applications. Subsequently, interferometric method is used to control the absorption coherently with extremely large contrast between the maximum and minimum absorptance. Compared with the results in literatures, the thin film CPAs proposed here show much more flexibility in both operation frequency and bandwidth.

Design principles for infrared wide-angle perfect absorber based on plasmonic structure

An approach for designing a wide-angle perfect absorber at infrared frequencies is proposed. The technique is based on a perfectly impedance-matched sheet (PIMS) formed by plasmonic nanostructure. It is shown that the effective impedance is more physical meaningful and beneficial than effective medium in describing the electromagnetic properties of metamaterial absorber. As a specific implementation of this technique, a wide-angle polarization-independent dual-band absorber is numerically demonstrated at frequencies of 100THz and 280THz with absorption close to 100% simultaneously. Circuit models are utilized to describe the impedance property of localized plasmon modes and the results show good agreement with that retrieved from reflection coefficient at normal incidence.

Multi-band circular polarizer using planar spiral metamaterial structure

A multi-band circular polarizer is proposed by using multi layered planar spiral metamaterial structure in analogy with classic spiral antenna. At three distinct resonant frequencies, the incident linearly polarized wave with electric field paralleling to one specific direction is transformed into left/right-handed circularly polarized waves through electric field coupling. Measured and simulated results show that right-handed circularly polarized wave is produced at 13.33 GHz and 16.75 GHz while left-handed circularly polarized wave is obtained at 15.56 GHz. The surface current distributions are studied to investigate the transformation behavior for both circular polarizations. The relationship between the resonant positions and the structure parameters is discussed as well.

Anisotropic Meta-Mirror for Achromatic Electromagnetic Polarization Manipulation

Polarization states are of particular importance for the manipulation of electromagnetic waves. Here, we proposed the design and experimental demonstration of anisotropic meta-mirror for achromatic polarization tuning. It is demonstrated that linear polarized wave can be achromatically transformed to its cross-polarization state or to arbitrary circular polarization after its reflection from the mirror. Microwave experiments verified that the fraction bandwidth for 90% transformation efficiency can be larger than 3:1. Furthermore, by utilizing photoinduced carrier generation in silicon, a broadband tunable circular polarizer is demonstrated in the terahertz regime.

Multicolor 3D meta-holography by broadband plasmonic modulation

High-quality multicolor 2D and 3D meta-holography is realized based on broadband plasmonic modulation. As nanofabrication technology progresses, the emerging metasurface has offered unique opportunities for holography, such as an increased data capacity and the realization of polarization-sensitive functionality. Multicolor three-dimensional (3D) meta-hologram imaging is one of the most pursued applications for meta-hologram not yet realized. How to reduce the cross-talk among different colors in broad bandwidth designs is a critical question. On the basis of the off-axis illumination method, we develop a novel way to overcome the cross-talk limitation and achieve multicolor meta-holography with a single type of plasmonic pixel. With this method, the usable data capacity can also be improved. It not only leads to a remarkable image quality, with a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) five times better than that of the previous meta-hologram designs, but also paves the way to new meta-hologram devices, which mark an advance in the field of meta-holography. For example, a seven-color meta-hologram can be fabricated with a color gamut 1.39 times larger than that of the red, green, and blue (RGB) design. For the first time, a full-color meta-holographic image in the 3D space is also experimentally demonstrated. Our approach to expanding the information capacity of the meta-hologram is unique, which extends broad applications in data storage, security, and authentication.

Spatially and spectrally engineered spin-orbit interaction for achromatic virtual shaping

The geometries of objects are deterministic in electromagnetic phenomena in all aspects of our world, ranging from imaging with spherical eyes to stealth aircraft with bizarre shapes. Nevertheless, shaping the physical geometry is often undesired owing to other physical constraints such as aero- and hydro-dynamics in the stealth technology. Here we demonstrate that it is possible to change the traditional law of reflection as well as the electromagnetic characters without altering the physical shape, by utilizing the achromatic phase shift stemming from spin-orbit interaction in ultrathin space-variant and spectrally engineered metasurfaces. The proposal is validated by full-wave simulations and experimental characterization in optical wavelengths ranging from 600 nm to 2800 nm and microwave frequencies in 8-16 GHz, with echo reflectance less than 10% in the whole range. The virtual shaping as well as the revised law of reflection may serve as a versatile tool in many realms, including broadband and conformal camouflage and Kinoform holography, to name just a few.

Dispersion management of anisotropic metamirror for super-octave bandwidth polarization conversion.

Dispersion engineering of metamaterials is critical yet not fully released in applications where broadband and multispectral responses are desirable. Here we propose a strategy to circumvent the bandwidth limitation of metamaterials by implementing two-dimensional dispersion engineering in the meta-atoms. Lorentzian resonances are exploited as building blocks in both dimensions of the dedicatedly designed meta-atoms to construct the expected dispersion. We validated this strategy by designing and fabricating an anisotropic metamirror, which can accomplish achromatic polarization transformation in 4-octave bandwidth (two times of previous broadband converters). This work not only paves the way for broadband metamaterials design but also inspire potential applications of dispersion management in nano-photonics.

A planar chiral meta-surface for optical vortex generation and focusing.

Data capacity is rapidly reaching its limit in modern optical communications. Optical vortex has been explored to enhance the data capacity for its extra degree of freedom of angular momentum. In traditional means, optical vortices are generated using space light modulators or spiral phase plates, which would sharply decrease the integration of optical communication systems. Here we experimentally demonstrate a planar chiral antenna array to produce optical vortex from a circularly polarized light. Furthermore, the antenna array has the ability to focus the incident light into point, which greatly increases the power intensity of the generated optical vortex. This chiral antenna array may have potential application in highly integrated optical communication systems.