Sebastian A. Schulz

Dispersion engineered slow light in photonic crystals: a comparison

We review the different types of dispersion engineered photonic crystal waveguides that have been developed for slow light applications. We introduce the group index bandwidth product (GBP) and the loss per delay in terms of dB ns −1 as two key figures of merit to describe such structures and compare the different experimental realizations based on these figures. A key outcome of the comparison is that slow light based on photonic crystals performs as well or better than slow light based on coupled ring resonators.

Optical spin-to-orbital angular momentum conversion in ultra-thin metasurfaces with arbitrary topological charges

Orbital angular momentum associated with the helical phase-front of optical beams provides an unbounded “space” for both classical and quantum communications. Among the different approaches to generate and manipulate orbital angular momentum states of light, coupling between spin and orbital angular momentum allows a faster manipulation of orbital angular momentum states because it depends on manipulating the polarisation state of light, which is simpler and generally faster than manipulating conventional orbital angular momentum generators. In this work, we design and fabricate an ultra-thin spin-to-orbital angular momentum converter, based on plasmonic nano-antennas and operating in the visible wavelength range that is capable of converting spin to an arbitrary value of orbital angular momentum l. The nano-antennas are arranged in an array with a well-defined geometry in the transverse plane of the beam, possessing a specific integer or half-integer topological charge q. When a circularly polarised ligh...

Integrated multi vector vortex beam generator

A novel method to generate and manipulate vector vortex beams in an integrated, ring resonator based geometry is proposed. We show numerically that a ring resonator, with an appropriate grating, addressed by a vertically displaced access waveguide emits a complex optical field. The emitted beam possesses a specific polarization topology, and consequently a transverse intensity profile and orbital angular momentum. We propose a combination of several concentric ring resonators, addressed with different bus guides, to generate arbitrary orbital angular momentum qudit states, which could potentially be used for classical and quantum communications. Finally, we demonstrate numerically that this device works as an orbital angular momentum sorter with an average cross-talk of -10dB between different orbital angular momentum channels.

Coherent single-cycle pulses with MV/cm field strengths from a relativistic transition radiation light source

Terahertz (THz) pulses with energies up to 100 μJ and corresponding electric fields up to 1 MV/cm were generated by coherent transition radiation from 500 MeV electron bunches at the free-electron laser Freie-Elektronen-Laser in Hamburg (FLASH). The pulses were characterized in the time domain by electro-optical sampling by a synchronized femtosecond laser with jitter of less than 100 fs. High THz field strengths and quality of synchronization with an optical laser will enable observation of nonlinear THz phenomena.

Lower bound for the spatial extent of localized modes in photonic-crystal waveguides with small random imperfections

Light localization due to random imperfections in periodic media is paramount in photonics research. The group index is known to be a key parameter for localization near photonic band edges, since small group velocities reinforce light interaction with imperfections. Here, we show that the size of the smallest localized mode that is formed at the band edge of a one-dimensional periodic medium is driven instead by the effective photon mass, i.e. the flatness of the dispersion curve. Our theoretical prediction is supported by numerical simulations, which reveal that photonic-crystal waveguides can exhibit surprisingly small localized modes, much smaller than those observed in Bragg stacks thanks to their larger effective photon mass. This possibility is demonstrated experimentally with a photonic-crystal waveguide fabricated without any intentional disorder, for which near-field measurements allow us to distinctly observe a wavelength-scale localized mode despite the smallness (~1/1000 of a wavelength) of the fabrication imperfections.

Breaking Lorentz reciprocity to overcome the time-bandwidth limit in physics and engineering

Resonant systems with high bandwidth The performance of an active system, whether it is optical, electrical, or mechanical, is often described by its quality (Q) factor. Typically, one learns the rule that the higher the Q factor, the sharper the resonance—that is, the bandwidth of the device is reduced. Tsakmakidis et al. show that this is indeed the case, but only for symmetric systems. However, for the case of asymmetric (or nonreciprocal) systems, the rule need not be obeyed. They show theoretically that the more asymmetric a system with high Q is, the wider the bandwidth can be. The effect raises the prospect of designing high-Q devices operating over large bandwidths. Science, this issue p. 1260 Asymmetric materials provide the prospect of designing high–quality-factor devices with high bandwidth. A century-old tenet in physics and engineering asserts that any type of system, having bandwidth Δω, can interact with a wave over only a constrained time period Δt inversely proportional to the bandwidth (Δt·Δω ~ 2π). This law severely limits the generic capabilities of all types of resonant and wave-guiding systems in photonics, cavity quantum electrodynamics and optomechanics, acoustics, continuum mechanics, and atomic and optical physics but is thought to be completely fundamental, arising from basic Fourier reciprocity. We propose that this “fundamental” limit can be overcome in systems where Lorentz reciprocity is broken. As a system becomes more asymmetric in its transport properties, the degree to which the limit can be surpassed becomes greater. By way of example, we theoretically demonstrate how, in an astutely designed magnetized semiconductor heterostructure, the above limit can be exceeded by orders of magnitude by using realistic material parameters. Our findings revise prevailing paradigms for linear, time-invariant resonant systems, challenging the doctrine that high-quality resonances must invariably be narrowband and providing the possibility of developing devices with unprecedentedly high time-bandwidth performance.

Strong, spectrally-tunable chirality in diffractive metasurfaces.

Metamaterials and metasurfaces provide a paradigm-changing approach for manipulating light. Their potential has been evinced by recent demonstrations of chiral responses much greater than those of natural materials. Here, we demonstrate theoretically and experimentally that the extrinsic chiral response of a metasurface can be dramatically enhanced by near-field diffraction effects. At the core of this phenomenon are lattice plasmon modes that respond selectively to the illumination’s polarization handedness. The metasurface exhibits sharp features in its circular dichroism spectra, which are tunable over a broad bandwidth by changing the illumination angle over a few degrees. Using this property, we demonstrate an ultra-thin circular-polarization sensitive spectral filter with a linewidth of ~10 nm, which can be dynamically tuned over a spectral range of 200 nm. Chiral diffractive metasurfaces, such as the one proposed here, open exciting possibilities for ultra-thin photonic devices with tunable, spin-controlled functionality.

Low loss dispersion engineered photonic crystal waveguides for optical delay lines

We demonstrate slow light photonic crystal waveguides with low dispersion and propagation loss. We then use this to create a distortion-less 1 byte delay for 25ps pulses.

Enhancing optical field intensities in Gaussian-profile fiber Bragg gratings

Gaussian profile fiber Bragg gratings exhibit narrow-bandwidth transmission peaks with significant group delay at the edge of their photonic bandgap. We demonstrate group delays ranging from 0.2 to 5.6 ns from a 1.2 cm structure. Simulations suggest such a device would be capable of enhancing the field intensity of incoming light by a factor of 800. Enhancement is confirmed by photothermally induced bistability of these peaks even at sub-milliwatt input powers with as much as a four-fold difference in the magnitude of their responses. The strong field intensities of these modes could significantly enhance desired nonlinear optical responses in fiber, provided the impact of absorption is addressed.

Femtosecond-precision synchronization of the pump-probe optical laser for user experiments at FLASH

In this paper, we present the long-term stable synchronization of the FLASH pump-probe Ti:sapphire oscillator to an optical reference with sub-10 fs (rms) timing jitter employing a balanced optical cross-correlator. The reference pulse train, transmitted over an actively transit time-stabilized 500m long fiber link, is generated by the FLASH master laser oscillator. This laser also provides the reference for several electron bunch arrival time monitors with sub-10 fs resolution, which in turn enables a longitudinal feedback reducing the electron bunch arrival time jitter to below 25 fs (rms). Combining the precise synchronization of the laser and the longitudinal accelerator feedback enabled a proof-of-principle pump-probe experiment at FLASH, ultimately showing a significant reduction of the timing jitter between the optical laser and the XUV pulses generated by the FEL, compared to the present standard operation.