Zhi-Hui Chen

Enhanced Broadband Electromagnetic Absorption in Silicon Film with Photonic Crystal Surface and Random Gold Grooves Reflector.

We show a hybrid structure consisting of Si film with photonic crystal surface and random triangular gold grooves reflector at the bottom, which is capable of realizing efficient, broad-band, wide-angle optical absorption. It is numerically demonstrated that the enhanced absorption in a broad wavelength range (0.3–9.9 μm) due to the scattering effect of both sides of the structure and the created resonance modes. Larger thickness and period are favored to enhance the absorption in broader wavelength range. Substantial electric field concentrates in the grooves of surface photonic crystal and in the Si film. Our structure is versatile for solar cells, broadband photodetection and stealth coating.

Ultra-compact broadband mode converter and optical diode based on linear rod-type photonic crystal waveguide

In this paper, we present extremely compact designs of both broadband mode converter and optical diode in linear rod-type photonic crystal (PhC) waveguide with functional region consisting of only 4 × 1 unit cells of perfect PhC. The dielectric distribution inside functional region are optimized by combining geometry projection method and method of moving asymptotes. Bidirectional mode converter realizes above 60% transmission efficiency within bandwidth 0.02c/a, where c and a represent light velocity and PhC lattice constant respectively. Optical diode achieves above 19 dB unidirectionality for even mode within bandwidth 0.01c/a. Moreover, the proposed designs have reasonable tolerance of rod boundary fluctuation. We expect the results will help developing recipes for future PhC devices in all-optical integrated circuits.

Anticrossing double Fano resonances generated in metallic/dielectric hybrid nanostructures using nonradiative anapole modes for enhanced nonlinear optical effects

Third-harmonic generation with metallic or dielectric nanoparticles often suffer from, respectively, small modal volumes and weak near-field enhancements. This study propose and demonstrate that a metallic/dielectric hybrid nanostructure composed of a silver double rectangular nanoring and a silicon square nanoplate can be used to overcome these obstacles for enhanced third-harmonic generation. It is shown that the nonradiative anapole mode of the Si plate can be used as a localized source to excite the dark subradiant octupole mode of the Ag ring, and the mode hybridization leads to the formation of an antibonding and a bonding subradiant collective mode, thereby forming anticrossing double Fano resonances. With the strong coupling between individual particles and the effectively suppressed radiative losses of the Fano resonances, several strong hot spots are generated around the Ag ring due to the excitation of the octupole mode, and electromagnetic fields within the Si plate are also strongly amplified, making it possible to confine more incident energy inside the dielectric nanoparticle. Calculation results reveal that the confined energy inside the Si plate and the Ag ring for the hybrid structures can be about, respectively, more than three times and four orders stronger than that of the corresponding isolated nanoparticles, which makes the designed hybrid nanostructure a promising platform for enhanced third-harmonic generation.

Tunable high reflective bands to improve quantum dot white light-emitting diodes

Quantum dot (QD) light emitting diodes (LEDs), whose narrow emission bandwidth can be tuned by changing the type and size of the QDs, show pure and saturated colors, and thus become a new generation of LEDs. However, the brightness of QD-LEDs should be increased to be used in practical applications. Here, we propose a simple 5-layered hetero-structure (alternating TiO2 and SiO2 layers) on a SiO2 substrate, which can provide multiple high reflection bands (HRBs) corresponding to UV, blue, green and red colors, in which the UV band can be used as excitation and the other bands can generate white light. On the one hand, HRBs can enhance the light extraction efficiency of fluorescence. On the other hand, HRBs can enhance the light–matter interaction (e.g., UV or violet light excitation of fluorescent materials) due to the interference from the multiple reflection and incidence. Thus the HRBs are capable of enhancing the brightness of white QD-LEDs efficiently. Moreover, our structure has fewer layers than one-dimensional photonic crystals, which leads to easier fabrications. Reflection bands of our structure can be adjusted by tuning the thickness of layers according to practical applications. The structure is environmentally friendly and can be used in displays, infrared illumination, optical communication, etc.

Realization of compact broadband optical diode in linear air-hole photonic crystal waveguide.

In this paper, we present a compact broadband design for reciprocal optical diode in linear two-dimensional air-hole photonic crystal waveguide. The forward even-to-odd mode conversion and backward blockade of even mode are achieved by introducing the functional region with 1.2a×2.8a area. The inside dielectric distribution is obtained by finite element method combining geometry projection method and the method of moving asymptotes. In our design, only one asymmetrically deformed air hole locates in the functional region. The parabola-like unidirectionality keeps higher than 15dB within the operational bandwidth 0.01c/a (about 40nm when 1550nm is the center wavelength), and the maximum value reaches approximate 24 dB near the center frequency. Meanwhile, the forward transmission efficiency keeps higher than 89.9%. Moreover, the optical diode effect of the proposed design is validated in three-dimensional model and the tolerance of the imperfection in fabricating is demonstrated as well. This compact broadband optical diode can contribute to the all-optical integrated circuits.

Enhancement of nonlinear Raman-Nath diffraction in two-dimensional optical superlattice

We study second harmonic generation via nonlinear Raman-Nath diffraction in an optical superlattice that maintains a periodic modulation of the second-order nonlinear coefficient χ((2)) in transverse direction but undergoes random modulation in longitudinal direction. We show that the random χ((2)) modulation offers a continuous set of reciprocal lattice vectors to compensate for the phase mismatch of nonlinear Raman-Nath diffraction in the longitudinal direction, leading to more efficient harmonic generation for a wide range of wavelengths. We also characterize the intensity dependence of nonlinear Raman-Nath diffraction on the degree of randomness of the optical supperlattice.

High Q-factor with the excitation of anapole modes in dielectric split nanodisk arrays

The simultaneous realization of high Q-factor resonances and strong near-field enhancements around and inside of dielectric nanostructures is important for many applications in nanophotonics. However, the incident fields are often confined within dielectric nanoparticles, which results in poor optical interactions with external environment. Near-field enhancements can be extended outside of dielectric nanostructures with proper design, but the Q-factor is often reduced caused by additional radiation losses. This paper shows that the obstacles to achieve high Q-factor, that is, the radiative losses can be effectively suppressed by using dielectric nanodisk arrays, where the Q-factor is about one order larger than that of the single disks associated with the nonradiating anapole modes and the collective oscillations of the arrays. When the resonance energies of the electric dipole mode and the subradiant mode are degenerate with each other, the destructive interference produces an effect analogous to electromagnetically induced transparency. Furthermore, the Q-factor can be extremely enlarged with dielectric split nanodisk arrays, where the present of the split gap does not induce additional losses. Instead, the coupling between the two interfering modes is modified by adjusting the gap width, which makes it possible to achieve high Q-factor and strong near-field enhancements around and inside of the split disks simultaneously. It is shown that the Q-factor is approaching to 106 when the gap width is about 110 nm, and the near-field enhancements around and inside of the split disks are about two orders stronger than that of the single disk.

Ultra-wide tuning single channel filter based on one-dimensional photonic crystal with an air cavity

By inserting an air cavity into a one-dimensional photonic crystal of LiF/GaSb, a tunable filter covering the whole visible range is proposed. Following consideration of the dispersion of the materials, through modulating the thickness of the air cavity, we demonstrate that a single resonant peak can shift from 416.1 to 667.3 nm in the band gap at normal incidence by means of the transfer matrix method. The research also shows that the transmittance of the channel can be maximized when the number of periodic LiF/GaSb layers on one side of the air defect layer is equal to that of the other side. When adding a period to both sides respectively, the full width at half maximum of the defect mode is reduced by one order of magnitude. This structure will provide a promising approach to fabricate practical tunable filters in the visible region with ultra-wide tuning range.

Tunable dual-channel filter based on the photonic crystal with air defects

We propose a tuning filter containing two channels by inserting a defect layer (Air/Si/Air/Si/Air) into a one-dimensional photonic crystal of Si/SiO2, which is on the symmetry of the defect. Two transmission peaks (1528.98 and 1564.74 nm) appear in the optical communication S-band and C-band, and the transmittance of these two channels is up to 100%. In addition, this design realizes multi-channel filtering to process large dynamic range or multiple independent signals in the near-infrared band by changing the structure. The tuning range will be enlarged, and the channels can be moved in this range through the easy control of air thickness and incident angle.

Simultaneous All-Optical or and xor Logic Gates Based on the Bimodal Photonic Cavity Containing a Quantum Dot

We theoretically present a design for simultaneous all-optical OR and XOR logic gates based on single quantum dot (QD)-bimodal cavity system working in low-photon-number regime. The coupling between the QD and two degenerate cavity modes establishes new indirect excitation paths. Driven by single pulsed laser, both mode transmissions are observed. The delay between the peaks of the transmitted pulses is regarded as the extra transition interval (ETI) in the indirect path. When driven by two orthogonally polarized pulsed lasers with delay same as ETI, the coupling system suppresses the latter mode transmission due to the destructive interference effect. The OR and XOR logic gates based on presence of light are built and the function can be switched between two detectors by simply adjusting the driving pulse sequence. The results show that the proposed logic gates work well within a large range for coupling strength with comparable cavity decay rate. When taking two nonidealities (the detuning between two cavity modes and nonidentical coupling strengths) into consideration, the proposed system shows acceptable tolerances. Moreover, the robustness of the performance on parameters of the driving lasers, including pulse delay, width of pulse, absolute driving strength, and relative driving strength ratio, are demonstrated.