Nonlinear metasurfaces constitute a key asset in meta-optics, given their ability to scale down nonlinear optics to sub-micrometer thicknesses. To date, nonlinear metasurfaces have been mainly realized using narrow band gap semiconductors, with operation limited to the near-infrared range. Nonlinear meta-optics in the visible range can be realized using transparent materials with high refractive index, such as lithium niobate (LiNbO). Yet, efficient operation in this strategic spectral window has been so far prevented by the nanofabrication challenges associated with LiNbO, which considerably limit the aspect ratio and minimum size of the nanostructures (i.e., meta-atoms). Here we demonstrate the first monolithic nonlinear periodic metasurface based on LiNbO and operating in the visible range. Realized through ion beam milling, our metasurface features a second-harmonic (SH) conversion efficiency of 2.40 × 10 at a pump intensity as low as 0.5 GW/cm. By tuning the pump polarization, we demonstrate efficient steering and polarization encoding into narrow SH diffraction orders, opening novel opportunities for polarization-encoded nonlinear meta-optics.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acsphotonics.1c00026 | DOI Listing |
Nano Lett
January 2025
Department of Electrical & Systems Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri 63130, United States.
Dielectric metasurfaces have emerged as an unprecedented platform for precise wavefront manipulation at subwavelength scales with nearly zero loss. When aiming at dynamic applications such as AR/VR and LiDAR, high-quality factor (high-Q) phase gradient metasurfaces have emerged as a way to boost weak light-material interactions in flat-optical components. However, resonant features are naturally tied to polarization, limiting devices to operating on a single polarization state, which reduces the efficiency and adaptability of wave-shaping.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNano Lett
January 2025
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States.
Metasurfaces supporting narrowband resonances are of significant interest in photonics for molecular sensing, quantum light source engineering, and nonlinear photonics. However, many device architectures rely on large refractive index dielectric materials and lengthy fabrication processes. In this work, we demonstrate quasi-bound states in the continuum (quasi-BICs) using a polymer metasurface exhibiting experimental quality factors of 305 at visible wavelengths.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLight Sci Appl
January 2025
Laboratoire Matériaux et Phénomènes Quantiques, Université Paris Cité and CNRS, Paris, 75013, France.
Vortex beams are currently drawing a great deal of interest, from fundamental research to several promising applications. While their generation in bulky optical devices limits their use in integrated complex systems, metasurfaces have recently proven successful in creating optical vortices, especially in the linear regime. In the nonlinear domain, of strategic importance for the future of classical and quantum information, to date orbital angular momentum has only been created in qualitative ways, without discussing discrepancies between design and experimental results.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLithium niobate (LiNbO) has shown great potential for applications in nonlinear metasurfaces, thanks to its large second-order nonlinear coefficients and high integration capabilities. Optical resonances play a crucial role in further enhancing the nonlinear optical responses of LiNbO metasurfaces (LNMS). In this study, both numerically and experimentally, we designed and fabricated a metasurface structure that supports toroidal dipole (TD) resonance to enhance second-harmonic generation (SHG).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLight Sci Appl
January 2025
Department of Physics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5, Canada.
Graphene has unique properties paving the way for groundbreaking future applications. Its large optical nonlinearity and ease of integration in devices notably makes it an ideal candidate to become a key component for all-optical switching and frequency conversion applications. In the terahertz (THz) region, various approaches have been independently demonstrated to optimize the nonlinear effects in graphene, addressing a critical limitation arising from the atomically thin interaction length.
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