Isotropic Band Gaps and Freeform Waveguides Observed in Hyperuniform Disordered Photonic Solids

Recently, disordered photonic media and random textured surfaces have attracted increasing attention as strong light diffusers with broadband and wide-angle properties. We report the first experimental realization of an isotropic complete photonic band gap (PBG) in a two-dimensional (2D) disordered dielectric structure. This structure is designed by a constrained-optimization method, which combines advantages of both isotropy due to disorder and controlled scattering properties due to low density fluctuations (hyperuniformity) and uniform local topology. Our experiments use a modular design composed of Al2O3 walls and cylinders arranged in a hyperuniform disordered network. We observe a complete PBG in the microwave region, in good agreement with theoretical simulations, and show that the intrinsic isotropy of this novel class of PBG materials enables remarkable design freedom, including the realization of waveguides with arbitrary bending angles impossible in photonic crystals. This first experimental verification of a complete PBG and realization of functional defects in this new class of materials demonstrates their potential as building blocks for precise manipulation of photons in planar optical micro-circuits and has implications for disordered acoustic and electronic bandgap materials

A nanophotonic laser on a graph

Conventional nano-photonic schemes minimise multiple scattering to realise a miniaturised version of beam-splitters, interferometers and optical cavities for light propagation and lasing. Here instead, we introduce a nanophotonic network built from multiple paths and interference, to control and enhance light-matter interaction via light localisation. The network is built from a mesh of subwavelength waveguides, and can sustain localised modes and mirror-less light trapping stemming from interference over hundreds of nodes. With optical gain, these modes can easily lase, reaching $\sim$100 pm linewidths. We introduce a graph solution to the Maxwell's equation which describes light on the network, and predicts lasing action. In this framework, the network optical modes can be designed via the network connectivity and topology, and lasing can be tailored and enhanced by the network shape. Nanophotonic networks pave the way for new laser device architectures, which can be used for sensitive biosensing and on-chip optical information processing

Programming of inhomogeneous resonant guided wave networks

Photonic functions are programmed by designing the interference of local waves in inhomogeneous resonant guided wave networks composed of power-splitting elements arranged at the nodes of a nonuniform waveguide network. Using a compact, yet comprehensive, scattering matrix representation of the network, the desired photonic function is designed by fitting structural parameters according to an optimization procedure. This design scheme is demonstrated for plasmonic dichroic and trichroic routers in the infrared frequency range

Optical network technologies for future digital cinema

Digital technology has transformed the information flow and support infrastructure for numerous application domains, such as cellular communications. Cinematography, traditionally, a film based medium, has embraced digital technology leading to innovative transformations in its work flow. Digital cinema supports transmission of high resolution content enabled by the latest advancements in optical communications and video compression. In this paper we provide a survey of the optical network technologies for supporting this bandwidth intensive traffic class. We also highlight the significance and benefits of the state of the art in optical technologies that support the digital cinema work flow