Absolute chiral sensing in dielectric metasurfaces with signal reversals

Sensing molecular chirality at the nanoscale has been a long-standing challenge due to the inherently weak nature of chiroptical signals, and nanophotonic approaches have proven fruitful in accessing these signals. However, in most cases, absolute chiral sensing of the total chiral refractive index has not been possible, while the strong inherent signals from the nanostructures themselves obscure the weak chiroptical signals. Here, we propose a dielectric metamaterial system that overcomes these limitations and allows for absolute measurements of the total chirality, and the possibility for a crucial signal reversal that enables chirality measurements without the need for sample removal. As proof of principle, we demonstrate signal-enhancements by a factor of 200 for ultrathin, sub-wavelength, chiral samples over a uniform and accessible area.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Finite-Size Effects in Metasurface Lasers Based on Resonant Dark States

The quest for subwavelength coherent light sources has recently led to the exploration of dark-mode based surface lasers, which allow for independent adjustment of the lasing state and its coherent radiation output. To understand how this unique design performs in real experiments, we need to consider systems of finite size and quantify finite-size effects not present in the infinite dark-mode surface laser model. Here we find that, depending on the size of the system, distinct and even counterintuitive behavior of the lasing state is possible, determined by a balanced competition between multiple loss channels, including dissipation, intentional out-coupling of coherent radiation, and leakage from the edges of the finite system. The conclusions are crucial for the design of future experiments that will enable the realization of ultrathin coherent light sources