Axisymmetric photonic structures with PT-symmetry

Copyright 2016 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers. One print or electronic copy may be made for personal use only. Systematic reproduction and distribution, duplication of any material in this paper for a fee or for commercial purposes, or modification of the content of the paper are prohibited.PT-symmetric structures in photonic crystals, combining refractive index and gain-loss modulations is becoming a research field with increasing interest due to the light directionality induced by these particular potentials. Here, we consider PT-symmetric potentials with axial symmetry to direct light to the crystal central point obtaining a localization effect. The axial and PT-symmetric potential intrinsically generates an exceptional central point in the photonic crystal by the merge of both symmetries. This particular point in the crystal lattice causes field amplitude gradients with exponential slopes around the crystal center. The field localization strongly depends on the phase of the central point and on the complex amplitude of the PT-potential. The presented work analyzes in a first stage 1D linear PT-axisymmetric crystals and the role of the central point phase that determines the defect character, i.e. refractive index defect, gain-loss defect or a combination of both. The interplay of the directional light effect induced by the PT-symmetry and the light localization around the central point through the axial symmetry enhances localization and allows higher field concentration for certain phases. The linearity of the studied crystals introduces an exponential growth of the field that mainly depends on the complex amplitude of the potential. The work is completed by the analysis of 2D PT-axisymmetric potentials showing different spatial slopes and growth rates caused by symmetry reasons.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Polarization-independent broadband bidirectional optical cloaking using a new type of inverse scattering approach

(c) 2017 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other users, including reprinting/ republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted components of this work in other works.Since the advent of transformation optics a decade ago [1], the ability to achieve optical cloaking has become a matter of practical realization. However, so far extreme material requirements and large device areas have significantly posed an obstacle to realize compact cloaking schemes that are fully functional. Here, by taking a different approach and by following our recently developed general theorem to control the scattering behaviour of an arbitrary object on a specific demand [2], we show that nearly perfect bidirectional optical cloaking effect can be generated for any type of object with a given shape and size. Contrary to previous approaches, we reveal that such a method is always able to produce local refractive indices larger than one and that neither gain nor lossy materials are required. Furthermore, by means of numerical calculations, we demonstrate a highly tunable broad operational bandwidth of 550 nm (covering 650-1200 nm interval) and an angular aperture of 36° for both directions and polarizations. With these unprecedented features, we expect that the present work will hold a great potential to enable a new class of optical cloaking structures that will find applications particularly in communication systems, defence industry and in other related fields.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Structured Meta-Mirrors for Beam Spatial Filtering

The work presents optical spatial filtering in reflection based on translationally invariant meta-mirrors. The meta-structure is generated by a thin grating presenting a transverse modulation of the refraction index on the sub-micron scale located in front of a mirror. We analyze the angular spectrum of the reflected waves for different types of structured meta-mirrors as well as the filtering effects of these meta-structures in reflected beams. The comparison between FDTD simulations of full Maxwell equations and different approximated models allows to determine the filtering contribution from the structured cavity and from Mie resonances associated to elements generating the grating.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Slow light enabled wavelength demultiplexing

Photonic crystal waveguides supporting band gap guided modes hold great potential to tailor the group velocity of propagating light. We propose and explore different wavelength demultiplexer design approaches that utilize slow light concept. By altering the dielectric filling factors of each waveguide segment, one can show that different frequencies can be separated and extracted at different locations along the cascaded waveguide. Furthermore, to eliminate the inherent reflection loss of such a design, a composite structure involving a tapered waveguide with a side-coupled resonator is also presented. Such a structure features not only a forward propagating wave but also a backward propagating wave acting as a feedback mechanism for the drop channels. We show that by careful design of the waveguide and the resonator, the destructive and instructive interference of these waves can effectively eliminate the reflection loss and increase the coupling efficiency, respectively. Numerical and experimental verification of the proposed structures show that the targeted frequencies can be coupled out with low cross-talks and moderate quality factors, while maintaining a compact size. © 2016 IEEE.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Non-Hermitian broad aperture semiconductor lasers based on PT-symmetry

In this paper we propose a novel configuration to regularize the complex spatiotemporal dynamics of broad area lasers into bright light beam. It has recently been shown that arbitrary non-Hermitian optical potentials based on local Parity-Time (PT-) symmetry may tailor and control the flow of light, due to the asymmetric mode coupling. We now provide a comprehensive analysis on how this can be applied to stabilize the emission from broad aperture semiconductor lasers. The mechanism relies on a non-Hermitian configuration of the laser potential achieved by simultaneous spatial modulation of the refractive index and gain-loss profiles. This allows concentrating the light into a bright and narrow output beam. We provide a numerical analysis on Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting lasers and Broad Area Semiconductor Lasers. The results indicate a significant intensity enhancement and concentration of the emitted stabilized beam. The proposed mechanism may be technologically achievable, and it is expected to be applicable to regularize the radiation of other broad aperture and microlasers, which typically emit quite random and irregular light patterns. Besides, the reported concentration effect is universal, and could be extended to random and quasi-periodic background potentials.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Self-collimation in PT -symmetric crystals

We predict the self-collimation phenomena (or equivalently, dynamical localization) in two-dimensional PT-symmetric complex potentials, where the complex modulation is considered in the transverse, longitudinal, or simultaneously in both directions. Nondiffractive propagation is analytically predicted and further confirmed by numerical integration of a paraxial model. The parameter space is explored to identify the self-collimation regime in crystals with different PT symmetries. In addition, we also analyze how the PT-symmetric potentials determine the energy distribution between spatial modes of the self-collimated beams.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Self-collimation in 2D Complex P- and PT-symmetric systems

We predict the self-collimation phenomena (or equivalently, dynamical localization) in 2-dimensional P-symmetric and PT-symmetric complex potentials, with periodic modulations of both gain/loss and refractive index. Non diffractive propagation is analytically predicted and further confirmed by numerical integration of a paraxial model. The parameter space is explored to identify the self-collimation regime in crystals with different complex symmetries.Postprint (published version

Nonlinear oscillatory mixing in the generalized Landau scenario

We present a set of phase-space portraits illustrating the extraordinary oscillatory possibilities of the dynamical systems through the so-called generalized Landau scenario. In its simplest form the scenario develops in N dimensions around a saddle-node pair of fixed points experiencing successive Hopf bifurcations up to exhausting their stable manifolds and generating N-1 different limit cycles. The oscillation modes associated with these cycles extend over a wide phase-space region by mixing ones within the others and by affecting both the transient trajectories and the periodic orbits themselves. A mathematical theory covering the mode-mixing mechanisms is lacking, and our aim is to provide an overview of their main qualitative features in order to stimulate research on it.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

PT-axisymmetric VCSELs with linear central defect

Semiconductor Lasers and particularly Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers (VCSELs) are important laser sources used for many purposes. However, the applications of these lasers are mainly restricted by their strongly multimode operation given by the lack of an intrinsic transverse mode selection mechanism [1]. The introduction of an axial PT-symmetric potential within this kind of lasers is expected to induce a field enhancement and localization at the symmetry axis, central part of the laser. The required complex potential, combining a modulated refractive index and gain-loss distributions, may be achieved by different configurations with actual fabrication techniques. The Complex Ginzburg-Landau equation is used as a simple VCSELs model, and the numerical results show important localization effects; due to the asymmetric mode coupling energy converges to the center leading to a strong light confinement. The main consequence is a narrow and bright laser emission from the central part of the device. As the system nonlinearities introduce saturation limiting the maximum intensity of the output beam, the inclusion of a central linear defect in the structure allows a larger field concentration.Postprint (published version

Self-collimated beams in 2D complex periodic lattices from P- to PT-symmetry

We analyze self-collimation in two-dimensional periodic complex lattices. We consider P-symmetric and PT-symmetric complex lattices with different geometries, where the periodic modulations of both refractive index and gain-loss are either in-phase, or dephased a quarter of wavelength of the modulation. The non-diffractive propagation of light beams is analytically predicted using coupled mode approach and further confirmed by numerical integration of a paraxial model.Postprint (published version