Design of a new terahertz nanowaveguide amplifier

A novel amplifier is proposed based on a nanostructured waveguide supporting terahertz waves. A lateral pin photodiode structure, biased with a dc voltage and illuminated by a continuous-wave light, serves as an amplifying medium whereby drifting light-generated electrons provide energy required for amplification. Interaction between the propagating terahertz guided wave and the drifting electron stream is analyzed, and a dispersion equation is derived. Real life parameters of silicon are used to demonstrate and illustrate the achievable performance. Doubling of the wave power over only one micrometer is shown to be feasible even when all loss mechanisms are considered.Web of Science93art. no. 220090

Scintillation effects in the magnetized plasma

Statistical characteristics of scattered electromagnetic waves in the turbulent magnetized plasma caused by electron density fluctuations are calculated using complex geometrical optics approximation taking into account both diffraction effects and polarization coefficients. Scintillation level normalized on the variance of the phase fluctuations is analyzed analytically and numerically for small-scale plasma irregularities using the experimental data. New properties of the electromagnetic wave scintillations have been revealed. It is shown that splashes arise in the ionosphere leading to the turbulence and generation of new oscillations (waves and/or Pc pulsations) propagating in space and the terrestrial atmosphere. Turbulence extending in the lower atmospheric layers can influence on the meteorological parameters leading to climate change.Web of Science8116515

Electrically and optically controlled cross-polarized wave conversion

Light wave propagation in third-order nonlinear media with applied external electric field is investigated. Interplay between the nonlinear electro-optic and all-optical effects is examined theoretically. Energy exchange between the orthogonal light polarizations, the cross polarization conversion, results. The assisting external field acts as either the effect-enhancing or functionality-controlling parameter. Various materials such as silica glass, silicon, other bulk and quantum well semiconductors, organic materials, and particle-doped nanostructures are referred to as possible candidates for device implementations. Numerical estimates of achievable parameters in a selected suitable material are discussed

Design of plasmonic-waveguiding structures for sensor applications

Surface plasmon resonance has become a widely accepted optical technique for studying biological and chemical interactions. Among others, detecting small changes in analyte concentration in complex solutions remains challenging, e.g., because of the need of distinguishing the interaction of interest from other effects. In our model study, the resolution ability of plasmonic sensing element was enhanced by two ways. Besides an implementation of metal-insulator-metal (MIM) plasmonic nanostructure, we suggest concatenation with waveguiding substructure to achieve mutual coupling of surface plasmon polariton (SPP) with an optical waveguiding mode. The dependence of coupling conditions on the multilayer parameters was analyzed to obtain optimal field intensity enhancement.Web of Science99art. no. 122

Coupled-mode analysis of contra-directional coupling between two asymmetric photonic crystal waveguides

A self-contained coupled-mode theory for the coupled two asymmetric photonic crystal waveguides (PCWs) is presented. The first-order coupled-mode equations are derived under a weak coupling assumption. The coupling coefficients are obtained systematically by a matrix calculus using the modal solutions of each PCW in isolation. The coupled-mode equations are solved for contra-directional coupling between two asymmetric PCWs formed by a hexagonal lattice of circular air holes in a dielectric medium. The power transmission spectra at different output ports of the coupled PCWs are investigated. It is shown that the self-contained coupled-mode analysis is useful to characterize a peculiar feature of the contra-directionally coupled PCWs as a drop filter.Web of Science31352351

Coordinate transformation formulation of electromagnetic scattering from imperfectly periodic surfaces

This paper considers the electromagnetic scattering problem of periodically corrugated surface with local imperfection of structural periodicity, and presents a formulation based on the coordinate transformation method (C-method). The C-method is originally developed to analyze the plane-wave scattering from perfectly periodic structures, and uses the pseudo-periodic property of the fields. The fields in imperfectly periodic structures are not pseudo-periodic and the C-method cannot be directly applied. This paper introduces the pseudo-periodic Fourier transform to convert the fields in imperfectly periodic structures to pseudo-periodic ones, and the C-method becomes then applicable.Web of Science2099990997

Principal spectra describing magnetooptic permittivity tensor in cubic crystals

We provide unified phenomenological description of magnetooptic effects being linear and quadratic in magnetization. The description is based on few principal spectra, describing elements of permittivity tensor up to the second order in magnetization. Each permittivity tensor element for any magnetization direction and any sample surface orientation is simply determined by weighted summation of the principal spectra, where weights are given by crystallographic and magnetization orientations. The number of principal spectra depends on the symmetry of the crystal. In cubic crystals owning point symmetry we need only four principal spectra. Here, the principal spectra are expressed by ab-initio calculations for bcc Fe, fcc Co and fcc Ni in optical range as well as in hard and soft x-ray energy range, i.e. at the 2p- and 3p-edges. We also express principal spectra analytically using modified Kubo formula

Investigation of optical absorptance of onedimensionally periodic silicon gratings as solar absorbers for solar cells

A rigorous design using periodic silicon (Si) gratings as absorbers for solar cells in visible and near-infrared regions is numerically presented. The structure consists of a subwavelength Si grating layer on top of an Si substrate. Ranges of grating dimensions are preliminary considered satisfying simple and feasible fabrication techniques with an aspect ratio defined as the ratio of the grating thickness (d) and the grating lamella width (w), with 0 < d/w < 1.0. The subwavelength grating structure (SGS) is assumed to comprise different lamella widths and slits within each period in order to finely tune the grating profile such that the absorptance is significantly enhanced in the whole wavelength region. The results showed that the compound SGS yields an average absorptance of 0.92 which is 1.5 larger than that of the Si plain and conventional grating structures. It is shown that the absorptance spectrum of the proposed SGS is insensitive to the angle of incidence of the incoming light. The absorptance enhancement is also investigated by computing magnetic field, energy density, and Poynting vector distributions. The results presented in this study show that the proposed method based on nanofabrication techniques provides a simple and promising solution to design solar energy absorbers or other energy harvesting devices.Web of Science22S1A79A6

Dual broadband infrared absorptance enhanced by magnetic polaritons using graphene-covered compound metal gratings

A dual broadband perfect absorber based on a graphene-covered compound silver (Ag) grating structure working in the infrared (0.8-2.1 mu m) regime is proposed and investigated numerically. Two distinct absorption peaks approximately 1.0 are achieved by the excitation of magnetic polaritons over a large range of incident angles from 0 to 70 degrees. The physics underlying the structure is also explained by computing interactions of electromagnetic fields with the graphene and the Ag grating. In addition, it has shown that the absorption peaks can be tuned by changing geometric parameters of the structure; however, their spectral shape and absorption remain unchanged. Furthermore, the proposed compound grating with a graphene overlay provides potential applications for infrared absorbing devices.Web of Science2721301903018

Wavelength-selective emitters with pyramid nanogratings enhanced by multiple resonance modes

Binary gratings with high or low metal filling ratios in a grating region have been demonstrated as successful candidates in enhancing the emittance of emitters for thermophotovoltaics since they could support surface plasmons (SPs), the Rayleigh–Wood anomaly (RWA), or cavity resonance (CR) within their geometries. This work shows that combining a tungsten binary grating with a low and high filling ratio to form a pyramid grating can significantly increase the emittance, which is nearly perfect in the wavelength region from 0.6 to 1.72 μm, while being 0.1 at wavelengths longer than 2.5 μm. Moreover, the emittance spectrum of the hybrid tungsten grating is insensitive to the angle of incidence. The enhancement demonstrated by magnetic field and Poynting vector patterns is due to the interplay between SPs and RWA modes at short wavelengths, and CR at long wavelengths. Furthermore, a combined grating made of nickel is also proposed providing enhanced emittance in a wide angle of incidence.Web of Science2715art. no. 15540