Modes and exceptional points in waveguides with impedance boundary conditions

A planar waveguide with impedance boundary, composed of non-perfect metallic plates, and with passive or active dielectric filling is considered. We show the possibility of selective mode guiding and amplification when homogeneous pump is added to the dielectric, and analyze differences in TE and TM mode propagation. Such a non-conservative system is also shown to feature exceptional points, for specific and experimentally tunable parameters, which are described for a particular case of transparent dielectric.Comment: Optics Letters (2016

Coherent-perfect-absorber and laser for bound states in a continuum

It is shown that two fundamentally different phenomena, the bound states in continuum and the spectral singularity (or time-reversed spectral singularity), can occur simultaneously. This can be achieved, in particular, in a rectangular core dielectric waveguide with embedded active (or absorbing) layer. In such a system a two-dimensional bound state in a continuum is created in the plane of a waveguide cross section and it is emitted or absorbed along the waveguide core. The idea can be used for experimental implementation of a laser or a coherent-perfect-absorber for photonic bound state that resides in a continuous spectrum

Waveguides with Absorbing Boundaries: Nonlinearity Controlled by an Exceptional Point and Solitons

We reveal the existence of continuous families of guided single-mode solitons in planar waveguides with weakly nonlinear active core and absorbing boundaries. Stable propagation of TE and TM-polarized solitons is accompanied by attenuation of all other modes, i.e. the waveguide features properties of conservative and dissipative systems. If the linear spectrum of the waveguide possesses exceptional points, which occurs in the case of TM-polarization, an originally focusing (defocusing) material nonlinearity may become effectively defocusing (focusing). This occurs due to the geometric phase of the carried eigenmode when the surface impedance encircles the exceptional point. In its turn the change of the effective nonlinearity ensures the existence of dark (bright) solitons in spite of focusing (defocusing) Kerr nonlinearity of the core. The existence of an exceptional point can also result in anomalous enhancement of the effective nonlinearity. In terms of practical applications the nonlinearity of the reported waveguide can be manipulated by controlling the properties of the absorbing cladding.Comment: Published versio