Polarization-Handling Metasurfaces

A special issue of Crystals (ISSN 2073-4352). This special issue belongs to the section "Crystal Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2020) | Viewed by 22978

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Istituto di Nanoscienze – CNR, and Laboratorio NEST, Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa, Italy
Interests: symmetries and functionality in metasurfaces and metamaterials

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to announce this Special Issue devoted to the topic of Polarization Handling Metasurfaces.

The ability to generate, manipulate, and detect polarized radiation is a task of such importance that Nature itself learned how to do it—as the polarization vision capability of insects such as bees testifies. Mankind is however not lagging behind, learning to engineer structured materials that display unprecedented polarization handling capability. These objects, which come in the form of subwavelength or wavelength-scale thick patterned materials, are commonly named metasurfaces: according to the etymology, surfaces that go beyond (their individual constituents). Through judicious structuration, metasurfaces can accomplish tasks that ordinary materials cannot. This is particularly true for what concerns the polarization degree of freedom of light, since substances like solid-state crystals or liquid crystals show only limited values of linear and/or circular birefringence and diattenuation. Metasurfaces can also exploit resonance effects to operate in multiband fashion and can be arranged to display spatial phase-gradient phenomena or to implement computer-generated holograms. Other active fronts in the field are the search for specific target operations by inverse-design techniques and the investigation of reconfigurable and tunable metasurfaces.  

The aim of the present Issue is to collect novel results concerning this exciting field that lies at the crossing point among classical electromagnetism, physics of structured materials, radiofrequency technology, nanoscience, and photonics. Articles based on experimental, analytical, and numerical data will be considered and subject to rigorous peer-review before undergoing an editorial decision.

Dr. Simone Zanotto
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • Birefringence
  • Dichroism, diattenuation
  • Chirality
  • Anisotropy, bianisotropy
  • Faraday and Kerr effects, nonreciprocity
  • Reconfiguration, tunability
  • Inverse design

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Editorial

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4 pages, 450 KiB  
Editorial
Metasurfaces as Artificial Crystals for Electromagnetic Polarization Handling
by Simone Zanotto
Crystals 2020, 10(10), 852; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst10100852 - 23 Sep 2020
Viewed by 1783
Abstract
Metasurfaces acting on electromagnetic fields have emerged as powerful tools that can address all the wave’s degrees of freedom: amplitude, phase and polarization. It is especially with respect to polarization that their role is steadily growing: metasurfaces can indeed perform, by design, operations [...] Read more.
Metasurfaces acting on electromagnetic fields have emerged as powerful tools that can address all the wave’s degrees of freedom: amplitude, phase and polarization. It is especially with respect to polarization that their role is steadily growing: metasurfaces can indeed perform, by design, operations that would usually require very specific, delicate and expensive natural or synthetic ordinary crystals. Here, I will first briefly review the history of light polarization, and its connection with ordinary crystals. Subsequently, I will highlight in which sense metasurfaces are artificial quasi-two-dimensional crystals, evidencing their potential as future polarization-handling (meta) materials. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polarization-Handling Metasurfaces)
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Research

Jump to: Editorial

16 pages, 1277 KiB  
Article
Designing Metasurfaces with Canonical Unit Cells
by Dominik Barbarić and Zvonimir Šipuš
Crystals 2020, 10(10), 938; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst10100938 - 15 Oct 2020
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2738
Abstract
Among different approaches to designing metasurfaces, surface sheet impedance is proving to be a straightforward path for many applications. Recent publications have proposed several methods for optimizing this design approach, enabling rapid metasurface development. Upon finding the requirements using the sheet impedance approach, [...] Read more.
Among different approaches to designing metasurfaces, surface sheet impedance is proving to be a straightforward path for many applications. Recent publications have proposed several methods for optimizing this design approach, enabling rapid metasurface development. Upon finding the requirements using the sheet impedance approach, design continues with the selection of unit cell geometry. This choice is usually based on approximate expressions that have been published throughout the years. We review the approximate expressions for metasurface unit cell design, with consideration of their applicability to certain applications, namely polarization-dependent beam-shaping metasurfaces. We evaluate the accuracy of the approximate expressions against simulation results from a full-wave electromagnetic solver, and propose an optimization approach to correct the proposed design for the observed error. The applicability of different unit cell types is discussed, especially considering the limitations of technological processes typically used in metasurface production. A prototype was developed to verify the validity of this design approach. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polarization-Handling Metasurfaces)
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12 pages, 4571 KiB  
Article
Geometrical Phase Optical Components: Measuring Geometric Phase without Interferometry
by Oriol Arteaga and Hana Bendada
Crystals 2020, 10(10), 880; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst10100880 - 29 Sep 2020
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3908
Abstract
Optical components that are based on Pancharatnam–Berry phase feature a polarization-dependent diffraction that can be used to fabricate lenses and gratings with unique properties. In recent years, the great progress made in the fabrication of the metasurfaces that are required for these optical [...] Read more.
Optical components that are based on Pancharatnam–Berry phase feature a polarization-dependent diffraction that can be used to fabricate lenses and gratings with unique properties. In recent years, the great progress made in the fabrication of the metasurfaces that are required for these optical components has lowered their cost and has made them widely available. One of the often-overlooked properties of optical components based on geometrical phases (GPs) is that, contrary to dynamical phases, their phase can be measured while using a polarimetric technique without the need to resort to interferometry methods. This is possible because the Pancharatnam–Berry phase is not controlled by an optical path difference; it results from a space variant polarization manipulation. In this work, we apply Mueller matrix microscopy in order to measure the geometrical phase of GP lenses and polarization gratings. We show that a single space resolved Mueller matrix measurement with micrometric resolution is enough to obtain a full characterization phase-profile of these GP-based optical components and evaluate their performance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polarization-Handling Metasurfaces)
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19 pages, 2691 KiB  
Article
Polarization Control with Helical Metasurfaces
by Ihar Faniayeu, Viktar Asadchy and Ivan Fanyaev
Crystals 2020, 10(9), 726; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst10090726 - 20 Aug 2020
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2976
Abstract
The ability to fully control the polarization of light using chiral metadevices has drawn considerable attention in various applications of integrated photonics, communication systems, and life sciences. In this work, we propose a comprehensive approach for the design of metasurfaces with desired polarization [...] Read more.
The ability to fully control the polarization of light using chiral metadevices has drawn considerable attention in various applications of integrated photonics, communication systems, and life sciences. In this work, we propose a comprehensive approach for the design of metasurfaces with desired polarization properties for reflected and transmitted waves based on the proper spatial arrangement of chiral inclusions in the unit cell. Polarization conversion is achieved by engineering induced electric and magnetic dipole moments of the metasurface inclusions. We show that under a proper arrangement, the same inclusion can be used as a building block of metasurfaces with drastically different wave-transformation functionalities. The horizontally and vertically oriented metallic helices were used as simplest chiral inclusions, which can be manufactured by the established 3D fabrication techniques from THz up to the visible spectral range. The proposed metadevices provide a deep understanding of the light–matter interaction for polarization conversions with helix-based structures and opens the way to new possibilities of electromagnetic polarization control with advanced chiral metadevices in communication and imaging systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polarization-Handling Metasurfaces)
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11 pages, 3480 KiB  
Article
Polarization-Sensitive Metamaterials with Tunable Multi-Resonance in the Terahertz Frequency Range
by Xiaojie Chen and Yu-Sheng Lin
Crystals 2020, 10(7), 611; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst10070611 - 13 Jul 2020
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2646
Abstract
We propose two designs of polarization-sensitive metamaterials (PSMs), which are composed of face-to-face spilt-ring resonators (SRRs) and a cut-wire resonator (CWR) sandwiched by two face-to-face SRRs. For convenient description, they are denoted as PSM_1 and PSM_2, respectively. PSM_1 and PSM_2 are fabricated by [...] Read more.
We propose two designs of polarization-sensitive metamaterials (PSMs), which are composed of face-to-face spilt-ring resonators (SRRs) and a cut-wire resonator (CWR) sandwiched by two face-to-face SRRs. For convenient description, they are denoted as PSM_1 and PSM_2, respectively. PSM_1 and PSM_2 are fabricated by tailoring Au layers with periodic configurations on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrates. By changing the incident polarization light, the electromagnetic responses of PSM_1 can be manipulated between single-resonance and dual-resonance, while those of PSM_2 exhibit switching behavior between single-resonance and triple-resonance. By enlarging the distance between the gap centers of the two face-to-face SRRs along the y-axis direction, the electromagnetic responses of PSM_1 show switching characteristics from single-resonance to triple-resonance at the transverse electric (TE) mode and from dual-resonance to triple-resonance at the transverse magnetic (TM) mode. PSM_2 exhibits switching characteristics from single-resonance to triple-resonance at the TE mode and from dual-resonance to quad-resonance at the TM mode. Furthermore, by changing the width of the CWR under the condition of two face-to-face SRRs with a constant gap distance, PSM_2 exhibits stable electromagnetic responses at the TE mode and tunable resonances at the TM mode, respectively. This work paves the way to the possibility of metamaterial devices with great tunability, switchable bandwidth, and polarization-dependence characteristics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polarization-Handling Metasurfaces)
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8 pages, 3273 KiB  
Article
Biomedical Sensing with Free-Standing Complementary Supercell Terahertz Metasurfaces
by Ibraheem Al-Naib
Crystals 2020, 10(5), 372; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst10050372 - 06 May 2020
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 8346
Abstract
We present a free-standing terahertz metasurface supercell that consists of four complementary mirrored asymmetric split-rectangular resonators. The quality factor of the excited resonance of this supercell has been significantly improved by 250% when compared to its counterpart nonmirrored supercell. The mirroring of the [...] Read more.
We present a free-standing terahertz metasurface supercell that consists of four complementary mirrored asymmetric split-rectangular resonators. The quality factor of the excited resonance of this supercell has been significantly improved by 250% when compared to its counterpart nonmirrored supercell. The mirroring of the resonators leads to an enhanced out-of-phase oscillating current in each neighboring resonators of the supercell. In turn, this leads to a suppression of the dipole moments and its corresponding scattered fields. Moreover, this design can be realized by utilizing a simple laser machining technique. Furthermore, we numerically evaluate the performance of this design as a label-free biosensor for thin-film analytes and biomolecules such as double-stranded DNA and single-stranded RNA viruses. A sensitivity level of 1.14 × 105 nm/refractive index unit (RIU) can be achieved using this design. Therefore, this design has the potential to be used as an effective label-free biomedical sensor for in-situ detection of various biomolecules. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polarization-Handling Metasurfaces)
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