Recent advances in ultraviolet nanophotonics: from plasmonics and metamaterials to metasurfaces

There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

Abstract

Nanophotonic devices, composed of metals, dielectrics, or semiconductors, enable precise and high-spatial-resolution manipulation of electromagnetic waves by leveraging diverse light–matter interaction mechanisms at subwavelength length scales. Their compact size, light weight, versatile functionality and unprecedented performance are rapidly revolutionizing how optical devices and systems are constructed across the infrared, visible, and ultraviolet spectra. Here, we review recent advances and future opportunities of nanophotonic elements operating in the ultraviolet spectral region, which include plasmonic devices, optical metamaterials, and optical metasurfaces. We discuss their working principles, material platforms, fabrication, and characterization techniques, followed by representative device applications across various interdisciplinary areas such as imaging, sensing and spectroscopy. We conclude this review by elaborating on future opportunities and challenges for ultraviolet nanophotonic devices.

Most cited references 175

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Light propagation with phase discontinuities: generalized laws of reflection and refraction.

Nanfang Yu, Patrice Genevet, Mikhail Kats … (2011)

Conventional optical components rely on gradual phase shifts accumulated during light propagation to shape light beams. New degrees of freedom are attained by introducing abrupt phase changes over the scale of the wavelength. A two-dimensional array of optical resonators with spatially varying phase response and subwavelength separation can imprint such phase discontinuities on propagating light as it traverses the interface between two media. Anomalous reflection and refraction phenomena are observed in this regime in optically thin arrays of metallic antennas on silicon with a linear phase variation along the interface, which are in excellent agreement with generalized laws derived from Fermat's principle. Phase discontinuities provide great flexibility in the design of light beams, as illustrated by the generation of optical vortices through use of planar designer metallic interfaces.

0 comments Cited 902 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Flat optics with designer metasurfaces.

Nanfang Yu, Federico Capasso (2014)

Conventional optical components such as lenses, waveplates and holograms rely on light propagation over distances much larger than the wavelength to shape wavefronts. In this way substantial changes of the amplitude, phase or polarization of light waves are gradually accumulated along the optical path. This Review focuses on recent developments on flat, ultrathin optical components dubbed 'metasurfaces' that produce abrupt changes over the scale of the free-space wavelength in the phase, amplitude and/or polarization of a light beam. Metasurfaces are generally created by assembling arrays of miniature, anisotropic light scatterers (that is, resonators such as optical antennas). The spacing between antennas and their dimensions are much smaller than the wavelength. As a result the metasurfaces, on account of Huygens principle, are able to mould optical wavefronts into arbitrary shapes with subwavelength resolution by introducing spatial variations in the optical response of the light scatterers. Such gradient metasurfaces go beyond the well-established technology of frequency selective surfaces made of periodic structures and are extending to new spectral regions the functionalities of conventional microwave and millimetre-wave transmit-arrays and reflect-arrays. Metasurfaces can also be created by using ultrathin films of materials with large optical losses. By using the controllable abrupt phase shifts associated with reflection or transmission of light waves at the interface between lossy materials, such metasurfaces operate like optically thin cavities that strongly modify the light spectrum. Technology opportunities in various spectral regions and their potential advantages in replacing existing optical components are discussed.

0 comments Cited 665 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: not found
Book: not found

Plasmonics: Fundamentals and Applications

Stefan A. Maier (2007)

0 comments Cited 632 times – based on 0 reviews

Bookmark

All references

Author and article information

Journal

Title: Nanophotonics

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH

ISSN (Electronic): 2192-8614

ISSN (Print): 2192-8606

Publication date Created: July 08 2021

Publication date Created: May 21 2021

Publication date Created: July 01 2021

Publication date (Print): July 08 2021

Publication date (Electronic): May 24 2021

Publication date (Print): July 01 2021

Volume: 10

Issue: 9

Pages: 2283-2308

Affiliations

[1 ]Department of Optics and Optical Engineering , University of Science and Technology of China , Hefei , Anhui 230026 , China

[2 ]School of Optical and Electronic Information & Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology , Wuhan , Hubei 430074 , China

[3 ]Physical Measurement Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology , Gaithersburg , MD 20877 , USA

[4 ]Maryland NanoCenter, University of Maryland , College Park , MD 20742 , USA

[5 ]National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures & College of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University , Nanjing , Jiangsu 210093 , China