Spatial Information Lasing Enabled by Full-k-Space Bound States in the Continuum.

Optical amplification and massive information transfer in modern physics depend on stimulated radiation. However, regardless of traditional macroscopic lasers or emerging micro- and nanolasers, the information modulations are generally outside the lasing cavities. On the other hand, bound states in the continuum (BICs) with inherently enormous Q factors are limited to zero-dimensional singularities in momentum space. Here, we propose the concept of spatial information lasing, whose lasing information entropy can be correspondingly controlled by near-field Bragg coupling of guided modes. This concept is verified in gain-loss metamaterials supporting full-k-space BICs with both flexible manipulations and strong confinement of light fields. The counterintuitive high-dimensional BICs exist in a continuous energy band, which provide a versatile platform to precisely control each lasing Fourier component and, thus, can directly convey rich spatial information on the compact size. Single-mode operation achieved in our scheme ensures consistent and stable lasing information. Our findings can be expanded to different wave systems and open new scenarios in informational coherent amplification and high-Q physical frameworks for both classical and quantum applications.

Polarization-insensitive high-numerical-aperture metalens for wide-field super-resolution imaging.

The development of super-oscillatory lens (SOL) offers opportunities to realize far-field label-free super-resolution microscopy. Most microscopes based on a high numerical aperture (NA) SOL operate in the point-by-point scanning mode, resulting in a slow imaging speed. Here, we propose a high-NA metalens operating in the single-shot wide-field mode to achieve real-time super-resolution imaging. An optimization model based on the exhaustion algorithm and angular spectrum (AS) theory is developed for metalens design. We numerically demonstrate that the optimized metalens with an NA of 0.8 realizes the imaging resolution (imaging pixel size) about 0.85 times the Rayleigh criterion. The metalens can achieve super-resolution imaging of an object with over 200 pixels, which is one order of magnitude higher than the unoptimized metalens. Our method provides an avenue toward single-shot far-field label-free super-resolution imaging for applications such as real-time imaging of living cells and temporally moving particles.

Realization of maximum optical intrinsic chirality with bilayer polyatomic metasurfaces.

Optical chirality plays a key role in optical biosensing and spin-selective optical field manipulation. However, the maximum optical intrinsic chirality, which is represented by near-unity circular dichroism (CD), is yet to be achieved in a wide bandwidth range based on nanostructures. Here, we utilize dielectric bilayer polyatomic metasurfaces to realize the maximum optical intrinsic chirality over a wide bandwidth range. The CD efficiency of the two designed metasurfaces with opposite chirality is 99.9% at 1350 nm and over 98% from 1340 nm to 1361 nm. Our work provides a straightforward and powerful method for the realization of maximum optical intrinsic chirality, which has great potential in spin-selective optical wave manipulation.

Tunable dual-band and high-quality-factor perfect absorption based on VO2-assisted metasurfaces.

Perfect absorbers with high quality factors (Q-factors) are of great practical significance for optical filtering and sensing. Moreover, tunable multiwavelength absorbers provide a multitude of possibilities for realizing multispectral light intensity manipulation and optical switches. In this study, we demonstrate the use of vanadium dioxide (VO2)-assisted metasurfaces for tunable dual-band and high-quality-factor perfect absorption in the mid-infrared region. In addition, we discuss the potential applications of these metasurfaces in reflective intensity manipulation and optical switching. The Q-factors of the dual-band perfect absorption in the proposed metasurfaces are greater than 1000, which can be attributed to the low radiative loss induced by the guided-mode resonances and low intrinsic loss from the constituent materials. By utilizing the insulator-metal transition in VO2, we further proved that a continuous tuning of the reflectance with a large modulation depth (31.8 dB) can be realized in the designed metasurface accompanied by a dual-channel switching effect. The proposed VO2-assisted metasurfaces have potential applications in dynamic and multifunctional optical devices, such as tunable multiband filters, mid-infrared biochemical sensors, optical switches, and optical modulators.

Multi-band on-chip photonic spin Hall effect and selective excitation of whispering gallery modes with metasurface-integrated microcavity.

We propose an approach to realize a multi-band on-chip photonic spin Hall effect and selective excitation of whispering gallery modes (WGMs) by integrating metasurfaces with microcavities. Free-space circularly polarized light with opposite spin angular momentum can effectively excite WGMs with opposite propagation directions at fixed wavelengths. Moreover, the different WGMs with different propagation directions and polarizations can be selectively excited by manipulating the number of antennas. We demonstrate that the optical properties (i.e., coupling efficiency, peak positions, and peak widths) of the proposed metasurface-integrated microcavities can be easily tailored by adjusting different geometric parameters. This study enables the realization of chiral microcavities with exciting novel functionalities, which may provide a further step in the development of photonic integrated circuits, optical sensing, and chiral optics.

Giant spin-selective asymmetric transmission in multipolar-modulated metasurfaces.

Spin-selective manipulation of optical waves is widely utilized in various optical techniques and plays a key role in modern nanophotonics. While numerous efficient approaches have been applied in metasurfaces to realize spin-selective manipulation of optical waves, the implementation of giant spin-selective asymmetric transmission remains a challenge. Here, we propose an all-dielectric metasurface to realize giant tri-band spin-selective asymmetric transmission in the near infrared regime. The proposed giant spin-selective asymmetric transmission is attributed to the excitation of overlapping multipolar resonances in the dielectric elliptic cylinders, which can be well manipulated by changing the structure parameters. This research demonstrates the great potential of all-dielectric metasurfaces for spin-selective transmission manipulation, which provide helpful insights and intriguing possibilities for applications in information optics, quantum optics, optical sensing, and imaging.

High-quality-factor multiple Fano resonances for refractive index sensing.

We design and numerically analyze a high-quality (Q)-factor, high modulation depth, multiple Fano resonance device based on periodical asymmetric paired bars in the near-infrared regime. There are four sharp Fano peaks arising from the interference between subradiant modes and the magnetic dipole resonance mode that can be easily tailored by adjusting different geometric parameters. The maximal Q-factor can exceed 105 in magnitude, and the modulation depths ΔT can reach nearly 100%. Combining the narrow resonance line-widths with strong near-field confinement, we demonstrate an optical refractive index sensor with a sensitivity of 370 nm/RIU and a figure of merit of 2846. This study may provide a further step in sensing, lasing, and nonlinear optics.