Transverse Kerker Effect for Dipole Sources.

Transverse Kerker effect is known by the directional scattering of an electromagnetic plane wave perpendicular to the propagation direction with nearly suppression of both forward and backward scattering. Compared with plane waves, localized electromagnetic emitters are more general sources in modern nanophotonics. As a typical example, manipulating the emission direction of a quantum dot is of vital importance for the investigation of on-chip quantum optics and quantum information processing. Herein, we introduce the concept of transverse Kerker effect for dipole sources utilizing a subwavelength dielectric antenna, where the radiative power of magnetic, electric, and more general chiral dipole emitters can be dominantly redirected along their dipole moments with nearly suppression of radiation perpendicular to the dipole moments. This type of transverse Kerker effect is also associated with Purcell enhancement mediated by electromagnetic multipolar resonances induced in the dielectric antenna. Analytical conditions of transverse Kerker effect are derived for the magnetic, electric, and chiral dipole emitters. We further provide microwave experiment validation for the magnetic dipole emitter. Our results provide new physical mechanisms to manipulate the emission properties of localized electromagnetic source which might facilitate the on-chip quantum optics and beyond.

Wavefront shaping for reconfigurable beam steering in lithium niobate multimode waveguide.

Reconfigurable photonic devices are important constituents for future optical integrated circuits, where electro-optic manipulation of the light field in a lithium niobate (LN) waveguide is one of the promising solutions. Herein, we demonstrate a paradigm shift of the beam steering mechanism where reconfigurable beam steering is enabled by the wavefront shaping technology. Furthermore, this strategy is fully compatible with the electro-optic tuning mechanism of the LN multimode waveguide, where microstructured serrated array electrodes are employed to fine tune the output beam upon its reconfigurable output position. Our results provide new, to the best of our knowledge, insight for molding the flow of light in multimode waveguides and shed new light on beam steering photonic devices.

Invisible Mie scatterer.

Dielectric Mie scatterers possessing simultaneously magnetic and electric resonances can be used to tailor scattering utilizing the interference among electromagnetic multipole moments. Cloaking for this type of Mie scatterer is important for various applications. However, the existing cloaking mechanisms mainly focus on the elimination of net electric dipole moments, which have not been generalized to a Mie scatterer with both magnetic and electric responses yet. Herein, we propose and experimentally demonstrate an invisible Mie scatterer utilizing a hybrid skin cloak. The hybrid mechanism relies on the realization of a magnetic analog of a plasmonic cloak and the electric anapole condition to eliminate the net magnetic and electric dipole moments simultaneously. Microwave experiments are provided to validate the proposal. Our results not only introduce a new concept of skin cloaking for electromagnetic scatterers, but also provide new insight for the invisibility and illusion of Mie scatterers.

Experimental generation of perfect optical vortices through strongly scattering media.

Perfect optical vortices enable the unprecedented optical multiplexing utilizing orbital angular momentum of light, which, however, suffer from distortion when they propagate in inhomogeneous media. Herein, we report on the experimental demonstration of perfect optical vortice generation through strongly scattering media. The transmission-matrix-based point-spread-function engineering is applied to encode the targeted mask in the Fourier domain before focusing. We experimentally demonstrate the perfect optical vortice generation either through a multimode fiber or a ground glass, where the numerical results agree well with the measured one. Our results might facilitate the manipulation of orbital angular momentum of light through disordered scattering media and shed new light on the optical multiplexing utilizing perfect optical vortices.