Photonic spin Hall effect mediated by bianisotropy.

Coupling of electric and magnetic responses of a scatterer, known as bianisotropy, enables rich physics and unique optical phenomena, including asymmetric absorption or reflection, one-way transparency, and photonic topological phases. Here we demonstrate yet another feature stemming from bianisotropic response, namely, polarization-dependent scattering of light by bianisotropic dielectric meta-atom with broken mirror symmetry, which yields a photonic analogue of spin Hall effect. Based on a simple dipole model, we explain the origin of the effect confirming our conclusions by experimental observation of photonic spin Hall effect both for a single meta-atom and for an array of them.

A new quadrature annular resonator for 3 T MRI based on artificial-dielectrics.

Dielectric resonators have previously been constructed for ultra-high frequency magnetic resonance imaging and microscopy. However, it is challenging to design these dielectric resonators at clinical field strengths due to their intrinsically large dimensions, especially when using materials with moderate permittivity. Here we propose and characterize a novel approach using artificial-dielectrics which reduces substantially the required outer diameter of the resonator. For a resonator designed to operate in a 3 Tesla scanner using water as the dielectric, a reduction in outer diameter of 37% was achieved. When used in an inductively-coupled wireless mode, the sensitivity of the artificial-dielectric resonator was measured to be slightly higher than that of a standard dielectric resonator operating in its degenerate circularly-polarized hybrid electromagnetic modes (HEM11). This study demonstrates the first application of an artificial-dielectric approach to MR volume coil design.

Far-field probing of leaky topological states in all-dielectric metasurfaces.

Topological phase transitions in condensed matter systems give rise to exotic states of matter such as topological insulators, superconductors, and superfluids. Photonic topological systems open a whole new realm of research and technological opportunities, exhibiting a number of important distinctions from their condensed matter counterparts. Photonic modes can leak into free space, which makes it possible to probe topological photonic phases by spectroscopic means via Fano resonances. Based on this idea, we develop a technique to retrieve the topological properties of all-dielectric metasurfaces from the measured far-field scattering characteristics. Collected angle-resolved spectra provide the momentum-dependent frequencies and lifetimes of the photonic modes that enable the retrieval of the effective Hamiltonian and extraction of the topological invariant. Our results demonstrate how the topological states of open non-Hermitian systems can be explored via far-field measurements, thus paving a way to the design of metasurfaces with unique scattering characteristics controlled via topological effects.

Experimental investigation of a metasurface resonator for in vivo imaging at 1.5 T.

In this work, we experimentally demonstrate an increase in the local transmit efficiency of a 1.5 T MRI scanner by using a metasurface formed by an array of brass wires embedded in a high permittivity low loss medium. Placement of such a structure inside the scanner results in strong coupling of the radiofrequency field produced by the body coil with the lowest frequency electromagnetic eigenmode of the metasurface. This leads to spatial redistribution of the near fields with enhancement of the local magnetic field and an increase in the transmit efficiency per square root maximum specific absorption rate in the region-of-interest. We have investigated this structure in vivo and achieved a factor of 3.3 enhancement in the local radiofrequency transmit efficiency.

Experimental demonstration of topological effects in bianisotropic metamaterials.

Existence of robust edge states at interfaces of topologically dissimilar systems is one of the most fascinating manifestations of a novel nontrivial state of matter, a topological insulator. Such nontrivial states were originally predicted and discovered in condensed matter physics, but they find their counterparts in other fields of physics, including the physics of classical waves and electromagnetism. Here, we present the first experimental realization of a topological insulator for electromagnetic waves based on engineered bianisotropic metamaterials. By employing the near-field scanning technique, we demonstrate experimentally the topologically robust propagation of electromagnetic waves around sharp corners without backscattering effects.

Enhancement of Magnetic Resonance Imaging with Metasurfaces.

It is revealed that the unique properties of ultrathin metasurface resonators can improve magnetic resonance imaging dramatically. A metasurface formed when an array of metallic wires is placed inside a scanner under the studied object and a substantial enhancement of the radio-frequency magnetic field is achieved by means of subwavelength manipulation with the metasurface, also allowing improved image resolution.

An antenna model for the Purcell effect.

The Purcell effect is defined as a modification of the spontaneous emission rate of a quantum emitter at the presence of a resonant cavity. However, a change of the emission rate of an emitter caused by an environment has a classical counterpart. Any small antenna tuned to a resonance can be described as an oscillator with radiative losses, and the effect of the environment on its radiation can be modeled and measured in terms of the antenna radiation resistance, similar to a quantum emitter. We exploit this analogue behavior to develop a general approach for calculating the Purcell factors of different systems and various frequency ranges including both electric and magnetic Purcell factors. Our approach is illustrated by a general equivalent scheme, and it allows resenting the Purcell factor through the continuous radiation of a small antenna at the presence of an electromagnetic environment.

Mapping plasmonic topological states at the nanoscale.

We report on the first experimental observation of topological edge states in zigzag chains of plasmonic nanodisks. We demonstrate that such edge states can be selectively excited with the linear polarization of the incident light, and visualize them directly by near-field scanning optical microscopy. Our work provides experimental verification of a novel paradigm for manipulating light at the nanoscale in topologically nontrivial structures.

Subwavelength topological edge States in optically resonant dielectric structures.

We suggest a novel type of photonic topological edge states in zigzag arrays of dielectric nanoparticles based on optically induced magnetic Mie resonances. We verify our general concept by the proof-of-principle microwave experiments with dielectric spherical particles, and demonstrate, experimentally, the ability to control the subwavelength topologically protected electromagnetic edge modes by changing the polarization of the incident wave.

Flexible helices for nonlinear metamaterials.

The successful fabrication and experimental verification of a novel metamaterial based on flexible metallic helices is reported. The helices undergo compression under the influence of incident radiation, demonstrating a nonlinear chiral electromagnetic response, associated with the power-dependent change in the helix pitch. This design is promising for application to power-dependent polarization rotation of propagating waves.