A Minimalist Single-Layer Metasurface for Arbitrary and Full Control of Vector Vortex Beams

Vector vortex beams (VVBs) possess ubiquitous applications from particle trapping to quantum information. Recently, the bulky optical devices for generating VVBs have been miniaturized by using metasurfaces. Nevertheless, it is quite challenging for the metasurface-generated VVBs to possess arbitrary polarization and phase distributions. More critical is that the VVBs' annular intensity profiles demonstrated hitherto are dependent on topological charges and are hence not perfect, posing difficulties in spatially shared co-propagation of multiple vortex beams. Here, a single-layer metasurface to address all those aforementioned challenges in one go is proposed, which consists of two identical crystal-silicon nanoblocks with varying positions and rotation angles (i.e., four geometric parameters throughout). Those four geometric parameters are found to be adequate for independent and arbitrary control of the amplitude, phase, and polarization of light. Perfect VVBs with arbitrary polarization and phase distributions are successfully generated, and the constant intensity profiles independent of their topological charges and polarization orders are demonstrated. The proposed strategy casts a distinct perception that a minimalist design of just one single-layer metasurface can empower such robust and versatile control of VVBs. That provides promising opportunities for generating more complex vortex field for advanced applications in structural light, optical micromanipulation, and data communication.     

Polarization-splitting common-path interferometer based on a zero-twist liquid crystal display

We present a compact optical polarization-splitting common-path interferometer based on a zero-twist liquid crystal display (LCD). The LCD is encoded with a diffraction grating pattern and illuminated with a polarization state with both horizontal and vertical components. The polarization component perpendicular to the director axis of the liquid crystal molecules is not affected by the LCD and forms the reference beam. However, the polarization component parallel to the director axis is diffracted at an angle determined by the period of the grating. By imposing an analyzer polarizer, these two beams create an interferogram that can either display retardance patterns encoded onto the LCD or analyze external birefringent optical elements. The programmability of the system allows new ways of increasing the utility of the interferograms. Experimental results are provided, including the visualization of optical vortices with different and opposite topological charges.     

Polarization pattern of vector vortex beams generated by q-plates with different topological charges

We describe the polarization topology of the vector beams emerging from a patterned birefringent liquid crystal plate with a topological charge q at its center (q-plate). The polarization topological structures for different q-plates and different input polarization states have been studied experimentally by measuring the Stokes parameters point-by-point in the beam transverse plane. Furthermore, we used a tuned q=1/2-plate to generate cylindrical vector beams with radial or azimuthal polarizations, with the possibility of switching dynamically between these two cases by simply changing the linear polarization of the input beam.     

Generation of high-order optical vortices using directly machined spiral phase mirrors

We report on the generation of high-order optical vortices by spiral phase mirrors (SPMs). The mirrors are produced by direct machining with a diamond tool and are shown to produce high-quality optical vortices with topological charges ranging from 1 to upwards of 100 at a wavelength of 532 nm. The direct machining technique is flexible and offers the promise of high-precision, large-diameter SPMs that are compatible with high optical powers.     

Reversible Diode with Tunable Band Alignment for Photoelectricity-Induced Artificial Synapse

The advent of big data era has put forward higher requirements for electronic nanodevices that have low energy consumption for their application in analog computing with memory and logic circuit to address attendant energy efficiency issues. Here, a miniaturized diode with a reversible switching state based on N-n MoS₂ homojunction used a bandgap renormalization effect through the band alignment type regulated by both dielectric and polarization, controllably switched between type-I and type-II, which can be simulated as artificial synapse for sensing memory processing because of its rectification, nonvolatile characteristic and high optical responsiveness. The device demonstrates a rectification ratio of 10³. When served as memory retention time, it can attain at least 7000 s. For the synapse simulation, it has an ultralow-level energy consumption because of the pA-level operation current with 5 pJ for long-term potentiation and 7.8 fJ for long-term depression. Furthermore, the paired pulse facilitation index reaches up to 230%, and it realizes the function of optical storage that can be applied to simulate visual cells.     

Polarization-dependent optical switch and its application for integrated optical circuit devices

An optical switching mechanism that uses chiral photonic band-gap structures is proposed. The switching is carried out by shifting the band-gap of the configuration. The component employs selective reflection in cholesteric layers and phase-shifting variance in retardation plates. The prototype has been designed and its parameters have been investigated. The spectral response of the component is calculated with respect to the input of orthogonal linear polarizations which are shown to be either efficiently transported to the forward and the backward directions within different photonic band-gaps. Two designs for stop-band tuning can be considered in the modulation functionalities, and thus a tunable dual-state polarization switching for mutually orthogonal polarized lights could be realized. Related applications of this component as a variable in-line polarization router and combiner for optical communication systems are emphasized.     

Efficient generation and control of different-order orbital angular momentum states for communication links

We present an optical scheme to encode and decode 2 bits of information into different orbital angular momentum (OAM) states of a paraxial optical beam. Our device generates the four light angular momentum states of order ±2 and ±4 by spin-to-orbital angular momentum conversion in a triangular optical loop arrangement. The switching among the four OAM states is obtained by changing the polarization state of the circulating beam by two quarter-wave plates, and the 2 bit information is transferred to the beam OAM exploiting a single q plate. The polarization of the exit beam is left free for an additional 1 bit of information. The switching among the different OAM states can be as fast as a few nanoseconds, if suitable electro-optical cells are used. This may be particularly useful in communication systems based on light OAM.     

Photonic crystal directional coupler for all-optical switching,tunable multi/demultiplexing and beam splitting applications

In this paper, we introduce a new configuration based on the combination of photonic crystal directional coupler and nonlinear electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) phenomenon in solid-state materials. The proposed structure has the abilities of switching, tunable multi/demultiplexing and tunable power beam splitting. These applications are attainable in the same structure by modulating the refractive index of special regions via EIT effect. This effect causes a high reduction in the required optical control power for the desired refractive index change, compared to the other nonlinear methods. Band structure calculations and simulations of optical field propagation through the device are done by plane wave expansion and finite difference time domain methods, respectively. In the switching mechanism, extinction ratios of 11.38?dB in the linear regime (with the control signal being off) and 26.63?dB in the nonlinear regime (with the presence of control signal) are achievable. Also, the proposed structure operates as a two-channel multi/demultiplexer for wavelengths of 1550?nm and 1480?nm in the linear regime, for wavelengths of 1550?nm and 1600?nm in both linear and nonlinear regimes, and for wavelengths of 1480?nm and 1600?nm in the nonlinear regime (the nonlinear regime is the same as the nonlinear regime for the switching). Since different refractive indices are obtained by changing the power of the control signal, the wavelengths for multi/demultiplexer operation can be tunable. Finally, simulation results show that the suggested structure can operate as a tunable power beam splitter at the wavelength of 1550?nm.     

Fast polarization switching panel with high brightness and contrast ratio for three-dimensional display

We propose a polarization switching device using optically compensated pi cell for polarization-glass-type three-dimensional display. This device shows good optical properties such as high transmittance and low cross-talk ratio because of its fast dynamic response characteristics. To improve the brightness and contrast ratio on the right- and left-hand sides, we attach optical retardation films on each side of the polarization glasses instead of attaching the films on the polarization switching panel. From the calculation and experiment, we obtain high contrast ratios, over 200:1, on both sides and a high brightness using only one film on each side.     

Molecular simulation study on the effect of trapped charges on ferroelectric switching in β-phase PVDF crystals

Based on the energy-minimization method in molecular simulation, the effect of trapped charges on ferroelectric switching in β-phase PVDF Crystals was investigated. Our simulation indicated that the barrier height, caused by quasi-hexagonal-symmetry lattice field, was too low to well stabilize the orientations of molecular dipoles. However, the interaction between trapped charges and molecular chains would greatly increase the barrier height to build up a much more steady polarization state.     

Unexpectedly low barrier of ferroelectric switching in HfO2 via topological domain walls

Fluorite-structure ferroelectrics — in particular the orthorhombic phase of HfO₂ — are of paramount interest to academia and industry because they show unprecedented scalability down to 1-nm-thick size and are compatible with Si electronics. However, their polarization switching is believed to be limited by the intrinsically high energy barrier of ferroelectric domain wall (DW) motions. Here, by unveiling a new topological class of DWs, we establish an atomic-scale mechanism of polarization switching in orthorhombic HfO₂ that exhibits unexpectedly low energy barriers of DW motion (up to 35-fold lower than given by previous conjectures). These findings demonstrate that the nucleation-and-growth-based mechanism is feasible, challenging the commonly held view that the rapid growth of the oppositely polarized domain is impossible. Building on this insight, we describe a strategy to substantially reduce the coercive fields in HfO₂-based ferroelectric devices. Our work is a crucial step towards understanding the polarization switching of HfO₂, which could provide a means to solve the key problems associated with operation speed and endurance.     

Ferroelectric liquid-crystal polarization-control devices with a double-layer cell structure

We analyzed the polarization-switching characteristics of a ferroelectric liquid-crystal polarization control device using a double-layer cell structure for free-space optical processing and switching systems. We theoretically derived the optimum arrangement of layered cells for 90° polarization switching. The theory shows that the optimum parameter range for the double-layer cell structure is wider than that for a single-layer cell. We verified our theory by measuring the polarization cross talk of experimental polarization control devices.     

平行向列相液晶法-珀滤光片的光学特性分析

采用一种简单、稳定的方法-差分迭代法对平行向列相液晶在外电场作用下指向矢的空间分布进行了模拟计算.在此基础上,利用琼斯矩阵方法对平行向列相液晶法布里-珀罗滤光片的本征偏振态及光学特性进行了研究.结果表明,平行向列相液晶法布里-珀罗滤光片的共振模式是两组互相垂直的线性偏振态,且具有调谐范围宽,偏振敏感等特点.     

自由空间光子交换无阻塞榕树网络与可重排Benes网络的拓扑等价

光子交换技术是解决高速的光纤传输系统和低速的电子交换系统之间速度失配的根本措施。文中提出了无阻塞自由空间光子交换榕树网络的拓扑结构与实现方案，并采用互连网络拓扑等价的图分析法研究了无阻塞榕树网络与可重排Ｂｅｎｅｓ网络的拓朴等价及其多样性。为拓展无阻塞榕树网络在光子交换系统及多处理计算机系统的潜在应用提供了理论依据。     

Effects of polymer viscosity on the polymerization switching and electro-optical properties of unaligned liquid crystal/UV curable polymer composites

Polymer dispersed ferroelectric liquid crystal composite films consisting of varying polymer viscosities were prepared by polymerization induced phase separation (PIPS) technique. It was found that polymer viscosity influences the polarization switching and optical responses. A polymer dispersed ferroelectric liquid crystal film of low polymer viscosity shows faster switching, however a higher optical transmission at ~ 70% was observed in a higher polymer viscosity film.     

Optical vortices produced with a nonspiral phase plate

We present simple methods to produce optical vortices on the axis of beam propagation with nonspiral phase plates. We show that a phase plate that provides linear phase retardation on one half of a laser beam produces optical vortices, which is demonstrated experimentally by use of a thickness-varying glass platelet. We also demonstrate and explain that mixed dislocations of a bent edge dislocation transform into a pair of vortices with opposing topological charges.     

Vectorial topological dipole in output radiation of a fiber optical coupler

It is experimentally and theoretically demonstrated that a vectorial topological dipole is formed in the radiation field of the main channel of a fiber optical coupler. The dipole consists of two polarization umbilics—of the star and lemon or the star and monstar types—and retains its structure in the course of radiation propagating along the fiber, whereby the topological index remains unchanged. Using a polarization filter, it is possible to select two identically charged vortices corresponding to these polarized umbilics.     

Light‐Induced Reversible Control of Ferroelectric Polarization in BiFeO3

Manipulation of ferroic order parameters, namely (anti‐)ferromagnetic, ferroelectric, and ferroelastic, by light at room temperature is a fascinating topic in modern solid‐state physics due to potential cross‐fertilization in research fields that are largely decoupled. Here, full optical control, that is, reversible switching, of the ferroelectric/ferroelastic domains in BiFeO₃ thin films at room temperature by the mediation of the tip‐enhanced photovoltaic effect is demonstrated. The enhanced short‐circuit photocurrent density at the tip contact area generates a local electric field well exceeding the coercive field, enabling ferroelectric polarization switching. Interestingly, by tailoring the photocurrent direction, via either tuning the illumination geometry or simply rotating the light polarization, full control of the ferroelectric polarization is achieved. The finding offers a new insight into the interactions between light and ferroic orders, enabling fully optical control of all the ferroic orders at room temperature and providing guidance to design novel optoferroic devices for data storage and sensing.     

Adaptive helical mirror for generation of optical phase singularity

We report a specially designed adaptive mirror that can be bent into a helical shape for generation of an optical phase singularity. The adaptive helical mirror (AHM) reported here is a reflective device that can provide a continuous phase variation of the optical field in the azimuthal direction. The construction details and evaluation of the AHM are presented. A Michelson interferometer is used for the detection of the phase singularity. The AHM can be used for generation of a singular beam having multiple topological charges, positive or negative, just by controlling the excitation voltage of the AHM.     

Propagation of Short Light Pulses in Nonlinear Birefringent Fibre

Abstract

An analytical approach is developed to obtain the solution of coupled Schrödinger equations for polarization components of a solitary wave. Variational analysis allows us to describe optical pulse propagation in fibres with nonlinear birefringence. Conditions for polarization channel switching and locking are formulated.