Low-loss, geometry-invariant optical waveguides with near-zero-index materials
Optical materials with nearly zero refractive indices have driven emerging applications ranging from geometry-invariant optical tunneling, nonlinear optics, optical cloaking to thermal emission manipulation. In conventional dielectric photonic circuits, light scattering and back reflection at the wa...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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De Gruyter
2022-11-01
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| Series: | Nanophotonics |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1515/nanoph-2022-0445 |
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| _version_ | 1846157420404932608 |
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| author | Wang Danqing Dong Kaichen Li Jingang Grigoropoulos Costas Yao Jie Hong Jin Wu Junqiao |
| author_facet | Wang Danqing Dong Kaichen Li Jingang Grigoropoulos Costas Yao Jie Hong Jin Wu Junqiao |
| author_sort | Wang Danqing |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Optical materials with nearly zero refractive indices have driven emerging applications ranging from geometry-invariant optical tunneling, nonlinear optics, optical cloaking to thermal emission manipulation. In conventional dielectric photonic circuits, light scattering and back reflection at the waveguide bends and crossings leads to significant optical loss. Here we propose to use near-zero-index materials as a cladding layer for low-loss optical waveguides, where optical modes are tightly confined within the dielectric core region. Compared to conventional waveguides, the near-zero-index waveguides are superior in maintaining a high mode-filling factor for small device sizes close to the diffraction limit and reducing the crosstalk in between at a sub-wavelength separation. In addition, we found that light propagation is robust to waveguide bends in a small radius (∼µm) and geometry variation in the cross section. Hollow waveguides with near-zero-index cladding layers further support low-loss light propagation because materials absorption is minimized from the air core. Our work offers critical insights into future designs of low-loss and miniaturized photonic devices. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ec04fcdb42ad47b3ad01fd4aa07c3fe3 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2192-8614 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2022-11-01 |
| publisher | De Gruyter |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nanophotonics |
| spelling | doaj-art-ec04fcdb42ad47b3ad01fd4aa07c3fe32024-11-25T11:19:08ZengDe GruyterNanophotonics2192-86142022-11-0111214747475310.1515/nanoph-2022-0445Low-loss, geometry-invariant optical waveguides with near-zero-index materialsWang Danqing0Dong Kaichen1Li Jingang2Grigoropoulos Costas3Yao Jie4Hong Jin5Wu Junqiao6Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USADepartment of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USADepartment of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USADepartment of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USADepartment of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USALightgration LLC, Saratoga, CA, 95070, USADepartment of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USAOptical materials with nearly zero refractive indices have driven emerging applications ranging from geometry-invariant optical tunneling, nonlinear optics, optical cloaking to thermal emission manipulation. In conventional dielectric photonic circuits, light scattering and back reflection at the waveguide bends and crossings leads to significant optical loss. Here we propose to use near-zero-index materials as a cladding layer for low-loss optical waveguides, where optical modes are tightly confined within the dielectric core region. Compared to conventional waveguides, the near-zero-index waveguides are superior in maintaining a high mode-filling factor for small device sizes close to the diffraction limit and reducing the crosstalk in between at a sub-wavelength separation. In addition, we found that light propagation is robust to waveguide bends in a small radius (∼µm) and geometry variation in the cross section. Hollow waveguides with near-zero-index cladding layers further support low-loss light propagation because materials absorption is minimized from the air core. Our work offers critical insights into future designs of low-loss and miniaturized photonic devices.https://doi.org/10.1515/nanoph-2022-0445crosstalkdiffraction limitgeometry invariancelight scatteringoptical waveguideszero index |
| spellingShingle | Wang Danqing Dong Kaichen Li Jingang Grigoropoulos Costas Yao Jie Hong Jin Wu Junqiao Low-loss, geometry-invariant optical waveguides with near-zero-index materials Nanophotonics crosstalk diffraction limit geometry invariance light scattering optical waveguides zero index |
| title | Low-loss, geometry-invariant optical waveguides with near-zero-index materials |
| title_full | Low-loss, geometry-invariant optical waveguides with near-zero-index materials |
| title_fullStr | Low-loss, geometry-invariant optical waveguides with near-zero-index materials |
| title_full_unstemmed | Low-loss, geometry-invariant optical waveguides with near-zero-index materials |
| title_short | Low-loss, geometry-invariant optical waveguides with near-zero-index materials |
| title_sort | low loss geometry invariant optical waveguides with near zero index materials |
| topic | crosstalk diffraction limit geometry invariance light scattering optical waveguides zero index |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1515/nanoph-2022-0445 |
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