We analyze dispersion properties of metal-dielectric nanostructured metamaterials. We demonstrate that, in a sharp contrast to the results for the corresponding effective medium, the structure demonstrates strong optical nonlocality due to excitation of surface plasmon polaritons that can be engineered by changing a ratio between the thicknesses of metal and dielectric layers. In particular, this nonlocality allows the existence of an additional extraordinary wave that manifests itself in the splitting of the TM-polarized beam scattered at an air-metamaterial interface.
The routing of light in a deep subwavelength regime enables a variety of important applications in photonics, quantum information technologies, imaging and biosensing. Here we describe and experimentally demonstrate the selective excitation of spatially confined, subwavelength electromagnetic modes in anisotropic metamaterials with hyperbolic dispersion. A localized, circularly polarized emitter placed at the boundary of a hyperbolic metamaterial is shown to excite extraordinary waves propagating in a prescribed direction controlled by the polarization handedness. Thus, a metamaterial slab acts as an extremely broadband, nearly ideal polarization beam splitter for circularly polarized light. We perform a proof of concept experiment with a uniaxial hyperbolic metamaterial at radio-frequencies revealing the directional routing effect and strong subwavelength l/300 confinement. The proposed concept of metamaterial-based subwavelength interconnection and polarizationcontrolled signal routing is based on the photonic spin Hall effect and may serve as an ultimate platform for either conventional or quantum electromagnetic signal processing.
Meta-optics based on optically resonant all-dielectric structures is a rapidly developing research area driven by its potential applications for low-loss efficient metadevices. Active, light-emitting subwavelengh nanostructures and metasurfaces are of a particular interest for meta-optics, as they offer unique opportunities for novel types of compact light sources and nanolasers. Recently, the study of halide perovskites has attracted an enormous attention due to their exceptional optical and electrical properties. As a result, this family of materials can provide a prospective platform for modern nanophotonics and meta-optics, allowing to overcome many obstacles associated with the use of conventional semiconductor materials. Here we review the recent progress in the field of halide-perovskite meta-optics with the central focus on light-emitting nanoantennas and metasurfaces for the emerging field of active metadevices.
We suggest a novel concept of efficient light-trapping structures for thin-film solar cells based on arrays of planar nanoantennas operating far from plasmonic resonances. The operation principle of our structures relies on the excitation of chessboard-like collective modes of the nanoantenna arrays with the field localized between the neighboring metal elements. We demonstrated theoretically substantial enhancement of solar-cell short-circuit current by the designed light-trapping structure in the whole spectrum range of the solar-cell operation compared to conventional structures employing anti-reflecting coating. Our approach provides a general background for a design of different types of efficient broadband light-trapping structures for thin-film solar-cell technologically compatible with large-area thin-film fabrication techniques.
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