Interference effect on Goos–Hänchen shifts of anisotropic medium interface

Abstract

We present a comprehensive analysis of the anomalous Goos–Hänchen (GH) displacement that occurs during the reflection of light beams at an interface between air and an anisotropic medium. This analysis also applies to the Imbert–Fedorov effect. Our study suggests that the anomalous GH displacement is primarily caused by polarization-dependent abnormal interference effects between the direct and cross-reflected light fields. Using the interface between air and a type II Weyl semimetal as an example, we provide a clear physical explanation for the relationship between spin-dependent abnormal interference effects and anomalous GH displacement. We demonstrate that spin-dependent constructive interference leads to a reduction in the GH displacement of the total reflected light field, while spin-dependent destructive interference results in an increase in the GH displacement of the total reflected light field.

Goos–Hänchen shifts on spin representation

“…This is why it is interesting to analyze GH shifts in spin representations. It is worth noting that equations (7) and ( 8) are valid for partial or total reflection of two transparent media, such as air-glass interface, and for reflection of transparent and absorbent media interface, such as an air-metal interface.…”

“…The Goos-Hanchen (GH) shift corresponds to the longitudinal displacement of the center of the beam concerning its geometrically optically predicted, which occurs when a local wave packet (or beam) is totally reflected at the interface of two uniformly transparent media. Although the first prediction of GH displacement dates back to 1947 [1], research in this area is still very active, such as the physical mechanism of GH shift [2][3][4][5][6][7], GH shift of various beams [8][9][10], and GH shift on the surface of various materials [11][12][13][14][15]. Recently, the GH shift has not only been studied from the perspective of fundamental physics, but also photonic devices for sensing based on the GH effect have been introduced [16].…”