Lasing action from photonic bound states in continuum

Kodigala, Ashok; Lepetit, Thomas; Gu, Qing; Bahari, Babak; Fainman, Yeshaiahu; Kanté, Boubacar

doi:10.1038/nature20799

Cited by 1,036 publications

(795 citation statements)

References 29 publications

(25 reference statements)

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“…Nowadays we witness a surge of interest to BICs in field of photonics, where BICs were observed in various set-ups with periodical dielectric permittivity [5][6][7][8][9][10] . In particular, the studies on BICs are motivated by applications to resonant light enhancement [11][12][13] and lasing 14,15 . Another remarkable property of BICs is the emergence of a collapsing Fano feature in its parametric vicinity [16][17][18][19] , that can be potentially employed to narrow-band filters 20,21 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optical defect mode with tunableQfactor in a one-dimensional anisotropic photonic crystal

2018

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We consider a one-dimensional photonic crystal composed of alternating layers of isotropic and anisotropic dielectric materials. Such a system has different band structures for different polarizations of light. We demonstrate that if an anisotropic defect layer is inserted into the structure, the crystal can support an optical bound state in the continuum. By tilting the principle dielectric axes of the defect layer relative to those of the photonic crystal we observe a long-lived resonance in the transmission spectrum. We derive an analytical expression for the decay rate of the resonance that agrees well with the numerical data by the Berreman anisotropic transfer matrix approach. An experimental set-up with a liquid crystal defect layer is proposed to tune the Q-factor of the resonance through applying an external electric field. We speculate that the set-up provides a simple and robust platform for observing optical bound states in the continuum in the form of resonances with tunable Q-factor.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optical defect mode with tunableQfactor in a one-dimensional anisotropic photonic crystal

2018

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“…Of late, a BIC laser was demonstrated experimentally [13], although using a mechanism which differs from the one presented in this Letter. A two-dimensional lattice was illuminated from one side, and displayed lasing action of a BIC from the opposite side.…”

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confidence: 99%

Coherent-perfect-absorber and laser for bound states in a continuum

Midya

2018

Opt. Lett.

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It is shown that two fundamentally different phenomena, the bound states in continuum and the spectral singularity (or time-reversed spectral singularity), can occur simultaneously. This can be achieved, in particular, in a rectangular core dielectric waveguide with embedded active (or absorbing) layer. In such a system a two-dimensional bound state in a continuum is created in the plane of a waveguide cross section and it is emitted or absorbed along the waveguide core. The idea can be used for experimental implementation of a laser or a coherent-perfect-absorber for photonic bound state that resides in a continuous spectrum.Unusual points in spectra of optical systems, i.e. isolated points, which do not exist in a generic situation and may require special engineering of the system, attract increasing attention during the last years. For either Hermitian or non-Hermitian systems these are, in particular, the bound states in continuum (BIC), which were predicted almost a century ago [1] and acquired great experimental and practical importance [2][3][4][5][6] in recent years (see also [7] and reference therein). In the case of non-Hermitian optical systems, the continuum spectrum can also host either spectral singularities [8,9], at which the system behaves like a laser, and time-reversed spectral singularities at which the system becomes a coherent-perfect-absorber (CPA) for light at a given wavelength [10][11][12].From the mathematical point of view, either BIC or spectral singularities (for the sake of brevity under spectral singularities here we also understand time-reversed spectral singularities) represent isolated points inside the continuous spectrum, requiring fine tuning of the parameters to be achievable in principle. From the physical point of view in the case of CPA and BIC the parameters of the scattering potential must be chosen to ensure a delicate condition of destructive interference of outgoing radiation completely canceling it at the infinities. Thus, it looks very unlikely to satisfy the conditions for a BIC and either laser or CPA at the same wavelength (just because this would require too many free system parameters). The aim of this Letter is to show that in practice this is not necessarily so, and the conditions for a BIC and for a spectral singularity can be met simultaneously. In other words one can create a laser or a CPA for a BIC. We explore the waveguide geometry where a two-dimensional (2D) BIC is created in the plane orthogonal to the waveguide axis; and a spectral singularity is found in the spectrum of the longitudinal waves. Thus although both phenomena occur simultaneously, they remain conceptually different. Nevertheless, as shown below, the phenomena of BIC and spectral singularity are correlated for a guided wave due to the energy exchange between the transverse and longitudinal directions in a waveguide.Of late, a BIC laser was demonstrated experimentally [13], although using a mechanism which differs from the one presented in this Letter. A two-dimensional lattice was ill...

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“…There also exist surface bound states in the continuum in photonic structures [13,14]. Since photonic BICs correspond to a high-quality confinement of light at specific frequencies, they have useful applications in optical devices such as filters [15] and lasers [16].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bound state in the continuum by spatially separated ensembles of atoms in a coupled-cavity array

Fong

Law

2017

Phys. Rev. A

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We present an analytic solution of bound states in the continuum (BICs) for photons and atoms in a one-dimensional coupled-cavity array. These bound states are formed by two ensembles of twolevel atoms confined in separated cavities of the array. We show that in the regime where the photon hopping rate between neighboring cavities is high compared with the collective Rabi frequency, the BIC corresponds to a nonradiating collective atomic state in which the two ensembles of atoms are strongly entangled. On the other hand in the low photon hopping rate regime, the BIC behaves as a quantum cavity in which photons can be trapped between the two ensembles of atoms.

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Lasing action from photonic bound states in continuum

Cited by 1,036 publications

References 29 publications

Optical defect mode with tunableQfactor in a one-dimensional anisotropic photonic crystal

Optical defect mode with tunableQfactor in a one-dimensional anisotropic photonic crystal

Coherent-perfect-absorber and laser for bound states in a continuum

Bound state in the continuum by spatially separated ensembles of atoms in a coupled-cavity array

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