Fundamental limits to multi-functional and tunable nanophotonic response

Tunable and multi-functional nanophotonic devices are used for applications from beam steering to sensing. Yet little is understood about fundamental limits to their functionality. The difficulty lies with the fact that it is a single structure that must exhibit optimal response over multiple scenar...

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Main Authors: Shim Hyungki, Kuang Zeyu, Lin Zin, Miller Owen D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: De Gruyter 2024-01-01
Series:Nanophotonics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1515/nanoph-2023-0630
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author Shim Hyungki
Kuang Zeyu
Lin Zin
Miller Owen D.
author_facet Shim Hyungki
Kuang Zeyu
Lin Zin
Miller Owen D.
author_sort Shim Hyungki
collection DOAJ
description Tunable and multi-functional nanophotonic devices are used for applications from beam steering to sensing. Yet little is understood about fundamental limits to their functionality. The difficulty lies with the fact that it is a single structure that must exhibit optimal response over multiple scenarios. In this article, we present a general theoretical framework for understanding and computing fundamental limits to multi-functional nanophotonic response. Building from rapid recent advances in bounds to light–matter interactions, we show that after rewriting the design problems in terms of polarization fields, the introduction of suitable cross-correlation constraints imposes the crucial “single-structure” criteria. We demonstrate the utility of this approach for two applications: reflectivity contrast for optical sensing, and maximum efficiency for optical beam switching. Our approach generalizes to any active or multi-functional design in linear optics.
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spelling doaj-art-b7d4c07c5fe2427db326c473ea033a3a2025-08-20T02:23:36ZengDe GruyterNanophotonics2192-86142024-01-0113122107211610.1515/nanoph-2023-0630Fundamental limits to multi-functional and tunable nanophotonic responseShim Hyungki0Kuang Zeyu1Lin Zin2Miller Owen D.3Department of Applied Physics, Physics, and Energy Sciences Institute, Yale University, New Haven, CT06511, USADepartment of Applied Physics, Physics, and Energy Sciences Institute, Yale University, New Haven, CT06511, USABradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USADepartment of Applied Physics, Physics, and Energy Sciences Institute, Yale University, New Haven, CT06511, USATunable and multi-functional nanophotonic devices are used for applications from beam steering to sensing. Yet little is understood about fundamental limits to their functionality. The difficulty lies with the fact that it is a single structure that must exhibit optimal response over multiple scenarios. In this article, we present a general theoretical framework for understanding and computing fundamental limits to multi-functional nanophotonic response. Building from rapid recent advances in bounds to light–matter interactions, we show that after rewriting the design problems in terms of polarization fields, the introduction of suitable cross-correlation constraints imposes the crucial “single-structure” criteria. We demonstrate the utility of this approach for two applications: reflectivity contrast for optical sensing, and maximum efficiency for optical beam switching. Our approach generalizes to any active or multi-functional design in linear optics.https://doi.org/10.1515/nanoph-2023-0630fundamental limitsmulti-functionalitytunable optics
spellingShingle Shim Hyungki
Kuang Zeyu
Lin Zin
Miller Owen D.
Fundamental limits to multi-functional and tunable nanophotonic response
Nanophotonics
fundamental limits
multi-functionality
tunable optics
title Fundamental limits to multi-functional and tunable nanophotonic response
title_full Fundamental limits to multi-functional and tunable nanophotonic response
title_fullStr Fundamental limits to multi-functional and tunable nanophotonic response
title_full_unstemmed Fundamental limits to multi-functional and tunable nanophotonic response
title_short Fundamental limits to multi-functional and tunable nanophotonic response
title_sort fundamental limits to multi functional and tunable nanophotonic response
topic fundamental limits
multi-functionality
tunable optics
url https://doi.org/10.1515/nanoph-2023-0630
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AT linzin fundamentallimitstomultifunctionalandtunablenanophotonicresponse
AT millerowend fundamentallimitstomultifunctionalandtunablenanophotonicresponse