Nonreciprocal scattering and unidirectional cloaking in nonlinear nanoantennas

Reciprocal scatterers necessarily extinguish the same amount of incoming power when excited from opposite directions. This property implies that it is not possible to realize scatterers that are transparent when excited from one direction but that scatter and absorb light for the opposite excitation...

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Main Authors: Goh Heedong, Krasnok Alex, Alù Andrea
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: De Gruyter 2024-07-01
Series:Nanophotonics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1515/nanoph-2024-0212
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author Goh Heedong
Krasnok Alex
Alù Andrea
author_facet Goh Heedong
Krasnok Alex
Alù Andrea
author_sort Goh Heedong
collection DOAJ
description Reciprocal scatterers necessarily extinguish the same amount of incoming power when excited from opposite directions. This property implies that it is not possible to realize scatterers that are transparent when excited from one direction but that scatter and absorb light for the opposite excitation, limiting opportunities in the context of asymmetric imaging and nanophotonic circuits. This reciprocity constraint may be overcome with an external bias that breaks time-reversal symmetry, posing however challenges in terms of practical implementations and integration. Here, we explore the use of tailored nonlinearities combined with geometric asymmetries in suitably tailored resonant nanoantennas. We demonstrate that, under suitable design conditions, a nonlinear scatterer can be cloaked for one excitation direction, yet strongly scatters when excited at the same frequency and intensity from the opposite direction. This nonreciprocal scattering phenomenon opens opportunities for nonlinear nanophotonics, asymmetric imaging and visibility, all-optical signal processing and directional sensing.
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issn 2192-8614
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publishDate 2024-07-01
publisher De Gruyter
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series Nanophotonics
spelling doaj-art-bdbe21f149a043d1827a2eec520612b22025-08-20T02:23:36ZengDe GruyterNanophotonics2192-86142024-07-0113183347335310.1515/nanoph-2024-0212Nonreciprocal scattering and unidirectional cloaking in nonlinear nanoantennasGoh Heedong0Krasnok Alex1Alù Andrea2Photonics Initiative, Advanced Science Research Center, City University of New York, New York, NY10031, USADepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Florida International University, Miami, FL33174, USAPhotonics Initiative, Advanced Science Research Center, City University of New York, New York, NY10031, USAReciprocal scatterers necessarily extinguish the same amount of incoming power when excited from opposite directions. This property implies that it is not possible to realize scatterers that are transparent when excited from one direction but that scatter and absorb light for the opposite excitation, limiting opportunities in the context of asymmetric imaging and nanophotonic circuits. This reciprocity constraint may be overcome with an external bias that breaks time-reversal symmetry, posing however challenges in terms of practical implementations and integration. Here, we explore the use of tailored nonlinearities combined with geometric asymmetries in suitably tailored resonant nanoantennas. We demonstrate that, under suitable design conditions, a nonlinear scatterer can be cloaked for one excitation direction, yet strongly scatters when excited at the same frequency and intensity from the opposite direction. This nonreciprocal scattering phenomenon opens opportunities for nonlinear nanophotonics, asymmetric imaging and visibility, all-optical signal processing and directional sensing.https://doi.org/10.1515/nanoph-2024-0212nonreciprocalnonlinearscatteringnanoantennascloaking
spellingShingle Goh Heedong
Krasnok Alex
Alù Andrea
Nonreciprocal scattering and unidirectional cloaking in nonlinear nanoantennas
Nanophotonics
nonreciprocal
nonlinear
scattering
nanoantennas
cloaking
title Nonreciprocal scattering and unidirectional cloaking in nonlinear nanoantennas
title_full Nonreciprocal scattering and unidirectional cloaking in nonlinear nanoantennas
title_fullStr Nonreciprocal scattering and unidirectional cloaking in nonlinear nanoantennas
title_full_unstemmed Nonreciprocal scattering and unidirectional cloaking in nonlinear nanoantennas
title_short Nonreciprocal scattering and unidirectional cloaking in nonlinear nanoantennas
title_sort nonreciprocal scattering and unidirectional cloaking in nonlinear nanoantennas
topic nonreciprocal
nonlinear
scattering
nanoantennas
cloaking
url https://doi.org/10.1515/nanoph-2024-0212
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AT krasnokalex nonreciprocalscatteringandunidirectionalcloakinginnonlinearnanoantennas
AT aluandrea nonreciprocalscatteringandunidirectionalcloakinginnonlinearnanoantennas