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Integrated Zero Index Metamaterials

Breakthroughs in nanophotonics, at Nanyang Technological University (Singapore), Wednesday, August 24, 2016:
talk_2651.pdf
Nanotechnology has enabled the development of nanostructured composite materials (metamaterials) with exotic optical properties not found in nature. In the most extreme case, we can create materials which support light waves that propagate with infinite phase velocity, corresponding to a refractive index of zero. This zero index can only be achieved by simultaneously controlling the electric and magnetic resonances of the nanostructure. We present an in-plane metamaterial design consisting of silicon pillar arrays, embedded within a polymer matrix and sandwiched between gold layers. Using an... Read more about Breakthroughs in nanophotonics
Zero-index waveguides for metasurface applications, at 2015 MRS Fall Meeting (Boston, Massachusetts), Wednesday, December 2, 2015:
talk_2578.pdf
Metamaterials with a refractive index of zero have emerged as a new tool for phase control in nanophotonics. Waves propagate within such metamaterials with infinite phase velocity, resulting in uniform phase throughout. Recently two-dimensional zero-index metamaterials have been integrated with on-chip silicon photonics, allowing for phase-free propagation over large areas. However, zero-index modes are inherently lossy: since the momentum of the wave is zero, it lies above the light line, and therefore couples to waves in free space. In particular, momentum conservation implies that the... Read more about Zero-index waveguides for metasurface applications
Less is More: Extreme Optics with Zero Refractive Index, at CLEO/Europe EQEC 2017 (Munich, Germany), Tuesday, June 27, 2017
By simultaneously controlling the electric and magnetic properties of a nanostructured composite material (metamaterial), we can create materials with a refractive index of zero. We present a novel on-chip platform to explore zero-index metamaterials.
2D impedance-matched zero-index metamaterial, at SPIE Photonics West: Photonic and Phononic Properties of Engineered Nanostructures IV (San Francisco, California), Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Recent efforts to achieve metamaterials with a vanishing refractive index take advantage of the low index at a photonic band edge. This behavior is accompanied by a divergent impedance, resulting in inefficient transmission. We investigate the nature of this discontinuity and show that it can be removed by tuning the electric and magnetic response of the metamaterial. We present a design for a 2D zero-index metamaterial based on this concept. The metamaterial is entirely dielectric, which results in low-loss transmission at the design wavelength of 1.55um. This behavior is confirmed using... Read more about 2D impedance-matched zero-index metamaterial
Less is More: Extreme Optics with Zero Refractive Index, at Robert Resnick Lecture, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Troy, NY), Wednesday, March 2, 2016:
talk_2615.pdf
Nanotechnology has enabled the development of nanostructured composite materials (metamaterials) with exotic optical properties not found in nature. In the most extreme case, we can create materials which support propagating light waves that have infinite phase velocity, corresponding to a refractive index of zero. This zero index can only be achieved by simultaneously controlling the electric and magnetic resonances of the nanostructure. We present an in-plane metamaterial design consisting of silicon pillar arrays, embedded within a polymer matrix and sandwiched between gold layers. Using... Read more about Less is More: Extreme Optics with Zero Refractive Index
Less is More: A New Class of Optics with Zero Refractive Index for the Applications in Nanophotonics, Nonlinear Optics, and Quanum Entanglement, at William Mong Distinguished lecture (Hong Kong, China), Friday, March 24, 2017:
talk_2692.pdf
Nanotechnology has enabled the development of nanostructured composite materials (metamaterials) with exotic optical properties not found in nature. In the most extreme case, we can create materials which support light waves that propagate with infinite phase velocity, corresponding to a refractive index of zero. This zero index can only be achieved by simultaneously controlling the electric and magnetic resonances of the nanostructure. We present an in-plane metamaterial design consisting of silicon pillar arrays, embedded within a polymer matrix and sandwiched between gold layers. Using an... Read more about Less is More: A New Class of Optics with Zero Refractive Index for the Applications in Nanophotonics, Nonlinear Optics, and Quanum Entanglement
Less is More: Extreme Optics with Zero Refractive Index, at Sichuan University (Chengdu, China), Saturday, December 19, 2015:
talk_2572.pdf
Nanotechnology has enabled the development of nanostructured composite materials (metamaterials) with exotic optical properties not found in nature. In the most extreme case, we can create materials which support light waves that propagate with infinite phase velocity, corresponding to a refractive index of zero. This zero index can only be achieved by simultaneously controlling the electric and magnetic resonances of the nanostructure. We present an in-plane metamaterial design consisting of silicon pillar arrays, embedded within a polymer matrix and sandwiched between gold layers. Using an... Read more about Less is More: Extreme Optics with Zero Refractive Index
Y. Li, S. Kita, P. Muñoz, O. Reshef, D. Inna Vulis, M. Loncar, and E. Mazur. 2015. “Integrated impedance-matched photonic Dirac-cone metamaterials.” In . META Conference. Publisher's VersionAbstract
We design and fabricate an on-chip Dirac-cone metamaterial with impedance-matched zero index in optical regime. Our metamaterial consists of low-aspect-ratio silicon pillar arrays in an SU-8 matrix clad above and below by gold thin films. This design can serve as an on-chip platform to implement applications of Dirac-cone metamaterials in integrated photonics.
D. Inna Vulis, O. Reshef, P. Muñoz, S. Kita, Y. Li, M. Loncar, and E. Mazur. 2015. “Integrated super-couplers based on zero-index metamaterials.” In . META Conference. Publisher's VersionAbstract
Zero-refractive-index metamaterials have been proposed as potential candidates for super-coupling applications, where light is confined to sub-diffraction limited length scales on-chip. Such a device allows for efficient coupling between disparate modes and compact 90 degree bends, which are challenging to achieve using dielectric waveguides. We discuss the simulation and fabrication results of all-dielectric on- chip zero-index metamaterial-based couplers. We observe transmission normal to all faces, regardless of the structure’s shape, highlighting an unexplored feature of zero index metamaterials for integrated photonics.
Y. Li, S. Kita, P. Muñoz, O. Reshef, D. Inna Vulis, M. Yin, M. Loncar, and E. Mazur. 2015. “On-chip zero-index metamaterials.” Nat. Photonics, 9, Pp. 738–742. Publisher's VersionAbstract
Metamaterials with a refractive index of zero exhibit physical properties such as infinite phase velocity and wavelength. However, there is no way to implement these materials on a photonic chip, restricting the investigation and application of zero-index phenomena to simple shapes and small scales. We designed and fabricated an on-chip integrated metamaterial with a refractive index of zero in the optical regime. Light refracts perpendicular to the facets of a prism made of this metamaterial, directly demonstrating that the index of refraction is zero. The metamaterial consists of low-aspect- ratio silicon pillar arrays embedded in a polymer matrix and clad by gold films. This structure can be fabricated using standard planar processes over a large area in arbitrary shapes and can efficiently couple to photonic integrated circuits and other optical elements. This novel on- chip metamaterial platform opens the door to exploring the physics of zero index and its applications in integrated optics.
O. Reshef, Y. Li, M. Yin, L. Christakis, D. Inna Vulis, P. Muñoz, S. Kita, M. Loncar, and E. Mazur. 2016. “Phase-Matching in Dirac-Cone-Based Zero-Index Metamaterials.” In . CLEO: Applications and Technology. Publisher's VersionAbstract
Using nonlinear scattering theory, we simulate nonlinear signal generation in 2-dimensional zero-index metamaterials based on a photonic Dirac cone at the Γ point. We observe unique phase- matching in multiple simultaneous directions as the index approaches zero.
D. Inna Vulis, Y. Li, O. Reshef, P. Muñoz, M. Yin, S. Kita, M. Loncar, and E. Mazur. 2016. “CMOS-compatible Zero-Index Metamaterial.” In . CLEO: Science and Innovations. Publisher's VersionAbstract
We present an on-chip Dirac-cone metamaterial with an impedance- matched zero refractive index at lambda = 1550nm. The design is a square array of air holes in 220-nm silicon- oninsulator (SOI) which offers compatibility with complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology.
S. Kita, Y. Li, P. Muñoz, O. Reshef, D. Inna Vulis, R. Day, and C. M. Lieber. 2015. “On-chip Super-robust All-dielectric Zero-Index Material.” In . CLEO. Publisher's VersionAbstract
The robustness of the modal degeneracy for photonic Dirac-cone can be engineered by designing all-dielectric pillar arrays giving on-chip platform of zero index material for any wavelength regime. We demonstrate this concept for telecom regime.

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