Title
Passive parity-time symmetry in organic thin film waveguides
Date Issued
18 February 2015
Access level
metadata only access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Pennsylvania State University
Publisher(s)
American Chemical Society
Abstract
Periodic media are fundamentally important for controlling the flow of light in photonics. Recently, the emerging field of non-Hermitian optics has generalized the notion of periodic media to include a new class of materials that obey parity-time (PT) symmetry, with real and imaginary refractive index variations that transform into one another upon spatial inversion, leading to a variety of unusual optical phenomena. Here, we introduce a simple approach based on interference lithography and oblique angle deposition to achieve PT-symmetric modulation in the effective index of large area organic thin film waveguides with the functional form Δñeff(z) ∼ eiqz. Passive PT symmetry breaking is observed through asymmetry in the forward and backward diffraction of waveguided light that maximizes at the exceptional point, resulting in unidirectional reflectionless behavior that is visualized directly via leakage radiation microscopy. These results establish the basis for organic PT waveguide media that can be tuned for operation throughout the visible to near-infrared spectrum and provide a direct pathway to incorporate gain sufficient to achieve active PT symmetric lattices and gratings.
Start page
319
End page
325
Volume
2
Issue
2
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Óptica
Subjects
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-84923377826
Source
ACS Photonics
Resource of which it is part
ACS Photonics
Sources of information:
Directorio de Producción Científica
Scopus