English

Experimental observation of superscattering

Classical Physics 2018-12-17 v1 Optics

Abstract

Superscattering, induced by degenerate resonances, breaks the fundamental single-channel limit of scattering cross section of subwavelength structures; in principle, an arbitrarily large total cross section can be achieved via superscattering. It thus provides a unique way to strengthen the light-matter interaction at the subwavelength scale, and has many potential applications in sensing, energy harvesting, bio-imaging (such as magnetic resonance imaging), communication and optoelectronics. However, the experimental demonstration of superscattering remains an open challenge due to its vulnerability to structural imperfections and intrinsic material losses. Here we report the first experimental evidence for superscattering, by demonstrating the superscattering simultaneously in two different frequency regimes through both the far-field and near-field measurements. The underlying mechanism for the observed superscattering is the degenerate resonances of confined surface waves, by utilizing a subwavelength metasurface-based multilayer structure. Our work paves the way towards practical applications based on superscattering.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1812.05599,
  title  = {Experimental observation of superscattering},
  author = {Chao Qian and Xiao Lin and Yi Yang and Xiaoyan Xiong and Huaping Wang and Erping Li and Ido Kaminer and Baile Zhang and Hongsheng Chen},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1812.05599},
  year   = {2018}
}