Related papers: Fundamental limits to optical response in absorpti…
We show that, for the resonant metal-dielectric structures with sub-wavelength confinement of light in all three dimensions, the loss cannot be reduced significantly below the loss of the metal itself unless one operates in the far IR and…
The resonant absorption of light by an ensemble of absorbers decreases when the resonance is inhomogeneously broadened, as only a fraction of the ensemble contributes to the absorption at any given optical frequency. Recovering the lost…
We derive a lower limit to the amount of absorptive loss present in passive linear optical devices such as a beam splitter. We choose a particularly simple beam splitter geometry, a single planar slab surrounded by vacuum, which already…
The capability of optical resonators to extend the effective radiation-matter interaction length originates from a multipass effect, hence is intrinsically limited by the resonator quality factor. Here, we show that this constraint can be…
A general framework for determining fundamental bounds in nanophotonics is introduced in this paper. The theory is based on convex optimization of dual problems constructed from operators generated by electromagnetic integral equations. The…
Negative refractive index materials have attracted significant research attention due to their unique electromagnetic response characteristics. In this paper, we employ the complementing boundary condition to establish rigorous a priori…
Both the radiation efficiency and bandwidth of electrically small antennas are dramatically reduced as the size decreases. Fundamental limitations on the bandwidth of small antennas have been thoroughly treated in the past. However, upper…
We evaluate the electric dipole absorption in small metal particles in a longitudinal electric field taking into account the Fermi-Thomas screening. When either the level broadening or the frequency of the field are larger than the mean…
The absorption of electromagnetic radiation by a planar structure, consisting of a three-layer dielectric-metal-dielectric coating on a metal back-reflector is analysed. The conditions for total absorption are derived. Our analysis shows…
Nanoscale fabrication techniques, computational inverse design, and fields from silicon photonics to metasurface optics are enabling transformative use of an unprecedented number of structural degrees of freedom in nanophotonics. A critical…
The magneto-optical effect breaks time-reversal symmetry, a unique property that makes it indispensable in nonreciprocal optics and topological photonics. Unfortunately, all natural materials have a rather weak magneto-optical response in…
Optical limiters transmit low-level radiation while blocking electromagnetic pulses with excessively high energy (energy limiters) or with excessively high peak intensity (power limiters). A typical optical limiter absorbs most of the…
We study light absorption by weakly rough metal surfaces with the roughness amplitude and correlation length smaller than the skin depth in metal. We develop a systematic perturbative approach for calculation of the absorptance in such…
We present a method based on the scattering $\mathbb{T}$ operator, and conservation of net real and reactive power, to provide physical bounds on any electromagnetic design objective that can be framed as a net radiative emission,…
Light absorption at the boundary of indirect-band-gap and direct-forbidden gap semiconductors is analyzed. It is found that the possibility of the electron momentum nonconservation at the interface leads to essential enhancement of…
The electromagnetic local density of states (LDOS) is crucial to many aspects of photonics engineering, from enhancing emission of photon sources to radiative heat transfer and photovoltaics. We present a framework for evaluating upper…
The frequency-dependent conductivity is studied for both the one-dimensional Hubbard model and a model of spinless fermions, using a selection rule, the Bethe ansatz energy eigenstates, and conformal invariance. For densities where the…
A central aim in metamaterial research is to engineer sub-wavelength unit cells that give rise to desired effective-medium properties and parameters, such as a negative refractive index. Ideally one can disregard the details of the unit…
The term `sub-wavelength' is commonly used to describe innovative sound-absorbing structures usually labeled as `metamaterials'. Such structures, however, inherently do not bring groundbreaking advancements. This study addresses the…
Based on fundamental properties of light scattering by a particle we reveal the existence of the ultimate upper limit for the light absorption by any partial mode. First, we obtain this result for scattering of a plane wave by a symmetric…