Related papers: Self-stabilizing laser sails based on optical meta…
Flat optics or metasurfaces have opened new frontiers in wavefront shaping and its applications. Polarization optics is one prominent area which has greatly benefited from the shape-birefringence of metasurfaces. However, flat optics…
An uncommon double-ray scenario of light resonant scattering by a periodic metasurface is proposed to provide strong non-specular reflection. The metasurface is constracted as an array of silicon nanodisks placed on thin silica-on-metal…
Most optical systems involve a combination of lenses separated by free-space regions where light acquires the required angle-dependent phase delay for a certain functionality. Very recently, flat-optics structures have been proposed to…
We observe the opto-mechanical multistability of a macroscopic torsion balance oscillator. The torsion oscillator forms the moving mirror of a hemi-spherical laser light cavity. When a laser beam is coupled into this cavity, the radiation…
In recent years, dielectric rod based metasurface lenses have been particularly investigated for their potential applications in replacing the traditional bulky lens with high efficiency. However, the isolated granular structure may lead to…
The ability to dynamically steer fs pulses from a monolithically integrated source is a critical milestone for the fields of nanophotonics and ultrafast optics. The nascent field of reconfigurable metasurfaces -- made of optically resonant…
In recent years, metasurfaces have shown extremely powerful abilities for manipulation of electromagnetic waves. However, the local electromagnetic response of conventional metasurfaces yields to an intrinsic performance limitation in terms…
In this paper the planar orbit and attitude dynamics of an uncontrolled spacecraft is studied, taking on-board a deorbiting device. Solar and drag sails with the same shape are considered and separately studied. In both cases, these devices…
Nonlinear optical phenomena are generally governed by geometry in matter systems, as they depend on the spatial arrangement of atoms within materials or molecules. Metasurfaces, through precisely designed geometries on a subwavelength…
During the past few years, metasurfaces have been used to demonstrate optical elements and systems with capabilities that surpass those of conventional diffractive optics. Here we review some of these recent developments with a focus on…
Laser sail-based spacecraft -- where a powerful earth-based laser propels a lightweight outer-space vehicle -- have been recently proposed by the Breakthrough Starshot Initiative as a means of reaching relativistic speeds for interstellar…
Highly ambitious initiatives aspire to propel a miniature spacecraft to a neighboring star within a human generation, leveraging the radiation pressure of lasers for propulsion. One of the main challenges to achieving this enormous feat is…
Ultrathin lightsails propelled by laser radiation pressure to relativistic speeds are currently the most promising route for flyby-based exoplanet exploration. However, there has been a notable lack of experimental characterization of key…
Birefringent materials or nanostructures that introduce phase differences between two linear polarizations underpin the operation of wave plates for polarization control of light. Here we develop metasurfaces realizing a distinct class of…
Metasurfaces are arrays of subwavelength meta-atoms that shape waves in a compact and planar form factor. Analysis and design of metasurfaces require methods for modeling their interactions with waves. Conventional modeling techniques…
We reveal peculiarities of the trapped (dark) mode excitation in a polarization-insensitive all-dielectric metasurface, whose unit super-cell is constructed by particularly arranging four cylindrical dielectric particles. Involving…
Microwave propelled sails are a new class of spacecraft using photon acceleration. It is the only method of interstellar flight that has no physics issues. Laboratory demonstrations of basic features of beam-driven propulsion, flight,…
Auxiliary nanostructures introduce additional flexibility into optomechanical manipulation schemes. Metamaterials and metasurfaces capable to control electromagnetic interactions at the near-field regions are especially beneficial for…
Space exploration is of paramount importance to advancing fundamental science and providing global services, such as navigation and communications. However, today's space missions are hindered by limitations of existing propulsion…
Metasurface saturable absorbers may result in versatile mode-locking that allows one to obtain stable ultrashort laser pulses with high repetition rates and peak powers, along with broadband operation, within fiber to solid-state laser…