Related papers: Maximal single-frequency electromagnetic response
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…
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…
This work studies the limits of far and near-field electromagnetic response of sub-wavelength scatterers, like the unitary limit and of lossless scatterers, and the ideal absorption limit of lossy particles. These limit behaviors are…
This article reviews the material properties that enable maximum optical response. We highlight theoretical results that enable shape-independent quantification of material "figures of merit," ranging from classical sum rules to more recent…
We develop an analytical framework to derive upper bounds to light--matter interactions in the optical near field, where applications ranging from spontaneous-emission amplification to greater-than-blackbody heat transfer show…
We derive upper bounds to free-space concentration of electromagnetic waves, mapping out the limits to maximum intensity for any spot size and optical beam-shaping device. For sub-diffraction-limited optical beams, our bounds suggest the…
Photonic devices play an increasingly important role in advancing physics and engineering, and while improvements in nanofabrication and computational methods have driven dramatic progress in expanding the range of achievable optical…
Absorption and scattering of electromagnetic waves by dielectric media are of fundamental importance in many branches of physics. In this Letter we analytically derived the ultimate upper limits for the absorbed and scattered powers by any…
Reducing device volume is one of the key requirements for advanced nanophotonic technologies, however this demand is often at odds with designing highly absorbing elements which usually require sizeable thicknesses, such as for detector and…
We derive and discuss general physical bounds on the electromagnetic scattering and absorption of passive structures. Our theory, based on passivity and power conservation, quantifies the minimum and maximum allowed scattering for an object…
In this article, we introduce a new viewpoint on electromagnetic scattering. Tailoring spectral electromagnetic response underpins important applications ranging from sensing to energy conversion, and is flourishing with new ideas from…
Our visual perception of our surroundings is ultimately limited by the diffraction limit, which stipulates that optical information smaller than roughly half the illumination wavelength is not retrievable. Over the past decades, many…
Relating the electromagnetic scattering and absorption properties of an individual particle to the reflection and transmission coefficients of a two-dimensional material composed of these particles is a crucial concept that has driven both…
Light reflection plays a crucial role in a number of modern technologies. In this paper, analytical expressions for maximal reflected power in any direction and for any polarization are given for generic planar structures made of a single…
By co-designing a meta-optical front end in conjunction with an image-processing back end, we demonstrate noise sensitivity and compactness substantially superior to either an optics-only or a computation-only approach, illustrated by two…
Light scattering is one of the most established wave phenomena in optics, lying at the heart of light-matter interactions and of crucial importance for nanophotonic applications. Passivity, causality and energy conservation imply strict…
We address the question of the optimal broadband absorption of waves in an open, dissipative system. We develop a general framework for absorption induced by multiple overlapping resonances, based on quasi-normal modes and radiative and…
At visible and infrared frequencies, metals show tantalizing promise for strong subwavelength resonances, but material loss typically dampens the response. We derive fundamental limits to the optical response of absorptive systems, bounding…
Tunable and multi-functional nanophotonic devices are used for applications from beam steering to sensing. Yet little is understood about fundamental limits to their functionality. The difficulty lies with the fact that it is a single…
We investigate linear resonant absorption by a dense ensemble of molecules confined to a subwavelength layer in two geometries: (i) a free-standing film in homogeneous space and (ii) the same film placed at a controlled distance from a…