Related papers: Interference Limited Absorption in Dense Molecular…
Two approaches (micro- and macro- investigations) are used to determine the dimension dependences of the optical parameters of the nanometer-scale layers of materials. It is shown that both an index of refraction and coefficient of…
Since thin-film silicon solar cells have limited optical absorption, we explore the effect of a nanostructured back reflector to recycle the unabsorbed light. As a back reflector we investigate a 3D photonic band gap crystal made from…
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…
Through systematic experimental and theoretical studies of layer-thickness-dependent absorption in semiconducting MoSe$_2$ and WS$_2$ across the visible to near-infrared spectral range, we demonstrate a universal absorption behavior in…
Epitaxially-grown quantum well and quantum dot solar cells suffer from weak light absorption, strongly limiting their performance. Light trapping based on optical resonances is particularly relevant for such devices to increase light…
The impedance matching in metamaterial perfect absorbers has been believed to involve and rely on magnetic resonant response, with a direct evidence from the anti-parallel directions of surface currents in the metal structures. Here we…
We study light absorption by a dipolar absorber in a given environment, which can be a nanoantenna or any complex inhomogeneous medium. From first-principle calculations, we derive an upper bound for the absorption, which decouples the…
Subwavelength-scale light absorbers and reflectors have gained significant attention for their potential in photonic applications. These structures often utilize a metal-insulator-metal (MIM) architecture, similar to a Fabry-Perot…
Energy of propagating electromagnetic waves can be fully absorbed in a thin lossy layer, but only in a narrow frequency band, as follows from the causality principle. On the other hand, it appears that there are no fundamental limitations…
We suggest to exploit dielectric-metal core-shell nanostructures for efficient resonant and yet broadband absorption of infrared radiation with deeply subwavelength configurations. Realizing that nanostructures would efficiently absorb…
Optical limiters transmit low-intensity light, while blocking laser radiation with excessively high intensity or fluence. A typical passive optical limiter absorbs most of the high level radiation, which can cause irreversible damage. In…
Reflection of a microscopic particle from a mesoscopic/macroscopic `mirror' generates two-body correlated interference from the incident and reflected particle substates and their associated mirror substates. The microscopic momentum…
The photomolecular effect has been hypothesized to enhance evaporation of water at visible wavelengths. This study develops a measurement technique to investigate its presence and magnitude at the liquid-vapor interface of water. The…
We introduce an absorption imaging technique for ultracold gases that suppresses interference fringes and coherence-induced artifacts by reducing the transverse spatial coherence of the imaging light. The method preserves the narrow…
We solve the nonlinear Maxwell equations in an InP-based dielectric metamaterial, considering both two-photon absorption and photo-induced free-carrier absorption. We obtain the intensity-dependent reflection, absorption, and effective…
We discuss the feasibility of negative refraction with reduced absorption in coherently driven atomic media. Coherent coupling of an electric and a magnetic dipole transition by laser fields induces magneto-electric cross-coupling and…
Optical absorption is one of fundamental light-matter interactions. In most materials, optical absorption is a weak perturbation to the light. In this regime, absorption and emission are irreversible, incoherent processes due to strong…
Nanosecond near resonant excitation in As50S50 thin films leads to strong nonlinear optical response, i.e. nonlinear absorption coefficient up to 4 x 106 cm/GW and nonlinear refractive index of 8.5 cm2/GW, both of which is the strongest…
There is immense scientific interest in the properties of resonant thin films embroidered with periodic nanoscale features. This device class possesses considerable innovation potential. Accordingly, we report unpolarized broadband…
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…