Polarization control via artificial optical nonlinearity in dielectric metasurfaces

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Yue, Fuyong, Balistreri, Giacomo, Montaut, Nicola, Riminucci, Fabrizio, Toma, Andrea, Piccoli, Riccardo, Cabrini, Stefano, Morandotti, Roberto, Razzari, Luca
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Yue, Fuyong
Balistreri, Giacomo
Montaut, Nicola
Riminucci, Fabrizio
Toma, Andrea
Piccoli, Riccardo
Cabrini, Stefano
Morandotti, Roberto
Razzari, Luca
author_facet Yue, Fuyong
Balistreri, Giacomo
Montaut, Nicola
Riminucci, Fabrizio
Toma, Andrea
Piccoli, Riccardo
Cabrini, Stefano
Morandotti, Roberto
Razzari, Luca
contents 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 scale, allow tailoring the optical response of a material far beyond its natural properties. Therefore, metasurfaces are highly appealing to enable the engineering of nonlinear optical interactions at an unprecedented level. Current studies on nonlinear metasurfaces predominantly focus on the phase control of the generated light. Nonetheless, investigating the tensorial nature of the nonlinearity of metasurfaces and its effect on the polarization of the generated light is critical to fully unlock a range of applications, such as nonlinear vector beam generation and nonlinear polarization imaging. Here, we study the artificial optical nonlinearity of a dielectric metasurface originating from its meta-atom symmetry and describe the third-order nonlinear behavior by considering the polarization degree of freedom. We establish an effective nonlinear medium model that serves as a design toolbox for developing amorphous silicon-based geometric metasurfaces with customizable features in third harmonic generation. We further extract quantitative values of the artificial nonlinear susceptibility tensor elements related to the investigated nonlinear process and geometry. The implemented functional devices demonstrate the versatility of dielectric metasurfaces in shaping the emitted light in terms of amplitude, phase, and polarization, for the precise engineering of novel nonlinear architectures targeting applications in nonlinear imaging and complex light generation.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2509_03752
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Polarization control via artificial optical nonlinearity in dielectric metasurfaces
Yue, Fuyong
Balistreri, Giacomo
Montaut, Nicola
Riminucci, Fabrizio
Toma, Andrea
Piccoli, Riccardo
Cabrini, Stefano
Morandotti, Roberto
Razzari, Luca
Applied Physics
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 scale, allow tailoring the optical response of a material far beyond its natural properties. Therefore, metasurfaces are highly appealing to enable the engineering of nonlinear optical interactions at an unprecedented level. Current studies on nonlinear metasurfaces predominantly focus on the phase control of the generated light. Nonetheless, investigating the tensorial nature of the nonlinearity of metasurfaces and its effect on the polarization of the generated light is critical to fully unlock a range of applications, such as nonlinear vector beam generation and nonlinear polarization imaging. Here, we study the artificial optical nonlinearity of a dielectric metasurface originating from its meta-atom symmetry and describe the third-order nonlinear behavior by considering the polarization degree of freedom. We establish an effective nonlinear medium model that serves as a design toolbox for developing amorphous silicon-based geometric metasurfaces with customizable features in third harmonic generation. We further extract quantitative values of the artificial nonlinear susceptibility tensor elements related to the investigated nonlinear process and geometry. The implemented functional devices demonstrate the versatility of dielectric metasurfaces in shaping the emitted light in terms of amplitude, phase, and polarization, for the precise engineering of novel nonlinear architectures targeting applications in nonlinear imaging and complex light generation.
title Polarization control via artificial optical nonlinearity in dielectric metasurfaces
topic Applied Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.03752