Absorber of Topologically Structured Light

Fuente: arXiv
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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Vignjevic, Luka, Plum, Eric, Papasimakis, Nikitas, Zheludev, Nikolay I
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Vignjevic, Luka
Plum, Eric
Papasimakis, Nikitas
Zheludev, Nikolay I
author_facet Vignjevic, Luka
Plum, Eric
Papasimakis, Nikitas
Zheludev, Nikolay I
contents Polarization- and wavelength-sensitive absorbers for homogeneous electromagnetic waves are crucial in photovoltaics, imaging and telecommunications. Here, we report on an absorber selective to the topological structure of light. An electromagnetic beam or pulse containing polarization singularities can be fully dissipated by the absorber, while plane waves are rejected regardless of their polarization. The absorber comprises a conical mirror coaxial with the incident propagating beam, which the mirror converts into a standing wave defined by the geometrical Pancharatnam-Berry phase accumulated upon reflection on the mirror. If a "nanowire" absorber is placed along the axis of the cone, singularly-polarized light can create an antinode of the standing wave at the absorber and nearly perfect dissipation of the light's energy is achievable regardless of the wavelength. The selective absorber of topologically structured light is of interest for energy harvesting, detection, filtering, and telecommunications applications.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2509_10928
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Absorber of Topologically Structured Light
Vignjevic, Luka
Plum, Eric
Papasimakis, Nikitas
Zheludev, Nikolay I
Optics
Polarization- and wavelength-sensitive absorbers for homogeneous electromagnetic waves are crucial in photovoltaics, imaging and telecommunications. Here, we report on an absorber selective to the topological structure of light. An electromagnetic beam or pulse containing polarization singularities can be fully dissipated by the absorber, while plane waves are rejected regardless of their polarization. The absorber comprises a conical mirror coaxial with the incident propagating beam, which the mirror converts into a standing wave defined by the geometrical Pancharatnam-Berry phase accumulated upon reflection on the mirror. If a "nanowire" absorber is placed along the axis of the cone, singularly-polarized light can create an antinode of the standing wave at the absorber and nearly perfect dissipation of the light's energy is achievable regardless of the wavelength. The selective absorber of topologically structured light is of interest for energy harvesting, detection, filtering, and telecommunications applications.
title Absorber of Topologically Structured Light
topic Optics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.10928