Thermally Tunable Mid-Infrared Polarization Rotation and Ellipticity Based on Active Surface Phonon Polariton Nanocavity Arrays

POSTER

Abstract



Polarimetry is an invaluable tool for investigating material properties by observing how the material changes the polarization of light. Studies in the infrared are limited due to a lack of polarization-sensitive materials in far-infrared (IR). Here, we experimentally demonstrate an active polarization-control nanostructure, which avoids the limitations of methods that depend on bulk material effects. We measure the optical rotation and phase induced from gold subwavelength grating structures on top of vanadium dioxide (VO2) film on silicon carbide. The proposed structure has a resonance at 840 cm-1 due to the Fabry-Perot cavity array of coupled surface polaritons. Linearly polarized incident light can be decomposed into a statically reflected component and a partially absorbed temperature-dependent component. A novel polarimetric spectrometer was developed to measure the IR polarization spectra, and a simple two-polarizer method was used with laser light to quantify the polarization changes. The light near the resonance is optically rotated by 10o, while the phase is shifted by 15o as the temperature increases. Due to the device's small footprint, flexible operating wavelength, and potential to be used as a modulator, this work provides a solution for longwave IR polarimetry.

* *The work at Los Alamos National Laboratory was supported by the NNSA’s Laboratory Directed Research and Development Program, and was performed, in part, at the CINT, an Office of Science User Facility operated for the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science. Los Alamos National Laboratory, an affirmative action equal opportunity employer, is managed by Triad National Security, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy’s NNSA, under contract 89233218CNA000001.*This work was supported by the Office of Naval Research Summer Faculty Program.

Presenters

  • Zachary M Brown

    Texas Tech University

Authors

  • Zachary M Brown

    Texas Tech University

  • Chase T Ellis

    Naval research lab, The Naval Research Laboratory, US Naval Research Laboratory, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C. 20375, USA, nrl

  • SATYANARAYANA R KACHIRAJU

    University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

  • Sundar Kunwar

    Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies (CINT), Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA, lanl

  • Long Chang

    University of Houston

  • Pinku Roy

    Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies (CINT), Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA, Los Alamos National Laboratory, lanl

  • Ayrton A Bernussi

    Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and NanoTech Center, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409, USA, Texas Tech University

  • Vladimir Kuryatkov

    Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and NanoTech Center, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409, USA, Texas Tech University

  • Matthew Gaddy

    Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and NanoTech Center, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409, USA, Texas Tech University

  • Aiping Chen

    Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies (CINT), Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA, Los Alamos National Laboratory, lanl

  • Myoung-Hwan Kim

    Texas Tech University, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409, USA