Fundamental limits to optical response in absorptive systems
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limits_metals.pdf
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Main article
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989.31 KB
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Author(s)
Miller, Owen D.
Polimeridis, Athanasios G.
Hsu, Chia Wei
DeLacy, Brendan G.
Reid, M. T. Homer
Soljacic, Marin
Joannopoulos, John
Johnson, Steven G
Date Issued
February 2016
Journal
Optics Express
Publisher
Optical Society of America
Citation
Miller, Owen D., Athanasios G. Polimeridis, M. T. Homer Reid, Chia Wei Hsu, Brendan G. DeLacy, John D. Joannopoulos, Marin Soljacic, and Steven G. Johnson. “Fundamental Limits to Optical Response in Absorptive Systems.” Optics Express 24, no. 4 (February 9, 2016): 3329.
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Author's final manuscript
Abstract
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 the largest enhancements possible given intrinsic material losses. Through basic conservation-of-energy principles, we derive geometry-independent limits to per-volume absorption and scattering rates, and to local-density-of-states enhancements that represent the power radiated or expended by a dipole near a material body. We provide examples of structures that approach our absorption and scattering limits at any frequency; by contrast, we find that common “antenna” structures fall far short of our radiative LDOS bounds, suggesting the possibility for significant further improvement. Underlying the limits is a simple metric, |χ|[superscript 2]/Im χ for a material with susceptibility χ, that enables broad technological evaluation of lossy materials across optical frequencies.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mathematics
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1364/OE.24.003329
