Optical source transformations

Topology-optimized source shifter for optical location camouflaging

Through engineering the emission features emanating from a light source, source illusions enable the generation of illusions in which observers viewing at a distance misperceive the actual state of the source. However, those few efforts are significantly limited to the source transformation and metamaterials used. This limitation makes high-performance camouflaging of source emissions difficult to achieve. Even with basic functionalities such as source shifters camouflaging, source location remains difficult because the illusion is of low quality. Here, we demonstrate a way to improve substantially the camouflaging performance of a light-source shifter using topology optimization. Its scheme, objective function, and a few constraints are proposed. Generating an optimal topology for an all-dielectric light-source shifter is attempted for optical location camouflaging. Moreover, we succeed in designing very simple but high-performing source shifters despite several difficult properties such as multimodality. Our proposal extends the distance between the actual and virtual source locations that can be camouflaged and generates a broad band of frequencies for optical location camouflaging.

Enhancement of bandwidth and angle response of metasurface cloaking through adding antireflective moth-eye-like microstructure

Ultrathin metasurface provides a completely new path to realize cloaking devices on account of their fascinating ability to control electromagnetic wave. However, the conventional cloaking devices are limited by their narrow bandwidth. To overcome this challenge, we present the realization of ultrabroadband and wide angle metasurface cloaking through high refractive index dielectric layer and antireflective "moth-eye-like" microstructure in this work. Two options are proposed and demonstrated numerically in terahertz region. By using local phase compensation, the proposed carpet cloaks can suppress significantly the unexpected scattering and reconstruct wavefront. The cloaking effects of the proposed design are verified from 0.65THz to 0.9THz with a wide range of angles. Moreover, the proposed metasurface cloaking is probable to extend to the optical and microwave domains and can be applied in stealth, illusion optic, radar and antenna systems.

Transformational fluctuation electrodynamics: application to thermal radiation illusion

Thermal radiation is a universal property for all objects with temperatures above 0K. Every object with a specific shape and emissivity has its own thermal radiation signature; such signature allows the object to be detected and recognized which can be an undesirable situation. In this paper, we apply transformation optics theory to a thermal radiation problem to develop an electromagnetic illusion by controlling the thermal radiation signature of a given object. Starting from the fluctuation dissipation theorem where thermally fluctuating sources are related to the radiative losses, we demonstrate that it is possible for objects residing in two spaces, virtual and physical, to have the same thermal radiation signature if the complex permittivities and permeabilities satisfy the standard space transformations. We emphasize the invariance of the fluctuation electrodynamics physics under transformation, and show how this result allows the mimicking in thermal radiation. We illustrate the concept using the illusion paradigm in the two-dimensional space and a numerical calculation validates all predictions. Finally, we discuss limitations and extensions of the proposed technique.

Ultrathin metasurface-based carpet cloak for terahertz wave

Ultrathin metasurfaces with local phase compensation deliver new schemes to cloaking devices. Here, a large-scale carpet cloak consisting of an ultrathin metasurface is demonstrated numerically and experimentally in the terahertz regime. The proposed carpet cloak is designed based on discontinuous-phase metallic resonators fabricated on a polyimide substrate, offering a wide range of reflection phase variations and an excellent wavefront manipulation along the edges of the bump. The invisibility is verified when the cloak is placed on a reflecting triangular surface (bump). The multi-step discrete phase design method would greatly simplify the design process and is probable to achieve large-dimension cloaks, for applications in radar and antenna systems as a thin, lightweight, and easy-to-fabricate solution for radio and terahertz frequencies.

Bayesian Nonparametric Modeling for Rapid Design of Metamaterial Microstructures

We consider the problem of rapid design of massive metamaterial (MTM) microstructures from a statistical point of view. A Bayesian nonparametric model, namely, Gaussian Process (GP) mixture, is developed to generate the mapping relationship from the microstructure’s geometric dimension to the electromagnetic response, which is approximately expressed in a closed form of Drude-Lorentz type model. This GP mixture model is neatly able to tackle nonstationarity, discontinuities in the mapping function. The inference is performed using a Markov chain relying on Gibbs sampling. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed approach is highly efficient in facilitating rapid design of MTM with accuracy.

Engineering antenna radiation patterns via quasi-conformal mappings

We use a combination of conformal and quasi-conformal mappings to engineer isotropic electromagnetic devices that modify the omnidirectional radiation pattern of a point source. For TE waves, the designed devices are also non-magnetic. The flexibility offered by the proposed method is much higher than that achieved with conformal mappings. As a result, it is shown that complex radiation patterns can be achieved, which can combine high directivity in a desired number of arbitrary directions and isotropic radiation in other specified angular ranges. In addition, this technique enables us to control the power radiated in each direction to a certain extent. The obtained results are valid for any part of the spectrum. The potential of this method is illustrated with some examples. Finally, we study the frequency dependence of the considered devices and propose a practical dielectric implementation.

Source transformation device formed by one-dimensional photonic crystal

Photonic bandgap structures can also be utilized for the realization of transformational optical devices like metamaterials. In this Letter, the possibility of cylindrical to plane wave source transformation in an open cavity formed by one dimensional photonic crystal is demonstrated. It is observed that the gap solitary wave behavior at the near-bandgap regime is fair enough to produce highly directional plane waves out of the point source placed inside the open cavity. The limitations of such a source transformation device are governed by the strength of the bandgap that decides the amplitude of the emitted plane waves.

A non-reflecting metamaterial slab under the finite-embedded coordinate transformation

Under the restrictions that the mapping functions of transformation are defined in extended two-dimensional (2D) forms and the incident waves are 2D propagating fields, the conditions for non-reflecting boundaries in a finite-embedded coordinate transformation metamaterial slab are derived. By exploring several examples, including some reported in the literatures and some novel ones developed in this study, we show that our approach can be efficiently used to determine the condition for a finite-embedded coordinate transformed metamaterial slab to be non-reflecting.

Equivalent configurations of optical transformation media

We demonstrate that a medium consisting of two adjoining distinct layers of transformation materials, corresponding respectively to two linear coordinate transformations, can behave effectively as that of the same region transformed by another linear transformation. The equivalence means that, irrespective of the direction of incident wave, the fields of the medium exterior to the transformed regions of the two configurations are exactly the same. This property can also apply to a domain that is transformed by a piecewise linear transformation function, and to a medium that is mapped by a general curved function. This proof is shown analytically based on a rigorous Fourier-Bessel analysis. The equivalence suggests that, for a given transformed domain, one can find an infinite number of complementary media that altogether can give a desired effective response of certain transformation path.

Optical lens compression via transformation optics

Transformation optics is widely associated with the design of unconventional electromagnetic devices, such as electromagnetic cloaks or concentrators. However, a wide range of conventional optical devices with potentially advantageous properties can be designed by the transformation optical approach. For example, a coordinate transformation can be introduced that compresses a region of space, resulting in an overall decrease in the thickness of an optical instrument such as a lens. The optical properties of a transformed lens, such as Fresnel reflection or aberration profile, are equivalent to those of the original lens, while the transformed lens and the bounding transformation optical material are thinner than the original lens. This approach to flattening the profile of a lens represents an advantage over the use of a higher dielectric material because it does not introduce greater Fresnel reflections or require a redesign of the basic optic. Though transformation optical media are generally anisotropic, with both electric and magnetic response, it is possible to arrive at a dielectric-only transformation optical distribution for a lens interacting with transverse-magnetic (TM) polarized light. The dielectric-only distribution can be implemented using broad-band, low-loss metamaterials. Lens designs for both a full transformation and a dielectric-only implementation are discussed and confirmed via finite-element simulations.