Improved light-field control and light-matter interaction for device applications via optically resonant nanostructures

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Abstract/Contents

Abstract
Starting from the 1970s, great efforts have been made to miniaturize bulky optical devices. This progress accelerated significantly over the last decade due to the emerging field of metasurfaces. These planar nanophotonic devices, made from judiciously engineered, subwavelength-thick optical nanoresonators, are capable of controlling the amplitude, phase, polarization, and spectral properties of light waves with subwavelength resolution, and therefore have the potential to replace a wide range of bulk optical elements with flat optics. Here, we go one step further to explore the emergent properties of optical nanoresonators beyond the concept in conventional optics. The radiative nature of optical resonances results in emerging collective modes in nanoresonator arrays beyond the description of the renowned chemical bonding model, leading to tremendous degrees of freedom for manipulating the light fields. Given the dimension of these flat optical elements becoming compatible with on-chip electronics, we now foresee an unprecedented opportunity to boost the performance and enable novel functionalities in integrated devices by bridging the gap between optics and electronics using metasurfaces. The carefully engineered local photonic environment created by optical nanoresonators can selectively interact with quantum states in a broad range of material systems, probing and extracting the quantum information as needed. In this thesis, I will specifically illustrate how to leverage the above-mentioned emergent properties of optically resonant nanostructures to achieve the improved control over the emission, propagation, and absorption of the light fields at the nanoscale. Eventually, it leads to three representative device applications: a transparent spectro-polarimetric silicon nanowire photodetector, a comprehensive metasurface optofluidic platform for dynamic control of light fields, and an efficient monolayer semiconductor free-space electro-optical modulator operating at room temperature. These works validate the crucial role that optical nanoresonators play in revolutionizing various optical and optoelectronic devices that may find use in real-world applications. The underlying physics behind these applications further reveals the opportunity to employ optical nanoresonators as a tool to probe the fundamental nature of complex physical systems.

Description

Type of resource text
Form electronic resource; remote; computer; online resource
Extent 1 online resource.
Place California
Place [Stanford, California]
Publisher [Stanford University]
Copyright date 2022; ©2022
Publication date 2022; 2022
Issuance monographic
Language English

Creators/Contributors

Author Li, Qitong
Degree supervisor Brongersma, Mark L
Thesis advisor Brongersma, Mark L
Thesis advisor Dionne, Jennifer Anne
Thesis advisor Fan, Shanhui, 1972-
Degree committee member Dionne, Jennifer Anne
Degree committee member Fan, Shanhui, 1972-
Associated with Stanford University, Department of Materials Science and Engineering

Subjects

Genre Theses
Genre Text

Bibliographic information

Statement of responsibility Qitong Li.
Note Submitted to the Department of Materials Science and Engineering.
Thesis Thesis Ph.D. Stanford University 2022.
Location https://purl.stanford.edu/mj847jz2012

Access conditions

Copyright
© 2022 by Qitong Li

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