Open AccessGuiding optical modes in chains of dielectric particles
Author(s) -
Gail S. Blaustein,
M. I. Gozman,
O.M. Samoylova,
I. Ya. Polishchuk,
Alexander L. Burin
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.15.017380
Subject(s) - physics , dielectric , refractive index , mie scattering , optics , optical force , scattering , molecular physics , formalism (music) , q factor , transverse plane , quality (philosophy) , optical tweezers , light scattering , quantum mechanics , art , musical , structural engineering , resonator , visual arts , engineering
We have investigated low frequency guiding polariton modes in finite linear chains of closely packed dielectric spherical particles of different optical materials. These guiding (chain bound) modes cannot decay radiatively, because photon emission cannot take place with simultaneous conservation of energy and momentum. For extending previous work on infinite chains of spherical particles [1] and infinite rods [2, 3], we were able to apply the multisphere Mie scattering formalism to finite chains of dielectric particles to calculate quality factors of most bound modes originating from the first two Mie resonances depending on the number of particles N and the material's refractive index nr. We found that, in agreement with the earlier work [4], guiding modes exist for n(r) > 2 and the quality factor of the most bound mode scales by N(3). We interpreted this behavior as the property of "frozen" modes near the edges of guiding bands with group velocity vanishing as N increases. In contrast with circular arrays, longitudinal guiding modes in particle chains possess a higher quality factor compared to the transverse ones.