Open AccessRouting light with ultrathin nanostructures beyond the diffraction limit
Author(s) -
Haiyang Huang,
Aimin Wu,
Hao Li,
Wei Li,
Zhen Sheng,
Shichang Zou,
Xi Wang,
Fuwan Gan
Publication year - 2016
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.24.028987
Subject(s) - nanostructure , diffraction , nanophotonics , optics , materials science , optoelectronics , ray , collimated light , photonic crystal , routing (electronic design automation) , limit (mathematics) , nanotechnology , physics , laser , computer science , computer network , mathematical analysis , mathematics
An open nanostructure consisting of a periodic chain of subwavelength-nanoparticles for compressing and routing light beyond the diffraction limit is proposed. The open nanostructure is ultrathin and compact, with a size much smaller than the wavelength of light. We demonstrate that our ultrathin open nanostructure provides functions that can route and manipulate light at the subwavelength scale and can also sharply bend and split light beams below the diffraction limit while exhibiting broadband, incident-angle-tolerant, and robust against disorder. A physical picture based on all-angle self-collimation is presented to understand the manipulation of light using the ultrathin open nanostructure. Experimental and numerical observations validate our findings. This approach provides great flexibility in the design of nanophotonic devices for routing and manipulating light beyond the diffraction limit.