title: New avenues for phase matching in nonlinear hyperbolic metamaterials.
abstract: Nonlinear optical processes, which are of paramount importance in science and technology, involve the generation of new frequencies. This requires phase matching to avoid that light generated at different positions interferes destructively. Of the two original approaches to achieve this, one relies on birefringence in optical crystals, and is therefore limited by the dispersion of naturally occurring materials, whereas the other, quasi-phase-matching, requires direct modulation of material properties, which is not universally possible. To overcome these limitations, we propose to exploit the unique dispersion afforded by hyperbolic metamaterials, where the refractive index can be arbitrarily large. We systematically analyse the ensuing opportunities and demonstrate that hyperbolic phase matching can be achieved with a wide range of material parameters, offering access to the use of nonlinear media for which phase matching cannot be achieved by other means. With the rapid development in the fabrication of hyperbolic metamaterials, our approach is destined to bring significant advantages over conventional techniques for the phase matching of a variety of nonlinear processes.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Ultrahigh bandwidth Devices for Optical Systems (CUDOS), School of Physics, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Duncan
authors.affiliation: Institute of Photonics and Optical Science (IPOS), University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Perret
authors.affiliation: Institute of Photonics and Optical Science (IPOS), University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Palomba
authors.affiliation: 1] School of Mathematical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia [2] ITMO University, Saint Petersburg 197101, Russia.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lapine
authors.affiliation: 1] Centre for Ultrahigh bandwidth Devices for Optical Systems (CUDOS), School of Physics, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia [2] Institute of Photonics and Optical Science (IPOS), University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
authors.forename: B T
authors.initials: BT
authors.lastname: Kuhlmey
authors.affiliation: 1] Centre for Ultrahigh bandwidth Devices for Optical Systems (CUDOS), School of Physics, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia [2] Institute of Photonics and Optical Science (IPOS), University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
authors.forename: C Martijn
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: de Sterke