Digital design of multimaterial photonic particles.
Scattering of light from dielectric particles whose size is on the order of an optical wavelength underlies a plethora of visual phenomena in nature and is a foundation for optical coatings and paints. Tailoring the internal nanoscale geometry of such "photonic particles" allows tuning their optical scattering characteristics beyond those afforded by their constitutive materials-however, flexible yet scalable processing approaches to produce such particles are lacking. Here, we show that a thermally induced in-fiber fluid instability permits the "digital design" of multimaterial photonic particles: the precise allocation of high refractive-index contrast materials at independently addressable radial and azimuthal coordinates within its 3D architecture. Exploiting this unique capability in all-dielectric systems, we tune the scattering cross-section of equisized particles via radial structuring and induce polarization-sensitive scattering from spherical particles with broken internal rotational symmetry. The scalability of this fabrication strategy promises a generation of optical coatings in which sophisticated functionality is realized at the level of the individual particles.
CREOL, The College of Optics and Photonics, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32816;
Guangming
G
Tao
CREOL, The College of Optics and Photonics, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32816;
Joshua J
JJ
Kaufman
CREOL, The College of Optics and Photonics, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32816;
Soroush
S
Shabahang
CREOL, The College of Optics and Photonics, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32816; Department of Physics, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32816;
Roxana
R
Rezvani Naraghi
CREOL, The College of Optics and Photonics, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32816;
Sergey V
SV
Sukhov
Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139.
John D
JD
Joannopoulos
Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139.
Yoel
Y
Fink
CREOL, The College of Optics and Photonics, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32816;
Aristide
A
Dogariu
CREOL, The College of Optics and Photonics, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32816; raddy@creol.ucf.edu.
Ayman F
AF
Abouraddy
fluid instabilities; multimaterial fibers; optical scattering; particles