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arXiv · 2307.00629

Can photonic heterostructures provably outperform single-material geometries?

Alessio Amaolo·Pengning Chao·Thomas J. Maldonado·Sean Molesky·Alejandro W. Rodriguez
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Abstract

Recent advances in photonic optimization have enabled calculation of performance bounds for a wide range of electromagnetic objectives, albeit restricted to single-material systems. Motivated by growing theoretical interest and fabrication advances, we present a framework to bound the performance of photonic heterostructures and apply it to investigate maximum absorption characteristics of multilayer films and compact, free-form multi-material scatterers. Limits predict trends seen in topology-optimized geometries -- often coming within factors of two of specific designs -- and may be exploited in conjunction with inverse designs to predict when heterostructures are expected to outperform their optimal single-material counterparts.

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Alessio Amaolo, Pengning Chao, Thomas J. Maldonado, Sean Molesky, Alejandro W. Rodriguez. 2023-07-02. Can photonic heterostructures provably outperform single-material geometries?. https://doi.org/10.1515/nanoph-2023-0606

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