arXiv subjects

Nicolae C. Panoiu

Publications and source records attributed to Nicolae C. Panoiu.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Degenerate high-order hybrid bound states in the continuum beyond diffraction limit

We demonstrate the existence of at-$Γ$ degenerate hybrid bound-states in the continuum (BICs) with high-order topological charges and quadratic band degeneracy in periodic photonic structures with $C_{6v}$ symmetry above the diffraction limit. The degenerate BICs are realized by combining symmetry protection, which suppresses radiation into zeroth-order diffraction channel, with quadratic band degeneracy and parameter tuning to eliminate radiation into first-order diffraction channels. An effective Hamiltonian is used to investigate the band structure around the degeneracy point, and the topological dynamics in all diffraction channels are characterized. This work reveals a novel mechanism for realizing degenerate BICs above the diffraction limit, opening up opportunities for new physics and applications.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2026

Physics-Informed Neural Networks for 2D Plane Wave Scattering in Arbitrary Dielectric Structures

In this paper, we introduce a meshless physics-informed neural network based computational framework for solving two-dimensional electromagnetic wave scattering in inhomogeneous media. The framework embeds frequency-domain Maxwell equations and radiation boundary conditions directly into the neural network loss function, enabling accurate prediction of scattered fields for both transverse magnetic (TM) and transverse electric (TE) polarizations across various dielectric configurations. Application of the method to single-cylinder, concentric multilayer cylindrical shells, three arbitrarily arranged cylinders, and composite irregular structures demonstrates that for the TM polarization, all relative $L^{2}$ errors mostly remain at particularly low levels of $\le0.1$. For the TE polarization, sharp variations of the dielectric properties of scatterers lead to singularities in the governing equations, which result in decreased accuracy of the method. This challenge is overcome by introducing at dielectric boundaries a hyperbolic-tangent smoothing function. This procedure significantly improves the accuracy of the method, with the corresponding results closely matching the predictions of the finite-difference time-domain method. This framework exhibits stable convergence behavior across all of the investigated configurations, thus confirming its robustness and scalability to complex electromagnetic scattering problems.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2026

Hybrid Bound States in the Continuum beyond Diffraction Limit

Bound states in the continuum (BICs) have greatly impacted our ability to manipulate light-matter interaction at the nanoscale. However, in periodic structures, BICs are typically realized below the diffraction limit, thus leaving a broad spectral domains largely unexplored. Here, we introduce a new type of at-$Γ$ BICs of photonic crystal (PhC) slabs supporting higher diffraction orders, which we call hybrid BICs (h-BICs), whereby symmetry protection and parameter tuning are utilized to suppress light emission in the zeroth- and higher-diffraction orders, respectively. By tuning certain structural parameters of the PhC slab, we fully characterize the dynamics of the topological structure of these h-BICs, including the generation, merging, splitting, and annihilation of circularly polarized states. We further show that the relative amount of light radiated in the first-order diffraction channels can be effectively controlled by simply breaking the $C_{4v}$ symmetry of the PhC slab. Our findings reveal a versatile approach to realize new types of BICs above the diffraction limit, and could potentially inspire new efforts towards development of novel photonic nanodevices, such as multi vortex-beam generators, frequency converters, and lasers.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2025

$\mathcal{T}$-matrix method for computation of second-harmonic generation upon optical wave scattering from clusters of arbitrary particles: Application to nonlinear optical interaction of bound states in the continuum

We derive the $\mathcal{T}$-matrix formalism tailored for numerical analysis of second-harmonic (SH) generation from arbitrarily shaped particles made of centrosymmetric optical materials. First, the transfer matrix of a single particle is computed via the extended boundary condition method, in which the electromagnetic fields both at fundamental frequency and SH are expanded in vector spherical wave functions, and the integral formulation is satisfied away from the surface of the scatterer. We allow for the accurate physical description of the SH sources by taking into account both local surface and nonlocal bulk polarization contributions to the nonlinear polarization density source responsible for the generation of the SH signal by a particle. This single-particle formalism is then extended to arbitrary distributions of particles by incorporating into the formalism linear and nonlinear electromagnetic wave scattering from the particles in the cluster. Importantly from a practical point of view, our method can be applied to particles of arbitrary shape made of optical materials characterized by general frequency-dispersion relations, so that it can describe the linear and nonlinear optical response of clusters of metallic, semiconductor, or polaritonic particles, as well as mixtures of such particles. The approach proposed here is faster and more memory-efficient than well-established numerical techniques, especially in the analysis of spheroidal particles, due to the favorable symmetries of spherical wave basis functions used in the wave scattering analysis.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2025

Nonlinear optical metasurfaces empowered by bound-states in the continuum

Optical bound-states in the continuum (BICs) have greatly enriched the field of nonlinear optics with novel ways to control and manipulate light-matter interaction at the nanoscale. This has been made possible by their unique physical properties, including effective confinement of light, non-trivial topological features, and robustness upon the propagation of the optical field both in the real and momentum space. Regarding the exploration of nonlinear optical response in various photonic nanostructures supporting BICs, particular attention has been paid to optical metasurfaces, chiefly due to their ability to control the light flow at subwavelength scale, design and fabrication flexibility, and convenient phase-matching conditions. In this review, we outline and discuss recent advances in metasurface-based frequency conversion processes utilizing the versatile physics of BICs, with a particular emphasis on the main physics background pertaining to nonlinear optical phenomena and optics of BICs, as well as state-of-the-art functionalities enabled by BIC-driven nonlinear metasurfaces. These applications include harmonic generation, harmonic chiroptical effects, generation of complex quantum states, and broadband terahertz generation. In addition, several emerging research fields and the existing challenges of photonic nanodevices relying on BICs are discussed.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2023

Topologically enhanced nonlinear optical response of graphene nanoribbon heterojunctions

We study the nonlinear optical properties of heterojunctions made of graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) consisting of two segments with either the same or different topological properties. By utilizing a quantum mechanical approach that incorporates distant-neighbor interactions, we demonstrate that the presence of topological interface states significantly enhances the second- and third-order nonlinear optical response of GNR heterojunctions that are created by merging two topologically inequivalent GNRs. Specifically, GNR heterojunctions with topological interface states display third-order harmonic hyperpolarizabilities that are more than two orders of magnitude larger than those of their similarly sized counterparts without topological interface states, whereas the secondorder harmonic hyperpolarizabilities exhibit a more than ten-fold contrast between heterojunctions with and without topological interface states. Additionally, we find that the topological state at the interface between two topologically distinct GNRs can induce a noticeable red-shift of the quantum plasmon frequency of the heterojunctions. Our results reveal a general and profound connection between the existence of topological states and an enhanced nonlinear optical response of graphene nanostructures and possible other photonic systems.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2023

All-optical control of topological valley transport in graphene metasurfaces

We demonstrate that the influence of Kerr effect on valley-Hall topological transport in graphene metasurfaces can be used to implement an all-optical switch. In particular, by taking advantage of the large Kerr coefficient of graphene, the index of refraction of a topologically-protected graphene metasurface can be tuned via a pump beam, which results in an optically controllable frequency shift of the photonic bands of the metasurface. This spectral variation can in turn be readily employed to control and switch the propagation of an optical signal in certain waveguide modes of the graphene metasurface. Importantly, our theoretical and computational analysis reveals that the threshold pump power needed to optically switch ON/OFF the signal is strongly dependent on the group velocity of the pump mode, especially when the device is operated in the slow-light regime. This study could open up new routes towards active photonic nanodevices whose underlying functionality stems from their topological characteristics.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2022

Optically controllable coupling between edge and topological interface modes of graphene metasurfaces

Nonlinear topological photonics has been attracting increasing research interest, as it provides an exciting photonic platform that combines the advantages of active all-optical control offered by nonlinear optics with the unique features of topological photonic systems, such as topologically-protected defect-immune light propagation. In this paper, we demonstrate that topological interface modes and trivial edge modes of a specially designed graphene metasurface can be coupled in a tunable and optically controllable manner, thus providing an efficient approach to transfer optical power to topologically protected states. This is achieved in a pump-signal configuration, in which an optical pump propagating in a bulk mode of the metasurface is employed to tune the band structure of the photonic system and, consequently, the coupling coefficient and wave-vector mismatch between edge and topological interface modes. This tunable coupling mechanism is particularly efficient due to the large Kerr coefficient of graphene. Importantly, we demonstrate that the required pump power can be significantly reduced if the optical device is operated in the slow-light regime. We perform our analysis using both \textit{ab initio} full-wave simulations and a coupled-mode theory that captures the main physics of this active coupler and observe a good agreement between the two approaches. This work may lead to the design of active topological photonic devices with new or improved functionality.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2021

Second-harmonic generation via double topological valley-Hall kink modes in all-dielectric photonic crystals

Nonlinear topological photonics, which explores topics common to the fields of topological phases and nonlinear optics, is expected to open up a new paradigm in topological photonics. Here, we demonstrate second-harmonic generation (SHG) via nonlinear interaction of double topological valley-Hall kink modes in all-dielectric photonic crystals (PhCs). We first show that two topological frequency bandgaps can be created around a pair of frequencies, $ω_0$ and $2ω_0$, by gapping out the corresponding Dirac points in two-dimensional honeycomb PhCs. Valley-Hall kink modes along a kink-type domain wall interface between two PhCs placed together in a mirror-symmetric manner are generated within the two frequency bandgaps. Importantly, through full-wave simulations and mode dispersion analysis, we demonstrate that tunable, bi-directional phase-matched SHG via nonlinear interaction of the valley-Hall kink modes inside the two bandgaps can be achieved. In particular, by using Stokes parameters associated to the magnetic part of the valley-Hall kink modes, we introduce a new concept, SHG directional dichroism, which is employed to characterize optical probes for sensing chiral molecules. Our work opens up new avenues towards topologically protected nonlinear frequency mixing and active photonic devices implemented in all-dielectric material platforms.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2021

$T$-matrix method for calculation of second-harmonic generation in clusters of spherical particles

In this article, we present a $T$-matrix method for numerical computation of second-harmonic generation from clusters of arbitrarily distributed spherical particles made of centrosymmetric optical materials. The electromagnetic fields at the fundamental and second-harmonic (SH) frequencies are expanded in series of vector spherical wave functions, and the single sphere $T$-matrix entries are computed by imposing field boundary conditions at the surface of the particles. Different from previous approaches, we compute the SH fields by taking into account both local surface and nonlocal bulk polarization sources, which allows one to accurately describe the generation of SH in arbitrary clusters of spherical particles. Our numerical method can be used to efficiently analyze clusters of spherical particles made of various optical materials, including metallic, dielectric, semiconductor, and polaritonic materials.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2020

Reprogrammable plasmonic topological insulators with ultrafast control

Topological photonics has revolutionized our understanding of light propagation, but most of current studies are focused on designing a static photonic structure. Developing a dynamic photonic topological platform to switch multiple topological functionalities at ultrafast speed is still a great challenge. Here we demonstrate an ultrafast reprogrammable plasmonic topological insulator, where the topological propagation route can be dynamically steered at nanosecond-level switching time, namely more than 10^7 times faster than the current state-of-the-art. This orders-of-magnitude improvement is achieved by using ultrafast electronic switches in an innovative way to implement the programmability. Due to the flexible programmability, many existing photonic topological functionalities can be integrated into this agile topological platform. Our work brings the current studies of photonic topological insulators to a digital and intelligent era, which could boost the development of intelligent and ultrafast photoelectric devices with built-in topological protection.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2020

Generation and Focusing of Orbital Angular Momentum Based on Polarized Reflectarray at Microwave Frequency

A novel polarized reflectarray is designed, fabricated, and experimentally characterized to show its flexibility and efficiency to control wave generation and focusing of orbital angular momentum (OAM) vortices with desirable OAM modes in the microwave frequency regime. In order to rigorously study the generation and focusing of OAM, a versatile analytical theory is proposed to theoretically study the compensation phase of reflectarray. Two prototypes of microwave reflectarrays are fabricated and experimentally characterized at 12 GHz, one for generation and one for focusing of OAM-carrying beams. Compared with the OAM-generating reflectarray, the reflectarray for focusing OAM vortex can significantly reduce the beam diameter, and this can further improve the transmission efficiency of the OAM vortex beams. We also show that the numerical and experimental results agree very well. The proposed design method and reflectarrays may spur the development of new efficient approaches to generate and focus OAM vortex waves for applications to microwave wireless communications.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2020

Topological valley plasmon transport in bilayer graphene metasurfaces for sensing applications

Topologically protected plasmonic modes located inside topological bandgaps are attracting increasing attention, chiefly due to their robustness against disorder-induced backscattering. Here, we introduce a bilayer graphene metasurface that possesses plasmonic topological valley interface modes when the mirror symmetry of the metasurface is broken by horizontally shifting the lattice of holes of the top layer of the two freestanding graphene layers in opposite directions. In this configuration, light propagation along the domain-wall interface of the bilayer graphene metasurface shows unidirectional features. Moreover, we have designed a molecular sensor based on the topological properties of this metasurface using the fact that the Fermi energy of graphene varies upon chemical doping. This effect induces strong variation of the transmission of the topological guided modes, which can be employed as the underlying working principle of gas sensing devices. Our work opens up new ways of developing robust integrated plasmonic devices for molecular sensing.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2020

Tunable and Dual-broadband Giant Enhancement of SHG and THG in a Highly-engineered Graphene-Insulator-Graphene Metasurface

We demonstrate a novel scheme to dramatically enhance both the second- and third-harmonic generation in a graphene-insulator-graphene metasurface. The key underlying feature of our approach is the existence of a double-resonance phenomenon, namely the metasurface is designed to possess fundamental plasmon resonances at both the fundamental frequency and the higher harmonic. In particular, this dual resonant field enhancement at the two optical frequencies, combined with a favorable spatial overlap of the optical near-fields, lead to the increase of the generated higher harmonic by several orders of magnitude. Remarkably, we demonstrate that by tuning the Fermi energy of the graphene gratings the dual-resonance property can be locked-in over a broad spectral range of ~20 THz, and equally important, the enhanced nonlinear frequency generation process can be readily switched in the same device between the second and third harmonic. This new type of graphene metasurface could open up new avenues towards the development of novel ultra-compact and multi-frequency active photonic nanodevices.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2020

Nonlinear one-way edge-mode interactions for frequency mixing in topological photonic crystals

Topological photonics aims to utilize topological photonic bands and corresponding edge modes to implement robust light manipulation, which can be readily achieved in the linear regime of light-matter interaction. Importantly, unlike solid state physics, the common test bed for new ideas in topological physics, topological photonics provide an ideal platform to study wave mixing and other nonlinear interactions. These are well-known topics in classical nonlinear optics but largely unexplored in the context of topological photonics. Here, we investigate nonlinear interactions of one-way edge-modes in frequency mixing processes in topological photonic crystals. We present a detailed analysis of the band topology of two-dimensional photonic crystals with hexagonal symmetry and demonstrate that nonlinear optical processes, such as second- and third-harmonic generation can be conveniently implemented via one-way edge modes of this setup. Moreover, we demonstrate that more exotic phenomena, such as slow-light enhancement of nonlinear interactions and harmonic generation upon interaction of backward-propagating (left-handed) edge modes can also be realized. Our work opens up new avenues towards topology-protected frequency mixing processes in photonics.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2019

Four-wave Mixing of Topological Edge Plasmons in Graphene Metasurfaces

We study topologically-protected four-wave mixing (FWM) interactions in a plasmonic metasurface consisting of a periodic array of nanoholes in a graphene sheet, which exhibits a wide topological bandgap at terahertz frequencies upon the breaking of time-reversal symmetry by a static magnetic field. We demonstrate that due to the significant nonlinearity enhancement and large lifetime of graphene plasmons in specific configurations, a net gain of FWM interaction of plasmonic edge states within the topological bandgap can be achieved with pump power of less than 10 nW. In particular, we find that the effective waveguide nonlinearity coefficient is about 1.1x10^13 1/(Wm), i.e., more than ten orders of magnitude larger than that of commonly used, highly nonlinear silicon photonic nanowires. These findings could pave a new way for developing ultra-low-power-consumption, highly-integrated and robust active photonic systems at deep-subwavelength scale for applications in quantum communications and information processing.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2019

Plasmon-induced nonlinearity enhancement and homogenization of graphene metasurfaces

We demonstrate that the effective third-order nonlinear susceptibility of a graphene sheet can be enhanced by more than two orders of magnitude by patterning it into a graphene metasurface. In addition, in order to gain deeper physical insights into this phenomenon, we introduce a novel homogenization method, which is subsequently used to characterize quantitatively this nonlinearity enhancement effect by calculating the effective linear and nonlinear susceptibility of graphene metasurfaces. The accuracy of the proposed homogenization method is demonstrated by comparing its predictions with those obtained from the Kramers-Kronig relations. This work may open up new opportunities to explore novel physics pertaining to nonlinear optical interactions in graphene metasurfaces.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2019

Analysis of the interaction between classical and quantum plasmons via FDTD-TDDFT method

A powerful hybrid FDTD--TDDFT method is used to study the interaction between classical plasmons of a gold bowtie nanoantenna and quantum plasmons of graphene nanoflakes (GNFs) placed in the narrow gap of the nanoantenna. Due to the hot-spot plasmon of the bowtie nanoantenna, the local-field intensity in the gap increases significantly, so that the optical response of the GNF is dramatically enhanced. To study this interaction between classical and quantum plasmons, we decompose this multiscale and multiphysics system into two computational regions, a classical and a quantum one. In the quantum region, the quantum plasmons of the GNF are studied using the TDDFT method, whereas the FDTD method is used to investigate the classical plasmons of the bowtie nanoantenna. Our analysis shows that in this hybrid system the quantum plasmon response of a molecular-scale GNF can be enhanced by more than two orders of magnitude, when the frequencies of the quantum and classical plasmons are the same. This finding can be particularly useful for applications to molecular sensors and quantum optics.

physics.optics↗