Polina Pantiukhina | Searcharxiv

arXiv2026

Crystal orientation enables near-unity nonlinear circular dichroism in resonant metasurfaces

Achieving near-unity nonlinear circular dichroism (CD) typically requires geometric symmetry breaking, making it challenging to combine helicity selectivity, resonant enhancement, and structural simplicity. We show that crystal orientation enables near-unity third-harmonic (TH) CD in highly symmetric resonant metasurfaces formed by a square lattice of circular holes in a cubic nonlinear material. Under circularly polarized excitation, strong near-field components of both helicities enabled by the rotational symmetry of the metasurface open two symmetry-allowed in-plane TH generation pathways. Crystal orientation controls their nonlinear coupling, selectively enabling destructive interference for one incident helicity. Our nonlinear temporal coupled-mode theory identifies the conditions for near-unity CD, reveals the distinct roles of pump and TH resonances, and explains the fourfold and eightfold crystal-orientation dependence. Across silicon, germanium, and diamond, we obtain resonantly enhanced TH CD exceeding 99% in the near-infrared, establishing crystal orientation as a design degree of freedom for nonlinear CD in highly symmetric metasurfaces.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2026

Band Engineering of Exciton Polaritons in Resonant Polaritonic Metasurfaces

Polaritonic metasurfaces provide a versatile platform for engineering hybrid light-matter states through the interplay of optical resonances and excitonic excitations. Yet, predictive models often remain phenomenological and rely on coupled-mode equations. Here, we develop an effective Hamiltonian framework for exciton polaritons in resonant polaritonic metasurfaces, derived from a semiclassical single-pole description of excitonic polarization and a Green's-function description of guided-mode resonances. The resulting non-Hermitian Hamiltonian rigorously incorporates resonant photonic harmonics, multiple excitonic degrees of freedom, and radiative losses. The model reveals selection rules governing photonic-excitonic coupling classified by orbital multipole index and polarization, and shows that the minimal number of excitonic degrees of freedom equals the number of relevant photonic modes. We apply the framework to a bulk van der Waals WS$_2$ metasurface patterned into a hexagonal lattice of triangular holes and uncover a new geometry-controlled topological transition driven by dipole-quadrupole band inversion, distinct from the conventional breathing-honeycomb-lattice transition. Full-wave simulations confirm the predicted topological phase diagram and the emergence of photonic and polaritonic edge states at a topological interface. Our results establish a theoretical multimode framework for geometry-controlled bandstructure engineering in polaritonic metasurfaces, with applications in topological, chiral, and quantum integrated photonics.

physics.optics↗