Topological photonics with scattering media

Scattering media, being ubiquitous in nature and critically important for assessments (e.g., biological tissues), are often considered as nuisance in optics. Here we show that it is not always the case and scattering media could be essential in providing elements of topological photonics. We demonst...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inarXiv.org
Main Authors Cusworth, E, Kravets, V G, Fraggelakis, F, Lingos, P, Stratakis, E, Kabashin, A V, Grigorenko, A N
Format Paper
LanguageEnglish
Published Ithaca Cornell University Library, arXiv.org 17.01.2024
Subjects
Darkness
Electromagnetic radiation
Metal films
Photonics
Scattering
Thin films
Tissues
Topology
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Summary:Scattering media, being ubiquitous in nature and critically important for assessments (e.g., biological tissues), are often considered as nuisance in optics. Here we show that it is not always the case and scattering media could be essential in providing elements of topological photonics. We demonstrate that topological darkness can be realised in the presence of scattering media due to the transverse nature of electromagnetic waves and the hairy ball theorem. We describe realizations of topological darkness in a scattering medium comprising composite gold nanostructures produced by a low-cost technique of laser structuring of thin metal films. Our results can be useful for a variety of tasks, including topological nanophotonics, optical label-free biosensing, and biomedical photonics.
ISSN:2331-8422