A research team under the direction of Professor Weili Fan at Hebei University, along with the research team at Peking University, have generated a tunable Plasma Photonic Crystal (PPC) “kaleidoscope” with a rich diversity of geometric configurations in dielectric barrier discharge. The study was published in the journal Frontiers of Optoelectronics.
Plasma photonic ciystal “kaleidoscope” with flexible control of topology and electromagnetism. Image Credit: Frontiers Journals
Photonic band gaps and topological edge states are among the intriguing phenomena revealed by transport in photonic crystals (PCs). Making adjustable PCs that enable flexible and real-time control of geometric configurations is one of the most intriguing subjects in this discipline.
Several proposals for producing tunable PCs have been put forward, such as thermal, mechanical, optofluidic, liquid crystal, and plasma systems. Nevertheless, only a fraction of most photonic crystal systems allow for dynamical modulation of structural properties.
This constraint results in less flexibility and adjustability. A strong manufacturing technique is crucial to producing highly flexible photonic crystals for various uses.
PPCs have been made adaptable in terms of their symmetry, dielectric constant, crystal orientation, lattice constant, and scattering element structures. Numerous reconfigurations between lattices have been proposed, including striped to honeycomb Moiré lattices, disordered to ordered, periodic to periodic, and non-topological to topological.
The method offers a promising framework for producing a PPC “kaleidoscope” with increased flexibility, cheap cost, quick reaction, and fewer equipment needs. It creates a new path for the controlled investigation of tunable plasma metamaterials, leading to numerous future projects like time-resolved imaging and sensing, precision radiolocation, and integrated optical components.
Journal Reference:
Wang, J., et al. (2024) Plasma photonic crystal “kaleidoscope” with flexible control of topology and electromagnetism. Frontiers of Optoelectronics. doi.org/10.1007/s12200-024-00137-z.