Observation of Anderson localization in disordered nanophotonic structures
Localizing light at the nanometer scale
Waves will propagate through a medium until scattering processes result in the excitationgradually dying away. Introducing disorder can affect that propagation by increasing thescattering, potentially reaching a point where transport is stopped. Typically, thelength scale of the disorder is larger than the propagating waves. Herzig Sheinfuxet al. now show that a stack of several-nanometer-thick layers ofalternating high- and low-refractive- index material can result in the localization oflight. Such deep-subwavelength structures could provide a route to manipulating light onthe nanometer scale.
Science, this issue p. 953
Abstract
Anderson localization is an interference effect crucial to the understanding of waves in disordered media. However, localization is expected to become negligible when the features of the disordered structure are much smaller than the wavelength. Here we experimentally demonstrate the localization of light in a disordered dielectric multilayer with an average layer thickness of 15 nanometers, deep into the subwavelength regime. We observe strong disorder-induced reflections that show that the interplay of localization and evanescence can lead to a substantial decrease in transmission, or the opposite feature of enhanced transmission. This deep-subwavelength Anderson localization exhibits extreme sensitivity: Varying the thickness of a single layer by 2 nanometers changes the reflection appreciably. This sensitivity, approaching the atomic scale, holds the promise of extreme subwavelength sensing.
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Supplementary Material
Summary
Materials and Methods
Supplementary Text
Figs. S1 to S10
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Information & Authors
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Published In
Science
Volume 356 | Issue 6341
2 June 2017
2 June 2017
Copyright
Copyright © 2017, American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Submission history
Received: 31 July 2016
Accepted: 4 May 2017
Published in print: 2 June 2017
Acknowledgments
The research of H.H.S. and M.S. was supported by the German-Israeli Deutsch-Israelische Projektkooperation (DIP) program, the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research, and the Israeli ICore Excellence Center “Circle of Light.” The research of A.Z.G. was supported by National Science Foundation grant DMR/-BSF-1609218. All authors contributed to all aspects of this work.
Authors
Funding Information
National Science Foundation: award299770, DMR/-BSF-1609218
National Science Foundation: award307328, NSF/DMR/-BSF: 1609218
Israeli Centers for Research Excellence: award299773
US airforce office of scientific research: award299772
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