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Planar Chirality and Optical Spin-Orbit Coupling for Chiral Fabry-Perot Cavities
Jérôme Gautier1, Minghao Li1, Thomas W Ebbesen1
1Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, Institut de Science et d'Ingénierie Supramoléculaires, UMR 7006, F-67000 Strasbourg, France.
ACS Photonics
|March 21, 2022
Summary
Researchers created simple Fabry-Perot cavities exhibiting chiral properties using planar chiral polystyrene. This method, based on spin-orbit coupling, offers a promising route for chiral cavity quantum electrodynamics and polaritonic asymmetric chemistry.
Area of Science:
- Optics and Photonics
- Chiroptical Materials
- Cavity Quantum Electrodynamics
Background:
- Fabry-Perot cavities are fundamental optical resonators.
- Chirality in optical systems is crucial for applications in asymmetric chemistry and quantum technologies.
- Generating and controlling chiral modes in optical cavities remains a challenge.
Purpose of the Study:
- To design and demonstrate a simple Fabry-Perot cavity with longitudinal chiral modes.
- To investigate the mechanism behind helicity-preserving features in these chiral cavities.
- To explore the potential of this system for chiral cavity quantum electrodynamics and polaritonic asymmetric chemistry.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of Fabry-Perot cavities using silver mirrors and a planar chiral polystyrene layer induced by torsional shear stress.
- Experimental measurement of enantiomorphic signatures under oblique illumination.
- Numerical simulation to validate experimental findings.
Main Results:
- Successfully designed and fabricated simple Fabry-Perot cavities exhibiting longitudinal chiral modes.
- Demonstrated that helicity-preserving features arise from spin-orbit coupling initiated by planar chirality.
- Observed and simulated enantiomorphic signatures under oblique illumination with excellent agreement.
Conclusions:
- A straightforward method for creating chiral Fabry-Perot cavities has been developed.
- Planar chirality serves as an extrinsic source of 3D chirality, enabling enantiomorphic signatures.
- The proposed scheme holds significant promise for advancing chiral cavity quantum electrodynamics and polaritonic asymmetric chemistry.
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