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Updated: Jun 5, 2025

Fabrication And Characterization Of Photonic Crystal Slow Light Waveguides And Cavities
Published on: November 30, 2012
Through thick and thin: how optical cavities control spin
Jefferson Dixon1, Feng Pan2, Parivash Moradifar2
1Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University, 440 Escondido Mall, 94305, Stanford, CA, USA.
Abstract:
When light interacts with matter by means of scattering and absorption, we observe the resulting color. Light also probes the symmetry of matter and the result is encoded in its polarization. In the special case of circularly-polarized light, which is especially relevant in nonlinear optics, quantum photonics, and physical chemistry, a critical dimension of symmetry is along the longitudinal direction. We examine recent advances in controlling circularly-polarized light and reveal that the commonality in these advances is in judicious control of longitudinal symmetry. In particular, in the use of high quality-factor modes in dielectric metasurfaces, the finite thickness can be used to tune the modal profile. These symmetry considerations can be applied in multiplexed optical communication schemes, deterministic control of quantum emitters, and sensitive detection of the asymmetry of small molecules.
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