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Magnetically tunable ultra-high Q-factor intrinsic chirality based on merging bound states in the continuum
Optics Express
|September 23, 2025
Summary
Researchers achieved magnetically tunable ultra-high quality factor (Q-factor) chiral metasurfaces using bound states in the continuum (BICs). This breakthrough enables tunable circular dichroism (CD) for advanced chiral optical devices.
Area of Science:
- * Metasurfaces and Nanophotonics
- * Magneto-optical effects
- * Chiral optics
Background:
- * Achieving ultra-high quality factors (Q-factors) and near-unity circular dichroism (CD) in chiral metasurfaces is challenging due to scattering losses and structural limitations.
- * Bound states in the continuum (BICs) offer a route to high Q-factors, but integrating them with intrinsic chirality and tunability is complex.
Purpose of the Study:
- * To propose and demonstrate a method for magnetically tunable intrinsic chirality with ultra-high Q-factors.
- * To achieve near-unity circular dichroism (CD) by utilizing merging bound states in the continuum (BICs).
- * To explore the enhancement of Q-factors and CD through simultaneous reduction of structural asymmetry and magneto-optical tensor elements.
Main Methods:
- * Utilizing merging bound states in the continuum (BICs) in a magneto-optical photonic crystal slab.
- * Introducing in-plane symmetry-breaking perturbation and modulating off-diagonal dielectric tensor elements with an external magnetic field.
- * Analyzing the chiral quasi-BIC (QBIC) response and its tunability.
Main Results:
- * Demonstrated a chiral quasi-BIC (QBIC) with a Q-factor of 14262 and near-unity CD (-0.99).
- * Achieved continuous tuning of CD from -1 to 1 using an external magnetic field.
- * Showcased potential Q-factor enhancement up to 10^7 while maintaining near-unity CD.
Conclusions:
- * The proposed method enables magnetically tunable intrinsic chirality with ultra-high Q-factors.
- * This approach overcomes limitations of previous chiral metasurfaces.
- * Opens possibilities for advanced chiral optical devices like lasers and imaging systems.
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