Polarization-dependent angularly selective dielectric reflector.
6 affiliations
- 1Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM, 87185, USA. [email protected].
- 2Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM, 87185, USA. [email protected].
- 3Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM, 87185, USA.
- 4Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM, 87185, USA.
- 5Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM, 87185, USA. [email protected].
- 6Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM, 87185, USA. [email protected].
Abstract
A key limitation of conventional polarizers is their lack of intrinsic angular selectivity. Thus, optical devices that manipulate polarization and propagation direction are forced to realize these two degrees of freedom sequentially, increasing size and complexity. Here, we introduce and experimentally demonstrate a compact, all-dielectric optical element that simultaneously achieves polarization separation and angular selectivity. This is accomplished using a truncated three-dimensional photonic crystal that possesses a mirror symmetry and exhibits an associated symmetry band gap. For incident light aligned with the high-symmetry direction, the symmetry band gap enforces polarization-dependent reflection and transmission, whereas deviations from this orientation lift the symmetry constraint and erase the polarization selectivity. Implemented using alternating layers of silicon-rich and silicon-poor nitride etched into a cubic lattice of prisms, the structure exhibits tailorable bandwidth and low optical loss while maintaining stable performance over a wide field of view and preserving compatibility with standard nanofabrication techniques.
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BibTeX
@article{yang2026polarizationdependent,
title = {{Polarization-dependent angularly selective dielectric reflector.}},
author = {Hyosim Yang and Ki Young Lee and Sanghyeok Park and Jiho Noh and Kate Musick and Jaeyeon Yu and Tomás Santiago-Cruz and Chloe F Doiron and Alexander Cerjan},
journal = {Nature communications},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1038/s41467-026-77529-6},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42881153},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Polarization-dependent angularly selective dielectric reflector.
AU - Hyosim Yang
AU - Ki Young Lee
AU - Sanghyeok Park
AU - Jiho Noh
AU - Kate Musick
AU - Jaeyeon Yu
AU - Tomás Santiago-Cruz
AU - Chloe F Doiron
AU - Alexander Cerjan
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/15
JO - Nature communications
DO - 10.1038/s41467-026-77529-6
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42881153
AB - A key limitation of conventional polarizers is their lack of intrinsic angular selectivity. Thus, optical devices that manipulate polarization and propagation direction are forced to realize these two degrees of freedom sequentially, increasing size and complexity. Here, we introduce and experimentally demonstrate a compact, all-dielectric optical element that simultaneously achieves polarization separation and angular selectivity. This is accomplished using a truncated three-dimensional photonic crystal that possesses a mirror symmetry and exhibits an associated symmetry band gap. For incident light aligned with the high-symmetry direction, the symmetry band gap enforces polarization-dependent reflection and transmission, whereas deviations from this orientation lift the symmetry constraint and erase the polarization selectivity. Implemented using alternating layers of silicon-rich and silicon-poor nitride etched into a cubic lattice of prisms, the structure exhibits tailorable bandwidth and low optical loss while maintaining stable performance over a wide field of view and preserving compatibility with standard nanofabrication techniques.
SN - 2041-1723
ER -