Emission of circularly polarized light by a linear dipole

Neugebauer M, Banzer P, Nechayev S (2019)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2019

Journal

Science Advances American Association for the Advancement of Science

Book Volume: 5

Article Number: eaav7588

Journal Issue: 6

DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aav7588

Abstract

Controlling the polarization state and the propagation direction of photons is a fundamental prerequisite for many nanophotonic devices and a precursor for future on-chip communication, where the emission properties of individual emitters are particularly relevant. Here, we report on the emission of partially circularly polarized photons by a linear dipole. The underlying effect is linked to the near-field part of the angular spectrum of the dipole, and it occurs in any type of linear dipole emitter, ranging from atoms and quantum dots to molecules and dipole-like antennas. We experimentally observe it by near-field to far-field transformation at a planar dielectric interface and numerically demonstrate the utility of this phenomenon by coupling the circularly polarized light to the individual paths of crossing waveguides.

Authors with CRIS profile

Martin Neugebauer Lehrstuhl für Experimentalphysik (Optik) Peter Banzer Professur für Experimentalphysik

Involved external institutions

Max-Planck-Institut für die Physik des Lichts (MPL) / Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light DE Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

Neugebauer, M., Banzer, P., & Nechayev, S. (2019). Emission of circularly polarized light by a linear dipole. Science Advances, 5(6). https://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aav7588

MLA:

Neugebauer, Martin, Peter Banzer, and Sergey Nechayev. "Emission of circularly polarized light by a linear dipole." Science Advances 5.6 (2019).

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