Local symmetries and perfect transmission in aperiodic photonic multilayers

TL;DR

This paper introduces a classification of perfect transmission resonances in aperiodic multilayer optical media based on local symmetries, offering insights into their origins and applications in device design.

Contribution

It presents a novel classification method linking local symmetries to perfect transmission resonances in complex optical systems.

Findings

Classification of resonances based on local symmetries

Insight into the origin of perfect transmission

Design principles for optical devices with targeted transmission

Abstract

We develop a classification of perfectly transmitting resonances occuring in effectively one-dimensional optical media which are decomposable into locally reflection symmetric parts. The local symmetries of the medium are shown to yield piecewise translation-invariant quantities, which are used to distinguish resonances with arbitrary field profile from resonances following the medium symmetries. Focusing on light scattering in aperiodic multilayer structures, we demonstrate this classification for representative setups, providing insight into the origin of perfect transmission. We further show how local symmetries can be utilized for the design of optical devices with perfect transmission at prescribed energies. Providing a link between resonant scattering and local symmetries of the underlying medium, the proposed approach may contribute to the understanding of optical response in complex systems.