Polarization-Selective Control of Nonlinear Optomechanical Interactions in Subwavelength Elliptical Waveguides

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates polarization-selective nonlinear optomechanical interactions in subwavelength elliptical waveguides, enabling active polarization control through tailored acoustic interactions.

Contribution

It reveals how specific elliptical waveguide geometries can suppress or enhance light scattering for different polarizations, advancing polarization control technology.

Findings

Selective suppression of one polarization mode's scattering

Enhanced scattering for the orthogonal polarization

Tailorable interactions via material choice

Abstract

Photonic devices exhibiting all-optically reconfigurable polarization dependence with a large dynamic range would be highly attractive for active polarization control. Here, we report that strongly polarization-selective nonlinear optomechanical interactions emerge in subwavelength waveguides. By using full-vectorial finite element analysis, we find that at certain core ellipticities (aspect ratios) the forward simulated light scattering mediated by a specific acoustic mode is eliminated for one polarization mode, whereas that for the other polarization mode is rather enhanced. This intriguing phenomenon can be explained by the interplay between the electrostrictive force and radiation pressure and turns out to be tailorable by choice of waveguide materials.