Oblique scattering from non-Hermitian optical waveguides

TL;DR

This paper analyzes how sinusoidally modulated gain and loss in non-Hermitian optical waveguides enable unique wave phenomena like laser-absorber modes and anisotropic transmission, depending on design parameters and incident angles.

Contribution

It provides an analytical solution linking modulation phase and incident angle to the emergence of novel wave phenomena in non-Hermitian optical scatterers.

Findings

Identification of conditions for laser-absorber modes

Demonstration of anisotropic transmission resonances

Analytical framework for design of non-Hermitian optical systems

Abstract

A judicious design of gain and loss leads to counterintuitive wave phenomena that are inaccessible by conservative systems. Notably, such designs can give rise to laser-absorber modes and anisotropic transmission resonances. Here, we analyze the emergence of these phenomena in an optical scatterer with sinusoid gain-loss modulation that is subjected to monochromatic oblique waves. We derive an analytical solution to the problem, with which we show how the scatterer parameters, and specifically the modulation phase and incident angle, constitute a real design space to access these phenomena.