Bound states in the continuum in subwavelength emitter arrays

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how two-dimensional subwavelength emitter lattices can host bound states in the continuum (BICs), enabling control over light-matter interactions and potential applications in quantum information and metasurfaces.

Contribution

It introduces a method to realize and manipulate BICs in non-Bravais emitter lattices, including symmetry breaking to extend lifetimes and analytical tools for optical response analysis.

Findings

Existence of BICs in non-Bravais lattices

Symmetry breaking creates quasi-BICs with longer lifetimes

Rich optical phenomena such as Fano resonances and EIT observed

Abstract

Ordered lattices of emitters with subwavelength periodicities support unconventional forms of light-matter interactions arising from collective effects. Here, we propose the realization and control of subradiant optical states within the radiation continuum in two-dimensional lattices. We show how bound states in the continuum (BICs) which are completely decoupled from radiative states emerge in non-Bravais lattices of emitters. Symmetry breaking results in quasi-BICs with greatly extended lifetimes, which can be exploited for quantum information storage. The analytical derivation of a generalized effective polarizability tensor allows us to study the optical response of these arrays. We discuss how thanks to the quasi-BICs, a rich phenomenology takes place in the reflectivity spectrum, with asymmetric Fano resonances and an electromagnetically induced transparency window. Finally, we exploit these lattices as quantum metasurfaces acting as efficient light polarizers.