Nanometer-resolution 3D Tomographic and Vectorial Near-field Imaging in Dielectric Optical Resonators

TL;DR

This paper introduces a high-resolution 3D imaging technique for dielectric nano-resonators that captures detailed near-field wave patterns, including phase and polarization, enabling comprehensive characterization of electromagnetic behavior at the nanoscale.

Contribution

The authors develop a novel phase-sensitive high-order sideband generation method for three-dimensional, vectorial near-field imaging inside dielectric optical resonators with nanometer resolution.

Findings

Achieved 3D tomographic imaging of near-fields inside silicon resonators.

Demonstrated phase-resolving and polarization-sensitive near-field detection.

Potential for broad application in dielectric metamaterials characterization.

Abstract

All-dielectric optical nano-resonators, exhibiting exotic near-field distributions upon excitations, have emerged as low-loss, versatile and highly adaptable components in nanophotonic structures for manipulating electromagnetic waves and enhancing light-matter interactions. However, achieving experimental full three-dimensional characterization of near-fields within dielectric nano-resonators poses significant challenges. Here, we develop a novel technique using high-order sideband generation to image near-field wave patterns inside dielectric optical nano-resonators. By exploiting the phase-sensitivity of various harmonic orders that enables the detection of near-field distributions at distinct depths, we achieve three-dimensional tomographic and near-field imaging with nanometer resolution inside a micrometer-thick silicon anapole resonator. Furthermore, our method offers high-contrast polarization sensitivity and phase-resolving capability, providing comprehensive vectorial near-field information. Our approach can potentially be applied to diverse dielectric metamaterials, and becomes a valuable tool for comprehensive characterization of near-field wave phenomena within dielectric materials.