Tunable dual-band atomic mirror based on subwavelength atomic arrays under electromagnetically induced transparency

TL;DR

This paper presents a tunable dual-band atomic mirror using a 2D array of three-level atoms under electromagnetically induced transparency, enabling controllable reflection properties for advanced photonic applications.

Contribution

The work introduces a novel dual-band atomic mirror based on collective optical responses in atomic arrays, with independent tunability of reflection bands via multiple parameters.

Findings

Dual reflection bands with asymmetric linewidths achieved.

Spectral positions and bandwidths tunable through control-field parameters.

Conditions for emergence of additional diffraction orders identified.

Abstract

Subwavelength atomic arrays offer a powerful platform for engineering cooperative light-matter interactions and enabling quantum metasurfaces. We demonstrate that a two-dimensional array of three-level atoms operating under electromagnetically induced transparency can function as a tunable dual-band atomic mirror, where two independently controllable reflection bands emerge from the collective optical responses mediated by dipole-dipole interactions. These resonances yield dual reflection bands with asymmetric linewidths, whose spectral positions and bandwidths can be tuned through the control-field parameters, dipole orientation, incident geometry, and lattice constant. We further identify the conditions under which additional diffraction orders emerge, which delineate the operational and tunable range of the atomic mirror via its collective-mode structure. This scheme provides a fully tunable dual-band atomic mirror operating across broad frequency and angular ranges, offering a practical and experimentally accessible pathway toward reconfigurable photonic elements in atomic-array platforms at low energy levels.