Coherent Virtual Absorption in Dielectric Metasurfaces

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a practical scheme for achieving coherent virtual absorption in realistic, dispersive metasurfaces, enabling efficient energy storage and sensing in photonic systems.

Contribution

It extends the concept of coherent virtual absorption from simple structures to complex, dispersive metasurfaces using full-wave analysis and rational approximation.

Findings

Successful demonstration of virtual absorption in realistic metasurfaces

A practical scheme for identifying complex-frequency zeros

Framework applicable to arbitrary metasurface configurations

Abstract

Through temporal shaping of the excitation signal, the complex-frequency scattering zeros of a lossless structure can be accessed, enabling a storage-release mechanism referred to as coherent virtual absorption. Practical demonstrations of this mechanism, however, have been limited to simple configurations such as slabs and spheres, where analytical solutions allow accurate prediction of the complex-frequency scattering zeros. Here, we extend this concept into the realm of metasurfaces and demonstrate coherent virtual absorption in realistic and dispersive metasurface configurations. Through a combination of full-wave analysis and rational approximation, we present a practical scheme to identify suitable complex-frequency zeros and achieve coherent virtual absorption successfully. Our approach can be implemented in arbitrary metasurface configurations with any number of ports, providing a robust framework for optimized energy storage, memories, optical sensing, and modulation in practical photonic systems.