Radial photonic crystals. Image: Sánchez-Dehesa et al.A team of researchers from the Wave Phenomena Group of the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV) and the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington (USA) has manufactured for the first time a photonic crystal (periodic optical nanostructures with variable dielectric function) in a radial and 2D arrangement.
This is the first experimental demonstration of this type of device, which was theoretically proposed in 2009 by researchers at the Polytechnic University of Valencia. According to the scientists, the work opens a new avenue for manipulating light and sound.
“We have demonstrated it with electromagnetic waves in the microwave range, but now we want to demonstrate it for acoustic waves, which is quite a challenge because there are no acoustic materials with properties equivalent to those used for electromagnetic waves,” says José Sánchez-Dehesa, coordinator of the working group of the Wave Phenomena Group of the UPV.
The significance of the work, published in Nature Scientific Reports, lies in the possibility of using these structures as position sensors for radiant electromagnetic sources.
“From a basic science perspective, the structures we have studied confirm a new type of crystalline structure that was not described in textbooks. From here, the properties of these structures could lead to interesting applications in both the field of acoustic waves and electromagnetic waves,” the researcher points out.
From an applied perspective, the designed structures help determine the frequency and position of the electromagnetic waves they detect. “This involves having a new sensor technology that automatically detects the frequency and direction of origin of a wave (sound or electromagnetic). This automatic detection allows for the simplification of the corresponding acoustic or electronic systems, as well as a reduction in their size,” concludes Sánchez-Dehesa.
Bibliographic reference:
J. Carbonell, A. Díaz-Rubio, D. Torrent, F. Cervera, MA Kirleis, A. Piqué, J. Sánchez-Dehesa. “Radial Photonic Crystal for detection of frequency and position of radiation sources”. Nature Materials, August 6, 2012. DOI:10.1038/srep00558.
