Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Wigner crystal (WC) localizes the electrons into a close-packed regular lattice and remains one of the most fragile quantum states since its first prediction in 1934 1 . The evidences of electronic Wigner crystals were observed in liquid helium 2,3 , carbon nanotube 4 , extremely clean GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells 5–7 , two-dimensional electron gases 8, 9 and various moiré superlattice 10–12 . However, there is limited demonstration of such concepts for photons ( i.e. , polaritons). Here we develop, theoretically and experimentally, an optical analogue of Wigner crystal in a new category of metasurface named as Kekulé metasurface. This plasmonic nanostructure crystalizes surface plasmonic polaritons into assorted Wigner crystal lattice at two-dimensional limit, visualized by noninvasive leakage radiation microscopy. The spatial distribution and relative intensity of Wigner crystal lattice site are tailored and melted by superposing an extra wing-shaped nanoslit set. Configurable on-chip light-emitter array and high-security imaging encryption/decryption using optical Wigner crystal lattices are further demonstrated. This work reports a versatile Kekulé metasurface platform and optical Wigner crystal lattices with multiple degrees of freedoms, featuring rich physic phenomena and potential photonic elements for applications into existing technologies.
Source: Nature Communications
Authors: Jinguo Liu, Yufan Luo, Airong Zhao, Pin Lyu, Ying Liu, Ying Liu, Wenhui Sun, Xiaofan Wang, Chaoling Du, Mingming Jiang, Caixia Kan, Shuiyan Cao, Yanpeng Liu, Yanpeng Liu
Language: English
Subfield: Biomedical Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $6,990
Funders: National Natural Science Foundation of China, China Postdoctoral Science Foundation, Government of Jiangsu Province, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province, Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province, Nanjing University, State Key Laboratory of Mechanics and Control of Mechanical Structures, Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions, National Key Research and Development Program of China, Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities
Awards: G1125271616, G1137979765, G1294873253, G1474874589, G1781985438, G2088844330, G2098606720, G2314900292, G3503835148, G3667601827, G3720655248, G3916247697, G4001920650, G4175147879, G4400597618, G5171787067, G5367618968, G5373690777, G6278555258, G6702805787, G703812868, G723327958, G7414072236, G7574382149, G7721866367, G982002399
OpenAlex ID: W4416719035