Transformation optics (TO) has been used to propose various novel optical devices. With the help of metamaterials, several intriguing designs, such as invisibility cloaks, have been implemented. However, as the basic units should be much smaller than the working wavelengths to achieve the effective material parameters, and the sizes of devices should be much larger than the wavelengths of illumination to work within the light-ray approximation, it is a big challenge to implement an experimental system that works simultaneously for both geometric optics and wave optics.
In this talk, by using a gradient-index micro-structured optical waveguide, the speaker and his research group realize a device of conformal transformation optics (CTO) and demonstrate its self-focusing property for geometry optics and Talbot effect for wave optics. In addition, the Talbot effect in such a system has a potential application to transfer digital information without diffraction. Our findings demonstrate the photon controlling ability of CTO.
About the speaker
Prof Hui Liu received his PhD in Physics from Nanjing University in 2003. In 2004 to 2005, he did postdoctoral research at University of California at Berkeley. He joined Nanjing University in 2006 and is currently Professor of Physics. He is also the Associate Director of the National Key Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures. In 2014, Prof Liu was awarded the Outstanding Young Talents of China by the National Science Foundation. His research interest includes solid-state laser of optical superlattices, quantum optics in metamaterials, and curved space-time in photonic chips. He has published over 60 Science Citation Index (SCI) papers, including Nature Photonics, Physical Review Letters, etc. He has taken charge of several national projects, including "863" key projects and National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) projects. He also worked as the referee for Optics Express, Journal of the Optical Society of America B (JOSAB).
