Geometric manifestation led optical beam shaping in one-dimensional photonic crystals

Abstract

The transmission of light through a periodically stratified medium such as a photonic crystal (PC) results in acquiring a “quantized” geometric phase, which is also known as a “topological phase.” This gives rise to the possibility of structuring optical beams through an appropriate experimental design. In addition, the broad transmission spectral bands of a PC provides a versatile platform for structuring optical beams over broad spectral bandwidth. Here, we present a simple and flexible route to generate first-order Hermite–Gaussian, i.e.,  H G 01 or H G 10 , beams utilizing the light transmitted from conventional one-dimensional PCs and provide a theoretical insight using finite-difference time-domain (FDTD)-based simulations. We also show that the technique could be employed for achieving beam structuring in reflected light beams, and consequently, it provides a plausible route for wavefront shaping involving high optical power.