EAPSI: Polarized Waves and Chiral Wallpaper Groups

Kostinski Sarah V, Somerville MA

Investigators

Abstract

Periodic 2D patterns consist of repeating units in the plane (e.g. a checkerboard) and can be made of metallic structures, such as antenna arrays, which are engineered to have specific optical properties. Such patterns can be classified into 17 types, known as ?wallpaper groups,? based on reflection, translational, and rotational symmetries. This project will investigate how these pattern symmetries, made by a technique known as colloidal lithography, affect their optical properties (i.e. scattering of light). The findings will contribute to the design of novel optical materials and advance applications of colloidal lithography. The research will be conducted in collaboration with Professor Yuri Kivshar, a noted expert on optics, at the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia. Colloidal lithography is a scalable technique in which colloidal crystals serve as masks for patterning planar substrates with, e.g., metallic nanostructures and is therefore useful for making 2D optical metamaterials. The project will focus on the interplay between their wallpaper symmetries and polarization of the incident light. Specifically, the presence of circular dichroism and birefringence in scattering of polarized waves by chiral planar patterns will be theoretically examined. This NSF EAPSI award is funded in collaboration with the Australian Academy of Science