CONTROLLING ABSORPTION OF LIGHT IN A CAVITY

摘要

Described is a method of controlling the absorption of light in a cavity, a system in which absorption is so controlled, and an interferometer embodying the underlying physical concept. Materials can be made to completely absorb incident light when the light is imposed in a specific pattern of illumination. Coherent perfect absorption, as the process is referred to, is achieved when a cavity is illuminated coherently and monochromatically by the time-reverse of the output of a lasing mode. Varying the parameters of the incident light and/or of the cavity allows the absorption of the incident light by the cavity to be controlled; enhanced or even reduced.

主权项

1. A method of controlling the absorption of light, the method comprising the steps of:
providing a cavity comprising a medium having a complex index of refraction nm, the cavity adapted to confine light within the medium; irradiating the cavity in a first direction with a first beam of light having a wavelength λ; irradiating the cavity in a second direction with a second beam of light having a same wavelength λ; configuring the first beam of light and the second beam of light such that a pattern of irradiation in the cavity created by interference between at least the first and second beams of light corresponds to the inverse of the emission pattern of a laser of wavelength λ having a complex index of refraction nm* that is the complex conjugate of the index of refraction of the medium nm; and controlling one or more parameters of the cavity or one or both of the first and second light sources so as to control the amount of absorption of light by the medium within the cavity.