Xerox Corporation

Yale University

A Douglas Stone

David Kalman Biegelsen

Noble Marshall Johnson

Michael A Kneissl

Richard Kounai Chang

Joseph Zyss

Hui Cao

Li Ge

Grace D Chern

Yidong Chong

Hakan E Tureci

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.

Controlling absorption of light in a cavity

A locally-outcoupled optical resonator has whispering gallery modes existing in a nearly circular resonator. Light is outcoupled by providing a local perturbing feature on the perimeter of the locally-outcoupled cavity resonator. The perturbing feature provides an outcoupling or loss mechanism that asymmetrically interacts with circulating whispering gallery modes, thereby making the resonator capable of uni-directional output.

Locally-outcoupled cavity resonator having unidirectional emission

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New Haven, CT, United States of America

A Douglas Stone