Unraveling cavity-like modes of two-dimensional broad band hyperbolic metamaterial and their coupling to quantum emitters

Abstract

Hyperbolic metamaterials (HMMs) are artificially engineered materials that exhibit hyperbolic dispersion of light propagating through them. These have been extensively studied for tailoring the propagation of light. Most studies use an effective medium approach, which is extremely useful, although it misses out on properties that can arise from the microscopic details of the HMM. In particular, the HMM can have cavity-like modes, and it is important to understand such modes and their relevance in light propagation and the coupling of the HMM to quantum emitters. In this work, we explore the cavity-like modes of the silver nanowire-alumina two-dimensional HMM, which remain on top of the broad response of the HMM. These modes define the characteristic reflection spectra. Our simulations, based on bulk metal properties, predict the observed multiple, closely spaced resonances, thereby confirming the corresponding experimental observations. These well-defined modes observed in experiments occur even though the metallic part of the HMM has Ohmic losses. Then, we present experimental results on the coupling of quantum emitters to the cavity-like modes of the HMM. We show results for both steady-state and time-resolved photoluminescence. Using these results, we extract the corresponding Purcell factors for radiative rate enhancement. Theoretical analyses of the experimental data allow the determination of the cavity coupling parameters and mode volumes. This work elucidates the pathway to precise engineering for future applications of HMM modes in strong light–matter interactions.