Long-range optical coupling with epsilon-near-zero materials

作者：Danqing Wang, Lu Zhuo, Sorren Warkander, Niharika Gupta, Qingjun Wang, Penghong Ci, Ruihan Guo, Jiachen Li, Ali Javey, Jie Yao, Feng Wang, Junqiao Wu · 发表于：Nature Communications · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1038/s41467-025-64504-w · 被引用次数：3 · 研究领域：Plasmonic and Surface Plasmon Research、Photonic Crystals and Applications、Photonic and Optical Devices

Long-range resonant quantum tunneling of electrons happens across potential barriers when the wavefunction interferes constructively outside the barrier. Here we demonstrate an analogy in optical systems based on epsilon-near-zero materials, achieving phase-modulated, long-range optical interactions between transparent semiconducting oxide layers beyond the evanescent photonic coupling. Distinct from weak thin-film interference, intense electromagnetic fields confined within the epsilon-near-zero thin films show anti-correlated intensity oscillations as a function of interlayer separation up to hundreds of microns. The oscillatory, anti-correlated electromagnetic field intensities were probed by second harmonic generation from wedged indium tin oxide multilayers. Such a system that hosts subwavelength mode footprint and simultaneously long-range radiative coupling offers prospects for long-distance optical communication, large-scale photonic circuits, and hybrid quantum photonic systems.