Metamaterials provide a platform for the study of light-matter interaction in the subwavelength regime, where the material properties can be tailored to give rise to exotic optical phenomena, such as negative refraction, electromagnetic cloaking and super-lensing. The first generation of metasurfaces relied mostly on quasi 2D structures for the control of amplitude, phase and polarization, and operated mostly in the linear regime. Subsequent developments led to refined control of the nonlinear interactions, such as harmonic generation and wave mixing, and the usefulness of such structures was demonstrated. More recently, with the advance of nanofabrication technologies, three dimensional structures started to be used as well, broadening the range of capabilities for control of the generated optical beams. In this talk I will review the current status or metamaterials for nonlinear optics, and describe our own work . We study full local phase control of the nonlinear susceptibility tensor in 3D multilayer metasurfaces and show how this control can lead to functional metamaterials operating in the nonlinear regime. The amplitude and phase control of the nonlinear signals can be achieved by tuning the resonance of the dipolar nanoantennas and the overall structure of the geometry. Carful design has led to optimal configurations for enhanced Four Wave Mixing response, and metamaterial holography. Recent development of aberration free plasmonic RGB lenses will be described.
Born in Israel, educated in Jerusalem, Berkeley and Harvard, Prof. Yehiam Prior joined the Weizmann Institute of Science in 1979. At weizmann he served as Chair of his department, Dean of the Faculty and Chair the Scientific Council. He also served as head of the Institute Nanotechnology Initiative.Prof. Yehiam Prior works in the field of nonlinear optics and laser spectroscopy. His interestes range from the very basic study of ultrafast phenomena to applied work on laser material processing. Over the years, his research involved the study of molecular dynamics on the femtosecond time scales and study, design and fabrication of nanostructured metallic surfaces for the engineering of their optical properties – linear and nonlinear. Internationally, Prof. Prior is an Associate Editor of Optica, has served as head of the OSA’s International Council and as a member of its Board of Directors. Prof. Prior organized numerous international conferences, served on various national and international committees, and co-founded FRISNO, The French-Israeli series of Symposia on Nonlinear and Quantum Optics, now in its 25th year.