Efficient Waveform Capture without Absorption with Synthesis of Complex Frequencies

Abstract An optical waveform can be synthesized using complex-frequency waves as well as real-frequency harmonic waves. While a single complex-frequency wave with exponentially rising waveform can be perfectly absorbed in lossless structures. Here, we propose that diverse optical waveforms can be captured without any absorption through the synthesis of complex frequencies in a lossless system. The scattering matrix zeros of the system correspond to a set of complex frequencies with exponentially rising waveforms, each of which can be virtually and perfectly absorbed. Thus, an input waveform, automatically decomposed into these complex frequencies can be captured without any absorption. Then, in a well-designed coupled-cavity system, various waveforms such as exponentially decaying, Gaussian, rectangular, triangular, and randomly generated piecewise-linear profiles, are captured with high efficiency. The proposed mechanism has potential applications in enhancing light-matter interactions and optical energy storage.