Mie-tronics supermodes and symmetry breaking in nonlocal metasurfaces

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Abstract
It is usually believed that symmetry breaking in photonic systems leads to weaker confinement, such as in the case of metasurfaces when bound states in the continuum are replaced by quasibound states with lower quality ( Q ) factors. Here, in contrast, we reveal that symmetry breaking can instead enhance light trapping by strengthening in-plane nonlocal coupling pathways. We consider finite-size arrays of optical resonators supporting Mie resonances (a Mie-tronics platform) and employ diffraction and multiple-scattering analyses to demonstrate that diffractive bands and Mie-tronics supermodes originate from the same underlying Mie resonances but differ fundamentally in their physical nature. Finite arrays exhibit Q -factor enhancement driven by redistributed radiation channels, thus reversing the trends predicted for infinite lattices. We demonstrate that controlled symmetry breaking opens otherwise symmetry-forbidden electromagnetic coupling channels, enabling polarization conversion in nonlocal metasurfaces. These findings establish a unified wave-physics platform linking scattering and diffraction theories. They also outline design principles for multifunctional metasurfaces that exploit nonlocality for advanced light manipulation, computation, and emission.
Funding Information
  • National Research Foundation Singapore (NRF-F-CRP-2024-0009)
  • Ministry of Education - Singapore (SKI 20210501)

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