Goos-Hänchen (GH) and Imbert-Fedorov (IF) shifts of paraxial wave packets in reflection from a planar interface, known collectively as optical shifts, appear inevitable within the framework of the wave theory. Yet, we demonstrate that such shifts can be completely eliminated at a given angle of incidence at a planar interface of homogeneous dielectric and absorbing media by classically entangling phase-space degrees of freedom of an incident wave packet. Thus, we can attain a geometric optics limit in the wave-packet reflection from a single planar interface. We identify a set of plasmonic materials (noble metals) and a parameter regime for which such cancellation is robust to modest errors in the incidence angle and source coherence, as well as polarization, providing practical guidelines for tailoring transverse beam displacements and angular deviations with standard metallic coatings.

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• Nonlinear optics
• Optical coherence
• Photonics
• Plasmonics