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Saha S, Ozlu MG, Chowdhury SN, Diroll BT, Schaller RD, Kildishev A, Boltasseva A, Shalaev VM. Tailoring the Thickness-Dependent Optical Properties of Conducting Nitrides and Oxides for Epsilon-Near-Zero-Enhanced Photonic Applications. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2023; 35:e2109546. [PMID: 35917390 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202109546] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2021] [Revised: 07/03/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The unique properties of the emerging photonic materials, conducting nitrides and oxides, especially their tailorability, large damage thresholds, and, importantly, the so-called epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) behavior, have enabled novel photonic phenomena spanning optical circuitry, tunable metasurfaces, and nonlinear optical devices. This work explores direct control of the optical properties of polycrystalline titanium nitride (TiN) and aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) by tailoring the film thickness, and their potential for ENZ-enhanced photonic applications. This study demonstrates that TiN-AZO bilayers support Ferrell-Berreman modes using the thickness-dependent ENZ resonances in the AZO films operating in the telecom wavelengths spanning from 1470 to 1750 nm. The bilayer stacks also act as strong light absorbers in the ultraviolet regime using the radiative ENZ modes and the Fabry-Perot modes in the constituent TiN films. The studied Berreman resonators exhibit optically induced reflectance modulation of 15% with picosecond response time. Together with the optical response tailorability of conducting oxides and nitrides, using the field enhancement near the tunable ENZ regime can enable a wide range of nonlinear optical phenomena, including all-optical switching, time refraction, and high-harmonic generation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Soham Saha
- School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Birck Nanotechnology Center, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
| | - Mustafa Goksu Ozlu
- School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Birck Nanotechnology Center, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
| | - Sarah N Chowdhury
- School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Birck Nanotechnology Center, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
| | | | | | - Alexander Kildishev
- School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Birck Nanotechnology Center, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
| | - Alexandra Boltasseva
- School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Birck Nanotechnology Center, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
- Purdue Quantum Science and Engineering Institute, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
| | - Vladimir M Shalaev
- School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Birck Nanotechnology Center, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
- Purdue Quantum Science and Engineering Institute, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
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Jaffray W, Belli F, Carnemolla EG, Dobas C, Mackenzie M, Travers J, Kar AK, Clerici M, DeVault C, Shalaev VM, Boltasseva A, Ferrera M. Near-zero-index ultra-fast pulse characterization. Nat Commun 2022; 13:3536. [PMID: 35725983 PMCID: PMC9209551 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-31151-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2021] [Accepted: 06/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Transparent conducting oxides exhibit giant optical nonlinearities in the near-infrared window where their linear index approaches zero. Despite the magnitude and speed of these nonlinearities, a “killer” optical application for these compounds has yet to be found. Because of the absorptive nature of the typically used intraband transitions, out-of-plane configurations with short optical paths should be considered. In this direction, we propose an alternative frequency-resolved optical gating scheme for the characterization of ultra-fast optical pulses that exploits near-zero-index aluminium zinc oxide thin films. Besides the technological advantages in terms of manufacturability and cost, our system outperforms commercial modules in key metrics, such as operational bandwidth, sensitivity, and robustness. The performance enhancement comes with the additional benefit of simultaneous self-phase-matched second and third harmonic generation. Because of the fundamental importance of novel methodologies to characterise ultra-fast events, our solution could be of fundamental use for numerous research labs and industries. Frequency resolved optical gating is the core method for characterising ultra-fast optical pulses. Here, the authors use zero-index nonlinearities to largely enhance key performances and enable simultaneous second and third harmonic measurements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wallace Jaffray
- Institute of Photonics and Quantum Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, SUPA, Edinburgh, EH14 4AS, UK
| | - Federico Belli
- Institute of Photonics and Quantum Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, SUPA, Edinburgh, EH14 4AS, UK
| | - Enrico G Carnemolla
- Institute of Photonics and Quantum Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, SUPA, Edinburgh, EH14 4AS, UK
| | - Catalina Dobas
- Institute of Photonics and Quantum Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, SUPA, Edinburgh, EH14 4AS, UK
| | - Mark Mackenzie
- Institute of Photonics and Quantum Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, SUPA, Edinburgh, EH14 4AS, UK
| | - John Travers
- Institute of Photonics and Quantum Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, SUPA, Edinburgh, EH14 4AS, UK
| | - Ajoy K Kar
- Institute of Photonics and Quantum Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, SUPA, Edinburgh, EH14 4AS, UK
| | - Matteo Clerici
- James Watt School of Engineering, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK
| | - Clayton DeVault
- School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
| | - Vladimir M Shalaev
- School of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Birck Nanotechnology Center, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA
| | - Alexandra Boltasseva
- School of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Birck Nanotechnology Center, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA
| | - Marcello Ferrera
- Institute of Photonics and Quantum Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, SUPA, Edinburgh, EH14 4AS, UK.
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Alaee R, Vaddi Y, Boyd RW. Dynamic coherent perfect absorption in nonlinear metasurfaces. OPTICS LETTERS 2020; 45:6414-6417. [PMID: 33258825 DOI: 10.1364/ol.402380] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2020] [Accepted: 10/09/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
In this Letter, we propose a tunable coherent perfect absorber based on ultrathin nonlinear metasurfaces. A nonlinear metasurface is made of plasmonic nanoantennas coupled to an epsilon-near-zero material with a large optical nonlinearity. The coherent perfect absorption is achieved by controlling the relative phases of the input beams. Here, we show that the optical response of the nonlinear metasurface can be tuned from a complete to a partial absorption by changing the intensity of the pump beam. The proposed nonlinear metasurface can be used to design optically tunable thermal emitters, modulators, and sensors.
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Sirleto L, Righini GC. Editorial for the Special Issue on Nonlinear Photonics Devices. MICROMACHINES 2020; 11:mi11080760. [PMID: 32784675 PMCID: PMC7463573 DOI: 10.3390/mi11080760] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2020] [Accepted: 08/05/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
There is some incertitude on the creation of the term "photonics" and some ambiguity about its frontiers (and differences with respect to optoelectronics and electro-optics) [...].
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Affiliation(s)
- Luigi Sirleto
- National Research Council (CNR), Institute of Applied Sciences and Intelligent Systems (ISASI), Via Pietro Castellino 111, 80131 Napoli, Italy
- Correspondence: (L.S.); (G.C.R.)
| | - Giancarlo C. Righini
- National Research Council (CNR), Institute of Applied Physics (IFAC) “Nello Carrara”, Via Madonna del Piano 10, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Florence, Italy
- Correspondence: (L.S.); (G.C.R.)
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