Enhancement of optical nonlinearity and spontaneous emission in nano-engineered epsilon-near-zero materials

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Howard Lee ◽  
Sudip Gurung ◽  
Khant Minn ◽  
Aleksei Anopchenko ◽  
Subhajit Bej
Keyword(s):  
Spontaneous Emission ◽  
Optical Nonlinearity ◽  
Epsilon Near Zero

scholarly journals All-Optical Switching of an Epsilon-Near-Zero Plasmon in ITO

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justus Bohn ◽  
Ting-Shan Luk ◽  
Craig Tollerton ◽  
Sam Hutchins ◽  
Igal Brener ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plasmon Resonance ◽  
Indium Tin Oxide ◽  
Optical Switching ◽  
Pump Intensity ◽  
Optical Nonlinearity ◽  
Pump And Probe ◽  
Plasmon Frequency ◽  
All Optical ◽  
All Optical Switching ◽  
Epsilon Near Zero

Abstract Nonlinear optical devices and their implementation into modern nanophotonic architectures are constrained by their usually moderate nonlinear response. Recently, epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) materials have been found to have a strong optical nonlinearity, which can be enhanced through the use of cavities or nano-structuring. Here, we study the pump dependent properties of the plasmon resonance in the ENZ region in a thin layer of thin indium tin oxide (ITO). Exciting this mode using the Kretschmann-Raether configuration, we study reflection switching properties of a 60nm layer close to the resonant plasmon frequency. We demonstrate the thermal switching mechanism, which results in a shift in the plasmon resonance frequency of 20THz for a TM pump intensity of 75GW/cm2. For degenerate pump and probe frequencies, we highlight an additional coherent contribution, not previously isolated in ENZ nonlinear optics studies, which leads to an overall pump induced change in reflection from 1% to 45%.

scholarly journals Large optical nonlinearity of nanoantennas coupled to an epsilon-near-zero material

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 79-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Zahirul Alam ◽  
Sebastian A. Schulz ◽  
Jeremy Upham ◽  
Israel De Leon ◽  
Robert W. Boyd
Keyword(s):  
Optical Nonlinearity ◽  
Epsilon Near Zero

scholarly journals Two-plasmon spontaneous emission from a nonlocal epsilon-near-zero material

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Futai Hu ◽  
Liu Li ◽  
Yuan Liu ◽  
Yuan Meng ◽  
Mali Gong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spontaneous Emission ◽  
Slow Light ◽  
Photon Emission ◽  
Large Field ◽  
Semiconductor Film ◽  
Light Sources ◽  
Plasmonic Material ◽  
Optical Applications ◽  
On Chip ◽  
Epsilon Near Zero

AbstractPlasmonic cavities can provide deep subwavelength light confinement, opening up new avenues for enhancing the spontaneous emission process towards both classical and quantum optical applications. Conventionally, light cannot be directly emitted from the plasmonic metal itself. Here, we explore the large field confinement and slow-light effect near the epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) frequency of the light-emitting material itself, to greatly enhance the “forbidden” two-plasmon spontaneous emission (2PSE) process. Using degenerately-doped InSb as the plasmonic material and emitter simultaneously, we theoretically show that the 2PSE lifetime can be reduced from tens of milliseconds to several nanoseconds, comparable to the one-photon emission rate. Furthermore, we show that the optical nonlocality may largely govern the optical response of the ultrathin ENZ film. Efficient 2PSE from a doped semiconductor film may provide a pathway towards on-chip entangled light sources, with an emission wavelength and bandwidth widely tunable in the mid-infrared.

Enhanced spontaneous emission of 2D materials on epsilon-near-zero substrates

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khant Minn ◽  
Aleksei Anopchenko ◽  
Ching-Wen Chang ◽  
Jinmin Kim ◽  
Yu-Jung Lu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spontaneous Emission ◽  
2D Materials ◽  
Epsilon Near Zero

Large optical nonlinearity in Epsilon-Near-Zero metamaterials in the visible regime

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sisira Suresh ◽  
Orad Reshef ◽  
M. Zahirul Alam ◽  
Jeremy Upham ◽  
Mohammad Karimi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Optical Nonlinearity ◽  
Epsilon Near Zero

scholarly journals Role of hot electron scattering in epsilon-near-zero optical nonlinearity

Nanophotonics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (14) ◽  
pp. 4287-4293
Author(s):  
Heng Wang ◽  
Kang Du ◽  
Ruibin Liu ◽  
Xinhai Dai ◽  
Wending Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electron Scattering ◽  
Indium Tin Oxide ◽  
Optical Nonlinearity ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Damping Factor ◽  
High Electron ◽  
Hot Electron ◽  
Scattering Mechanisms ◽  
Scattering Time ◽  
Epsilon Near Zero

AbstractThe physical origin of epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) optical nonlinearity lies in the hot-electron dynamics, in which electron scattering plays an important role. With the damping factor defined by hot electron scattering time, the Drude model could be extended to modeling ENZ optical nonlinearity completely. We proposed a statistical electron scattering model that takes into account the effect of electron distribution in a nonparabolic band and conducted the investigation on indium tin oxide (ITO) with femtosecond-pump continuum-probe experiment. We found that ionized impurity scattering and acoustic phonon scattering are the two major scattering mechanisms, of which the latter had been neglected before. They dominate at low-energy and high-energy electrons, respectively, and are weakened or boosted for high electron temperature, respectively. The electron energy–dependent scattering time contributed from multiple scattering mechanisms shows the electron density–dependent damping factor. The comprehensive understanding of electron scattering in ITO will help to develop a complete model of ENZ optical nonlinearity.

scholarly journals Planar Double-Epsilon-Near-Zero Cavities for Spontaneous Emission and Purcell Effect Enhancement

ACS Photonics ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
pp. 2287-2294 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vincenzo Caligiuri ◽  
Milan Palei ◽  
Muhammad Imran ◽  
Liberato Manna ◽  
Roman Krahne
Keyword(s):  
Spontaneous Emission ◽  
Purcell Effect ◽  
Epsilon Near Zero

scholarly journals Accumulation and directionality of large spontaneous emission enabled by epsilon-near-zero film

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 7426 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xueke Duan ◽  
Fan Zhang ◽  
Zhiyuan Qian ◽  
He Hao ◽  
Lingxiao Shan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spontaneous Emission ◽  
Epsilon Near Zero

scholarly journals Polarization-Independent Large Third-Order-Nonlinearity of Orthogonal Nanoantennas Coupled to an Epsilon-Near-Zero Material

Nanomaterials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 3424
Author(s):  
Wenjuan Shi ◽  
Hongjun Liu ◽  
Zhaolu Wang
Keyword(s):  
Optical Nonlinearity ◽  
Optical Signal ◽  
Orthogonal Polarization ◽  
Absolute Maximum ◽  
Strong Nonlinearity ◽  
Third Order ◽  
Highly Nonlinear ◽  
All Optical ◽  
Nonlinear Performance ◽  
Epsilon Near Zero

The nonlinear optical response of common materials is limited by bandwidth and energy consumption, which impedes practical application in all-optical signal processing, light detection, harmonic generation, etc. Additionally, the nonlinear performance is typically sensitive to polarization. To circumvent this constraint, we propose that orthogonal nanoantennas coupled to Al-doped zinc oxide (AZO) epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) material show a broadband (~1000 nm bandwidth) large optical nonlinearity simultaneously for two orthogonal polarization states. The absolute maximum value of the nonlinear refractive index n2 is 7.65 cm2∙GW−1, which is 4 orders of magnitude larger than that of the bare AZO film and 7 orders of magnitude larger than that of silica. The coupled structure not only realizes polarization independence and strong nonlinearity, but also allows the sign of the nonlinear response to be flexibly tailored. It provides a promising platform for the realization of ultracompact, low-power, and highly nonlinear all-optical devices on the nanoscale.

scholarly journals Funneling Spontaneous Emission into Waveguides via Epsilon-Near-Zero Metamaterials

Nanomaterials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 1410
Author(s):  
M. Channab ◽  
C. F. Pirri ◽  
A. Angelini
Keyword(s):  
Spontaneous Emission ◽  
Fill Factor ◽  
Emission Rate ◽  
Total Power ◽  
Plane Waveguide ◽  
Directional Emission ◽  
Optical Applications ◽  
Dipolar Source ◽  
Epsilon Near Zero

In this work, we discuss the use of epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) metamaterials to efficiently couple light radiated by a dipolar source to an in-plane waveguide. We exploit both enhanced and directional emission provided by ENZ metamaterials to optimize the injection of light into the waveguide by tuning the metal fill factor. We show that a net increase in intensity injected into the waveguide with respect to the total power radiated by the isolated dipole can be achieved in experimentally feasible conditions. We think the proposed system may open up new opportunities for several optical applications and integrated technologies, especially for those limited by outcoupling efficiency and emission rate.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document