Electrodynamics of Conductive Oxides: Intensity-dependent anisotropy, reconstruction of the effective dielectric constant, and harmonic generation

We study electromagnetic pulse propagation in an indium tin oxide nanolayer in the linear and nonlinear regimes. We use the constitutive relations to reconstruct the effective dielectric constant of the medium, and show that nonlocal effects induce additional absorption resonances and anisotropic dielectric response: longitudinal and transverse effective dielectric functions are modulated differently along the propagation direction, and display different epsilon-near-zero crossing points with a discrepancy that increases with increasing intensity. We predict that hot carriers induce a dynamic redshift of the plasma frequency and a corresponding translation of the effective nonlinear dispersion curves that can be used to predict and quantify nonlinear refractive index changes as a function of incident laser peak power density. Our results suggest that large, nonlinear refractive index changes can occur without the need for epsilon-near-zero modes to couple with plasmonic resonators. At sufficiently large laser pulse intensities, we predict the onset of optical bistability, while the presence of additional pump absorption resonances that arise from longitudinal oscillations of the free electron gas give way to corresponding resonances in the second and third harmonic spectra. A realistic propagation model is key to unraveling the basic physical mechanisms that play a fundamental role in the dynamics

Study of second and third harmonic generation from an indium tin oxide nanolayer: Influence of nonlocal effects and hot electrons

We report comparative experimental and theoretical studies of the second and third harmonic generation from a 20 nm-thick indium tin oxide layer in proximity of the epsilon-near-zero condition. Using a tunable optical parametric amplifier, we record both spectral and angular dependence of the generated harmonic signals close to this particular point. In addition to the enhancement of the second harmonic efficiency close to the epsilon-near-zero wavelength, at oblique incidence, third harmonic generation displays an unusual behavior, predicted but not observed before. We implement a comprehensive, first-principles hydrodynamic approach able to simulate our experimental conditions. The model is unique, flexible, and able to capture all major physical mechanisms that drive the electrodynamic behavior of conductive oxide layers: nonlocal effects, which blueshift the epsilon-near-zero resonance by tens of nanometers; plasma frequency redshift due to variations of the effective mass of hot carriers; charge density distribution inside the layer, which determines the nonlinear surface and magnetic interactions; and the nonlinearity of the background medium triggered by bound electrons. We show that, by taking these contributions into account, our theoretical predictions are in very good qualitative and quantitative agreement with our experimental results. We expect that our results can be extended to other geometries where epsilon-near-zero nonlinearity plays an important role.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Large Field-of-View Thermal Imaging via All-Silicon Meta-Optics

A broad range of imaging and sensing technologies in the infrared require large Field-of-View (FoV) operation. To achieve this, traditional refractive systems often employ multiple elements to compensate for aberrations, which leads to excess size, weight, and cost. For many applications, including night vision eye-wear, air-borne surveillance, and autonomous navigation for unmanned aerial vehicles, size and weight are highly constrained. Sub-wavelength diffractive optics, also known as meta-optics, can dramatically reduce the size, weight, and cost of these imaging systems, as meta-optics are significantly thinner and lighter than traditional refractive lenses. Here, we demonstrate 80$^\circ$ FoV thermal imaging in the long-wavelength infrared regime (8-12 $\mu$m) using an all-silicon meta-optic with an entrance aperture and lens focal length of 1 cm.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure

Broadband Thermal Imaging using Meta-Optics

Subwavelength diffractive optics known as meta-optics have demonstrated the potential to significantly miniaturize imaging systems. However, despite impressive demonstrations, most meta-optical imaging systems suffer from strong chromatic aberrations, limiting their utilities. Here, we employ inverse-design to create broadband meta-optics operating in the long-wave infrared (LWIR) regime (8 - 12 $\mu$m). Via a deep-learning assisted multi-scale differentiable framework that links meta-atoms to the phase, we maximize the wavelength-averaged volume under the modulation transfer function (MTF) of the meta-optics. Our design framework merges local phase-engineering via meta-atoms and global engineering of the scatterer within a single pipeline. We corroborate our design by fabricating and experimentally characterizing all-silicon LWIR meta-optics. Our engineered meta-optic is complemented by a simple computational backend that dramatically improves the quality of the captured image. We experimentally demonstrate a six-fold improvement of the wavelength-averaged Strehl ratio over the traditional hyperboloid metalens for broadband imaging.Comment: 28 pages, 12 figure

Second harmonic generation from an ITO nanolayer: experiment versus theory

We report a comparative experimental and theoretical study of second harmonic generation from a 20nm-thick indium tin oxide nanolayer in the proximity of the epsilon-near-zero condition. We record the efficiency of the second harmonic signal both as a function of wavelength as well as of the angle of incidence around the epsilon-near-zero crossing point. We compare our experimental results with numerical simulations based on a hydrodynamical model able to capture all major physical mechanisms driving the electrodynamic behavior of conductive oxide layers, with unique aspects of the different nonlinear sources. We found a very good quantitative and qualitative agreement between experiment and theory.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Experimental and Theoretical Study of Second Harmonic Generation from an ITO Nanolayer

We present an experimental study of second harmonic generation from a 20nm-thick indium tin oxide layer in the proximity of its epsilon-near-zero condition. We report measurements of second harmonic efficiencies as a function of the input wavelength and angle of incidence close to the epsilon-near-zero crossing point. We perform theoretical simulations using a hydrodynamical model that is able to capture all major physical mechanisms driving the nonlinear electrodynamic behaviour of conductive oxides. The experimental and theoretical results are compared and a very good quantitative and qualitative agreement is found.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Broadband thermal imaging using meta-optics

Abstract Subwavelength diffractive optics known as meta-optics have demonstrated the potential to significantly miniaturize imaging systems. However, despite impressive demonstrations, most meta-optical imaging systems suffer from strong chromatic aberrations, limiting their utilities. Here, we employ inverse-design to create broadband meta-optics operating in the long-wave infrared (LWIR) regime (8-12 μm). Via a deep-learning assisted multi-scale differentiable framework that links meta-atoms to the phase, we maximize the wavelength-averaged volume under the modulation transfer function (MTF) surface of the meta-optics. Our design framework merges local phase-engineering via meta-atoms and global engineering of the scatterer within a single pipeline. We corroborate our design by fabricating and experimentally characterizing all-silicon LWIR meta-optics. Our engineered meta-optic is complemented by a simple computational backend that dramatically improves the quality of the captured image. We experimentally demonstrate a six-fold improvement of the wavelength-averaged Strehl ratio over the traditional hyperboloid metalens for broadband imaging