Nonlinear Optical Response Functions of Mott Insulators Based on Dynamical Mean Field Approximation

We investigate the nonlinear optical susceptibilities of Mott insulators with the dynamical mean field approximation. The two-photon absorption (TPA) and the third-harmonic generation (THG) spectra are calculated, and the classification by the types of coupling to external fields shows different behavior from conventional semiconductors. The direct transition terms are predominant both in the TPA and THG spectra, and the importance of taking all types of interaction with the external field into account is illustrated in connection with the THG spectrum and dcKerr effect. The dependence of the TPA and THG spectra on the Coulomb interaction indicate a scaling relation. We apply this relation to the quantitative evaluation and obtain results comparable to those of experiments.Comment: 14 pages, 12 figure

Ultrafast all-optical switching in a silicon-nanocrystal-based silicon slot waveguide at telecom wavelengths

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in Nano Letters, copyright © American Chemical Society after peer review and technica editing by the publisher. To access the final edited and published work see http://pubs.acs.org/page/policy/articlesonrequest/index.htmlWe demonstrate experimentally all-optical switching on a silicon chip at telecom wavelengths. The switching device comprises a compact ring resonator formed by horizontal silicon slot waveguides filled with highly nonlinear silicon nanocrystals in silica. When pumping at power levels about 100 mW using 10 ps pulses, more than 50% modulation depth is observed at the switch output. The switch performs about I order of magnitude faster than previous approaches on silicon and is fully fabricated using complementary metal oxide semiconductor technologies.The work was financially supported by the EU through project PHOLOGIC (FP6-IST-NMP-017158).Martínez Abietar, AJ.; Blasco Solbes, J.; Sanchis Kilders, P.; Galan Conejos, JV.; García-Rupérez, J.; Jordana, E.; Gautier, P.... (2010). Ultrafast all-optical switching in a silicon-nanocrystal-based silicon slot waveguide at telecom wavelengths. Nano Letters. 10(4):1506-1511. doi:10.1021/nl9041017S1506151110

Borrmann Effect in Photonic Crystals: Nonlinear Optical Consequences

Nonlinear-optical manifestations of the Borrmann effect that are consequences of the spectral dependence of the spatial distributions of the electromagnetic field in a structure are observed in one-dimensional photonic crystals. The spectrum of the light self-focusing effect corresponding to the propagation-matrix calculations has been measured near the edge of the photonic gap.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, published in russian at Pis'ma v Zhurnal Eksperimental'noi i Teoreticheskoi Fiziki, 2008, Vol. 87, No. 8, pp. 461-46

Carrier concentration dependence of optical Kerr nonlinearity in indium tin oxide films

Optical Kerr nonlinearity (n2) in n-type indium tin oxide (ITO) films coated on glass substrates has been measured using Z-scans with 200-fs laser pulses at wavelengths ranging from 720 to 780 nm. The magnitudes of the measured nonlinearity in the ITO films were found to be dependent on the carrier concentration with a maximum n2-value of 4.1 x 10-5 cm2/GW at 720-nm wavelength and an electron density of Nd = 5.8 x 1020 cm-3. The Kerr nonlinearity was also observed to be varied with the laser wavelength. By employing a femtosecond time-resolved optical Kerr effect (OKE) technique, the relaxation time of OKE in the ITO films is determined to be ~1 ps. These findings suggest that the Kerr nonlinearity in ITO can be tailored by controlling the carrier concentration, which should be highly desirable in optoelectronic devices for ultrafast all-optical switching.Comment: 15 pages, 1 table, 4 figure

Thermal and Optical Characterization of Undoped and Neodymium-Doped Y3ScAl4O12 Ceramics

Y3–3xNd3xSc1Al4O12 (x = 0, 0.01, and 0.02) ceramics were fabricated by sintering at high temperature under vacuum. Unit cell parameter refinement and chemical analysis have been performed. The morphological characterization shows micrograins with no visible defects. The thermal analysis of these ceramics is presented, by measuring the specific heat in the temperature range from 300 to 500 K. Their values at room temperature are in the range 0.81–0.90 J g1–K–1. The thermal conductivity has been determined by two methods: by the experimental measurement of the thermal diffusivity by the photopyroelectric method, and by spectroscopy, evaluating the thermal load. The thermal conductivities are in the range 9.7–6.5 W K–1 m–1 in the temperature interval from 300 to 500 K. The thermooptic coefficients were measured at 632 nm by the dark mode method using a prism coupler, and the obtained values are in the range 12.8–13.3 × 10–6 K–1. The nonlinear refractive index values at 795 nm have been evaluated to calibrate the nonlinear optical response of these materials.This work is supported by the Spanish Government under projects MAT2011-29255-C02-01-02, MAT2013-47395-C4-4-R, and the Catalan Government under project 2014SGR1358. It was also funded by the European Commission under the Seventh Framework Programme, project Cleanspace, FP7-SPACE-2010-1-GA No. 263044

Self-consistent field theory of polarized BEC: dispersion of collective excitation

We suggest the construction of a set of the quantum hydrodynamics equations for the Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC), where atoms have the electric dipole moment. The contribution of the dipole-dipole interactions (DDI) to the Euler equation is obtained. Quantum equations for the evolution of medium polarization are derived. Developing mathematical method allows to study effect of interactions on the evolution of polarization. The developing method can be applied to various physical systems in which dynamics is affected by the DDI. Derivation of Gross-Pitaevskii equation for polarized particles from the quantum hydrodynamics is described. We showed that the Gross-Pitaevskii equation appears at condition when all dipoles have the same direction which does not change in time. Comparison of the equation of the electric dipole evolution with the equation of the magnetization evolution is described. Dispersion of the collective excitations in the dipolar BEC, either affected or not affected by the uniform external electric field, is considered using our method. We show that the evolution of polarization in the BEC leads to the formation of a novel type of the collective excitations. Detailed description of the dispersion of collective excitations is presented. We also consider the process of wave generation in the polarized BEC by means of a monoenergetic beam of neutral polarized particles. We compute the possibilities of the generation of Bogoliubov and polarization modes by the dipole beam.Comment: 16 pages, 15 figures. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1106.082

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

The size and operating energy of a nonlinear optical device are fundamentally constrained by the weakness of the nonlinear optical response of common materials1. Here, we report that a 50-nm-thick optical metasurface made of optical dipole antennas coupled to an epsilon-near-zero material exhibits a broadband (∼400 nm bandwidth) and ultrafast (recovery time less than 1 ps) intensity-dependent refractive index n2 as large as −3.73 ± 0.56 cm2 GW−1. Furthermore, the metasurface exhibits a maximum optically induced refractive index change of ±2.5 over a spectral range of ∼200 nm. The inclusion of low-Q nanoantennas on an epsilon-near-zero thin film not only allows the design of a metasurface with an unprecedentedly large nonlinear optical response, but also offers the flexibility to tailor the sign of the response. Our technique removes a longstanding obstacle in nonlinear optics: the lack of materials with an ultrafast nonlinear contribution to refractive index on the order of unity. It consequently offers the possibility to design low-power nonlinear nano-optical devices with orders-of-magnitude smaller footprints.PostprintPeer reviewe

Nonlinear optics and saturation behavior of quantum dot samples under continuous wave driving

The nonlinear optical response of self-assembled quantum dots is relevant to the application of quantum dot based devices in nonlinear optics, all-optical switching, slow light and self-organization. Theoretical investigations are based on numerical simulations of a spatially and spectrally resolved rate equation model, which takes into account the strong coupling of the quantum dots to the carrier reservoir created by the wetting layer states. The complex dielectric susceptibility of the ground state is obtained. The saturation is shown to follow a behavior in between the one for a dominantly homogeneously and inhomogeneously broadened medium. Approaches to extract the nonlinear refractive index change by fringe shifts in a cavity or self-lensing are discussed. Experimental work on saturation characteristic of InGa/GaAs quantum dots close to the telecommunication O-band (1.24-1.28 mm) and of InAlAs/GaAlAs quantum dots at 780 nm is described and the first demonstration of the cw saturation of absorption in room temperature quantum dot samples is discussed in detail

Ultrafast-nonlinear ultraviolet pulse modulation in an AlInGaN polariton waveguide operating up to room temperature

Ultrafast nonlinear photonics enables a host of applications in advanced on-chip spectroscopy and information processing. These rely on a strong intensity dependent (nonlinear) refractive index capable of modulating optical pulses on sub-picosecond timescales and on length scales suitable for integrated photonics. Currently there is no platform that can provide this for the UV spectral range where broadband spectra generated by nonlinear modulation can pave the way to new on-chip ultrafast (bio-) chemical spectroscopy devices. We introduce an AlInGaN waveguide supporting highly nonlinear UV hybrid light-matter states (exciton-polaritons) up to room temperature. We experimentally demonstrate ultrafast nonlinear spectral broadening of UV pulses in a compact 100 micrometer long device and measure a nonlinearity 1000 times that in common UV nonlinear materials and comparable to non-UV polariton devices. Our demonstration, utilising the mature AlInGaN platform, promises to underpin a new generation of integrated UV nonlinear light sources for advanced spectroscopy and measurement