Nonlinear terahertz metamaterials via field-enhanced carrier dynamics in GaAs

We demonstrate nonlinear metamaterial split ring resonators (SRRs) on GaAs at terahertz frequencies. For SRRs on doped GaAs films, incident terahertz radiation with peak fields of ~20 - 160 kV/cm drives intervalley scattering. This reduces the carrier mobility and enhances the SRR LC response due to a conductivity decrease in the doped thin film. Above ~160 kV/cm, electric field enhancement within the SRR gaps leads to efficient impact ionization, increasing the carrier density and the conductivity which, in turn, suppresses the SRR resonance. We demonstrate an increase of up to 10 orders of magnitude in the carrier density in the SRR gaps on semi-insulating GaAs substrate. Furthermore, we show that the effective permittivity can be swept from negative to positive values with increasing terahertz field strength in the impact ionization regime, enabling new possibilities for nonlinear metamaterials.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Negative refraction in hyperbolic hetero-bicrystals

We visualized negative refraction of phonon-polaritons in hetero-bicrystals of two hyperbolic van der Waals materials: molybdenum oxide (MoO3) and isotopically pure hexagonal boron nitride (h11BN). The polaritons - hybrids of infrared photons and lattice vibrations - form collimated rays that display negative refraction when passing through a planar interface between the h11BN and MoO3 crystals. At a special frequency ω0, these rays can circulate along closed diamond-shaped trajectories. We show that polariton eigenmodes display regions of both positive and negative dispersion interrupted by multiple gaps resulting from polaritonic level repulsion

Programmable hyperbolic polaritons in van der Waals semiconductors

Collective electronic modes or lattice vibrations usually prohibit propagation of electromagnetic radiation through the bulk of common materials over a frequency range associated with these oscillations. However, this textbook tenet does not necessarily apply to layered crystals. Highly anisotropic materials often display nonintuitive optical properties and can permit propagation of subdiffractional waveguide modes, with hyperbolic dispersion, throughout their bulk. Here, we report on the observation of optically induced electronic hyperbolicity in the layered transition metal dichalcogenide tungsten diselenide (WSe2). We used photoexcitation to inject electron-hole pairs in WSe2 and then visualized, by transient nanoimaging, the hyperbolic rays that traveled along conical trajectories inside of the crystal. We establish here the signatures of programmable hyperbolic electrodynamics and assess the role of quantum transitions of excitons within the Rydberg series in the observed polaritonic response

Negative refraction in hyperbolic hetero-bicrystals

We visualized negative refraction of phonon-polaritons in hetero-bicrystals of two hyperbolic van der Waals materials: molybdenum oxide ($MoO_3$) and isotopically pure hexagonal boron nitride ($h^{11}BN$). The polaritons - hybrids of infrared photons and lattice vibrations - form collimated rays that display negative refraction when passing through a planar interface between the $h^{11}BN$ and $MoO_3$ crystals. At a special frequency $\omega_0$, these rays can circulate along closed diamond-shaped trajectories. We show that polariton eigenmodes display regions of both positive and negative dispersion interrupted by multiple gaps resulting from polaritonic level repulsion

Metamaterial-Enhanced Nonlinear Terahertz Spectroscopy

We demonstrate large nonlinear terahertz responses in the gaps of metamaterial split ring resonators in several materials and use nonlinear THz transmission and THz-pump/THz-probe spectroscopy to study the nonlinear responses and dynamics. We use the field enhancement in the SRR gaps to initiate high-field phenomena at lower incident fields. In vanadium dioxide, we drive the insulator-to-metal phase transition with high-field THz radiation. The film conductivity increases by over two orders of magnitude and the phase transition occurs on a several picosecond timescale. In gallium arsenide, we observe high-field transport phenomena, including mobility saturation and impact ionization. The carrier density increases by up to ten orders of magnitude at high fields. At the highest fields, we demonstrate THz-induced damage in both vanadium dioxide and gallium arsenide.United States. Dept. of Energy (DOE-BES, grant DE-FG02- 09ER46643)United States. Office of Naval Research (ONR Grant No. N00014-09-1-1103

Femtosecond exciton dynamics in WSe2 optical waveguides

Van-der Waals (vdW) atomically layered crystals can act as optical waveguides over a broad range of the electromagnetic spectrum ranging from Terahertz to visible. Unlike common Si-based waveguides, vdW semiconductors host strong excitonic resonances that may be controlled using non-thermal stimuli including electrostatic gating and photoexcitation. Here, we utilize waveguide modes to examine photo-induced changes of excitons in the prototypical vdW semiconductor, WSe2, prompted by femtosecond light pulses. Using time-resolved scanning near-field optical microscopy we visualize the electric field profiles of waveguide modes in real space and time and extract the temporal evolution of the optical constants following femtosecond photoexcitation. By monitoring the phase velocity of the waveguide modes, we detect incoherent A-exciton bleaching along with a coherent optical Stark shift in WSe2

Infrared plasmons propagate through a hyperbolic nodal metal

Metals are canonical plasmonic media at infrared and optical wavelengths, allowing one to guide and manipulate light at the nanoscale. A special form of optical waveguiding is afforded by highly anisotropic crystals revealing the opposite signs of the dielectric functions along orthogonal directions. These media are classified as hyperbolic and include crystalline insulators, semiconductors, and artificial metamaterials. Layered anisotropic metals are also anticipated to support hyperbolic waveguiding. However, this behavior remains elusive, primarily because interband losses arrest the propagation of infrared modes. Here, we report on the observation of propagating hyperbolic waves in a prototypical layered nodal-line semimetal ZrSiSe. The observed waveguiding originates from polaritonic hybridization between near-infrared light and nodal-line plasmons. Unique nodal electronic structures simultaneously suppress interband loss and boost the plasmonic response, ultimately enabling the propagation of infrared modes through the bulk of the crystal

Regulation of Hepatitis C Virion Production via Phosphorylation of the NS5A Protein

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a significant pathogen, infecting some 170 million people worldwide. Persistent virus infection often leads to cirrhosis and liver cancer. In the infected cell many RNA directed processes must occur to maintain and spread infection. Viral genomic RNA is constantly replicating, serving as template for translation, and being packaged into new virus particles; processes that cannot occur simultaneously. Little is known about the regulation of these events. The viral NS5A phosphoprotein has been proposed as a regulator of events in the HCV life cycle for years, but the details have remained enigmatic. NS5A is a three-domain protein and the requirement of domains I and II for RNA replication is well documented. NS5A domain III is not required for RNA replication, and the function of this region in the HCV lifecycle is unknown. We have identified a small deletion in domain III that disrupts the production of infectious virus particles without altering the efficiency of HCV RNA replication. This deletion disrupts virus production at an early stage of assembly, as no intracellular virus is generated and no viral RNA and nucleocapsid protein are released from cells. Genetic mapping has indicated a single serine residue within the deletion is responsible for the observed phenotype. This serine residue lies within a casein kinase II consensus motif, and mutations that mimic phosphorylation suggest that phosphorylation at this position regulates the production of infectious virus. We have shown by genetic silencing and chemical inhibition experiments that NS5A requires casein kinase II phosphorylation at this position for virion production. A mutation that mimics phosphorylation at this position is insensitive to these manipulations of casein kinase II activity. These data provide the first evidence for a function of the domain III of NS5A and implicate NS5A as an important regulator of the RNA replication and virion assembly of HCV. The ability to uncouple virus production from RNA replication, as described herein, may be useful in understanding HCV assembly and may be therapeutically important