Plasmon-enhanced third-order optical nonlinearity of monolayer MoS2

Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have attracted broad interest in photonics owing to their unique electric band structures, which triggers various applications for functional devices. However, the optical absorbance of TMDs is relatively low because of the atomic-scale thickness, limiting further development of TMDs-based nonlinear optical devices. Here, we propose an effective method to enhance the nonlinear optical properties of TMDs using plasmons, which are from embedded silver (Ag) nanoparticles (NPs) inside the fused silica substrate. In such a configuration, the third-order nonlinear absorption coefficient of MoS2 with non-contact Ag NPs is one order of magnitude higher than that of pure monolayer MoS2 under excitation of 515 nm light, and at 1030 nm, the reverse saturable absorption switches to the saturable absorption due to the plasmonic implication. In addition, the mechanism of plasmon-enhanced nonlinear optical properties is confirmed by results of both transient absorption spectroscopy and near-field electromagnetic field simulation. This study on plasmon-enhanced third-order nonlinearity of MoS2 expands the boundaries of TMDs-based optical nonlinearity engineering. Published under an exclusive license by AIP Publishing.

Automated summary

Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have unique electric band structures that make them attractive for photonics. However, their atomic-scale thickness limits their optical absorbance, hindering their use in nonlinear optical devices. This study proposes a method to enhance the nonlinear optical properties of TMDs using plasmons from embedded silver nanoparticles (NPs). The results show that MoS2 with non-contact Ag NPs has a significantly higher third-order nonlinear absorption coefficient compared to pure monolayer MoS2 under excitation of 515 nm light. The plasmonic implication also causes a switch from reverse saturable absorption to saturable absorption at 1030 nm.