Journal
ADVANCED MATERIALS
Volume 29, Issue 27, Pages -Publisher
WILEY-V C H VERLAG GMBH
DOI: 10.1002/adma.201700754
Keywords
colloidal nanocrystals; epsilon-near-zero; optical modulation; tunable optical properties; ultrafast photonics
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Funding
- National Natural Science Foundation of China [51132004, 51472091, 11504323]
- Science and Technology Department of Zhejiang Province [2015C31045]
- Open Fund of the Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Fiber Laser Materials and Applied Techniques (South China University of Technology)
- Guangdong Natural Science Foundation [S2011030001349]
- Open Fund of State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy (East China Normal University)
- Open Fund of the State Key Laboratory of High Field Laser Physics (Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics)
- China Scholarship Council
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All the optical properties of materials are derived from dielectric function. In spectral region where the dielectric permittivity approaches zero, known as epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) region, the propagating light within the material attains a very high phase velocity, and meanwhile the material exhibits strong optical nonlinearity. The interplay between the linear and nonlinear optical response in these materials thus offers unprecedented pathways for all-optical control and device design. Here the authors demonstrate ultrafast all-optical modulation based on a typical ENZ material of indium tin oxide (ITO) nanocrystals (NCs), accessed by a wet-chemistry route. In the ENZ region, the authors find that the optical response in these ITO NCs is associated with a strong nonlinear character, exhibiting sub-picosecond response time (corresponding to frequencies over 2 THz) and modulation depth up to approximate to 160%. This large optical nonlinearity benefits from the highly confined geometry in addition to the ENZ enhancement effect of the ITO NCs. Based on these ENZ NCs, the authors successfully demonstrate a fiber optical switch that allows switching of continuous laser wave into femtosecond laser pulses. Combined with facile processibility and tunable optical properties, these solution-processed ENZ NCs may offer a scalable and printable material solution for dynamic photonic and optoelectronic devices.
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