Photochemically Derived Plasmonic Semiconductor Nanocrystals as an Optical Switch for Ultrafast Photonics

Establishing a new photonic material with large optical nonlinearity in the near-infrared regime is significant for ultrafast optical science and devices. In this paper, we developed a facile photochemical approach to fabricate covellite CuS plasmonic nanocrystals (NCs) with high chemical stability and strong oxidation resistance under ambient conditions. The photochemically derived CuS NCs possess strong absorption in the visible-to-near-infrared optical range caused by the localized surface plasmon resonance effect (LSPR). We further demonstrate superior saturable absorption behavior of CuS NCs with a large modulation depth and a high damage threshold. Using CuS as an optical switch, a highly stable mode-locked pulsed laser operating in the telecommunication band with a signal-to-noise ratio over 70 dB and a pulse duration of 1.57 ps has been achieved. Our results suggest that the photochemical method is an effective technique to fabricate plasmonic NCs, which can be developed as an excellent candidate for ultrafast photonic devices in the visible-to-near-infrared region.