Universal Near-Infrared and Mid-Infrared Optical Modulation for Ultrafast Pulse Generation Enabled by Colloidal Plasmonic Semiconductor Nanocrystals
| Autor: | Zhipeng Qin, Jia Kang, Zhi-Chao Luo, Shian Zhang, Yunhua Yao, Meng Liu, Guoqiang Xie, Xiaofeng Liu, Qiangbing Guo, Jianrong Qiu, Gang Bi |
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| Rok vydání: | 2016 |
| Předmět: |
Materials science
Physics::Optics General Physics and Astronomy Field effect 02 engineering and technology Optical field 010402 general chemistry 01 natural sciences law.invention Condensed Matter::Materials Science Optics law General Materials Science Plasmon business.industry General Engineering Saturable absorption 021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology Laser 0104 chemical sciences Semiconductor Optical modulator Optoelectronics 0210 nano-technology business Ultrashort pulse |
| Zdroj: | ACS Nano. 10:9463-9469 |
| ISSN: | 1936-086X 1936-0851 |
| DOI: | 10.1021/acsnano.6b04536 |
| Popis: | Field effect relies on the nonlinear current-voltage relation in semiconductors; analogously, materials that respond nonlinearly to an optical field can be utilized for optical modulation. For instance, nonlinear optical (NLO) materials bearing a saturable absorption (SA) feature an on-off switching behavior at the critical pumping power, thus enabling ultrafast laser pulse generation with high peak power. SA has been observed in diverse materials preferably in its nanoscale form, including both gaped semiconductor nanostructures and gapless materials like graphene; while the presence of optical bandgap and small carrier density have limited the active spectral range and intensity. We show here that solution-processed plasmonic semiconductor nanocrystals exhibit superbroadband (over 400 THz) SA, meanwhile with large modulation depth (∼7 dB) and ultrafast recovery (∼315 fs). Optical modulators fabricated using these plasmonic nanocrystals enable mode-locking and Q-switching operation across the near-infrared and mid-infrared spectral region, as exemplified here by the pulsed lasers realized at 1.0, 1.5, and 2.8 μm bands with minimal pulse duration down to a few hundreds of femtoseconds. The facile accessibility and superbroadband optical nonlinearity offered by these nonconventional plasmonic nanocrystals may stimulate a growing interest in the exploiting of relevant NLO and photonic applications. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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