Broadband dispersive free, large, and ultrafast nonlinear material platforms for photonics
Niu Xinxiang,
Hu Xiaoyong,
Lu Cuicui,
Sheng Yan,
Yang Hong,
Gong Qihuang
Affiliations
Niu Xinxiang
State Key Laboratory for Mesoscopic Physics and Department of Physics, Collaborative Innovation Center of Quantum Matter, Frontiers Science Center for Nano-optoelectronics, Beijing Academy of Quantum Information Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
Hu Xiaoyong
State Key Laboratory for Mesoscopic Physics and Department of Physics, Collaborative Innovation Center of Quantum Matter, Frontiers Science Center for Nano-optoelectronics, Beijing Academy of Quantum Information Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
Lu Cuicui
Key Laboratory of Advanced Optoelectronic Quantum Architecture and Measurements of Ministry of Education, Beijing Key Laboratory of Nanophotonics and Ultrafine Optoelectronic Systems, School of Physics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China
Sheng Yan
Laser Physics Center, Research School of Physics and Engineering, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
Yang Hong
State Key Laboratory for Mesoscopic Physics and Department of Physics, Collaborative Innovation Center of Quantum Matter, Frontiers Science Center for Nano-optoelectronics, Beijing Academy of Quantum Information Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
Gong Qihuang
State Key Laboratory for Mesoscopic Physics and Department of Physics, Collaborative Innovation Center of Quantum Matter, Frontiers Science Center for Nano-optoelectronics, Beijing Academy of Quantum Information Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
Broadband dispersion free, large and ultrafast nonlinear material platforms comprise the essential foundation for the study of nonlinear optics, integrated optics, intense field optical physics, and quantum optics. Despite substantial research efforts, such material platforms have not been established up to now because of intrinsic contradictions between large nonlinear optical coefficient, broad operating bandwidth, and ultrafast response time. In this work, a broadband dispersion free, large and ultrafast nonlinear material platform based on broadband epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) material is experimentally demonstrated, which is designed through a novel physical mechanism of combining structural dispersion and material dispersion. The broadband ENZ material is constructed of periodically nanostructured indium tin oxide (ITO) films, and the structure is designed with the help of theoretical predictions combined with algorithm optimization. Within the whole broad ENZ wavelength range (from 1300 to 1500 nm), a wavelength-independent and large average nonlinear refractive index of −4.85 × 10−11 cm2/W, which is enlarged by around 20 times than that of an unstructured ITO film at its single ENZ wavelength, and an ultrafast response speed at the scale of Tbit/s are experimentally reached simultaneously. This work not only provides a new approach for constructing nonlinear optical materials but also lays the material foundation for the application of nanophotonics.
