Enhanced nonlinear refractive index in epsilon-near-zero materials

Abstract

New propagation regimes for light arise from the ability to tune the dielectric permittivity to extremely low values. Here we demonstrate a universal approach based on the low linear permittivity values attained in the epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) regime for enhancing the nonlinear refractive index, which enables remarkable light-induced changes of the material properties. Experiments performed on Al-doped ZnO (AZO) thin films show a six-fold increase of the Kerr nonlinear refractive index ($n_2$) at the ENZ wavelength, located in the 1300 nm region. This in turn leads to ultrafast light-induced refractive index changes of the order of unity, thus representing a new paradigm for nonlinear optics.

References in corpus (17)

• Epsilon-Near-Zero (ENZ) Metamaterials and Electromagnetic Sources: Tailoring the Radiation Phase Pattern
• Epsilon-Near-Zero Al-Doped ZnO for Ultrafast Switching at Telecom Wavelengths: Outpacing the Traditional Amplitude-Bandwidth Trade-Off
• Negative refraction in Al:ZnO/ZnO metamaterial in the near-infrared
• Design of Matched Zero-Index Metamaterials Using Non-Magnetic Inclusions in Epsilon-Near-Zero (ENZ) Media
• Enhanced third harmonic generation from the epsilon-near-zero modes of ultrathin films
• Directional perfect absorption using deep subwavelength low permittivity films
• Singularity-driven Second and Third Harmonic Generation in a ε-near-zero nanolayer
• Omnidirectionally Bending to the Normal in epsilon-near-Zero Metamaterials
• Extreme nonlinear electrodynamics in metamaterials with very small linear dielectric permittivity
• Enhanced Super-Radiance in Epsilon-Near-Zero Plasmonic Channels
• Low-damping epsilon-near-zero slabs: nonlinear and nonlocal optical properties
• Deterministic reshaping of single-photon spectra using cross-phase modulation
• Enhancing and suppressing radiation with some permeability-near-zero structures
• Optically induced metal-to-dielectric transition in Epsilon-Near-Zero metamaterials
• Two-peaked and flat-top perfect bright solitons in epsilon-near-zero nonlinear metamaterials: novel Kerr self-trapping mechanisms
• Gain assisted nanocomposite multilayers with near zero permittivity modulus at visible frequencies
• Transverse power flow reversing of confined waves in extreme nonlinear metamaterials

Cited by in corpus (58)

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• Exploiting ITO colloidal nanocrystals for ultrafast pulse generation
• Light Emission by Free Electrons in Photonic Time-Crystals
• Controlling hybrid nonlinearities in transparent conducting oxides via two-colour excitation
• Adiabatic frequency shifting in epsilon near zero materials: The role of group velocity
• Negative refraction in time-varying, strongly-coupled plasmonic antenna-ENZ systems
• Beyond the perturbative description of the nonlinear optical response of low-index materials
• Enhanced Nonlinear Optical Responses of Layered Epsilon-Near-Zero Metamaterials at Visible Frequencies
• Post-2000 Nonlinear Optical Materials and Measurements: Data Tables and Best Practices
• Photonic time crystals: Theory and applications
• Low-loss Zero-Index Materials
• A Semi-Classical View on Epsilon-Near-Zero Resonant Tunneling Modes in Metal/Insulator/Metal Nanocavities
• Expanding momentum bandgaps in photonic time crystals through resonances
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• $\hslash \omega$ versus $\hslash \mathbf{k}$: Dispersion and Energy Constraints on Time-Varying Photonic Materials and Time Crystals
• Incandescent temporal metamaterials
• New horizons in near-zero refractive index photonics and hyperbolic metamaterials
• Spatiotemporal refraction of light in an epsilon-near-zero ITO layer
• Hot Electron Dynamics in Ultrafast Multilayer Epsilon-Near-Zero Metamaterial
• An electronic-based model of the optical nonlinearity of low-electron-density-Drude materials
• Parametric Mie resonances and directional amplification in time-modulated scatterers
• Monolithic CMOS-compatible zero-index metamaterials
• Self-interaction of ultrashort pulses in an epsilon-near-zero nonlinear material at the telecom wavelength
• Spontaneous photon production in time-dependent epsilon-near-zero materials
• Dynamic coherent perfect absorption in nonlinear metasurfaces
• Optical Supersymmetry in the Time Domain
• Metal nanospheres under intense continuous wave illumination - a unique case of non-perturbative nonlinear nanophotonics
• Optomagnonics in dispersive media: magnon-photon coupling enhancement at the epsilon-near-zero frequency
• The electronic and thermal response of low electron density Drude materials to ultrafast optical illumination
• Edge-plasmon assisted electro-optical modulator
• The thermo-optic nonlinearity of single metal nanoparticles under intense continuous-wave illumination
• Understanding the nonlinear optical response of epsilon near zero materials in the time-domain
• Plasmonic Time Crystals
• Wide-angle giant photonic spin Hall effect
• Switching Purcell effect with nonlinear epsilon-near-zero media
• Quantum radiation in dielectric media with dispersion and dissipation
• Improving the Transmittance of an Epsilon-Near-Zero based Wavefront Shaper
• Nonreciprocal ENZ-Dielectric Bilayers: Enhancement of Nonreciprocity from a Nonlinear Transparent Conducting Oxide Thin Film at Epsilon-Near-Zero (ENZ) Frequency
• Linked and knotted synthetic magnetic fields
• Disordered Zero-Index Metamaterials Based On Metal Induced Crystallization
• Experimental Observation of Strong Coupling Between an Epsilon-Near-Zero Mode in a Deep Subwavelength Nanofilm and a Gap Plasmon Mode
• Dependence of the Nonlinear-Optical Response of Materials on their Linear $\epsilon$ and $\mu$
• Omnidirectional field enhancements drive giant nonlinearities in epsilon-near-zero waveguides
• Ultra-broadband supercontinuum generation in gas-filled photonic-crystal fibers: The epsilon-near-zero regime
• Generation and detection of axions using guided structures
• Vacuum radiation and frequency-mixing in linear light-matter systems
• Solvated electrons in polar liquids as epsilon-near-zero materials tunable in the terahertz frequency range
• Optical Kerr nonlinearity of disordered all-dielectric resonant high index metasurfaces with negative refraction
• Possibility of negative refraction for visible light in disordered all-dielectric resonant high index metasurfaces
• Blowing up Light: A nonlinear amplification scheme for electromagnetic waves
• Path integral quantization of the electromagnetic field in nonlinear dielectric materials
• Mid-infrared directional surface waves on a high aspect ratio nano-trench platform
• Epsilon-Near-Zero Grids for On-chip Quantum Networks
• Nonlinear Metasurfaces: A Paradigm Shift in Nonlinear Optics