Ultrafast control of third-order optical nonlinearities in fishnet metamaterials

Sci Rep. 2016 Jun 23:6:28440. doi: 10.1038/srep28440.

Abstract

Nonlinear photonic nanostructures that allow efficient all-optical switching are considered to be a prospective platform for novel building blocks in photonics. We performed time-resolved measurements of the photoinduced transient third-order nonlinear optical response of a fishnet metamaterial. The mutual influence of two non-collinear pulses exciting the magnetic resonance of the metamaterial was probed by detecting the third-harmonic radiation as a function of the time delay between pulses. Subpicosecond-scale dynamics of the metamaterial's χ((3)) was observed; the all-optical χ((3)) modulation depth was found to be approximately 70% at a pump fluence of only 20 μJ/cm(2).

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't