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Optical Time Reversal from Time-Dependent Epsilon-Near-Zero Media

Journal Article · · Physical Review Letters
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [2];  [4];  [4];  [2];  [5];  [6];  [7]
  1. Heriot-Watt Univ., Edinburgh (United Kingdom). Inst. of Photonics and Quantum Sciences; DOE/OSTI
  2. Heriot-Watt Univ., Edinburgh (United Kingdom). Inst. of Photonics and Quantum Sciences
  3. Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States). Dept. of Physics and Astronomy. Birck Nanotechnology Center
  4. Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States). School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Birck Nanotechnology Center
  5. Univ. of Glasgow, Scotland (United Kingdom). School of Engineering
  6. Vilnius Univ. (Lithuania). Laser Research Center
  7. Heriot-Watt Univ., Edinburgh (United Kingdom). Inst. of Photonics and Quantum Sciences; Univ. of Glasgow, Scotland (United Kingdom). School of Physics and Astronomy

Materials with a spatially uniform but temporally varying optical response have applications ranging from magnetic field-free optical isolators to fundamental studies of quantum field theories. However, these effects typically become relevant only for time variations oscillating at optical frequencies, thus presenting a significant hurdle that severely limits the realization of such conditions. Here we present a thin-film material with a permittivity that pulsates (uniformly in space) at optical frequencies and realizes a time-reversing medium of the form originally proposed by Pendry [Science 322, 71 (2008)]. We use an optically pumped, 500 nm thick film of epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) material based on Al-doped zinc oxide. An incident probe beam is both negatively refracted and time reversed through a reflected phase-conjugated beam. As a result of the high nonlinearity and the refractive index that is close to zero, the ENZ film leads to time reversed beams (simultaneous negative refraction and phase conjugation) with near-unit efficiency and greater-than-unit internal conversion efficiency. The ENZ platform therefore presents the time-reversal features required, e.g., for efficient subwavelength imaging, all-optical isolators and fundamental quantum field theory studies.

Research Organization:
Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0017717
OSTI ID:
1541275
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1418185
Journal Information:
Physical Review Letters, Journal Name: Physical Review Letters Journal Issue: 4 Vol. 120; ISSN 0031-9007
Publisher:
American Physical Society (APS)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Cited By (20)

Dynamical Control of Broadband Coherent Absorption in ENZ Films journal January 2020
Epsilon-Near-Zero Photonics: A New Platform for Integrated Devices journal March 2018
Supersymmetry in the time domain and its applications in optics journal February 2020
Nonlinear optical effects in epsilon-near-zero media journal June 2019
Near-zero-index materials for photonics journal September 2019
Superresolution stimulated Raman scattering microscopy using 2-ENZ nano-composites journal January 2019
New results from exact solution of the dispersion relation for nonextensive electron-ion plasma in the framework of collisionless kinetic theory journal May 2019
Vacuum radiation and frequency-mixing in linear light-matter systems journal June 2019
Inverse design of broadband epsilon-near-zero metasurface with nanoscale airtube superlattice based on the Bergman-Milton spectral representation journal September 2019
Photonic Floquet media with a complex time-periodic permittivity journal August 2018
General framework for the frequency shifting of electromagnetic pulses using time-dependent surfaces journal May 2019
Negative Refraction in Time-Varying Strongly Coupled Plasmonic-Antenna–Epsilon-Near-Zero Systems journal January 2020
Spatiotemporal light control with active metasurfaces journal May 2019
Spin Angular Momentum of a Nonlinear Surface Wave at the Interface between Ordinary and Topological Insulators journal May 2019
Degenerate optical nonlinear enhancement in epsilon-near-zero transparent conducting oxides journal January 2018
Nonlinear epsilon-near-zero materials explained: opinion journal January 2019
Adiabatic frequency shifting in epsilon-near-zero materials: the role of group velocity journal January 2020
Topological aspects of photonic time crystals journal January 2018
Photonic Floquet media with a complex time-periodic permittivity text January 2018
Vacuum radiation and frequency-mixing in linear light-matter systems text January 2018

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