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Title: Second-order nonlinear optical metamaterials: ABC-type nanolaminates

Journal Article · · Applied Physics Letters
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4931492· OSTI ID:22482119
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  1. Institute of Photonics and Quantum Electronics (IPQ), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), 76128 Karlsruhe (Germany)
  2. Institute of Applied Physics, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), 76128 Karlsruhe (Germany)

We demonstrate a concept for second-order nonlinear metamaterials that can be obtained from non-metallic centrosymmetric constituents with inherently low optical absorption. The concept is based on iterative atomic-layer deposition of three different materials, A = Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}, B = TiO{sub 2}, and C = HfO{sub 2}. The centrosymmetry of the resulting ABC stack is broken since the ABC and the inverted CBA sequences are not equivalent—a necessary condition for non-zero second-order nonlinearity. In our experiments, we find that the bulk second-order nonlinear susceptibility depends on the density of interfaces, leading to a nonlinear susceptibility of 0.26 pm/V at a wavelength of 800 nm. ABC-type nanolaminates can be deposited on virtually any substrate and offer a promising route towards engineering of second-order optical nonlinearities at both infrared and visible wavelengths.

OSTI ID:
22482119
Journal Information:
Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 107, Issue 12; Other Information: (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0003-6951
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English