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Title: Switching Purcell effect with nonlinear epsilon-near-zero media

Journal Article · · Applied Physics Letters
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5030023 · OSTI ID:1540208
ORCiD logo [1];  [2];  [3]
  1. Univ. of Alberta, Edmonton, AB (Canada); Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States); DOE/OSTI
  2. Univ. of Alberta, Edmonton, AB (Canada)
  3. Univ. of Alberta, Edmonton, AB (Canada); Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States)

An optical topological transition is defined as the change in the photonic iso-frequency surface around epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) frequencies which can considerably change the spontaneous emission of a quantum emitter placed near a metamaterial slab. In this work, we show that due to the strong Kerr nonlinearity at ENZ frequencies, a high-power pulse can induce a sudden transition in the topology of the iso-frequency dispersion curve, leading to a significant change in the transmission of propagating as well as evanescent waves through the metamaterial slab. This evanescent wave switch effect allows for the control of spontaneous emission through modulation of the Purcell effect. We determine a theory of the enhanced nonlinear response of ENZ media to s and p polarized inputs and show that this nonlinear effect is stronger for p polarization and is almost independent of the incident angle. We perform finite-difference time-domain simulations to demonstrate the transient response of the metamaterial slab to an ultrafast pulse and fast switching of the Purcell effect at the sub-picosecond scale. The Purcell factor changes at ENZ by almost a factor of three which is an order of magnitude stronger than that away from ENZ. We additionally demonstrate that due to the inhomogeneous spatial field distribution inside the multilayer metal-dielectric super-lattice, a unique spatial topological transition metamaterial can be achieved by the control pulse induced nonlinearity. This work can lead to ultra-fast control of quantum phenomena in ENZ metamaterials.

Research Organization:
Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES) (SC-22)
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0017717
OSTI ID:
1540208
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1460024
Journal Information:
Applied Physics Letters, Journal Name: Applied Physics Letters Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 113; ISSN 0003-6951
Publisher:
American Institute of Physics (AIP)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Spin Angular Momentum of a Nonlinear Surface Wave at the Interface between Ordinary and Topological Insulators journal May 2019