Ultrafast All-Optical Switching via Subdiffractional Photonic Nanojets and Select Semiconductor Nanoparticles

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• 作者：Brandon Born ; Simon Geoffroy-Gagnon ; Jeffrey D. A. Krupa ; Ilija R. Hristovski ; Christopher M. Collier ; Jonathan F. Holzman
• 刊名：ACS Photonics
• 出版年：2016
• 出版时间：June 15, 2016
• 年：2016
• 卷：3
• 期：6
• 页码：1095-1101
• 全文大小：520K
• 年卷期：0
• ISSN：2330-4022

文摘

Nanophotonic all-optical switching is anticipated to replace electronic processing in future optical fiber front-end systems, unlocking capabilities for all-optical terabit-per-second processing. This work introduces a new all-optical switch (AOS) as a fundamental element for such processing. The AOS applies a nanophotonic superlens, in the form of a dielectric microsphere, to form an intense nonevanescent subdiffractional focus called a photonic nanojet. The photonic nanojet materializes in a coating of semiconductor nanoparticles at the rear of the microsphere. The AOS is refined using Lorenz–Mie theory simulations and free-carrier dynamical modeling. Experiments with microspheres coated by Si, CdTe, InP, and CuO nanoparticles, having radii of 40, 30, 20, and 20 nm, reveal switching energies of 1 pJ, 500 fJ, 400 fJ, and 300 fJ and switching times of 2 ps, 2.3 ps, 900 fs, and 350 fs, respectively. The realized AOS meets the ultimate goals of femtojoule switching energies and femtosecond switching times.