Continuous control of the nonlinearity phase for harmonic generations

The capability of locally engineering the nonlinear optical properties of media is crucial in nonlinear optics. Although poling is the most widely employed technique for achieving locally controlled nonlinearity, it leads only to a binary nonlinear state, which is equivalent to a discrete phase chan...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature materials 2015-06, Vol.14 (6), p.607-612
Main Authors: Li, Guixin, Chen, Shumei, Pholchai, Nitipat, Reineke, Bernhard, Wong, Polis Wing Han, Pun, Edwin Yue Bun, Cheah, Kok Wai, Zentgraf, Thomas, Zhang, Shuang
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
121/135
142/126
639/624/399/1015
Biomaterials
Condensed Matter Physics
Equivalence
Harmonic generations
Materials Science
Metals
Nanostructure
Nanotechnology
Nonlinear optics
Nonlinearity
Optical and Electronic Materials
Optical properties
Optics
Paving
Phase change
Phase transitions
Rotational
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The capability of locally engineering the nonlinear optical properties of media is crucial in nonlinear optics. Although poling is the most widely employed technique for achieving locally controlled nonlinearity, it leads only to a binary nonlinear state, which is equivalent to a discrete phase change of π in the nonlinear polarizability. Here, inspired by the concept of spin-rotation coupling, we experimentally demonstrate nonlinear metasurfaces with homogeneous linear optical properties but spatially varying effective nonlinear polarizability with continuously controllable phase. The continuous phase control over the local nonlinearity is demonstrated for second and third harmonic generation by using nonlinear metasurfaces consisting of nanoantennas of C3 and C4 rotational symmetries, respectively. The continuous phase engineering of the effective nonlinear polarizability enables complete control over the propagation of harmonic generation signals. Therefore, this method seamlessly combines the generation and manipulation of harmonic waves, paving the way for highly compact nonlinear nanophotonic devices. A concept for the phase control of the nonlinear susceptibility using the left- and right-circular polarization basis for fundamental and harmonic generated light is introduced and tested using metasurfaces containing plasmonic antennas.
ISSN:1476-1122
1476-4660
DOI:10.1038/nmat4267