Tunable optical nonlinearity of indium tin oxide for optical switching in epsilon-near-zero region

The propagation of light in the epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) region of materials exhibits intriguing linear and nonlinear optical phenomenon that have been extensively exploited for a plethora of applications. Here, we show that the optical properties as well as the ENZ wavelength of magnetron-sputtered...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Lau Kuen Yao, Yang Yuting, Zhao Di, Liu Xiaofeng, Qiu Jianrong
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: De Gruyter 2022-08-01
Series:Nanophotonics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1515/nanoph-2022-0306
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850159228911616000
author Lau Kuen Yao
Yang Yuting
Zhao Di
Liu Xiaofeng
Qiu Jianrong
author_facet Lau Kuen Yao
Yang Yuting
Zhao Di
Liu Xiaofeng
Qiu Jianrong
author_sort Lau Kuen Yao
collection DOAJ
description The propagation of light in the epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) region of materials exhibits intriguing linear and nonlinear optical phenomenon that have been extensively exploited for a plethora of applications. Here, we show that the optical properties as well as the ENZ wavelength of magnetron-sputtered indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films could be judiciously engineered. The measurement of nonlinear optical properties reveals that the control of deposition conditions allows for the tuning of absorptive optical nonlinearity between saturable absorption and reverse saturable absorption. The ENZ wavelength for the ITO film is deduced as around 1553 nm. We obtain the highest third-order nonlinear absorption coefficient and imaginary part of third-order nonlinear susceptibility for the ITO thin film through Z-scan method as −50.56 cm/GW and ∼38 × 10−14 e.s.u. at 1050 nm, and −64.50 cm/GW and ∼45 × 10−14 e.s.u. at 1550 nm, respectively. We demonstrate further that the strong saturable absorption of the ITO thin film enables Q-switched pulse laser generation in ∼1050 and ∼1550 nm regions with tunable repetition rates and pulse energies. The present results suggest the great application potential of the ITO thin film in the field of nonlinear optical devices.
format Article
id doaj-art-a3156f25e89c4fa0a551196abe5561d9
institution OA Journals
issn 2192-8614
language English
publishDate 2022-08-01
publisher De Gruyter
record_format Article
series Nanophotonics
spelling doaj-art-a3156f25e89c4fa0a551196abe5561d92025-08-20T02:23:36ZengDe GruyterNanophotonics2192-86142022-08-0111184209421910.1515/nanoph-2022-0306Tunable optical nonlinearity of indium tin oxide for optical switching in epsilon-near-zero regionLau Kuen Yao0Yang Yuting1Zhao Di2Liu Xiaofeng3Qiu Jianrong4College of Optical Science and Engineering and State Key Lab of Modern Optical Instrumentation, Zhejiang University, 310027, Hangzhou, ChinaSchool of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, 310027, Hangzhou, ChinaWuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 430074, Wuhan, ChinaSchool of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, 310027, Hangzhou, ChinaCollege of Optical Science and Engineering and State Key Lab of Modern Optical Instrumentation, Zhejiang University, 310027, Hangzhou, ChinaThe propagation of light in the epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) region of materials exhibits intriguing linear and nonlinear optical phenomenon that have been extensively exploited for a plethora of applications. Here, we show that the optical properties as well as the ENZ wavelength of magnetron-sputtered indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films could be judiciously engineered. The measurement of nonlinear optical properties reveals that the control of deposition conditions allows for the tuning of absorptive optical nonlinearity between saturable absorption and reverse saturable absorption. The ENZ wavelength for the ITO film is deduced as around 1553 nm. We obtain the highest third-order nonlinear absorption coefficient and imaginary part of third-order nonlinear susceptibility for the ITO thin film through Z-scan method as −50.56 cm/GW and ∼38 × 10−14 e.s.u. at 1050 nm, and −64.50 cm/GW and ∼45 × 10−14 e.s.u. at 1550 nm, respectively. We demonstrate further that the strong saturable absorption of the ITO thin film enables Q-switched pulse laser generation in ∼1050 and ∼1550 nm regions with tunable repetition rates and pulse energies. The present results suggest the great application potential of the ITO thin film in the field of nonlinear optical devices.https://doi.org/10.1515/nanoph-2022-0306magnetron sputtering depositionmetal oxide semiconductoroptical nonlinearitysaturable absorptionthin film
spellingShingle Lau Kuen Yao
Yang Yuting
Zhao Di
Liu Xiaofeng
Qiu Jianrong
Tunable optical nonlinearity of indium tin oxide for optical switching in epsilon-near-zero region
Nanophotonics
magnetron sputtering deposition
metal oxide semiconductor
optical nonlinearity
saturable absorption
thin film
title Tunable optical nonlinearity of indium tin oxide for optical switching in epsilon-near-zero region
title_full Tunable optical nonlinearity of indium tin oxide for optical switching in epsilon-near-zero region
title_fullStr Tunable optical nonlinearity of indium tin oxide for optical switching in epsilon-near-zero region
title_full_unstemmed Tunable optical nonlinearity of indium tin oxide for optical switching in epsilon-near-zero region
title_short Tunable optical nonlinearity of indium tin oxide for optical switching in epsilon-near-zero region
title_sort tunable optical nonlinearity of indium tin oxide for optical switching in epsilon near zero region
topic magnetron sputtering deposition
metal oxide semiconductor
optical nonlinearity
saturable absorption
thin film
url https://doi.org/10.1515/nanoph-2022-0306
work_keys_str_mv AT laukuenyao tunableopticalnonlinearityofindiumtinoxideforopticalswitchinginepsilonnearzeroregion
AT yangyuting tunableopticalnonlinearityofindiumtinoxideforopticalswitchinginepsilonnearzeroregion
AT zhaodi tunableopticalnonlinearityofindiumtinoxideforopticalswitchinginepsilonnearzeroregion
AT liuxiaofeng tunableopticalnonlinearityofindiumtinoxideforopticalswitchinginepsilonnearzeroregion
AT qiujianrong tunableopticalnonlinearityofindiumtinoxideforopticalswitchinginepsilonnearzeroregion