Nonlinear graphene metamaterial

Abstract

We demonstrate that the broadband nonlinear optical response of graphene can be resonantly enhanced by more than an order of magnitude through hybridization with a plasmonic metamaterial, while retaining an ultrafast nonlinear response time of ∼1 ps. Transmission modulation close to ∼1% is seen at a pump fluence of ∼30 μJ/cm2 at the wavelength of ∼1.6 μm. This approach allows to engineer and enhance graphene’s nonlinearity within a broad wavelength range enabling applications in optical switching, mode-locking, and pulse shaping.