All-optical Polarization Switching Research Articles

All-optical polarization switching in ferroelectrics

All-optical polarization switching in ferroelectrics

All-optical ultrafast polarization switching with nonlinear plasmonic metasurfaces.

Optical switching has important applications in optical information processing, optical computing, and optical communications. The long-term pursuit of optical switch is to achieve short switching time and large modulation depth. Among various mechanisms, all-optical switching based on Kerr effect represents a promising solution. However, it is usually difficult to compromise both switching time and modulation depth of a Kerr-type optical switch. To circumvent this constraint, symmetry selective polarization switching via second-harmonic generation (SHG) in nonlinear crystals has been attracting scientists' attention. Here, we demonstrate SHG-based all-optical ultrafast polarization switching by using geometric phase controlled nonlinear plasmonic metasurfaces. A switching time of hundreds of femtoseconds and a modulation depth of 97% were experimentally demonstrated. The function of dual-channel all-optical switching was also demonstrated on a metasurface, which consists of spatially variant meta-atoms. The nonlinear metasurface proposed here represents an important platform for developing all-optical ultrafast switches and would benefit the area of optical information processing.

All-Optical Valley Polarization Switch via Controlling Spin-Triplet and Spin-Singlet Interlayer Exciton Emission in WS2/WSe2 Heterostructure.

Although selective singlet and triplet interlayer exciton (IX) emission of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMD) heterostructures can be achieved by applying an electric or magnetic field, the device structure is complex and a low temperature is usually required. Here, we demonstrate a simple all-optical approach to selectively enhance the emission of singlet and triplet IX by selectively coupling singlet or triplet IX of a WS2/WSe2 heterostructure to a SiO2 microsphere cavity. Angle-resolved photoluminescene reveals that the transition dipole of triplet IX is almost along the out-of-plane direction, while singlet IX only has 69% out-of-plane dipole moment contribution. Since the out-of-plane dipole presents a higher Purcell factor within the cavity, we can simultaneously enhance the emission intensity of IX and control the emissive IX species at room temperature in an all-optical route. Importantly, we demonstrate an all-optical valley polarization switch with a record high on/off ratio of 35.

Ultrafast All-Optical Polarization Switch Controlled by Optically Excited Picosecond Acoustic Perturbation of Exciton Resonance in Planar Microcavities

All-optical switching of the polarization of exciton polaritons is studied using a picosecond acoustic perturbation of the exciton resonance in high-$Q$ planar $\mathrm{Ga}\mathrm{As}$/$\mathrm{Al}\mathrm{As}$ microcavities. An irreversible switching of the degree of circular polarization from $22\mathrm{%}$ up to $82\mathrm{%}$ is realized in a microcavity pumped by a laser with a photon energy slightly exceeding the lower polariton resonance. The polarization switch is performed by a short-term, about 30-ps-long, blueshift of the exciton energy of ($\mathrm{In},\mathrm{Ga}$)$\mathrm{As}$ quantum wells in the cavity active layer by a 10-ps strain pulse generated in the $\mathrm{Ga}\mathrm{As}$ substrate by a violet femtosecond laser pulse and injected into the microcavity. The proposed all-optical control of light polarization using acoustic modulation of a polariton resonance opens the way for fast and easily tunable optical polarization switches.

Terahertz Spoof Surface Plasmonic Logic Gates.

SummaryLogic gates are important components in integrated photonic circuitry. Here, a series of logic gates to achieve fundamental logic operations based on linear interference in spoof surface plasmon polariton waveguides are demonstrated at terahertz frequencies. A metasurface-based plasmonic source is adopted to couple free-space terahertz radiation into surface waves, followed by a funnel-shaped metasurface to efficiently couple the surface waves to the waveguides built on a domino structure. A single Mach-Zehnder waveguide interferometer can work as logic gates for four logic functions: AND, NOT, OR, and XOR. By cascading two such interferometers, NAND and NOR operations can also be achieved. Experimental investigations are supported by numerical simulations, and good agreement is obtained. The logic gates have compact sizes and high intensity contrasts for the output “1” and “0” states. More complicated functions can be envisioned and will be of great value for future terahertz integrated computing.

Nonlinear Chiral Meta-Mirrors: Enabling Technology for Ultrafast Switching of Light Polarization.

Photonic nanostructures that realize ultrafast switching of light polarization are essential to advancements in the area of optical information processing. The unprecedented flexibility of metasurfaces in light manipulation makes them a promising candidate for active polarization control. However, due to the lack of optical materials exhibiting a fast as well as large refractive index change, photonic metadevices capable of ultrafast polarization switching remain elusive. Here, an ultrathin nonlinear chiral meta-mirror consisting of an array of amorphous silicon (α-Si) split-ring resonators on top of a silver backplane is demonstrated as a feasible platform for picosecond all-optical polarization switching of near-infrared light at picojoule-per-resonator pump energies. This success was made possible by the high-quality-factor resonances of the proposed meta-atoms that enable the mirror to exhibit strong chiro- and enantioselectivity. Experimental results confirm that our meta-mirrors can be used to facilitate high-speed and power-efficient polarization-state modulators.

Polarization-selective Kerr-phase-shift method for fast, all-optical polarization switching in a cold atomic medium

We examine an all-optical atomic-polarization-gate scheme using a polarization-selective Kerr phase-shift technique. Using a Kerr $\ensuremath{\pi}$-phase-shift technique, we selectively write a $\ensuremath{\pi}$ phase shift to one of the circularly polarized components of a linearly polarized signal field while leaving the other component unchanged. Upon recombination, the signal field acquires a ${90}^{\ensuremath{\circ}}$ linear-polarization rotation, completing the critical polarization-gate operation. We demonstrate with numerical simulations that a special phase-control light-field detuning can be obtained which results in a complete linear-polarization rotation with a phase-control light.

Passive all-optical polarization switch, binary logic gates, and digital processor

We introduce the passive all-optical polarization switch, which modulates light with light. That switch is used to construct all the binary logic gates of two or more inputs. We discuss the design concepts and the operation of the AND, OR, NAND, and NOR gates as examples. The rest of the 16 logic gates are similarly designed. Cascading of such gates is straightforward as we show and discuss. Cascading in itself does not require a power source, but feedback at this stage of development does. The design and operation of an SR Latch is presented as one of the popular basic sequential devices used for memory cells. That completes the essential components of an all-optical polarization digital processor. The speed of such devices is well above 10 GHz for bulk implementations and is much higher for chip-size implementations. In addition, the presented devices do have the four essential characteristics previously thought unique to the microelectronic ones.

All-optical ultrafast polarization switching of terahertz radiation by impulsive molecular alignment

We experimentally demonstrate ultrafast polarization switching of terahertz (THz) radiation generated by dual-color driving pulses composed of orthogonally polarized fundamental and second-harmonic waves, which can be controlled by field-free molecular alignment in air by modulating the relative phase between the two field components as a transient dynamic wave plate. By fine-tuning the time delay to properly match the molecular alignment revivals, a significant polarization modulation of the THz radiation is observed and both linearly and elliptically polarized THz radiations can be obtained.

All-optical polarization switching based on Bragg-spaced quantum dots layers

One kind of Bragg-spaced all-optical switching has been proposed in this paper, and the quantum dots ensembles are used in it as active layers. By one-dimensional photonic crystal theory and transmission matrix method, we have studied the reflectivity stop band and switching effect based on the ac Stark effect. The reflectivity stop band of this switch can be suppressed or recovered, and the circular dichroism and birefringence are induced by a circle-polarized control light, which result in a significant polarization switching effect. This switching structure shows great advantages of lower requirement of pump light intensity, larger contrast ratio than that of Bragg-spaced quantum wells with the same period, especially this switching can be used at room temperature theoretically. So we predict that there are prodigious prospects for its using in high speed optical communications as all-optical switching.

Temperature dependence of active photonic band gap in bragg-spaced quantum wells

A novel all-optical polarization switch of active photonic band gap structure based on non-resonant optical Stark effect bragg-spaced quantum wells was investigated and it could be compatible with the optical communication system. The theory is based on InGaAsP/InP Bragg-spaced quantum wells (BSQWs). Mainly through the design of the InGaAsP well layer component and InP barrier thickness to make the quantum-period cycle meet the bragg condition and the bragg frequency is equal to re-hole exciton resonance frequency. When a spectrally narrow control pulse is tuned within the forbidden gap, such BSQWs have been shown to exhibit large optical nonlinearities and ps recovery times, which can form T hz switch. However, the exciton binding energy of InGaAsP will be automatically separate at room temperature, so the effect of all-optical polarization switching of active photonic band gap bragg structure quantum wells can only be studied at low temperature. By a large number of experiments, we tested part of the material parameters of BSQWs in the temperature range 10-300K. On this basis, the InGaAsP and InP refractive index changes with wavelength, InP thermal expansion coefficient are studied and a relationship equation is established. Experimental results show that the bragg reflection spectra with temperature mainly is effected by InP refractive index changes with temperature. Our theoretical study and experiment are an instruction as a reference in the designs and experiments of future practical optical switches.

High-speed all-optical terahertz polarization switching by a transient plasma phase modulator

We demonstrate high-speed all-optical polarization switching of broadband terahertz frequency electromagnetic fields with subpicosecond switch-on time. This is achieved through the use of a two-plasma configuration in an orthogonal geometry in which one plasma modulates the relative phase of a two-color optical pump field, enabling rapid terahertz polarization modulation at rates limited by the repetition-rate of the control pulse.

Sub-picosecond All-optical Switching of Exciton Spin Polarization in Nanocrystal Quantum Dots Toward Terabit Communication

We report all-optical polarization switching based on resonant excitation of spin-polarized e-h pairs in CdSe nanocrystal quantum dots at room temperature. Pump-probe experiments have been performed using the same and the opposite configurations of circular polarizations. Comparing the co- and the cross-circular polarization cases, it is quite evident that selectively-excited spins are flipped to a balanced state within 1 ps and that during this time, the two spin states are equally populated. The all-optical switching results are found to be in close agreement with pump-probe experimental results. The optical switching technique proposed in the present investigation should be extremely useful for future ultrafast terabit communication systems.

All-optical polarization switch in a quadratic nonlinear photonic quasicrystal

We present an all-optical intensity-dependent polarization switch based on cascaded three-wave-mixing interactions in a quasiperiodic quadratic nonlinear photonic crystal. The polarization switching is realized by simultaneous quasiphase matching of upconversion and downconversion processes in LiNbO3 and achieves three orders of magnitude better efficiency than previous devices based on cascaded cubic nonlinearities. The switch allows extending mode-cleaning and mode-locking techniques to considerably lower input power. We demonstrate experimentally that a single linearly polarized 1550 nm fundamental wave generates a new fundamental wave of orthogonal polarization.

The theoretical investigation of all-optical polarization switching based on InGaAs(P) Bragg-spaced quantum wells

The all-optical polarization switch adopting InGaAsP Bragg-spaced quantum wells (BSQWs) is investigated theoretically because it can be compatible with the optical communication system. The theoretical analysis is based on the transfer matrix approach which provides formalism for studying the optical response of the InGaAsP BSQWs. With this theoretical model we calculate the performance characteristics of the switch, which has a high contrast ratio (~31.1dB), a small insert loss (~13dB), and a small switching energy (~30 M W / cm(2) ). The theory can be used as a basis of experimental research of all-optical spin-dependent polarization switching in BSQWs.

Ultrafast all-optical polarization switching based on “virtual excitation” of InGaAs(P) MQWs

All-optical polarization switches based on near-resonant excitation have been demonstrated recently, which operate without significant real carriers excited in MQWs so as to avoid carriers accumulation. In this paper, we focus our investigation on the switch adopting InGaAsP MQWs because it could be compatible with the optical communication system. Our theoretical analysis is restricted to χ 3 regime (i.e., the lowest-order nonlinear regime) and based on the dynamics-controlled truncation (DCT) scheme which provides a formalism for studying the coherent dynamics in weakly-nonlinear coherent optics of semiconductors. By using the theoretical model based on DCT theory, the switching action was simulated. With this theoretical model, we study the respective contributions of phase space filling and Hartree–Fock mean field as main terms of the optical Stark effect to the switching process, then exhibit the influence of delay time and control intensity for the switching response.

Mechanism of all-optical spin-dependent polarization switching in Bragg-spaced quantum wells

The authors outline a microscopic theory of pump-induced anisotropy in the optical response of Bragg-spaced quantum wells (BSQWs). Their theory explains the manipulation of the band structure of the BSQWs by the pump through the microscopic interactions between excitons in the quantum wells. They apply their theory to understand the mechanism of an all-optical polarization switch implemented on a BSQW structure. They trace the relation between the strongly spin-dependent exciton-exciton interactions and the switching signal. Reasonably good agreement is found between their theoretical results and experimental data.

Ultrafast all-optical polarization switching in Bragg-spaced quantum wells at 80K

A polarization switch is demonstrated in Bragg-spaced quantum wells at 80K that exhibits a 0.6THz optical bandwidth with a contrast ratio greater than 30dB, a throughput of ∼4%, a switching fluence of 8μJ∕cm2, and a pulse-width-limited picosecond response time. In this device, switching is achieved by using large spin-dependent nonlinearities induced by a circularly polarized control pulse to alter the polarization state of a linearly polarized signal pulse.

A near-room-temperature all-optical polarization switch based on the excitation of spin-polarized “virtual” carriers in quantum wells

Near-room-temperature operation of an all-optical polarization switch based on the virtual excitation of spin-polarized carriers in semiconductor quantum wells is demonstrated. The device is shown to exhibit a pulse-width-limited switching time, a contrast ratio of >18dB, an optical bandwidth of ∼3THz, and an energy throughput of >0.1% using a thin (40 wells) GaAs∕AlGaAs sample. The results of differential transmission measurements are used to identify the dominant switching mechanisms and to monitor the spin and temporal dynamics of the carriers excited during the operation of the switch.

All-optical spin-dependent polarization switching in Bragg-spaced quantum well structures

All-optical polarization switching is demonstrated in a resonant photonic band-gap structure consisting of Bragg-spaced quantum wells (BSQWs). The switch takes advantage of the large spin-dependent optical nonlinearities and the ultrafast recovery present in BSQWs to produce large throughputs (greater than 40%), high contrast ratios (greater than 40 dB), and large optical bandwidths (∼0.6THz), where both switching time and sample recovery time are control-pulse-width limited.