Photon Phonon Research Articles

Thermal conductivity and dielectric functions of alkali chloride XCl (X = Li, Na, K and Rb): a first-principles study

The macroscopic physical properties of solids are fundamentally determined by the interactions among microscopic electrons, phonons and photons. In this work, the thermal conductivity and infrared–visible–ultraviolet dielectric functions of alkali chlorides and their temperature dependence are fully investigated at the atomic level, seeking to unveil the microscopic quantum interactions beneath the macroscopic properties. The microscopic phonon–phonon interaction dominates the thermal conductivity which can be investigated by the anharmonic lattice dynamics in combination with Peierls–Boltzmann transport equation. The photon–phonon and electron–photon interaction intrinsically induce the infrared and visible–ultraviolet dielectric functions, respectively, and such microscopic processes can be simulated by first-principles molecular dynamics without empirical parameters. The temperature influence on dielectric functions can be effectively included by choosing the thermally equilibrated configurations as the basic input to calculate the total dipole moment and electronic band structure. The overall agreement between first-principles simulations and literature experiments enables us to interpret the macroscopic thermal conductivity and dielectric functions of solids in a comprehensive way.

Brillouin scattering self-cancellation.

The interaction between light and acoustic phonons is strongly modified in sub-wavelength confinement, and has led to the demonstration and control of Brillouin scattering in photonic structures such as nano-scale optical waveguides and cavities. Besides the small optical mode volume, two physical mechanisms come into play simultaneously: a volume effect caused by the strain-induced refractive index perturbation (known as photo-elasticity), and a surface effect caused by the shift of the optical boundaries due to mechanical vibrations. As a result, proper material and structure engineering allows one to control each contribution individually. Here, we experimentally demonstrate the perfect cancellation of Brillouin scattering arising from Rayleigh acoustic waves by engineering a silica nanowire with exactly opposing photo-elastic and moving-boundary effects. This demonstration provides clear experimental evidence that the interplay between the two mechanisms is a promising tool to precisely control the photon–phonon interaction, enhancing or suppressing it.

RETRACTED ARTICLE: Photon–phonon anti-stokes upconversion of a photonically, electronically, and thermally isolated opal

The purpose of the present research was to investigate an intense violet shift displayed by a non-toxic, natural silicate material with a highly ordered nanostructure. The material displayed an unexpected, nonlinear 2:3 photon–phonon anti-Stokes upconversion while photonically, electronically, and thermally isolated. Conducted aphotonically and at ambient temperatures, the specimen upconverted a low-power, 650 nm constant wave red laser to an internally highly dispersed 433 nm violet wavelength. The strong dispersion was largely due to nearly total internal reflection of the laser. The upconversion had an efficiency of about 78 %, based on specimen volume, with no detectable thermal variance. The 2:3 anti-Stokes upconversion displayed by this material is likely the result of a previously unknown photon–phonon evanescence response that amplified the energy of a portion of the incident laser photons. Thus, a portion of the incident laser photons were upconverted, and the material converted another portion into an amplified energy that caused the upconversion. Internal micro-lasing appeared to be a means of photon–phonon evanescent energy redistribution, enabling dispersed photonic upconversion. Additional analyses also found an unexpectedly rhythmic photonic structure in spectrophotometric scans, polariscopic color changing, and previously undocumented ultraviolet responses.

Strong mechanical squeezing and its detection

We report an efficient mechanism to generate a squeezed state of a mechanical mirror in an optomechanical system. We use especially tuned parametric amplifier (PA) inside the cavity and the parametric photon phonon processes to transfer quantum squeezing from photons to phonons with almost 100\% efficiency. We get 50\% squeezing of the mechanical mirror which is limited by the PA. We present analytical results for the mechanical squeezing thus enabling one to understand the dependence of squeezing on system parameters like gain of PA, cooperativity, temperature. As in cooling experiments the detrimental effects of mirror's Brownian and zero point noises are strongly suppressed by the pumping power. By judicious choice of the phases, the cavity output is squeezed only if the mirror is squeezed thus providing us a direct measure of the mirror's squeezing. Further considerable larger squeezing of the mirror can be obtained by adding the known feedback techniques.

Net on-chip Brillouin gain based on suspended silicon nanowires

The century-old study of photon–phonon coupling has seen a remarkable revival in the past decade. Driven by early observations of dynamical back-action, the field progressed to ground-state cooling and the counting of individual phonons. A recent branch investigates the potential of traveling-wave, optically broadband photon–phonon interaction in silicon circuits. Here, we report continuous-wave Brillouin gain exceeding the optical losses in a series of suspended silicon beams, a step towards selective on-chip amplifiers. We obtain efficiencies up to the highest to date in the phononic gigahertz range. We also find indications that geometric disorder poses a significant challenge towards nanoscale phonon-based technologies.

Nanophotonic cavity optomechanics with propagating acoustic waves at frequencies up to 12 GHz

Strong coherent interactions between colocalized optical and mechanical eigenmodes of various cavity optomechanical systems have been explored intensively toward quantum information processing using both photons and phonons. In contrast to localized modes, propagating mechanical waves are another form of phonons that can be guided and manipulated like photons in engineered phononic structures. Here, we demonstrate sideband-resolved coupling between multiple photonic nanocavities and propagating surface acoustic waves up to 12 GHz. Coherent and strong photon–phonon interaction is manifested with electro-optomechanically induced transparency, absorption, and amplification, and phase-coherent interaction in multiple cavities. Inside an echo chamber, it is shown that a phonon pulse can interact with an embedded nanocavity for multiple times. Our device provides a scalable platform to optomechanically couple phonons and photons for microwave photonics and quantum photonics.

Subcell Debye behavior analysis of order–disorder effects in triple-junction InGaP-based photovoltaic solar cells

Analysis was made of the Subcell Debye behavior of the order–disorder effects in triple-junction InGaP-based photovoltaic solar cells fabricated by a metal organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) system with careful adjustment of the growth conditions. The order–disorder configurations of the InGaP subcells were investigated after post-annealing treatment at various temperatures in a nitrogen atmosphere. Temperature-dependent photoluminescence (PL) measurements over a broad temperature range provided insight into the roles of the thermophysical phenomena connected with the ordering and disordering in the InGaP alloys. The thermally-related spectroscopic observations associated with the ordering effects on the photon–phonon interactions were confirmed by the McCumber–Sturge theory. The variations of both the full width at half-maximum (FWHM) and shift in the peak of PL with temperature were analyzed. According to the width-related PL observations the effective photon–phonon coupling coefficient and the Debye temperature were 0.53meV and 424K, respectively; according to shift-related PL observations of the as-grown sample they were 0.3247eV and 430K, respectively, for the width-related PL observation they were 0.29meV and 421K; and from the shift-related PL observations for the as-grown ordered samples they were 0.3142eV and 425K, respectively, implying that the spontaneously disordered InGaP heterostructures met the demand for improvement of photovoltaic devices. Both the effective photon–phonon coupling coefficient and the Debye temperatures were characterized as functions of the annealing temperature. The Debye temperatures obtained for the disordered and ordered top subcells were consistent with the universal Gruneisen–Bloch relation.

Spectral control of nanodiamond using dressed photon–phonon etching

The luminescence of a nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center in a nanodiamond (ND) is of great interest because of its features, especially in the field of nanophotonics. When an NV center in an ND is located in the vicinity of the surface, the emission is often disturbed by any surface defects, resulting in non-radiative recombination. In this work, we performed dressed photon–phonon (DPP) etching of the NDs, and found that the size of the NDs decreased, while the cathodoluminescence (CL) intensity increased. We assume that this increase in the CL intensity originates from the removal of the surface protrusions and/or defects by DPP etching.

Aging and magnetism: Presenting a possible new holistic paradigm for ameliorating the aging process and the effects thereof, through externally applied physiologic PicoTesla magnetic fields

A new holistic paradigm is proposed for slowing our genomic-based biological clocks (e.g. regulation of telomere length), and decreasing heat energy exigencies for maintenance of physiologic homeostasis. Aging is considered the result of a progressive slow burn in small volumes of tissues with increase in the quantum entropic states; producing desiccation, microscopic scarring, and disruption of cooperative coherent states. Based upon piezoelectricity, i.e. photon–phonon transductions, physiologic PicoTesla range magnetic fields may decrease the production of excessive heat energy through target specific, bio molecular resonant interactions, renormalization of intrinsic electromagnetic tissue profiles, and autonomic modulation.Prospectively, we hypothesize that deleterious effects of physical trauma, immunogenic microbiological agents, stress, and anxiety may be ameliorated. A particle–wave equation is cited to ascertain magnetic field parameters for application to the whole organism thereby achieving desired homeostasis; secondary to restoration of structure and function on quantum levels. We hypothesize that it is at the atomic level that physical events shape the flow of signals and the transmission of energy in bio molecular systems. References are made to experimental data indicating the aspecific efficacy of non-ionizing physiologic magnetic field profiles for treatment of various pathologic states.

Quantum field theory of interacting plasmon–photon–phonon system

This work is devoted to the construction of the quantum field theory of the interacting system of plasmons, photons and phonons on the basis of general fundamental principles of electrodynamics and quantum field theory of many-body systems. Since a plasmon is a quasiparticle appearing as a resonance in the collective oscillation of the interacting electron gas in solids, the starting point is the total action functional of the interacting system comprising electron gas, electromagnetic field and phonon fields. By means of the powerful functional integral technique, this original total action is transformed into that of the system of the quantum fields describing plasmons, transverse photons, acoustic as well as optic longitudinal and transverse phonons. The collective oscillations of the electron gas is characterized by a real scalar field φ(x) called the collective oscillation field. This field is split into the static background field φ0(x) and the fluctuation field ζ(x). The longitudinal phonon fields are also split into the background fields and dynamical fields while the transverse phonon fields themselves are dynamical fields without background fields. After the canonical quantization procedure, the background fields φ0(x), remain the classical fields, while the fluctuation fields ζ(x) and dynamical phonon fields become quantum fields. In quantum theory, a plasmon is the quantum of Hermitian scalar field σ(x) called the plasmon field, longitudinal phonons as complex spinless quasiparticles are the quanta of the effective longitudinal phonon Hermitian scalar fields while transverse phonons are the quanta of the original Hermitian transverse phonon vector fields By means of the functional integral technique the original action functional of the interacting system comprising electron gas, electromagnetic field and phonon fields is transformed into the total action functional of the resultant system comprising plasmon scalar quantum field σ(x), longitudinal phonon effective scalar quantum fields and transverse phonon vector quantum fields .

Control of coherent information via on-chip photonic-phononic emitter-receivers.

Rapid progress in integrated photonics has fostered numerous chip-scale sensing, computing and signal processing technologies. However, many crucial filtering and signal delay operations are difficult to perform with all-optical devices. Unlike photons propagating at luminal speeds, GHz-acoustic phonons moving at slower velocities allow information to be stored, filtered and delayed over comparatively smaller length-scales with remarkable fidelity. Hence, controllable and efficient coupling between coherent photons and phonons enables new signal processing technologies that greatly enhance the performance and potential impact of integrated photonics. Here we demonstrate a mechanism for coherent information processing based on travelling-wave photon–phonon transduction, which achieves a phonon emit-and-receive process between distinct nanophotonic waveguides. Using this device, physics—which supports GHz frequencies—we create wavelength-insensitive radiofrequency photonic filters with frequency selectivity, narrow-linewidth and high power-handling in silicon. More generally, this emit-receive concept is the impetus for enabling new signal processing schemes.

Optomechanical Dirac physics

Recent progress in optomechanical systems may soon allow the realization of optomechanical arrays, i.e. periodic arrangements of interacting optical and vibrational modes. We show that photons and phonons on a honeycomb lattice will produce an optically tunable Dirac-type band structure. Transport in such a system can exhibit transmission through an optically created barrier, similar to Klein tunneling, but with interconversion between light and sound. In addition, edge states at the sample boundaries are dispersive and enable controlled propagation of photon–phonon polaritons.

Influence of Acoustic Anisotropy on Frequency Bandwidths of Bragg Diffraction in Two Orthogonally Polarized Diffraction Orders

In uence of Acoustic Anisotropy on Frequency Bandwidths of Bragg Di raction in Two Orthogonally Polarized Di raction Orders A.V. Zakharov* and V.B. Voloshinov Faculty of Physics, Lomonosov Moscow State University, GSP-2, Leninskiye Gory, 119992 Moscow, Russia This paper theoretically and experimentally examines a speci c regime of acousto-optic di raction during which an arbitrarily polarized incident light in a paratellurite crystal is scattered simultaneously into two orthogonally polarized di raction maxima. We examined acoustic energy walk-o in the crystal and its in uence on phase matching as well as on distribution of light energy between the two di raction orders. This in uence was theoretically considered by means of wave vector diagrams illustrating momentum conservation law during the photon phonon interaction. We obtained expressions for mismatch parameters in the ordinary +1 and extraordinary 1 di raction orders both depending on the walk-o angle. The obtained parameters were used in the Raman Nath system of coupled-wave equations to calculate the di racted light intensities and frequency bandwidths of di raction. We measured the bandwidths in experiments carried out in the (110) plane of paratellurite crystal at the walk-o angle equal to 54◦.

Model of Raman–Nath acousto-optic diffraction

In this Letter, we discuss Raman–Nath acousto-optic diffraction, and a new model of Raman–Nath acousto-optic diffraction is presented. The model is based on the individual and simultaneous occurrences of phase-grating diffraction and the Doppler effect and optical phase modulation and photon–phonon scattering. We find that the optical phase modulation can cause temporal and spatial fluctuations of the diffracted light power escaping from the acoustic field.

Quantum correlations among optical and vibrational quanta

We investigate the feasibility of correlating an optical cavity field and a vibrational phonon mode. A laser pumped quantum dot fixed on a nano-mechanical resonator beam interact as a whole with the optical resonator mode. When the quantum dot variables are faster than the optical and phonon ones, we obtain a final master equation describing the involved modes only. Increasing the temperature, that directly affects the vibrational degrees of freedom, one can as well influence the cavity photon intensity, i.e., the optical and phonon modes are correlated. Furthermore, the corresponding Cauchy-Schwarz inequality is violated demonstrating the quantum nature of those correlations.

Low‐temperature stimulated Raman scattering spectroscopy of tetragonal GdVO4 single crystals

We report on the results of low‐temperature stimulated Raman scattering (SRS)‐spectroscopy of tetragonal GdVO4 single crystals. Measurements at T ≈ 9 K and picosecond excitation in the visible and near‐infrared range revealed new manifestations of χ(3)‐nonlinear photon–phonon interactions. Besides many‐phonon Stokes and anti‐Stokes octave spanning SRS generation we discovered a new fundamental χ(3)‐active phonon mode of the crystal. Furthermore, we received data on combined SRS‐active vibrational modes. The lower limits of the steady‐state Raman gain coefficients for first Stokes generation have been estimated together with the temperature dependence of these values in the range from T ≈ 9 and 273 K. A short review of SRS‐promoting vibrational modes and manifestations of χ(3)‐nonlinear interactions of all known SRS‐active tetragonal rare‐earth REVO4 vanadates is given as well.

Phonon-induced effects on exciton dynamics and photon emission from a semiconductor quantum dot microcavity: phonon coherent state representation

A microscopic theory to study the combined dynamics of a quantum dot exciton coupled to a single cavity mode as well as acoustic phonons is presented. By considering the phonon subsystem in the coherent state representation, the phonon’s impact on the emitted photons is investigated. The single photon emission probability and phonon effects on this quantity are studied. On the other hand, we illustrate that while a quantum dot interacts with a single cavity mode, the collapse and revival phenomenon will occur. It is demonstrated that acoustic phonons have a pronounced impact on the collapse and revival of the quantum dot exciton. Our finding reveals that at elevated temperatures the phonon interaction decreases the Rabi frequency. Moreover, the cavity mode possesses non-classical features such as sub-Poissonian statistics.

Photonic Aharonov–Bohm effect in photon–phonon interactions

The Aharonov–Bohm effect is one of the most intriguing phenomena in both classical and quantum physics, and associates with a number of important and fundamental issues in quantum mechanics. The Aharonov–Bohm effects of charged particles have been experimentally demonstrated and found applications in various fields. Recently, attention has also focused on the Aharonov–Bohm effect for neutral particles, such as photons. Here we propose to utilize the photon–phonon interactions to demonstrate that photonic Aharonov–Bohm effects do exist for photons. By introducing nonreciprocal phases for photons, we observe experimentally a gauge potential for photons in the visible range based on the photon–phonon interactions in acousto-optic crystals, and demonstrate the photonic Aharonov–Bohm effect. The results presented here point to new possibilities to control and manipulate photons by designing an effective gauge potential.

Challenges in realizing ultraflat materials surfaces.

Ultraflat surface substrates are required to achieve an optimal performance of future optical, electronic, or optoelectronic devices for various applications, because such surfaces reduce the scattering loss of photons, electrons, or both at the surfaces and interfaces. In this paper, we review recent progress toward the realization of ultraflat materials surfaces. First, we review the development of surface-flattening techniques. Second, we briefly review the dressed photon–phonon (DPP), a nanometric quasiparticle that describes the coupled state of a photon, an electron, and a multimode-coherent phonon. Then, we review several recent developments based on DPP-photochemical etching and desorption processes, which have resulted in angstrom-scale flat surfaces. To confirm that the superior flatness of these surfaces that originated from the DPP process, we also review a simplified mathematical model that describes the scale-dependent effects of optical near-fields. Finally, we present the future outlook for these technologies.

CO2 phonon mode renormalization using phonon-assisted energy up-conversion

Molecular dissociation under incident light whose energy is lower than the bond dissociation energy has been achieved through multi step excitation using a coupled state of a photon, electron, and multimode-coherent phonon as known as the dressed photon phonon (DPP). Here, we have investigated the effects of the DPP on CO2, a very stable molecule with high absorption and dissociation energies, by introducing ZnO nanorods to generate the DPP. Then, the changes in CO2 absorption bands were evaluated using light with a wavelength longer than the absorption wavelength, which confirmed the DPP-assisted energy up-conversion. To evaluate the specific CO2 modes related to this process, we measured the CO2 vibration-rotation spectra in the near-infrared region. Detailed analysis of the 3ν3 vibrational band when a DPP source is present showed that DPP causes a significant increase in the intensity of certain absorption bands, especially those that require higher energies to activate.