Achanta Venu Gopal

Enhanced magneto-optical effects in magnetoplasmonic crystals

Plasmonics allows light to be localized on length scales much shorter than its wavelength, which makes it possible to integrate photonics and electronics on the nanoscale. Magneto-optical materials are appealing for applications in plasmonics because they open up the possibility of using external magnetic fields in plasmonic devices. Here, we fabricate a new magneto-optical material, a magnetoplasmonic crystal, that consists of a nanostructured noble-metal film on top of a ferromagnetic dielectric, and we demonstrate an enhanced Kerr effect with this material. Such magnetoplasmonic crystals could have applications in telecommunications, magnetic field sensing and all-optical magnetic data storage.

Damping of Exciton Rabi Rotations by Acoustic Phonons in Optically Excited InGaAs=GaAs Quantum Dots

We report experimental evidence identifying acoustic phonons as the principal source of the excitation-induced-dephasing (EID) responsible for the intensity damping of quantum dot excitonic Rabi rotations. The rate of EID is extracted from temperature dependent Rabi rotation measurements of the ground-state excitonic transition, and is found to be in close quantitative agreement with an acoustic-phonon model.

Plasmon-mediated magneto-optical transparency

Magnetic field control of light is among the most intriguing methods for modulation of light intensity and polarization on sub-nanosecond timescales. The implementation in nanostructured hybrid materials provides a remarkable increase of magneto-optical effects. However, so far only the enhancement of already known effects has been demonstrated in such materials. Here we postulate a novel magneto-optical phenomenon that originates solely from suitably designed nanostructured metal-dielectric material, the so-called magneto-plasmonic crystal. In this material, an incident light excites coupled plasmonic oscillations and a waveguide mode. An in-plane magnetic field allows excitation of an orthogonally polarized waveguide mode that modifies optical spectrum of the magneto-plasmonic crystal and increases its transparency. The experimentally achieved light intensity modulation reaches 24%. As the effect can potentially exceed 100%, it may have great importance for applied nanophotonics. Further, the effect allows manipulating and exciting waveguide modes by a magnetic field and light of proper polarization.

1.55-μm picosecond all-optical switching by using intersubband absorption in InGaAs-AlAs-AlAsSb coupled quantum wells

We report on the first all-optical switching operation of intersubband absorption at an optical communication wavelength (/spl sim/1.55 /spl mu/m). The 1.55-/spl mu/m intersubband absorption was achieved by InGaAs-AlAs-AlAsSb coupled quantum wells. A switching operation on an ultrafast signal (equivalent to 1 THz) was successfully demonstrated with a control pulse energy as low as 27 pJ.

High spatial frequency periodic structures induced on metal surface by femtosecond laser pulses

The high spatial frequency periodic structures induced on metal surface by femtosecond laser pulses was investigated experimentally and numerically. It is suggested that the redistribution of the electric field on metal surface caused by the initially formed low spatial frequency periodic structures plays a crucial role in the creation of high spatial frequency periodic structures. The field intensity which is initially localized in the grooves becomes concentrated on the ridges in between the grooves when the depth of the grooves exceeds a critical value, leading to the ablation of the ridges in between the grooves and the formation of high spatial frequency periodic structures. The proposed formation process is supported by both the numerical simulations based on the finite-difference time-domain technique and the experimental results obtained on some metals such as stainless steel and nickel.

Tuning of the transverse magneto-optical Kerr effect in magneto-plasmonic crystals

The spectral properties of the transverse magneto-optical Kerr effect (TMOKE) in periodic metal-dielectric hybrid structures are studied, in particular with respect to the achievable magnitude. It is shown that the TMOKE is sensitive to the magneto-optical activity of the bismuth-substituted rare-earth iron garnet, which is used as a dielectric material in the investigated structures. For samples with larger Bi substitution level and, consequently, larger gyration

Plasmonic crystals for ultrafast nanophotonics: Optical switching of surface plasmon polaritons

We demonstrate that the dispersion of surface plasmon polaritons in a periodically perforated gold film can be efficiently manipulated by femtosecond laser pulses in spectral regions far from the intrinsic gold resonances. Using a time- and frequency-resolved pump-probe technique we observe shifting of the plasmon polariton resonances with response times from 200 to 800 fs depending on the probe photon energy, by which we obtain comprehensive insight into the electron dynamics in gold. We show that Wood anomalies in the optical spectra provide pronounced resonances indifferential transmissionand reflection with magnitudes upto 3%for moderate pump fluences of 0.5 mJ/cm 2 .

Enhancement of switching speed by laser-induced clustering of nanoparticles in magnetic fluids

The switching speed of magnetic fluids was investigated by using laser light of different power densities as well as incandescent light. It was found that the switching speed exhibited a strong dependence on incident power density and there existed an optimum value at which the fastest switching operation was achieved. In addition, it was revealed that the clustering of magnetic nanoparticles, which became resolved at large power densities, resulted in a rapid agglomeration of nanoparticles when a magnetic field was applied. It is suggested that the optical trapping force of the laser beam is responsible for the formation of clusters.

Fabry–Perot plasmonic structures for nanophotonics

It is demonstrated that the presence of the metal on the walls of dielectric grating slits opens new possibilities for tailoring optical properties of metal–dielectric plasmonic gratings. In particular, a new kind of metal-thickness-sensitive resonances appear due to the excitation of the Fabry–Perot plasmonic modes in the horizontal cavity formed inside the slits by vertical metalized walls. It makes the considered plasmonic structures of great interest for applications where the concentration of the electromagnetic energy is vital. Moreover, transmission peaks related to the Fabry–Perot modes inside the slits etched in the dielectric part exhibit significant enhancement and blueshift as the thickness of the metal on the slit walls increases.

All-optical diodes based on photonic crystal molecules consisting of nonlinear defect pairs

We investigate the unidirectional transmission behavior of photonic crystal (PC) molecules consisting of nonlinear defect pairs by use of the coupled mode theory and the finite-difference time-domain technique. As compared with the all-optical diodes based on single asymmetrically confined PC defects (or PC atoms), a significant enhancement in the transmission contrast is achieved. A qualitative comparison of the dynamical response to external excitation is carried out for nonlinear PC atoms and molecules and the physical origins responsible for the enhancement of transmission contrast are clarified. In addition, the tolerance of the resulting optical diodes against the fabrication error is discussed. Furthermore, it is revealed that the figure of merit, which is defined as the product of the threshold transmission and the transmission contrast, can be greatly improved by dropping the use of air defects. Some abnormal and intriguing transmission behaviors are observed in the PC molecules without using air...