Search

The optical contrast between the crystalline and amorphous forms of phase‐change materials (PCMs) is so marked as to make it ideal for data storage. Various explanations have been given, including smearing of bands, changes in the local structural order and bonding, and resonant bonding. A consensus has not been reached. Herein, the dielectric function of crystalline and amorphous Sb2Te3, a topological insulator and prototype PCM, is studied using density functional theory and ellipsometry measurements; an expression for interplay between the crystalline electric field and the spin–orbit interaction on the valence band orbitals is derived. It is found that the crystalline electric field and spin–orbit interaction are responsible for this difference and the unusually large refractive index in the crystalline phase. Upon amorphization, a second‐order electronic phase transition is induced by the spin–orbit interaction's effect on the pz orbitals. This mechanism explains how a substantial optical gap can open in systems that have a small electronic band gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Third‐order harmonic generation (THG) plays a vital role in microscopy, optical communications, etc. Conventional methods of obtaining efficient THG in macroscopic crystals is already mature; however, they will finally limit the miniaturization and integration of on‐chip laser sources. To date, THG from either photonic crystals or metamaterials provides compact photonic platforms; however, selection of materials remains elusive. Herein, a giant enhancement of THG efficiency from an air/high index Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST)/gold multi‐layered Fabry–Perot cavity is experimentally demonstrated. At cavity resonant wavelength in near‐infrared regime, the efficiency of THG from a 50‐nm thick amorphous GST planar film is boosted 422 times compared to that of nonresonant conditions. Interestingly, the THG efficiency has a dramatic decrease of three orders when the structural state of GST is transformed from amorphous to crystalline. These findings have a potential for achieving an ultracompact nonlinear optical source with high efficiency and switchable functionality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Separating enantiomers is vital in chemical syntheses, life sciences, and physics. However, the usual chemical processes are inefficient. Recently, plasmonic nanostructures have drawn considerable attention for manipulating nanoparticles; however, only a few approaches are proposed to discriminate between entities that differ in terms of their handedness. This is because the chiral polarizability is much smaller than the electric polarizability, and therefore the non‐chiral gradient force dominates over the chiral gradient force. This limit means that the enantioselective sorting of chiral nanoparticles is a formidable challenge. A plasmonic nanostructure consisting of a disc‐double split ring resonator exhibiting a dipole–octupole (DO) Fano resonance (FR) is designed and fabricated. It is theoretically demonstrated that such a DO‐FR can markedly enhance the chiral gradient force on the paired enantiomers. The coaxial channel of the resonator possessing high chirality density gradients around the DO‐FR is derived. This provides an enhanced chiral gradient force that dominates over the non‐chiral gradient forces on sub‐10 nm chiral nanoparticles. Enantiomeric pairs can thus experience distinct potential wells in terms of signs. This proposed structure may advance the techniques of enantiopurification and enantioseparation, bringing a new perspective to state‐of‐the‐art all‐optical enantiopure synthesis. Separation of sub‐10 nm enantiomers is demonstrated using Fano resonance‐enhanced transverse chiral force under a circularly polarized light with intensity 100 mW µm−2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

2D van der Waals materials have attracted increasing attention in recent years due to their exciting physical properties and offer new opportunities for creating devices with enhanced or novel functionalities. In particular, α‐MoO3 is an emerging member of the fast‐growing 2D family with strong natural anisotropic optical properties. However, anisotropic optical properties of ‐MoO3 in the visible frequency range remain elusive. Here, α‐MoO3 is investigated as an optical material at the visible frequency (450–750 nm), which exhibits a polarization‐dependent complex refractive index due to the anisotropic crystal structure. As a proof of concept, polarization‐sensitive photonic devices including polarization reflectors and polarization color filters are designed and realized by constructing metal–insulator–metal Fabry–Perot cavities. It is observed that resonance frequencies for designed transmission and reflection filters change up to 25 nm with incident polarization which stems from the polarization‐dependent complex refractive indices of α‐MoO3. The largest contrasts are observed for two orthogonal polarization states parallel to the two orthogonal in‐plane crystal directions. The approach in this study offers new directions for potential applications in the development of polarization‐dependent devices based on 2D van der Waals materials for visible frequencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The terahertz (THz) band has a great potential for the development of communication technology, but it has not been fully utilized due to the lack of practical devices, especially actively controllable multifunctional devices. Here, we propose and demonstrate a Ge 2 Sb 2 Te 5 (GST)-based metamaterial device, where an actively controllable function is experimentally verified by inducing the crystallization process with thermal activation. Cross-polarization conversion in the reflection mode and circular-to-linear polarization conversion in the transmission mode are obtained under crystalline and amorphous GST conditions, respectively. The combination of GST and THz waves has a wide range of applications and will further advance the THz field.

Metamaterial (MM) perfect absorbers are realised over various spectra from visible to microwave. Recently, different approaches have been explored to integrate tunability into MM absorbers. Particularly, tuning has been illustrated through electrical-, thermal-, and photo-induced changes to the permittivity of the active medium within MM absorbers. However, the intricate design, expensive nanofabrication process, and the volatile nature of the active medium limit the widespread applications of MM absorbers. Metal-dielectric stack layered hyperbolic metamaterials (HMMs) have recently attracted much attention due to their extraordinary optical properties and rather simple design. Herein, we experimentally realised a reconfigurable HMM perfect absorber based on alternating gold (Au) and Ge 2 Sb 2 Te 5 (GST225) layers for the near-infrared (N-IR) region. It shows that a red-shift of 500 nm of the absorptance peak can be obtained by changing the GST225 state from amorphous to crystalline. The nearly perfect absorptance is omnidirectional and polarisation-independent. Additionally, the absorptance peak can be reversibly switched in just five nanoseconds by re-amorphising the GST225, enabling a dynamically reconfigurable HMM absorber. Experimental data are validated numerically using the finite-difference time-domain method. The absorber fabricated using our strategy has advantages of being reconfigurable, uncomplicated, and lithography-free over conventional MM absorbers, which may open up a new path for applications in energy harvesting, photodetectors, biochemical sensing, and thermal camouflage techniques., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Metamaterials analog of electromagnetically induced reflectance (EIR) has attracted intense attentions since they can provide various applications for novel photonic devices such as optical detectors with a high sensitivity and slow-light devices with a low loss. The development of dynamic photonic devices desires a tunable EIR feature in metamaterials. However, most metamaterials-induced EIR is not spectrally controllable particularly for the near-infrared (NIR) region. Herein, a tuning of EIR is illustrated in Babinet chalcogenide metamaterials in the NIR region. The EIR response is created by weak hybridization of two dipolar (bright) modes of the paired Au slots. Such a mode interference can be engineered through non-volatile phase transition to the refractive index of the Ge 2 Sb 2 Te 5 (GST), resulting in an active controlling of the reflection window. A 15% spectral tuning of the reflectance peak is observed experimentally in the NIR region as switching the GST state between amorphous and crystalline., Competing Interests: Declaration of Interests The authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The observation of topological edge states (TESs) revolutionized our understanding of scattering and propagation of electromagnetic (EM) waves. Supported by topological robustness, the TES at the interface between trivial and non-trivial insulators was not reflected from the structural disorders and imperfections. Recently topological photonic crystals (PhCs) were demonstrated to obtain remarkable one-way propagation of the TES, having the advantages of lossless propagation, dense integration, and high fabrication tolerance over conventional PhCs. Nevertheless, the lack of reversible switching of TES possesses significant limitations in helicity/spin filtering and tunable photonic devices. We proposed a topological PhC based on a prototypical phase-change material, Ge 2 Sb 2 Te 5 (GST225) to solve the problem. We find that at a particular frequency, the TES within the structure can be reversibly switched between "on" and "off" by transiting the GST225 structural state between amorphous and crystalline. Moreover, the topology of the PhC was maintained since the tuning of TES was achieved by varying the refractive index of GST225 instead of the structural geometry. This provides a continuous change of the spectral position of the photonic bandgap and TES by gradually crystallising the GST225. We show that the phase change of GST225 from amorphous to crystalline and vice versa can be engineered in nanoseconds. Our proof of concept may offer a platform for dynamically tuning the TESs that might otherwise be challenging to attain in photonic systems. We expect it to have potential applications for photonic devices in topological optical circuits and scatter-free one-way light propagation., (Copyright © 2019 Science China Press. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Chiral surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) produced by plasmonic nanowires can be used to enhance molecular spectroscopy for biosensing applications. Nevertheless, the switchable stereoselectivity and detection of various analytes are limited by a lack of switchable, chiral SPPs. Using both finite-element method simulations and analytic calculations, we present a graphene-coated chalcogenide (GCC) nanowire that produces mid-infrared, chiral SPPs. The chiral SPPs can be reversibly switched between "on" (transparent) and "off" (opaque) by non-volatile structural state transitions in the dielectric constants of the chalcogenide glass Ge2Sb2Te5. Furthermore, by controlling the Fermi energy of the graphene-coating layer, the nanowire can output either non-chiral or chiral SPPs. A thermal-electric model was built to illustrate the possibility of ultrafast on/off switching of the SPPs at the terminus of the nanowire. Finally, we show that a selective, lateral sorting of sub-10-nm enantiomers can be achieved via the GCC nanowire. Chiral nanoparticles with opposite handedness experience transverse forces that differ in both their sign and magnitude. Our design may pave the way for plasmonic nanowire networks and tunable nanophotonic devices, which require the ultrafast switching of SPPs, and provide a possible approach for a compact, enantiopure synthesis., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Noble metals, like Ag and Au, are the most intensively studied plasmonic materials in the visible range. Plasmons in semiconductors, however, are usually believed to be in the infrared wavelength region due to the intrinsic low carrier concentrations. Herein, we observe the edge plasmon modes of Bi 2 Te 3 , a narrow-band gap semiconductor, in the visible spectral range using photoemission electron microscopy (PEEM). The Bi 2 Te 3 nanoplates excited by 400 nm femtosecond laser pulses exhibit strong photoemission intensities along the edges, which follow a cos 4 dependence on the polarization state of incident beam. Because of the phase retardation effect, plasmonic response along different edges can be selectively exited. The thickness-dependent photoemission intensities exclude the spin-orbit induced surface states as the origin of these plasmonic modes. Instead, we propose that the interband transition-induced nonequilibrium carriers might play a key role. Our results not only experimentally demonstrate the possibility of visible plasmons in semiconducting materials but also open up a new avenue for exploring the optical properties of topological insulator materials using PEEM.

Sophisticated optical micromanipulation of small biomolecules usually relies on complex light, e.g., structured light, highly non-paraxial light, or chiral light. One emerging technique is to employ chiral light to drive the chiral nanoparticle along the direction perpendicular to the propagation of the light, i.e., the lateral optical force. Here, we theoretically study the lateral optical force exerted by a entirely Gaussian beam. For the very first time we demonstrate that the Fano resonances (FRs) of the Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST) phase-change nanoparticles encapsulated with Au shells could enable a conventional Gaussian laser to exert a lateral force on such a dielectric GST nanoparticle, attributed to the strongly asymmetric energy flow around the sphere in the dipole-quadrupole FRs. More interestingly, the direction of this lateral force could be reversible during the state transition (i.e., from amorphous to crystalline). By bonding small biomolecules to the outer surface of the phase-change nanoparticle, the particle behaves as a direction-selective vehicle to transport biomolecules along opposite directions, at pre-assessed states of the Ge2Sb2Te5 core correspondingly. Importantly, the origin of the reversal of the lateral optical force is further unveiled by the optical singularity of the Poynting vector. Our mechanism of tailoring the FRs of phase-change nanoparticles, not just limited to GST, may bring a new twist to optical micromanipulation and biomedical applications.

Beam steering devices have gained extensive interests in the fields of optical interconnects, communications, displays and data storages. However, the challenge lies in obtaining an ultrafast beam steering structure in the optical regime. Here, we propose phase-array-like plasmonic resonators based on metal/phase-change materials (PCMs)/metal trilayers for all-optical ultrafast beam steering in the mid-infrared (MIR) region. We numerically demonstrate an angle beam steering of 11° for transmitted wave (front lobe) and 22° for reflected wave (back lobe) by switching between the amorphous and crystalline states of the PCM (Ge₂Sb₂Te₅). A photothermal model is used to study the temporal variation of the temperature of the Ge₂Sb₂Te₅ film to show potential for switching the phase of Ge₂Sb₂Te₅ by optical heating. Generation of the beam steering in this structure exhibits a fast beam steering time of 3.6 ns under a low pump light intensity of 2.6 μW/μm₂. Our design possesses a simple geometry which can be fabricated using standard photolithography patterning and is essential for exploiting the ultrafast beam steering in various applications in the MIR regime.

A blueshift tunable metamaterial (MM) exhibiting a double-negative refractive index based on a topological insulator (bismuth selenide, Bi2Se3) has been demonstrated in the near-infrared (NIR) spectral region. The potential of Bi2Se3 as a dielectric interlayer of the multilayer MM is explored. The optical response of elliptical nanohole arrays penetrating through Au/Bi2Se3/Au films is numerically investigated using the finite difference time domain (FDTD) method. The blueshift tuning range of the MM is as high as 370 nm (from 2,140 to 1,770 nm) after switching the Bi2Se3 between its trigonal and orthorhombic states.