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Ultrafast all-optical switching via subdiffractional photonic nanojets and select semiconductor nanoparticles Born, Brandon; Holzman, Jonathan; Geoffroy-Gagnon, Simon; Krupa, Jeffrey D. A.; Hristovski, Ilija; Collier, Christopher Michael

Abstract

Nanophotonic all-optical switching is anticipated to replace electronic processing in future optical fibre front-end systems—unlocking capabilities for all-optical terabit-per-second processing. This work introduces a new all-optical switch (AOS) as a fundamental element for such processing. The AOS applies a nanophotonic superlens, in the form of a dielectric microsphere, to form an intense nonevanescent subdiffractional focus called a photonic nanojet. The photonic nanojet materializes in a coating of semiconductor nanoparticles at the rear of the microsphere. The AOS is refined using Lorenz- Mie theory simulations and free-carrier dynamical modelling. Experiments with microspheres coated by Si, CdTe, InP, and CuO nanoparticles, having radii of 40, 30, 20, and 20 nm, reveal switching energies of 1 pJ, 500 fJ, 400 fJ, and 300 fJ, and switching times of 2 ps, 2.3 ps, 900 fs, and 350 fs, respectively. The realized AOS meets the ultimate goals of femtojoule switching energies and femtosecond switching times.

Item Metadata

Title
Ultrafast all-optical switching via subdiffractional photonic nanojets and select semiconductor nanoparticles
Creator
Born, Brandon; Holzman, Jonathan; Geoffroy-Gagnon, Simon; Krupa, Jeffrey D. A.; Hristovski, Ilija; Collier, Christopher Michael
Publisher
ACS photonics
Date Issued
2016
Description
Nanophotonic all-optical switching is anticipated to replace electronic processing in future optical fibre front-end systems—unlocking capabilities for all-optical terabit-per-second processing. This work introduces a new all-optical switch (AOS) as a fundamental element for such processing. The AOS applies a nanophotonic superlens, in the form of a dielectric microsphere, to form an intense nonevanescent subdiffractional focus called a photonic nanojet. The photonic nanojet materializes in a coating of semiconductor nanoparticles at the rear of the microsphere. The AOS is refined using Lorenz- Mie theory simulations and free-carrier dynamical modelling. Experiments with microspheres coated by Si, CdTe, InP, and CuO nanoparticles, having radii of 40, 30, 20, and 20 nm, reveal switching energies of 1 pJ, 500 fJ, 400 fJ, and 300 fJ, and switching times of 2 ps, 2.3 ps, 900 fs, and 350 fs, respectively. The realized AOS meets the ultimate goals of femtojoule switching energies and femtosecond switching times.
Subject
nanophotonics; all-optical switching; femtosecond optics; photonics nanojet; semiconductor nanoparticles
Genre
Article
Type
Text
Language
eng
Date Available
2018-03-19
Provider
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
DOI
10.14288/1.0364291
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/2429/64851
Affiliation
Applied Science, Faculty of; Engineering, School of (Okanagan)
Citation
B. Born, S. Geoffroy-Gagnon, J. D. A. Krupa, I. R. Hristovski, C. M. Collier, and J. F. Holzman, "Ultrafast all-optical switching via subdiffractional photonic nanojets and select semiconductor nanoparticles," ACS Photonics, vol. 3, pp. 1095-1101, June, 2016.
Publisher DOI
10.1021/acsphotonics.6b00182
Peer Review Status
Reviewed
Scholarly Level
Faculty
Rights URI
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Aggregated Source Repository
DSpace

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Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International