Ultrafast nonlinear dynamics of indium tin oxide nanocrystals probed via fieldoscopy

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Herbst, Andreas, Srivastava, Anchit, Scheffter, Kilian, Jun, Soyeon, Gommel, Steffen, Rebecchi, Luca, Kuriyil, Sidharth, Rubino, Andrea, Petrini, Nicolo, Kriegel, Ilka, Fattahi, Hanieh
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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_version_ 1866908509669425152
author Herbst, Andreas
Srivastava, Anchit
Scheffter, Kilian
Jun, Soyeon
Gommel, Steffen
Rebecchi, Luca
Kuriyil, Sidharth
Rubino, Andrea
Petrini, Nicolo
Kriegel, Ilka
Fattahi, Hanieh
author_facet Herbst, Andreas
Srivastava, Anchit
Scheffter, Kilian
Jun, Soyeon
Gommel, Steffen
Rebecchi, Luca
Kuriyil, Sidharth
Rubino, Andrea
Petrini, Nicolo
Kriegel, Ilka
Fattahi, Hanieh
contents Scalable, high-speed, small-footprint photonic switching platforms are essential for advancing optical communication. An effective optical switch must operate at high duty cycles with fast recovery times, while maintaining substantial modulation depth and full reversibility. Colloidal nanocrystals, such as indium tin oxide (ITO), offer a scalable platform to meet these requirements. In this work, the transmission of ITO nanocrystals near their epsilon-near-zero wavelength is modulated by two-cycle optical pulses at a repetition rate of one megahertz. The modulator exhibits a broad bandwidth spanning from 2 um to 2.5 um. Sensitive fieldoscopy measurements resolve the transient electric-field response of the ITO for the first time, showing that the modulation remains reversible for excitation fluences up to 1.2 mJ/cm2 with a modulation depth of 10%, and becomes fully irreversible beyond 3.3 mJ/cm2, while reaching modulation depth of up to 20%. Field sampling further indicates that at higher excitation fluences, the relative contribution from the first cycle of the optical pulses is reduced. These findings are crucial for the development of all-optical switching, telecommunications, and sensing technologies capable of operating at terahertz switching frequencies.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2508_21518
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Ultrafast nonlinear dynamics of indium tin oxide nanocrystals probed via fieldoscopy
Herbst, Andreas
Srivastava, Anchit
Scheffter, Kilian
Jun, Soyeon
Gommel, Steffen
Rebecchi, Luca
Kuriyil, Sidharth
Rubino, Andrea
Petrini, Nicolo
Kriegel, Ilka
Fattahi, Hanieh
Optics
Materials Science
Scalable, high-speed, small-footprint photonic switching platforms are essential for advancing optical communication. An effective optical switch must operate at high duty cycles with fast recovery times, while maintaining substantial modulation depth and full reversibility. Colloidal nanocrystals, such as indium tin oxide (ITO), offer a scalable platform to meet these requirements. In this work, the transmission of ITO nanocrystals near their epsilon-near-zero wavelength is modulated by two-cycle optical pulses at a repetition rate of one megahertz. The modulator exhibits a broad bandwidth spanning from 2 um to 2.5 um. Sensitive fieldoscopy measurements resolve the transient electric-field response of the ITO for the first time, showing that the modulation remains reversible for excitation fluences up to 1.2 mJ/cm2 with a modulation depth of 10%, and becomes fully irreversible beyond 3.3 mJ/cm2, while reaching modulation depth of up to 20%. Field sampling further indicates that at higher excitation fluences, the relative contribution from the first cycle of the optical pulses is reduced. These findings are crucial for the development of all-optical switching, telecommunications, and sensing technologies capable of operating at terahertz switching frequencies.
title Ultrafast nonlinear dynamics of indium tin oxide nanocrystals probed via fieldoscopy
topic Optics
Materials Science
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.21518