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Nanoscale photonics of structural transformations in gallium

Nanoscale photonics of structural transformations in gallium
Nanoscale photonics of structural transformations in gallium
We have found recently that Gallium, confined at an interface with silica, responds dramatically to low power optical excitation when held at temperatures close to its melting point (29.8°C). Intensities of just a few kW/cm2 can reversibly modulate the intensity (by up to 40%) and phase (by as much as several degrees) of reflected light as the result of a light-induced structural transition occurring in a layer of gallium of only a few nm thick. Here, we report that this concept - of achieving a nonlinearity via a light-induced transformation in a confined solid at a temperature close to a phase transition temperature - can also be applied to gallium nanoparticles. We present the transient all-optical switching characteristics of gallium nanoparticle films comprising particles, typically 80 nm in diameter, which were formed directly on the ends of optical fibers using a new light-assisted self-assembly technique. We also report, for the first time, that this light-induced structural transition in gallium confined at an interface with silica underlies a new mechanism for photoconductivity. In our opinion, the exploitation of the light-induced phase transition in gallium may be a means of enabling the development of nanoscale photonic devices.
Zheludev, Nikolay I.
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Fedotov, Vassili A.
3725f5cc-2d0b-4e61-95c5-26d187c84f25
MacDonald, Kevin F.
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Stevens, G.C.
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Pochon, Sebastien
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Woodford, M.
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Cao, Guozhomg
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Kirk, Wiley P.
33f4aead-b957-4fed-9991-15dc316f4284
Zheludev, Nikolay I.
32fb6af7-97e4-4d11-bca6-805745e40cc6
Fedotov, Vassili A.
3725f5cc-2d0b-4e61-95c5-26d187c84f25
MacDonald, Kevin F.
76c84116-aad1-4973-b917-7ca63935dba5
Stevens, G.C.
69d3fdbc-bb4c-4e7e-b066-2ec4f7f6986d
Pochon, Sebastien
ac0f914c-f6a0-4291-94bc-185345f025ac
Woodford, M.
89f6b04c-0b02-47e6-8f27-264fe74fb9fd
Cao, Guozhomg
8a8db85d-72b4-4083-8a56-963189dae61b
Kirk, Wiley P.
33f4aead-b957-4fed-9991-15dc316f4284

Zheludev, Nikolay I., Fedotov, Vassili A., MacDonald, Kevin F., Stevens, G.C., Pochon, Sebastien and Woodford, M. (2002) Nanoscale photonics of structural transformations in gallium. Cao, Guozhomg and Kirk, Wiley P. (eds.) Annual meeting: Nanoscale Optics and Applications, , Seattle, United States. 01 Jul 2002. (doi:10.1117/12.451621).

Record type: Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)

Abstract

We have found recently that Gallium, confined at an interface with silica, responds dramatically to low power optical excitation when held at temperatures close to its melting point (29.8°C). Intensities of just a few kW/cm2 can reversibly modulate the intensity (by up to 40%) and phase (by as much as several degrees) of reflected light as the result of a light-induced structural transition occurring in a layer of gallium of only a few nm thick. Here, we report that this concept - of achieving a nonlinearity via a light-induced transformation in a confined solid at a temperature close to a phase transition temperature - can also be applied to gallium nanoparticles. We present the transient all-optical switching characteristics of gallium nanoparticle films comprising particles, typically 80 nm in diameter, which were formed directly on the ends of optical fibers using a new light-assisted self-assembly technique. We also report, for the first time, that this light-induced structural transition in gallium confined at an interface with silica underlies a new mechanism for photoconductivity. In our opinion, the exploitation of the light-induced phase transition in gallium may be a means of enabling the development of nanoscale photonic devices.

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More information

e-pub ahead of print date: July 2002
Venue - Dates: Annual meeting: Nanoscale Optics and Applications, , Seattle, United States, 2002-07-01 - 2002-07-01

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 78972
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/78972
PURE UUID: bcbfb971-fc58-44d7-b5b3-8e7a3b254a57
ORCID for Nikolay I. Zheludev: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-1013-6636
ORCID for Kevin F. MacDonald: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-3877-2976

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 11 Mar 2010
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 02:43

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Contributors

Author: Vassili A. Fedotov
Author: G.C. Stevens
Author: Sebastien Pochon
Author: M. Woodford
Editor: Guozhomg Cao
Editor: Wiley P. Kirk

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