NON-LINEAR OPTICS IN PLASMONIC NANOANTENNA STRUCTURES AND METAMATERIALS

Abstract

The topic of gain/loss and dispersion is fundamental to the construction of various nanophotonic devices. Through a unique branch of physics called Parity Time Symmetry (PTS), the interplay between gain and loss opens many opportunities to make gain/loss and dispersion necessary parts of the operation of PTS optical devices. The spatial refractive index profile of an optical PTS system, n(x,y,z) requires R{n(x,y,z)} to be spatially symmetric and I{n(x,y,z)} to be spatially antisymmetric. To assess the feasibility of generating high gain and the extent of dispersion effects in nanooptics, we demonstrate experimentally a practical GaAs plasmonic laser based on the hybrid gap plasmon waveguide. The useful application of dispersion in optical PTS is investigated in a Silicon-based active PTS grating. The results of these works improve our understanding of the gain/loss and dispersion mechanism in PTS optical devices and lay the foundation for an efficient design of PTS optical diodes.