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Topological insulator as an optical modulator for pulsed solid‐state lasers
Author(s) -
Yu Haohai,
Zhang Han,
Wang Yicheng,
Zhao Chujun,
Wang Baolin,
Wen Shuangchun,
Zhang Huaijin,
Wang Jiyang
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
laser and photonics reviews
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.778
H-Index - 116
eISSN - 1863-8899
pISSN - 1863-8880
DOI - 10.1002/lpor.201300084
Subject(s) - topological insulator , laser , broadband , topology (electrical circuits) , physics , nonlinear optics , saturable absorption , excitation , optoelectronics , materials science , optics , condensed matter physics , quantum mechanics , fiber laser , mathematics , combinatorics
Topological insulators are states of quantum matter that have narrow topological nontrivial energy gaps and a large third‐order nonlinear optical response. The optical absorption of topological insulators can become saturated under strong excitation. In this work, with Bi 2 Se 3 as an example, it was demonstrated that a topological insulator can modulate the operation of a bulk solid‐state laser by taking advantage of its saturable absorption. The result suggests that topological insulators are potentially attractive as broadband pulsed modulators for the generation of short and ultrashort pulses in bulk solid‐state lasers, in addition to other promising applications in physics and computing.