Open AccessUltrafast nonlinear mirrors with broad spectral and angular bandwidths in the visible spectral range
Author(s) -
James Hsu,
Canek Fuentes-Hernández,
Alfred R. Ernst,
Bernard Kippelen
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.21.003573
Subject(s) - optics , materials science , ultrashort pulse , refractive index , femtosecond , figure of merit , nonlinear optics , nonlinear system , optoelectronics , laser , physics , quantum mechanics
A novel nonlinear mirror structure is presented. A 23 nm-thick Au thin film separated from a 100 nm-thick Ag film by a dielectric spacer is used to drive the nonlinear optical response of the mirror. The linear and nonlinear optical properties of the mirror can be tuned by optimizing its layer thickness distribution. A figure-of-merit for the change in reflectance is derived for the nonlinear mirror and the nonlinear refractive index change of the Au layer is shown to be significantly enhanced in the mirror structure. The ultrafast reflectance change of the nonlinear mirror, studied using femtosecond white-light continuum pump-probe experiments, shows an extremely large magnitude and is both spectrally and angularly broad in the visible range.