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1. Vacuum deposition of χ(2) nonlinear organic single crystal films on silicon

   https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0207675  

   Krainova, Nina ; Johnson, Holly M ; Lampande, Raju ; Gao, Siyu ; Marom, Noa ; Rand, Barry P ; Giebink, Noel C ( July 2024 , Applied Physics Letters)

   Integrating second order nonlinear (χ(2)) optical materials on chip is an ongoing challenge for Si photonics. Noncentrosymmetric molecular crystals have the potential to deliver high χ(2) nonlinearity with good thermal stability, but so far have been limited to growth from solution or the melt, which are both difficult to control and scale up in manufacturing. Here, we show that large (>100 μm) single crystal domains of the nonlinear molecule 2-[3-(4-hydroxystyryl)-5,5-dimethylcyclohex-2-enylidene] malononitrile (OH1) can be grown monolithically on either glass or Si via vacuum evaporation, followed by a short thermal annealing step. The crystallites are tens of nanometer thick and exhibit strong second harmonic generation with their primary χ(2) tensor component lying predominantly in plane. Remarkably, we find that a single domain can grow uninterrupted through nearby channels etched on a Si wafer, which may provide a path to integrate OH1 on Si or Si3N4 waveguides for a broad range of χ(2)-based photonic integrated circuit functionality.

    

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2. Search for a scalar partner of the top quark in the all-hadronic $$t{\bar{t}}$$ plus missing transverse momentum final state at $$\sqrt{s}=13$$ TeV with the ATLAS detector

   https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-020-8102-8  

   Aad, G. ; Abbott, B. ; Abbott, D. C. ; Abud, A. Abed ; Abeling, K. ; Abhayasinghe, D. K. ; Abidi, S. H. ; AbouZeid, O. S. ; Abraham, N. L. ; Abramowicz, H. ; et al ( August 2020 , The European Physical Journal C)

   null (Ed.)

   Abstract A search for direct pair production of scalar partners of the top quark (top squarks or scalar third-generation up-type leptoquarks) in the all-hadronic $$t{\bar{t}}$$ t t ¯ plus missing transverse momentum final state is presented. The analysis of 139  $$\hbox {fb}^{-1}$$ fb - 1 of $${\sqrt{s}=13}$$ s = 13  TeV proton–proton collision data collected using the ATLAS detector at the LHC yields no significant excess over the Standard Model background expectation. To interpret the results, a supersymmetric model is used where the top squark decays via $${\tilde{t}} \rightarrow t^{(*)} {\tilde{\chi }}^0_1$$ t ~ → t ( ∗ ) χ ~ 1 0 , with $$t^{(*)}$$ t ( ∗ ) denoting an on-shell (off-shell) top quark and $${\tilde{\chi }}^0_1$$ χ ~ 1 0 the lightest neutralino. Three specific event selections are optimised for the following scenarios. In the scenario where $$m_{{\tilde{t}}}> m_t+m_{{\tilde{\chi }}^0_1}$$ m t ~ > m t + m χ ~ 1 0 , top squark masses are excluded in the range 400–1250 GeV for $${\tilde{\chi }}^0_1$$ χ ~ 1 0 masses below 200 GeV at 95% confidence level. In the situation where $$m_{{\tilde{t}}}\sim m_t+m_{{\tilde{\chi }}^0_1}$$ m t ~ ∼ m t + m χ ~ 1 0 , top squark masses in the range 300–630 GeV are excluded, while in the case where $$m_{{\tilde{t}}}< m_W+m_b+m_{{\tilde{\chi }}^0_1}$$ m t ~ < m W + m b + m χ ~ 1 0 (with $$m_{{\tilde{t}}}-m_{{\tilde{\chi }}^0_1}\ge 5$$ m t ~ - m χ ~ 1 0 ≥ 5  GeV), considered for the first time in an ATLAS all-hadronic search, top squark masses in the range 300–660 GeV are excluded. Limits are also set for scalar third-generation up-type leptoquarks, excluding leptoquarks with masses below 1240 GeV when considering only leptoquark decays into a top quark and a neutrino. 

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3. Programmable plasmonic phase modulation of free-space wavefronts at gigahertz rates

   Alexei Smolyaninov, Abdelkrim El ( February 2019 , Nature photonics)

   Space-variant control of optical wavefronts is important for many applications in photonics, such as the generation of structured light beams, and is achieved with spatial light modulators. Commercial devices, at present, are based on liquid-crystal and digital micromirror technologies and are typically limited to kilohertz switching speeds. To realize significantly higher operating speeds, new technologies and approaches are necessary. Here we demonstrate two-dimensional control of free-space optical fields at a wavelength of 1,550 nm at a 1 GHz modulation speed using a programmable plasmonic phase modulator based on near-field interactions between surface plasmons and materials with an electrooptic response. High χ(2) and χ(3) dielectric thin films of either aluminium nitride or silicon-rich silicon nitride are used as an active modulation layer in a surface plasmon resonance configuration to realize programmable space-variant control of optical wavefronts in a 4 × 4 pixel array at high speed. 

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4. A Study of Second‐Order Susceptibility in Digital Alloy‐Grown InAs/AlSb Multiple Quantum Wells

   https://doi.org/10.1002/adom.202102845  

   Foster, Natalie D. ; Rockwell, Ann Kathryn ; McArthur, Joshua Andrew ; Mendoza, Bernardo S. ; Bank, Seth R. ; Downer, Michael C. ( May 2022 , Advanced Optical Materials)

   A preliminary measurement of the second‐order nonlinear optical susceptibility of symmetric, coupled, InAs/AlSb multiple quantum well (MQW) structures is acquired through optical second‐harmonic generation (SHG) at fundamental wavelength 1.55 µm. High quality crystalline MQW structures of variable thickness and corresponding bulk AlSb control samples are achieved using a digital alloy epitaxial growth technique that avoids cluster formation and phase segregation. All samples are grown in between a GaSb cap and substrate layer. To isolate SHG from the MQW (or control) layers of interest from cap and substrate contributions, a multilayer optical response matrix model is built and independently tested by accurately reproducing linear reflectivity spectra. While a simplified response matrix analysis of SHG based solely on bulk χ⁽²⁾s does not reproduce the distinct SHG responses of the two sets of samples, the inclusion of an additional interface SHG contribution leads to a successful fit of the data and implies . The results demonstrate a proof‐of‐concept quantification of χ⁽²⁾in symmetric MQWs and suggest the possibility of engineering χ⁽²⁾in these structures, particularly with the introduction of well asymmetries.

    

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5. A metasurface-based diamond frequency converter using plasmonic nanogap resonators

   https://doi.org/10.1515/nanoph-2020-0392  

   Shen, Qixin ; Shams-Ansari, Amirhassan ; Boyce, Andrew M. ; Wilson, Nathaniel C. ; Cai, Tao ; Loncar, Marko ; Mikkelsen, Maiken H. ( September 2020 , Nanophotonics)

   Abstract Diamond has attracted great interest as an appealing material for various applications ranging from classical to quantum optics. To date, Raman lasers, single photon sources, quantum sensing and quantum communication have been demonstrated with integrated diamond devices. However, studies of the nonlinear optical properties of diamond have been limited, especially at the nanoscale. Here, a metasurface consisting of plasmonic nanogap cavities is used to enhance both χ (2) and χ (3) nonlinear optical processes in a wedge-shaped diamond slab with a thickness down to 12 nm. Multiple nonlinear processes were enhanced simultaneously due to the relaxation of phase-matching conditions in subwavelength plasmonic structures by matching two excitation wavelengths with the fundamental and second-order modes of the nanogap cavities. Specifically, third-harmonic generation (THG) and second-harmonic generation (SHG) are both enhanced 1.6 × 10 7 -fold, while four-wave mixing is enhanced 3.0 × 10 5 -fold compared to diamond without the metasurface. Even though diamond lacks a bulk χ (2) due to centrosymmetry, the observed SHG arises from the surface χ (2) of the diamond slab and is enhanced by the metasurface elements. The efficient, deeply subwavelength diamond frequency converter demonstrated in this work suggests an approach for conversion of color center emission to telecom wavelengths directly in diamond. 

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