Two‐dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) such as MoS2exhibit exceptionally strong nonlinear optical responses, while nanoscale control of the amplitude, polar orientation, and phase of the nonlinear light in TMDCs remains challenging. In this work, by interfacing monolayer MoS2with epitaxial PbZr0.2Ti0.8O3(PZT) thin films and free‐standing PZT membranes, the amplitude and polarization of the second harmonic generation (SHG) signal are modulated via ferroelectric domain patterning, which demonstrates that PZT membranes can lead to in‐operando programming of nonlinear light polarization. The interfacial coupling of the MoS2polar axis with either the out‐of‐plane polar domains of PZT or the in‐plane polarization of domain walls tailors the SHG light polarization into different patterns with distinct symmetries, which are modeled via nonlinear electromagnetic theory. This study provides a new material platform that enables reconfigurable design of light polarization at the nanoscale, paving the path for developing novel optical information processing, smart light modulators, and integrated photonic circuits.
Janus transition metal dichalcogenides are an emerging class of atomically thin materials with engineered broken mirror symmetry that gives rise to long‐lived dipolar excitons, Rashba splitting, and topologically protected solitons. They hold great promise as a versatile nonlinear optical platform due to their broadband harmonic generation tunability, ease of integration on photonic structures, and nonlinearities beyond the basal crystal plane. Here, second and third harmonic generation in MoSSe and WSSe Janus monolayers is studied. Polarization‐resolved spectroscopy is used to map the full second‐order susceptibility tensor of MoSSe, including its out‐of‐plane components. In addition, the effective third‐order susceptibility and the second‐order nonlinear dispersion close to exciton resonances for both MoSSe and WSSe are measured at room and cryogenic temperatures. This work sets a bedrock for understanding the nonlinear optical properties of Janus transition metal dichalcogenides and probing their use in the next‐generation on‐chip multifaceted photonic devices.
more » « less- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10441961
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Advanced Optical Materials
- Volume:
- 11
- Issue:
- 19
- ISSN:
- 2195-1071
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
more » « less
Abstract -
more » « less
Abstract Atomically thin transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) in their excited states can serve as exceptionally small building blocks for active optical platforms. In this scheme, optical excitation provides a practical approach to control light‐TMD interactions via the photocarrier generation, in an ultrafast manner. Here, it is demonstrated that via a controlled generation of photocarriers the second‐harmonic generation (SHG) from a monolayer MoS2crystal can be substantially modulated up to ≈55% within a timeframe of ≈250 fs, a set of performance characteristics that showcases the promise of low‐dimensional materials for all‐optical nonlinear data processing. The combined experimental and theoretical study suggests that the large SHG modulation stems from the correlation between the second‐order dielectric susceptibility χ(2)and the density of photoexcited carriers in MoS2. Indeed, the depopulation of the conduction band electrons, at the vicinity of the high‐symmetry
K/K′ points of MoS2, suppresses the contribution of interband electronic transitions in the effective χ(2)of the monolayer crystal, enabling the all‐optical modulation of the SHG signal. The strong dependence of the second‐order optical response on the density of photocarriers reveals the promise of time‐resolved nonlinear characterization as an alternative route to monitoring carrier dynamics in excited states of TMDs. -
more » « less
Abstract Ultrathin ternary 2D materials have recently gained significant attention in the context of tailoring physical properties of materials via stoichiometric variation, which are crucial to many applications in optoelectronics, thermoelectrics, and nanophotonics. Herein, sulfide mineral getchellite is identified as a new type of ternary layered material and large‐area getchellite thin flakes are prepared through mechanical exfoliation. The highly anisotropic linear and nonlinear optical responses of getchellite thin flakes facilitated by the reduced in‐plane crystal symmetry are reported, including anisotropic Raman scattering, wavelength‐dependent linear dichroism transition, and anisotropic third‐harmonic generation (THG). Furthermore, the third‐order nonlinear susceptibility for getchellite crystal is retrieved from the thickness‐dependent THG emission. The demonstrated strong anisotropic linear and nonlinear optical properties of van der Waals layered getchellite will have implications for future technological innovations in photodetectors, optical sensors, nonlinear optical signal processors, and other on‐chip photonic device prototypes.
-
more » « less
Abstract Multi-element layered materials have gained substantial attention in the context of achieving the customized light-matter interactions at subwavelength scale via stoichiometric engineering, which is crucial for the realization of miniaturized polarization-sensitive optoelectronic and nanophotonic devices. Herein, naturally occurring hydrated sodium sulfosalt gerstleyite is introduced as one new multi-element van der Waals (vdW) layered material. The mechanically exfoliated thin gerstleyite flakes are demonstrated to exhibit polarization-sensitive anisotropic linear and nonlinear optical responses including angle-resolved Raman scattering, anomalous wavelength-dependent linear dichroism transition, birefringence effect, and polarization-dependent third-harmonic generation (THG). Furthermore, the third-order nonlinear susceptibility of gerstleyite crystal is estimated by the probed flake thickness-dependent THG response. We envisage that our findings in the context of polarization-sensitive light-matter interactions in the exfoliated hydrated sulfosalt layers will be a valuable addition to the vdW layered material family and will have many implications in compact waveplates, on-chip photodetectors, optical sensors and switches, integrated photonic circuits, and nonlinear signal processing applications.
-
Van der Waals (vdW) materials have recently attracted significant interest in the context of orientation-dependent linear and nonlinear optical properties. Recently, arsenic trisulfide (As 2 S 3 ) or orpiment is identified as a new vdW layered material having anisotropic vibrational and optomechanical responses due to the reduced in-plane crystal symmetry, but its nonlinear optical response is still not well understood yet. Herein, the anisotropic third-harmonic generation (THG) response of mechanically exfoliated As 2 S 3 thin flakes is reported. The polarization-dependent evolution of THG emission from butterfly-shaped pattern to four-lobe pattern is comprehensively explored. Moreover, the third-order nonlinear susceptibility of As 2 S 3 crystal is extracted by analyzing the thickness-dependent THG emission. We anticipate that the discussed results will not only update the existing understanding on the nonlinear light-matter interaction in anisotropic vdW materials, but also promote future applications in integrated photonic circuits, on-chip nonlinear signal processing, and polarization-sensitive optical devices.more » « less
