Control of upconversion luminescence by gold nanoparticle size: from quenching to enhancement.

Metallic nanostructures have the potential to modify the anti-Stokes emission of upconverting nanoparticles (UCNPs) by coupling their plasmon resonance with either the excitation or the emission wavelength of the UCNPs. In this regard gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have often been used in sensors for UCNP luminescence quenching or enhancement, although systematic studies are still needed in order to design optimal UCNP-AuNP based biosensors. Amidst mixed experimental evidence of quenching or enhancement, two key factors arise: the nanoparticle distance and nanoparticle size. In this work, we synthesize AuNPs of different sizes to assess their influence on the luminescence of UCNPs. We find that strong luminescence quenching due to resonance energy transfer is preferentially achieved for small AuNPs, peaking at an optimal size. A further increase in the AuNP size is accompanied by a reduction of luminescence quenching due to an incipient plasmonic enhancement effect. This enhancement counterbalances the luminescence quenching effect at the biggest tested AuNP size. The experimental findings are theoretically validated by studying the decay rate of the UCNP emitters near a gold nanoparticle using both a classical phenomenological model and the finite-difference time-domain method. Results from this study establish general guidelines to consider when designing sensors based on UCNPs-AuNPs as donor-quencher pairs, and suggest the potential of plasmon-induced luminescence enhancement as a sensing strategy.

Increasing applicability of slow light in molecular aggregate nanofilms with two-exciton dynamics.

We study the slow-light performance in the presence of exciton-exciton interaction in films of linear molecular aggregates at the nanometer scale. In particular, we consider a four-level model to describe the creation/annihilation of two-exciton states that are relevant for high-intensity fields. Numerical simulations show delays comparable to those obtained for longer propagation distances in other media. Two-exciton dynamics could lead to larger fractional delays, even in presence of disorder, in comparison to the two-level approximation. We conclude that slow-light performance is a robust phenomenon in these systems under the increasing complexity of the two-exciton dynamics.

Thermally induced all-optical inverter and dynamic hysteresis loops in graphene oxide dispersions.

We experimentally study the temporal dynamics of amplitude-modulated laser beams propagating through a water dispersion of graphene oxide sheets in a fiber-to-fiber U-bench. Nonlinear refraction induced in the sample by thermal effects leads to both phase reversing of the transmitted signals and dynamic hysteresis in the input-output power curves. A theoretical model including beam propagation and thermal lensing dynamics reproduces the experimental findings.

Boosting terahertz generation in laser-field ionized gases using a sawtooth wave shape.

Broadband ultrashort terahertz (THz) pulses can be produced using plasma generation in a noble gas ionized by femtosecond two-color pulses. Here we demonstrate that, by using multiple-frequency laser pulses, one can obtain a waveform which optimizes the free electron trajectories in such a way that they acquire the largest drift velocity. This allows us to increase the THz conversion efficiency to 2%, an unprecedented performance for THz generation in gases. In addition to the analytical study of THz generation using a local current model, we perform comprehensive 3D simulations accounting for propagation effects which confirm this prediction. Our results show that THz conversion via tunnel ionization can be greatly improved with well-designed multicolor pulses.

Directionality of terahertz emission from photoinduced gas plasmas.

Forward and backward terahertz emission by ionizing two-color laser pulses in gas is investigated by means of a simple semianalytical model based on Jefimenko's equations and rigorous Maxwell simulations in one and two dimensions. We find the emission in the backward direction has a much smaller spectral bandwidth than in the forward direction and explain this by interference effects. Forward terahertz radiation is generated predominantly at the ionization front and is thus almost not affected by the opacity of the plasma, in excellent agreement with results obtained from a unidirectional pulse propagation model.

Slow light in molecular-aggregate nanofilms.

We study slow-light performance of molecular aggregates arranged in nanofilms by means of coherent population oscillations. The molecular cooperative behavior inside the aggregate enhances the delay of input signals in the gigahertz range in comparison with other coherent population oscillation-based devices. Moreover, the problem of residual absorption present in coherent population oscillation processes is removed. We also propose an optical switch between different delays by exploiting the optical bistability of these aggregates.

Two-photon and two-photon-assisted slow light.

We show that light pulses propagating in two-photon absorbing systems may present time delays like slow light produced via coherent population oscillations in one-photon interactions. Two regimes are numerically studied for a simplified two-level system: (a) a light pulse at frequency ω/2 undergoes two-photon absorption (TPA) and is delayed by the absorbing system (two-photon slow light) and (b) a light pulse at frequency ω is delayed in a system prepared by TPA of a light pulse at frequency ω/2 (two-photon-assisted slow light). The study carried out in solutions of dyes and dendrites shows significant delays, low distortion, and good transmission for easily reachable experimental conditions. The working principle can be applied to other media and can be used in telecommunications technology.

Observation of large 10-Gb/s SBS slow light delay with low distortion using an optimized gain profile.

An optimum SBS gain profile is designed to achieve better slow-light performance. It consists of a nearly flat-top profile with sharp edges. Tunable delays up to 3 pulse widths for 100-ps-long input pulses, corresponding to 10 Gb/s data rates, are found while keeping an output-input pulse-width ratio below 1.8. Bit-error-rate (BER) measurements performed for a non-return-to-zero modulation format demonstrates 28 ps of delay under error-free operation.

Modulation-frequency-controlled change from sub- to superluminal regime in highly doped erbium fibers.

We report a change from sub- to superluminal propagation upon increasing the modulation frequency of an amplitude-modulated 1,550 nm signal when propagating through highly doped erbium fibers pumped at 980 nm. We show that the interplay between the pump absorption and the pump-power broadening of the spectral hole induced by coherent population oscillations may drastically affect the fractional advancement or delay of the signal for the considered fibers.