Metal nanoparticle based all-optical photothermal light modulator.
We present a simple scheme for the manipulation of light intensity by light mediated by a dissipative process. The implementation employs the heat released by an optically excited plasmonic metal nanoparticle to control the size of an isotropic bubble in a nematic liquid crystal film. The nematic film is designed as a zero-order half-wave plate that rotates an incident probe light polarization by π/2 and is blocked by an analyzing polarizer behind the structure. The growing isotropic bubble disturbs the half-wave plate and causes the probe to be transmitted through the modulator structure. Our results demonstrate that dissipative processes may be advantageously used to control light by light.
Molecular Nanophotonics Group, Institute of Experimental Physics I, Universität Leipzig , 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
André
A
Heber
Markus
M
Selmke
Frank
F
Cichos