Abstract-Reversible modulation and ultrafast dynamics of terahertz resonances in strongly photoexcited metamaterials

http://prb.aps.org/abstract/PRB/v86/i12/e125110

I. Chatzakis¹, L. Luo¹, J. Wang^1,*, N.-H. Shen^1,†, T. Koschny¹, J. Zhou^2,‡, and C. M. Soukoulis^1,3
1Ames Laboratory and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011, USA
²Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA
³Institute of Electronic Structure and Laser, FORTH, 71110 Heraklion, Crete, Greece

Received 24 December 2011; revised 30 July 2012; published 7 September 2012

We demonstrate an ultrafast reversible modulation of resonant terahertz (THz) response in strongly photoexcited metamaterials. The transient spectral-temporal response of the dipole transition ∼1.6 THz exhibits a distinct nonmonotonic variation as a function of pump fluence. The transition energy shift, strength, spectral width, and density-dependent ultrafast relaxation manifest a remarkable reemergence of the transmission dip after initial quenching. Our simulations, incorporating the first-order diffraction from the photoinduced transient grating, reproduce the salient features, providing a new avenue for designing nonlinear and frequency-agile THz modulators.

©2012 American Physical Society

URL:

http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevB.86.125110

DOI:

10.1103/PhysRevB.86.125110

PACS:

78.67.Pt, 42.25.Bs, 78.20.-e, 78.47.-p