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Matthew Yeung

Publications and source records attributed to Matthew Yeung.

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All-Optical Field-Resolved Spectroscopy With Interferometric Nonlinear Cross-Correlations

Direct time-domain measurements of electric fields enable sub-cycle spectroscopy of light-matter interactions, but established techniques such as electro-optic sampling are constrained in their bandwidth by gate-pulse duration and phase-matching limitations. Alternative approaches have emerged in recent years based on asymmetric interferometric nonlinear cross-correlations with highly nonlinear media, and have demonstrated, for example, the field-resolved study of exciton ensembles. However, these nonlinear cross-correlation-based techniques have been benchmarked almost exclusively by self-referenced pulse characterization rather than by their quantitative spectroscopic performance, and all-optical approaches have received less attention than those based on direct charge emission. Here we extend all-optical asymmetric interferometric cross-correlation to higher nonlinearities in sub-wavelength films and demonstrate field-resolved spectroscopy of the free-induction decay of two ro-vibrational bands of ambient water vapor with a performance comparable to state of the art electro-optic sampling. The measurement spans 190 THz of bandwidth (80 THz to 270 THz) with sub-500 GHz spectral resolution, a spectral intensity dynamic range of six orders of magnitude, and a field-strength noise floor of 100 kV per meter. We anticipate the rapid adoption of here presented all-optical sampling to many experimental settings and a broad impact beyond the ultrafast optics research community as it is drastically simplified in comparison to ionization based techniques and allows the translation of electro-optic-sampling-level sensitivity into higher frequency ranges not previously accessible by conventional tools.

physics.optics

Visualizing a Terahertz Superfluid Plasmon in a Two-Dimensional Superconductor

The superconducting gap defines the fundamental energy scale for the emergence of dissipationless transport and collective phenomena in a superconductor. In layered high-temperature cuprate superconductors, where the Cooper pairs are confined to weakly coupled two-dimensional copper-oxygen planes, terahertz (THz) spectroscopy at sub-gap millielectronvolt energies has provided crucial insights into the collective superfluid response perpendicular to the superconducting layers. However, within the copper-oxygen planes the collective superfluid response manifests as plasmonic charge oscillations at energies far exceeding the superconducting gap, obscured by strong dissipation. Here, we present spectroscopic evidence of a below-gap, two-dimensional superfluid plasmon in few-layer Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+x and spatially resolve its deeply sub-diffractive THz electrodynamics. By placing the superconductor in the near-field of a spintronic THz emitter, we reveal this distinct resonance-absent in bulk samples and observed only in the superconducting phase-and determine its plasmonic nature by mapping the geometric anisotropy and dispersion. Crucially, these measurements offer a direct view of the momentum- and frequency dependent superconducting transition in two dimensions. These results establish a new platform for investigating superfluid phenomena at finite momenta and THz frequencies, highlighting the potential to engineer and visualize superconducting devices operating at ultrafast THz rates.

cond-mat.supr-con

Lightwave-Electronic Harmonic Frequency Mixing

Electronic frequency mixers are fundamental building blocks of electronic systems. Harmonic frequency mixing in particular enables broadband electromagnetic signal analysis across octaves of spectrum using a single local oscillator. However, conventional harmonic frequency mixers do not operate beyond hundreds of GHz to a few THz. If extended to the petahertz scale in a compact and scalable form, harmonic mixers would enable field-resolved optical signal analysis spanning octaves of spectra in a monolithic device without the need for frequency conversion using nonlinear crystals. Here we demonstrate lightwave-electronic harmonic frequency mixing beyond 0.350 PHz using plasmonic nanoantennas. We demonstrate that the mixing process enables complete, field-resolved detection of spectral content far outside that of the local oscillator, greatly extending the range of detectable frequencies compared to conventional heterodyning techniques. Our work has important implications for applications where optical signals of interest exhibit coherent femtosecond-scale dynamics spanning multiple harmonics.

physics.optics

Large Area Optical Frequency Detectors for Single-Shot Phase Readout

Attosecond science has demonstrated that electrons can be controlled on the sub-cycle time scale of an optical wave, paving the way toward optical frequency electronics. Using controlled few-cycle optical waveforms, the study of sub-cycle electron emission has enabled the generation of attosecond ultraviolet pulses and the control of attosecond currents inside of solids. However, these experiments rely on high-energy laser systems not suitable for integration with microcircuits. To move towards integrated optical frequency electronics, a system suitable for integration into microcircuits capable of generating detectable signals with low pulse energies is needed. While current from plasmonic nanoantenna emitters can be driven at optical frequencies, low charge yields have been a significant limitation. In this work we demonstrate that large-scale electrically-connected plasmonic nanoantenna networks, when driven in concert, enable a much higher charge yield sufficient for shot-to-shot carrier-envelope phase detection, which is a hallmark of the underlying sub-cycle processes. We use a tailored sub-2-cycle mid-infrared waveform of only tens of nanojoules of energy to drive in excess of 2000 carrier-envelope-phase-sensitive electrons from interconnected plasmonic nanoantenna arrays that we detect on a single-shot basis using conventional electronics. Our work shows that electronically integrated plasmonic nanoantennas are a viable approach to integrated optical frequency electronics. By engineering the nanoantennas to the particular use case, such as carrier-envelope phase detection, and optimizing the density and total amount, the output signals are fully controlled. This approach to optical frequency electronics will further enable many interesting applications, such as petahertz-bandwidth electric field sampling or the realization of logic gates operating at optical frequencies.

physics.optics

Band-Gap Control via Structural and Chemical Tuning of Transition Metal Perovskite Chalcogenides

Transition metal perovskite chalcogenides (TMPC) are a new class of semiconductor materials with broad tunability of physical properties due to their chemical and structural flexibility. Theoretical calculations show that band gaps of TMPCs are tunable from Far IR to UV spectrum. Amongst these materials, more than a handful of materials have energy gap and very high absorption coefficients, which are appropriate for optoelectronic applications, especially solar energy conversion. Despite several promising theoretical predictions, very little experimental studies on their physical properties are currently available, especially optical properties. We report a new synthetic route towards high quality bulk ceramic TMPCs and systematic study of three phases, SrZrS3 in two different room temperature stabilized phases and one of BaZrS3. All three materials were synthesized with a catalyzed solid-state reaction process in sealed ampoules. Structural and chemical characterizations establish high quality of the samples, which is confirmed by the intense room temperature photoluminescence (PL) spectra showing direct band gaps around 1.53eV, 2.13eV and 1.81eV respectively. The potential of these materials for solar energy conversion was evaluated by measurement of PL quantum efficiency and estimate of quasi Fermi level splitting.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci