arXiv subjects

Rupert Huber

Publications and source records attributed to Rupert Huber.

26 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2017

Phase-locked multi-terahertz electric fields exceeding 13 MV/cm at 190 kHz repetition rate

We demonstrate a compact source of energetic and phase-locked multi-terahertz pulses at a repetition rate of 190 kHz. Difference frequency mixing of the fundamental output of an Yb:KGW amplifier with the idler of an optical parametric amplifier in GaSe and LiGaS2 crystals yields a passively phase-locked train of waveforms tunable between 12 and 42 THz. The shortest multi-terahertz pulses contain 1.8 oscillation cycles within the intensity FWHM. Pulse energies of up to 0.16 μJ and peak electric fields of 13 MV/cm are achieved. Electro-optic sampling reveals a phase stability better than 0.1 $π$ over multiple hours combined with free CEP tunability. The scalable scheme opens the door to strong-field terahertz optics at unprecedented repetition rates.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2017

Femtosecond photo-switching of interface polaritons in black phosphorus heterostructures

The possibility of hybridizing collective electronic motion with mid-infrared (mid-IR) light to form surface polaritons has made van der Waals layered materials a versatile platform for extreme light confinement and tailored nanophotonics. Graphene and its heterostructures have attracted particular attention because the absence of an energy gap allows for plasmon polaritons to be continuously tuned. Here, we introduce black phosphorus (BP) as a promising new material in surface polaritonics that features key advantages for ultrafast switching. Unlike graphene, BP is a van der Waals bonded semiconductor, which enables high-contrast interband excitation of electron-hole pairs by ultrashort near-infrared (near-IR) pulses. We design a SiO$_2$/BP/SiO$_2$ heterostructure in which the surface phonon modes of the SiO$_2$ layers hybridize with surface plasmon modes in BP that can be activated by photo-induced interband excitation. Within the Reststrahlen band of SiO$_2$, the hybrid interface polariton assumes surface-phonon-like properties, with a well-defined frequency and momentum and excellent coherence. During the lifetime of the photogenerated electron-hole plasma, coherent polariton waves can be launched by a broadband mid-IR pulse coupled to the tip of a scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscopy (s-SNOM) setup. The scattered radiation allows us to trace the new hybrid mode in time, energy, and space. We find that the surface mode can be activated within ~50 fs and disappears within 5 ps, as the electron-hole pairs in BP recombine. The excellent switching contrast and switching speed, the coherence properties, and the constant wavelength of this transient mode make it a promising candidate for ultrafast nanophotonic devices.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2017

Mapping of the dark exciton landscape in transition metal dichalcogenides

Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) exhibit a remarkable exciton physics including optically accessible (bright) as well as spin- and momentum-forbidden (dark) excitonic states. So far the dark exciton landscape has not been revealed leaving in particular the spectral position of momentum-forbidden dark states completely unclear. This has a significant impact on the technological application potential of TMDs, since the nature of the energetically lowest state determines, if the material is a direct-gap semiconductor. Here, we show how dark states can be experimentally revealed by probing the intra-excitonic 1s-2p transition. Distinguishing the optical response shortly after the excitation (< 100$\,$fs) and after the exciton thermalization (> 1$\,$ps) allows us to demonstrate the relative position of bright and dark excitons. We find both in theory and experiment a clear blue-shift in the optical response demonstrating for the first time the transition of bright exciton populations into lower lying momentum- and spin-forbidden dark excitonic states in monolayer WSe$_2$.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2017

Giant Zeeman splitting inducing near-unity valley polarization in van der Waals heterostructures

Monolayers of semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenides exhibit intriguing fundamental physics of strongly coupled spin and valley degrees of freedom for charge carriers. While the possibility of exploiting these properties for information processing stimulated concerted research activities towards the concept of valleytronics , maintaining control over spin-valley polarization proved challenging in individual monolayers. A promising alternative route explores type II band alignment in artificial van der Waals heterostructures. The resulting formation of interlayer excitons combines the advantages of long carrier lifetimes and spin-valley locking . Here, we demonstrate direct magnetic manipulation of valley polarization in a WSe2/MoSe2 heterostructure through giant valley Zeeman splitting of interlayer transitions. Remarkably, even after non-selective injection, the observed $g$ factor as large as $-15$ induces near-unity polarization of long-lived excitons with 100 ns lifetimes under magnetic fields. The demonstrated control of the spin-valley physics highlights the exceptional aspects of novel, artificially designed material systems and their promise for atomically-thin valleytronic devices.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2016

Shot noise reduced terahertz detection via spectrally post-filtered electro-optic sampling

In ultrabroadband terahertz electro-optic sampling, spectral filtering of the gate pulse can strongly reduce the quantum noise while the signal level is only weakly affected. The concept is tested for phase-matched electro-optic detection of field transients centered at 45 THz with 12-fs near-infrared gate pulses in AgGaS2. Our new approach increases the experimental signal-to-noise ratio by a factor of 3 compared to standard electro-optic sampling. Under certain conditions an improvement factor larger than 5 is predicted by our theoretical analysis.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2015

Tailored nano-antennas for directional Raman studies of individual carbon nanotubes

We exploit the near field enhancement of nano-antennas to investigate the Raman spectra of otherwise not optically detectable carbon nanotubes (CNTs). We demonstrate that a top-down fabrication approach is particularly promising when applied to CNTs, owing to the sharp dependence of the scattered intensity on the angle between incident light polarization and CNT axis. In contrast to tip enhancement techniques, our method enables us to control the light polarization in the sample plane, locally amplifying and rotating the incident field and hence optimizing the Raman signal. Such promising features are confirmed by numerical simulations presented here. The relative ease of fabrication and alignment makes this technique suitable for the realization of integrated devices that combine scanning probe, optical, and transport characterization.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2013

Probing of electromagnetic fields on atomic scale by photoelectric phenomena in graphene

We report on the observation of the reststrahl band assisted photocurrents in epitaxial graphene on SiC excited by infrared radiation. The peculiar spectral dependence for frequencies lying within the reststrahl band of the SiC substrate provides a direct and noninvasive way to probe the electric field magnitude at atomic distances from the material's surface. Furthermore our results reveal that nonlinear optical and optoelectronic phenomena in 2D crystals and other atomic scale structures can be giantly enhanced by a proper combination of the spectral range and substrate material.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2005

Broadband THz study of excitonic resonances in the high-density regime

We report the first terahertz study of the intra-excitonic 1s-2p transition at high excitation densities in GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells. A strong shift, broadening, and ultimately the disappearance of this resonance occurs with increasing density, after ultrafast photoexcitation at the near-infrared exciton line. Densities of excitons and unbound electron-hole pairs are followed quantitatively using a model of the composite terahertz dielectric response. Comparison with near-infrared absorption changes reveals a significantly enhanced energy shift and broadening of the intra-excitonic resonance.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗