Single nanowire optical correlator.

Yu, Huakang; Fang, Wei; Wu, Xiaoqin; Lin, Xing; Tong, Limin; Liu, Weitao; Wang, Aimin; Shen, Y Ron · Nano Lett · 2014

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Integration of miniaturized elements has been a major driving force behind modern photonics. Nanowires have emerged as potential building blocks for compact photonic circuits and devices in nanophotonics. We demonstrate here a single nanowire optical correlator (SNOC) for ultrafast pulse characterization based on imaging of the second harmonic (SH) generated from a cadmium sulfide (CdS) nanowire by counterpropagating guided pulses. The SH spatial image can be readily converted to the temporal profile of the pulses, and only an overall pulse energy of 8 μJ is needed to acquire a clear image of 200 fs pulses. Such a correlator should be easily incorporated into a photonic circuit for future use of on-chip ultrafast optical technology.