Electro-Optical Hysteresis of Nanoscale Hybrid Systems

G. P. Golubev, В. С. Днепровский, З.Д. Ковалюк +1 more

A. V. Malyshev, Victor A Malyshev

Optical response of an artificial composite nanodimer comprising a semiconductor quantum dot and a metal nanosphere is analyzed theoretically. We show that internal degrees of freedom of the system can manifest bistability and optical hysteresis as functions of the incident field intensity. We argue that these effects can be observed for real-world systems, such as a CdSe quantum dot and an Au nanoparticle hybrid. These properties can be revealed by measuring the optical hysteresis of Rayleigh scattering. We also show that the total dipole moment of the system can be switched abruptly between its two stable states by small changes in the excitation intensity. The latter promises various applications in the field of all-optical processing at the nanoscale, the most basic of them being the volatile optical memory.

A. E. Kaplan

A theory of nonresonant optical bistability, based on ’’hybrid’’ interface effect, is developed. This effect occurs upon reflection of light at a single interface of a medium driven by electro-optical feedback. The nonlinear Snell’s and Fresnel’s formulas for the transmission regime are obtained, as well as conditions for bistable operation. The stability of steady states and characteristics of hysteresis jumps are examined as well.

N. E. Fettouhi, Bernard Ségard, J. Zemmouri

Paul Mandel, Thomas Erneux

A. V. Malyshev, Victor A Malyshev

Optical response of artificial composite nanoscale molecules comprising a closely spaced noble metal nanoparticle and a semiconductor quantum dot have been studied theoretically. We consider a system composed of an Au particle and CdSe or CdSe/ZnSe quantum dot and predict optical bistability and hysteresis in its response, which suggests various applications, in particular, all-optical processing and optical memory.