All-optical ultrafast polarization switching of terahertz radiation by impulsive molecular alignment

We experimentally demonstrate ultrafast polarization switching of terahertz (THz) radiation generated by dual-color driving pulses composed of orthogonally polarized fundamental and second-harmonic waves, which can be controlled by field-free molecular alignment in air by modulating the relative phase between the two field components as a transient dynamic wave plate. By fine-tuning the time delay to properly match the molecular alignment revivals, a significant polarization modulation of the THz radiation is observed and both linearly and elliptically polarized THz radiations can be obtained.     

光电负反馈下垂直腔表面发射激光器偏振开关特性研究

基于扩展的自旋反转模型, 对光电负反馈下垂直腔表面发射激光器的偏振开关特性进行了数值仿真和理论分析. 研究结果表明: 对于不同的自旋反转率, 反馈强度和延迟时间对激光器偏振开关特性产生较大影响.在慢自旋反转率下运行时, 随着反馈强度的增加, 开关点电流呈线性增加, 导致X偏振模被压缩, 这与报道的基于各向同性光反馈的情景相反, 产生这一现象的原因是由于光电负反馈提高了X偏振模的阈值; 延迟时间对开关点电流的影响随反馈强度的变化而不同.在快自旋反转率下运行时, 反馈强度对开关点电流的影响与慢自旋反转率时的情形不同, 开关点电流经历先增加后减小的过程, 开关点电流受反馈强度的影响更加敏感; 而延迟时间的影响规律和慢自旋反转率时相似. 此外, 还发现自发辐射噪声对激光器偏振开关特性有较大影响. 关键词： 垂直腔表面发射激光器 偏振开关 光电负反馈 自发辐射噪声     

Analysis of polarization switching in ferroelectric crystals in the injection mode

We report on the results of experiments on polarization switching in a ferroelectric TGS crystal during injection of electron beams from a scanning electron microscope under a surface layer. A series of models reflecting the polarization switching dynamics of a ferroelectric crystal under the action of an injected charge is constructed. The implementation of these models is based on the principles of evolution of domain structures taking into account analysis of possible polarization switching mechanisms for ferroelectric samples. A mathematical model developed using these principles demonstrates qualitative similarity of model current pulses and those obtained experimentally in the injection mode.     

Conversion of spin into directed electric current in quantum wells

A nonequilibrium population of spin-up and spin-down states in quantum well structures has been achieved applying circularly polarized radiation. The spin polarization results in a directed motion of free carriers in the plane of a quantum well perpendicular to the direction of light propagation. Because of the spin selection rules the direction of the current is determined by the helicity of the light and can be reversed by switching the helicity from right to left handed. A microscopic model is presented which describes the origin of the photon helicity driven current. The model suggests that the system behaves as a battery which generates a spin polarized current.     

A viscoelastic model of polarization switching in polymer ferroelectrics

The theoretical aspects of the viscoelastic model for polarization switching in ??soft?? organic ferroelectrics have been considered. The model describes the amplitude-frequency dependences of the hysteresis loops obtained upon polarization switching in thin films of the ferroelectric copolymer poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene).     

Kinetics of polarization reversal in irradiated thin PZT films

The effect of irradiation with electrons and neutrons and of exposure to synchrotron radiation on cyclic switching of polarization in thin films of lead zirconate titanate Pb(Zr,Ti)O₃ (PZT) was studied. It is shown that variations in the shape of switching currents are due to the generation of a spatially nonuniform bound internal field with account for an increase in the rate of bulk screening caused by irradiation. A correlation between structural variations and the evolution of the switching current measured during and after irradiation is established.     

1550nm-VCSELs在偏振保持光反馈和正交光注入下的偏振转换特性

基于自旋反转模型,研究了1550 nm垂直腔面发射激光器(1550 nm-VCSELs)在偏振保持光反馈和正交光注入下的偏振转换特性.结果表明:正交光注入下的从激光器会随着注入强度的增加产生偏振转换.在归一化注入电流较小时,改变反馈强度,会使从激光器发生偏振转换的注入强度出现规律不同的变化;改变频率失谐,会使从激光器发生偏振转换的注入强度出现规律相同的变化.     

Fast Room Temperature Detection of State of Circular Polarization of Terahertz Radiation

We report on a room temperature detector which allows to determine and monitor the state of polarization of terahertz radiation with picosecond temporal resolution. The detector is based on the circular photogalvanic effect recently observed in GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells. The circular photogalvanic effect yields in response to elliptically polarized radiation a current signal proportional to the degree of circular polarization. The peak current signal occurs in unbiased samples for circular polarization, vanishes at linear polarization and changes sign by switching the helicity from right-handed to left-handed. The detector consists of a (113)A MBE grown pGaAs/AlGaAs multiple quantum well structure. The response has been measured in the wavelength range between 76 m and 280 m at normal incidence of the radiation on the sample.     

Nanosecond dynamics of ferroelectric/dielectric superlattices

The nanosecond response of a PbTiO(3)/SrTiO(3) ferroelectric/dielectric superlattice to applied electric fields is closely linked to the dynamics of striped domains of the remnant polarization. The intensity of domain satellite reflections observed with time-resolved x-ray microdiffraction decays in 5-100 ns depending on the magnitude of the electric field. The piezoelectric response of the superlattice within stripe domains is strongly suppressed due to electromechanical clamping between adjacent regions of opposite polarization. Regions of the superlattice that have been switched into a uniform polarization state by the applied electric field, however, exhibit piezoelectricity during the course of the switching process. We propose a switching model different from previous models of the switching of superlattices, based instead on a spatially heterogeneous transformation between striped and uniform polarization states.     

Microscopic simulation of the polarization switching at ferroelectric first-order phase transitions

Simulations of the kinetics of polarization switching at first-order ferroelectric phase transitions are carried out within the framework of Ishibashi dipole lattice model. We consider the influence of the dipole–dipole interaction between polar units on the polarization switching taking into account the existence of metastable states. We also examine the size effect on the switching kinetics. We calculate hysteresis loops and switching rates in the systems in which the continuum approximation is not valid. We show that in the case of hundreds of polar units our equations give the known analytical expressions for the switching rate.     

Investigation of the fractal features of the polarization reversal processes in ferroelectric crystals under injection conditions

The features of polarization reversal processes of ferroelectric crystals are analyzed under the condition that electron beams of a scanning electron microscope are injected into the subsurface layer of a sample. The proposed mathematical model describes the dynamics of the polarization switching of a ferroelectric crystal using the injection contact technique. The simulation relies on the basic principles of scale invariance in domain structure evolution. The polarization switching current of ferroelectric crystals is investigated as the dynamic characteristic of a finite medium exhibiting fractal behavior. The application of fractal and multifractal analysis of a time series enables us to calculate the fractal dimension of the polarization reversal process under injection conditions.     

Studies of nuclear resonant scattering at TRISTAN-AR

Studies of nuclear resonant scattering of synchrotron radiation undertaken with the X-ray undulator installed in the TRISTAN Accumulation Ring at the National Laboratory for High Energy Physics, KEK, are reported. These studies have evaluated the effect of fast magnetic switching on the nuclear collective decay in an FeBO₃ crystal, the change in the polarization state of nuclear Bragg scattering by fast magnetic switching, and the influence of this switching on the time evolution of the nuclear forward scattering. The phenomenon of interferometric nuclear forward scattering has also been studied.     

Kinetics of photoinduced optical anisotropy in oxide glass

Long-lived optical anisotropy generated in glasses by bichromatic mutually coherent radiation is associated with the accumulation of a built-in electric field. The kinetics of photoinduced anisotropy was studied within the framework of a phenomenological model taking into account the polarization-and current-induced mechanisms of field formation and the medium conductivity. The combination of the current and polarization mechanisms gives rise to new effects. The accumulation of anisotropy and its dark relaxation have a nonmonotonic character. For a sufficiently high and rapidly relaxing photoconductivity, “hidden writing” is possible, for which the anisotropy is absent during the course of bichromatic illumination, but it appears after switching off the light and relaxes slowly due to dark conduction.     

The influence of low x-ray doses on the properties of chromium-doped triglycine sulfate

The influence of low x-ray doses on pulsed polarization switching in triglycine sulfate crystals at different chromium impurity concentrations is investigated. It is demonstrated that the activation field α in the temperature range 20.0°C-T _c ambiguously depends on the radiation dose for pulses of switching currents of different polarities. It is found that the unipolarity associated with the presence of chromium ions in impurity triglycine sulfate crystals decreases as a result of the interaction between radiation-induced and impurity defects.     

Polarization fatigue in poly(vinylidene fluoride (78%)-trifluoroethylene (22%)) ferroelectric thin films: a pulse train study

This paper investigates the influences of polarization fatigue on remanent polarization and switching time by pulse train measurements in ferroelectric poly(vinylidene fluoride (78%) and trifluoroethylene (22%)) thin films. Fatigue was carried out by a series of bipolar switching pulses with constant pulse width (on-time) and various interval times between pulses (off-time). The experimental observations indicated that the off-time period showed no obvious influence on fatigue rate and the switching time increased with the increase of fatigue cycles. The origination of these phenomena was discussed according to the charge injection model.     

Switching time dispersion and retention of bistable states in Langmuir-Blodgett ferroelectric films

Polarization switching and retention of each of the two polarized states in Langmuir—Blodgett (LB) ferroelectric films are studied using nonlinear dielectric spectroscopy. It is found that polarized states can be preserved for a long time, but the polarization dynamics in 10–40-nm-thick LB films is characterized by a considerable switching-time dispersion. In addition, ferroelectric LB films exhibit clearly manifested asymmetry of switching to states with opposite directions of polarization. To explain the experimental results, a polarization-switching model is proposed that takes into account the energy of interaction of a ferroelectric polymer with boundary surfaces. The effect of inhomogeneity of the LB film structure on the ferroelectric switching dynamics is also discussed.     

Polarization and transverse-mode dynamics of gain-guided vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers

Transverse-mode competition and polarization selection in gain-guided vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers are studied by use of a transverse continuous model that incorporates basic physical mechanisms of polarization dynamics. Polarization stability and polarization switching within the fundamental Gaussian mode are described. The first-order transverse mode always starts lasing orthogonally polarized to the fundamental one. At larger currents polarization coexists with several active transverse modes. These results are shown to be sensitive to the carrier spin-flip relaxation rate.     

Polarization reversal behavior of an asymmetric ferroelectric thin film

Using the Landau–Khalatnikov equation of motion, the polarization reversal behavior in an asymmetric ferroelectric thin film has been studied. Our model first introduces a third power of polarization to describe the asymmetry of a ferroelectric thin film with surface transition layer, which originates from the difference between the surfaces. Interestingly, vertical drift of polarization switching behaviors was found in this system. The properties consisting of hysteresis loop, spontaneous polarization, switching current of an asymmetric ferroelectric thin film with surface transition layer are discussed.     

Polarization switching in a quasi-isotropic microchip Nd:YAG laser induced by optical feedback

This paper demonstrates the influence of external optical feedback on the polarization state of longitudinal modes in quasi-isotropic microchip Nd:YAG lasers. Under optical feedback, the polarization state of longitudinal modes in quasi-isotropic lasers relies strongly on the intracavity anisotropy loss and mode competition. When the intracavity anisotropy loss is small, external optical feedback can cause polarization switching and strong mode competition between two orthogonal linearly polarized eigenstates of one laser longitudinal mode, which leads to the distortion of laser intensity modulation waveform. The polarization switching is independent of the initial external cavity length. By increasing the intracavity anisotropy loss, one polarization eigenstate can be suppressed and the laser works in single-polarization state. A theoretical analysis based on the compound cavity model is presented, which is in good agreement with the experimental results. The results offer guidance to the development of laser feedback interferometers.