Abstract
We report on a study of the nanosecond dynamics of a recently discovered1 light-induced, surface-assisted structural phase transition from a common orthorombic phase of α-gallium to a highly reflective phase. The transition has been observed at temperatures just below the metal’s bulk melting point (30°C). It is fully reversible with dynamics occurring on a nanosecond/microsecond time scale and can be stimulated by radiation of a very low intensity, typically 10−4–10−5 W/μm2. The two gallium phases involved in the transition have significantly different optical properties which gives rise to a gigantic optical nonlinearity, χ(3) ~ 1 esu offering tremendous new opportunities in controlling light with light.
© 1999 Optical Society of America
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