Abstract

All-optical data processing fundamentally relies on giant optical nonlinearities to enable high-contrast modulation of light with light at low power levels in highly integrated systems with short interaction lengths. Here we demonstrate optically driven mechanically reconfigurable nanostructures exhibiting exceptionally large optical nonlinearities. Nano-opto-mechanical nonlinear materials that are 7 orders of magnitude more nonlinear than GaAs achieve several percent intensity modulation at 2 mW power with an interaction length of less than 1/10 of a wavelength.

© 2015 IEEE