Large optical Kerr effect in a nanocrystal complex coupled to a nanomechanical resonator

Key Laboratory of Artificial Structures and Quantum Control (MOE), Department of Physics, Shanghai Jiao Tong University - Shanghai 200240, PRC

^a zhukadi@sjtu.edu.cn

Received: 8 September 2010
Accepted: 4 November 2010

Abstract

We theoretically demonstrate the large optical Kerr effect in a nanocrystal complex consisting of a quantum dot and a metal nanoparticle embedded in a nanomechanical resonator in terms of the exciton-plasmon-phonon interaction. The plasmon resonance of a Au nanoparticle will enhance the nonlinear interaction between a quantum dot and a nanomechanical resonator, resulting in several orders larger enhancement in the optical Kerr effect than intrinsic silicon and many other synthesized structures. Moreover, the optical Kerr nonlinearity can be tuned simply by the intensity of the control field. Such an advantage may have potential applications in ultrafast optical Kerr switch devices.