Abstract
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 70 - 74 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | Nature |
| Volume | 493 |
| Issue number | 7430 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2013 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Cite this
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Optical-field-induced current in dielectrics. / Schiffrin, Agustin Eduardo; Paasch-Colberg, Tim; Karpowicz, Nicholas; Apalkov, Vadym M; Gerster, Daniel; Muhlbrandt, Sascha; Korbman, Michael; Reichert, Joachim; Schultze, Martin; Holzner, Simon; Barth, Johannes V; Kienberger, Reinhard; Ernstorfer, Ralph; Yakovlev, Vladislav S; Stockman, Mark Ilich; Krausz, Ferenc.
In: Nature, Vol. 493, No. 7430, 2013, p. 70 - 74.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
TY - JOUR
T1 - Optical-field-induced current in dielectrics
AU - Schiffrin, Agustin Eduardo
AU - Paasch-Colberg, Tim
AU - Karpowicz, Nicholas
AU - Apalkov, Vadym M
AU - Gerster, Daniel
AU - Muhlbrandt, Sascha
AU - Korbman, Michael
AU - Reichert, Joachim
AU - Schultze, Martin
AU - Holzner, Simon
AU - Barth, Johannes V
AU - Kienberger, Reinhard
AU - Ernstorfer, Ralph
AU - Yakovlev, Vladislav S
AU - Stockman, Mark Ilich
AU - Krausz, Ferenc
PY - 2013
Y1 - 2013
N2 - The time it takes to switch on and off electric current determines the rate at which signals can be processed and sampled in modern information technology 1-4. Field-effect transistors 1-3,5,6 are able to control currents at frequencies of the order of or higher than 100 gigahertz, but electric interconnects may hamper progress towards reaching the terahertz (1012 hertz) range. All-optical injection of currents through interfering photoexcitation pathways 7-10 or photoconductive switching of terahertz transients 11-16 has made it possible to control electric current on a subpicosecond timescale in semiconductors. Insulators have been deemed unsuitable for both methods, because of the need for either ultraviolet light or strong fields, which induce slow damage or ultrafast breakdown 17-20, respectively. Here we report the feasibility of electric signal manipulation in a dielectric. A few-cycle optical waveform reversibly increases-free from breakdown-the a.c. conductivity of amorphous silicon dioxide (fused silica) by more than 18 orders of magnitude within 1 femtosecond, allowing electric currents to be driven, directed and switched by the instantaneous light field. Our work opens the way to extending electronic signal processing and high-speed metrology into the petahertz (1015 hertz) domain
AB - The time it takes to switch on and off electric current determines the rate at which signals can be processed and sampled in modern information technology 1-4. Field-effect transistors 1-3,5,6 are able to control currents at frequencies of the order of or higher than 100 gigahertz, but electric interconnects may hamper progress towards reaching the terahertz (1012 hertz) range. All-optical injection of currents through interfering photoexcitation pathways 7-10 or photoconductive switching of terahertz transients 11-16 has made it possible to control electric current on a subpicosecond timescale in semiconductors. Insulators have been deemed unsuitable for both methods, because of the need for either ultraviolet light or strong fields, which induce slow damage or ultrafast breakdown 17-20, respectively. Here we report the feasibility of electric signal manipulation in a dielectric. A few-cycle optical waveform reversibly increases-free from breakdown-the a.c. conductivity of amorphous silicon dioxide (fused silica) by more than 18 orders of magnitude within 1 femtosecond, allowing electric currents to be driven, directed and switched by the instantaneous light field. Our work opens the way to extending electronic signal processing and high-speed metrology into the petahertz (1015 hertz) domain
UR - http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v493/n7430/pdf/nature11567.pdf
U2 - 10.1038/nature11567
DO - 10.1038/nature11567
M3 - Article
VL - 493
SP - 70
EP - 74
JO - Nature
JF - Nature
SN - 0028-0836
IS - 7430
ER -