MoS₂ for Ultrafast All‐Optical Switching and Modulation of THz Fano Metaphotonic Devices

Abstract

Abstract In recent years, the stunning performance of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) has been utilized in the area of field effect transistors, integrated circuits, photodetectors, light generation and harvesting, valleytronics, and van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures. However, the optoelectronic application of TMDCs in realizing efficient, ultrafast metaphotonic devices in the terahertz part of the electromagnetic spectrum has remained unexplored. The most studied member of the TMDC family, i.e., MoS 2 , shows an ultrafast carrier relaxation after photoexcitation with near‐infrared femtosecond pulse of energy above the bandgap. Here, this study investigates the photoactive properties of MoS 2 to demonstrate an ultrasensitive active switching and modulation of the sharp Fano resonances in MoS 2 ‐coated metamaterials consisting of asymmetric split ring resonator arrays. The results show that all‐optical switching and modulation of micrometer scale subwavelength Fano resonators can be achieved on a timescale of hundred picoseconds at moderate excitation pump fluences. The precise and active control of the MoS 2 ‐based hybrid metaphotonic devices open up opportunities for the real‐world technologies and realization of ultrafast switchable sensors, modulators, filters, and nonlinear devices.