Epsilon near zero (ENZ) materials exhibit strongly confined optical modes and plasmonic response around and beyond the ENZ wavelength (λENZ). In order to exploit the novel properties of ENZ materials for real-world applications, it is important to develop material platforms that offer continuous tuning of λENZ. We report octave span, controllable, and reversible tuning of λENZ from 1280 nm to 2900 nm in commercially available thin films of indium tin oxide (ITO), employing a low temperature annealing protocol. Electrical, spectroscopic, and optical measurements establish the physical basis of the observed tunability in free electron density by over an order of magnitude and quantify the real and imaginary components of the refractive index for ITO thin films. Excitation of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) in the metallic regime of ITO probes its infrared plasmonic response demonstrating continuous tunability of SPP frequency and crossover to the tunable ENZ plasmon mode in ultrathin films. Finally, dispersion tuning of optical fiber modes by optical coupling with a tunable λENZ platform is demonstrated by investigating modal interference in a tapered silica fiber in contact with various custom tuned ITO films.

1.
G. V.
Naik
,
V. M.
Shalaev
, and
A.
Boltasseva
,
Adv. Mater.
25
(
24
),
3264
3294
(
2013
).
2.
S.
Kalusniak
,
S.
Sadofev
, and
F.
Henneberger
,
Phys. Rev. Lett.
112
(
13
),
137401
(
2014
).
3.
N.
Kinsey
,
C.
DeVault
,
J.
Kim
,
M.
Ferrera
,
V. M.
Shalaev
, and
A.
Boltasseva
,
Optica
2
(
7
),
616
622
(
2015
).
4.
K.
Bandopadhyay
and
J.
Mitra
,
RSC Adv.
5
(
30
),
23540
23547
(
2015
).
5.
M.
Fox
,
Optical Properties of Solids
(
Oxford University Press
,
Oxford
,
2010
).
6.
Y.
Wang
,
A. C.
Overvig
,
S.
Shrestha
,
R.
Zhang
,
R.
Wang
,
N.
Yu
, and
L.
Dal Negro
,
Opt. Mater. Express
7
(
8
),
2727
2739
(
2017
).
7.
G. V.
Naik
,
J.
Kim
, and
A.
Boltasseva
,
Opt. Mater. Express
1
(
6
),
1090
1099
(
2011
).
8.
M. A.
Noginov
,
L.
Gu
,
J.
Livenere
,
G.
Zhu
,
A. K.
Pradhan
,
R.
Mundle
,
M.
Bahoura
,
Y. A.
Barnakov
, and
V. A.
Podolskiy
,
Appl. Phys. Lett.
99
(
2
),
021101
(
2011
).
9.
R.
Bel Hadj Tahar
,
T.
Ban
,
Y.
Ohya
, and
Y.
Takahashi
,
J. Appl. Phys.
83
(
5
),
2631
2645
(
1998
).
10.
H.
Kostlin
,
R.
Jost
, and
W.
Lems
,
Phys. Status Solidi A
29
(
1
),
87
93
(
1975
).
11.
D.
Mergel
and
Z.
Qiao
,
J. Appl. Phys.
95
(
10
),
5608
5615
(
2004
).
12.
Nonstoichiometric Oxides
, edited by
O.
Toft Sørensen
(
Academic Press
,
1981
).
13.
K.
Bandopadhyay
and
J.
Mitra
,
Sci. Rep.
6
,
28468
(
2016
).
14.
H.
Kim
and
C. M.
Gilmore
,
J. Appl. Phys.
86
,
6451
6461
(
1999
).
15.
S.
Ray
,
R.
Banerjee
,
N.
Basu
,
A. K.
Batabyal
, and
A. K.
Barua
,
J. Appl. Phys.
54
(
6
),
3497
3501
(
1983
).
16.
T.
Hubert
,
L.
Boon-Brett
,
G.
Black
, and
U.
Banach
,
Sens. Actuators B Chem.
157
(
2
),
329
352
(
2011
).
17.
L.
Bardos
and
M.
Libra
,
Vacuum
39
(
1
),
33
36
(
1989
).
18.
P.
Dawson
,
B. A. F.
Puygranier
, and
J.-P.
Goudonnet
,
Phys. Rev. B
63
(
20
),
205410
(
2001
).
19.
M. G.
Blaber
,
M. D.
Arnold
, and
M. J.
Ford
,
J. Phys. Condens. Matter
22
(
14
),
143201
(
2010
).
20.
I.
Liberal
and
N.
Engheta
,
Nat. Photonics
11
(
3
),
149
158
(
2017
).
21.
N.
Kinsey
and
J.
Khurgin
,
Opt. Mater. Express
9
(
7
),
2793
2796
(
2019
).
22.
O.
Reshef
,
I.
De Leon
,
M. Z.
Alam
, and
R. W.
Boyd
,
Nat. Rev. Mater.
4
(
8
),
535
551
(
2019
).
23.
E.
Feigenbaum
,
K.
Diest
, and
H. A.
Atwater
,
Nano Lett.
10
(
6
),
2111
2116
(
2010
).
24.
V.
Kalathingal
,
P.
Dawson
, and
J.
Mitra
,
Phys. Rev. B
94
(
3
),
035443
(
2016
).
25.
V.
Kalathingal
,
P.
Dawson
, and
J.
Mitra
,
Sci. Rep.
7
(
1
),
3530
(
2017
).
26.
P.
Erhart
,
K.
Albe
, and
A.
Klein
,
Phys. Rev. B
73
(
20
),
205203
(
2006
).
27.
P.
Yeh
,
Optical Waves in Layered Media
(
John Wiley & Sons
,
2005
).
28.
I.
Hamberg
and
C. G.
Granqvist
,
J. Appl. Phys.
60
(
11
),
R123
R160
(
1986
).
29.
H.
Fujiwara
and
M.
Kondo
,
Phys. Rev. B
71
(
7
),
075109
(
2005
).
30.
A. V.
Krasavin
and
A. V.
Zayats
,
Phys. Rev. Lett.
109
(
5
),
053901
(
2012
).
31.
F.
Michelotti
,
L.
Dominici
,
E.
Descrovi
,
N.
Danz
, and
F.
Menchini
,
Opt. Lett.
34
(
6
),
839
(
2009
).
32.
G.
Frank
and
H.
Kostlin
,
Appl. Phys. A
27
,
197
206
(
1982
).
33.
A.
Pokaipisit
,
M.
Horprathum
, and
P.
Limsuwan
,
Jpn. J. Appl. Phys.
47
(
6
),
4692
4695
(
2008
).
34.
R.
Balasundaraprabhu
,
E. V.
Monakhov
,
N.
Muthukumarasamy
,
O.
Nilsen
, and
B. G.
Svensson
,
Mater. Chem. Phys.
114
(
1
),
425
429
(
2009
).
35.
W.
Deng
,
T.
Ohgi
,
H.
Nejo
, and
D.
Fujita
,
Appl. Phys. A Mater.
72
(
5
),
595
601
(
2001
).
36.
B.
Liu
and
H. C.
Zeng
,
J. Am. Chem. Soc.
125
(
15
),
4430
4431
(
2003
).
37.
D.
Traviss
,
R.
Bruck
,
B.
Mills
,
M.
Abb
, and
O. L.
Muskens
,
Appl. Phys. Lett.
102
(
12
),
121112
(
2013
).
38.
M. Z.
Alam
,
I.
De Leon
, and
R. W.
Boyd
,
Science
352
(
6287
),
795
797
(
2016
).
39.
H. E.
Bennett
and
J. O.
Porteus
,
J. Opt. Soc. Am.
51
(
2
),
123
(
1961
).
40.
J. C. C.
Fan
and
J. B.
Goodenough
,
J. Appl. Phys.
48
(
8
),
3524
3531
(
1977
).
41.
T.
Ishida
,
H.
Kobayashi
, and
Y.
Nakato
,
J. Appl. Phys.
73
(
9
),
4344
4350
(
1993
).
42.
A.
Chen
,
K.
Zhu
,
H.
Zhong
,
Q.
Shao
, and
G.
Ge
,
Sol. Energy Mater Sol. Cells
120
,
157
162
(
2014
).
43.
J. S.
Kim
,
P. K. H.
Ho
,
D. S.
Thomas
,
R. H.
Friend
,
F.
Cacialli
,
G.-W.
Bao
, and
S. F. Y.
Li
,
Chem. Phys. Lett.
315
(
5–6
),
307
312
(
1999
).
44.
R. X.
Wang
,
C. D.
Beling
,
A. B.
Djurisic
,
S.
Li
, and
S.
Fung
,
Semicond. Sci. Technol.
19
(
6
),
695
698
(
2004
).
45.
S. A.
Maier
,
Plasmonics Fundamentals and Applications
(
Springer
,
New York
,
2007
).
46.
S.
Vassant
,
J.-P.
Hugonin
,
F.
Marquier
, and
J.-J.
Greffet
,
Opt. Express
20
(
21
),
23971
23977
(
2012
).
47.
S.
Vassant
,
A.
Archambault
,
F.
Marquier
,
F.
Pardo
,
U.
Gennser
,
A.
Cavanna
,
J. L.
Pelouard
, and
J. J.
Greffet
,
Phys. Rev. Lett.
109
(
23
),
237401
(
2012
).
48.
S.
Campione
,
I.
Brener
, and
F.
Marquier
,
Phys. Rev. B
91
(
12
),
121408
(
2015
).
49.
B.
Dastmalchi
,
P.
Tassin
,
T.
Koschny
, and
C. M.
Soukoulis
,
Adv. Opt. Mater.
4
(
1
),
177
184
(
2016
).
50.
J.
Kim
,
G. V.
Naik
,
A. V.
Gavrilenko
,
K.
Dondapati
,
V. I.
Gavrilenko
,
S. M.
Prokes
,
O. J.
Glembocki
,
V. M.
Shalaev
, and
A.
Boltasseva
,
Phys. Rev. X
3
(
4
),
041037
(
2013
).
51.
G. V.
Naik
and
A.
Boltasseva
,
Metamaterials
5
(
1
),
1
7
(
2011
).
52.
E.
Sachet
,
C. T.
Shelton
,
J. S.
Harris
,
B. E.
Gaddy
,
D. L.
Irving
,
S.
Curtarolo
,
B. F.
Donovan
,
P. E.
Hopkins
,
P. A.
Sharma
,
A. L.
Sharma
,
J.
Ihlefeld
,
S.
Franzen
, and
J.-P.
Maria
,
Nat. Mater.
14
(
4
),
414
420
(
2015
).
53.
E. L.
Runnerstrom
,
K. P.
Kelley
,
T. G.
Folland
,
J. R.
Nolen
,
N.
Engheta
,
J. D.
Caldwell
, and
J.-P.
Maria
,
Nano Lett.
19
(
2
),
948
957
(
2019
).
54.
R. L.
Olmon
,
B.
Slovick
,
T. W.
Johnson
,
D.
Shelton
,
S.-H.
Oh
,
G. D.
Boreman
, and
M. B.
Raschke
,
Phys. Rev. B
86
(
23
),
235147
(
2012
).
55.
J.-J.
Lin
and
Z.-Q.
Li
,
J. Phys. Condens. Matter
26
(
34
),
343201
(
2014
).
56.
K.
Minn
,
A.
Anopchenko
,
J.
Yang
, and
H. W. H.
Lee
,
Sci. Rep.
8
(
1
),
2342
(
2018
).

Supplementary Material

You do not currently have access to this content.