Epsilon-near-zero nonlinearity enhancement in the extreme ultraviolet
Materials with a vanishing dielectric constant provide an ideal platform for achieving plasmon-enhanced light-matter interactions and are widely employed in various cutting-edge nonlinear photonics applications. In this study, we present the first experimental demonstration of extreme ultraviolet (XUV) plasmon-enhanced self-driven spectral modification using a submicrometric foil of aluminium. This is achieved through the excitation of widely tunable Ferrell-Berreman epsilon-near-zero resonances with extremely low absorption. Our angle-dependent measurements of spectral modulation enhancement, supported by theoretical analysis, reveal efficient spectral modification at peak intensities as low as 380 GW/cm<sup>2</sup>, which we attribute to ultrafast heating and saturation effects. These findings mark a breakthrough in the enhancement of typically weak nonlinearities in the XUV regime through nonlinear plasmonics, potentially paving the way for unprecedented tools for the manipulation and control of XUV radiation.
Authors
- Emiliano Principi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7508-462X)
- Laura Foglia (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2218-3886)
- Giovanni Batignani (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6214-8604)
- L. Giannessi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7643-9840)
- T. Scopigno (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7437-4262)
- Luca Assogna
- Riccardo Mincigrucci (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6343-6256)
- Giuseppe Fumero (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6836-8475)
- Carino Ferrante (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6391-0672)
- Ambaresh Sahoo
- C. Masciovecchio (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8571-3522)
- Andrea Marini
Institutions
- West Virginia University (US)
- University of L'Aquila (IT)
- Elettra-Sincrotrone Trieste S.C.p.A. (IT)
- Italian Institute of Technology (IT)
- Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (US)
- Superconducting and other Innovative Materials and Devices Institute (IT)
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati (IT)
- Sapienza University of Rome (IT)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Light Science & Applications
- Published
- 2025-10-27
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41377-025-01985-w
- Primary Topic
- Plasmonic and Surface Plasmon Research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- European Commission