A collaborative research team led by Professor Kim Myung-ki from the KU-KIST Graduate School of Converging Science and Technology and Professor Koo Chong-min from the School of Advanced Materials Science & Engineering at Sungkyunkwan University has achieved a significant milestone. They successfully observed the highest recorded level of nonlinear responses within a communication wavelength range using the plasmons of an MXene, a cutting-edge 2D metallic material.
MXenes, which are artificially synthesized 2D materials, have garnered considerable interest due to their distinct physical and chemical properties. These materials are known for their excellent conductivity, mechanical strength, flexibility, and impressive catalytic activity, attributed to their extensive surface area. Additionally, MXenes allow for easy control over their chemical composition and structure, enabling precise tuning of their properties. This makes them highly promising for next-generation applications in energy storage, sensors, electronic devices, environmental engineering, and biomedical technology.
The unique physicochemical characteristics of MXenes are anticipated to result in exceptional nonlinear optical properties when interacting with electromagnetic waves in high-frequency bandwidths. Such properties are crucial for developing next-generation communication devices that require high-speed data transmission and efficient signal processing, particularly in technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). Despite their potential, the ultrathin nature of MXenes leads to low interaction with external light, making the direct observation of significant optical nonlinearity challenging.
To overcome this challenge, the research team used an MXene-based plasmon nano-antenna to strongly confine short-wave infrared (SWIR) light within a 5 nm-thick ultrathin MXene sample. This approach enabled them to directly observe the ultrahigh optical nonlinearity of MXene. The success of this observation was attributed to the implementation of the world's first acoustic MXene plasmons, which maximize the plasmon effect in MXenes. This breakthrough demonstrates the immense potential of MXenes as next-generation materials for advanced technological applications.
