FIELD-INDUCED TUNING OF THE OPTICAL-PROPERTIES OF NONLINEAR COMPOSITES NEAR RESONANCE

The bulk effective dielectric function of metal-dielectric composites has a series of poles in the vicinity of which it is extremely sensiti ve to small changes in the properties of the components. It is possibl e to induce such a change in the nonlinear component of a composite, c ontaining at least one nonlinear component, by applying an external el ectric field at a similar frequency. This causes a tuning of the effec tive dielectric function and a continuous alteration of the optical pr operties of the medium. We propose a general framework for calculating this effect in two component composites and also calculate it in a fe w three component microgeometries. It is found that the optical transm ittance of a thin film of this kind can be changed from zero up to 80% using moderate electric fields.