Low-dimensional perovskite copper oxide as a nonlinear optical material for all-optical switching

Summary form only given. Ultrafast all-optical switching (AOS), which is a key technology for next generation terabit/s communication devices, cannot be obtained by means of conventional electronics. To implement AOS devices in practice, nonlinear optical materials with strong third-order nonlinearity, ultrafast recovery of optical transparency and operability within optical fiber communication window at room temperature are required. However, it is currently unclear which among the many cuprates is the best material for AOS application. Performing a systematic search among cuprates with different Cu-O networks, we show that 1D cuprates meet all the requirements for AOS, while 2D cuprates are not suitable for such an application.