September 21, 2023
Research Institute for Electromagnetic Materials
Keio University
The University of Tokyo
A research group—comprising principal investigator Kenji Ikeda and Research Supervisor Nobukiyo Kobayashi of the Research Institute for Electromagnetic Materials, Associate Professor Tianji Liu of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Associate Professor Yasutomo Ota of Keio University, and Professor Satoshi Iwamoto of the Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology at The University of Tokyo—focused on indium tin oxide, a material that exhibits a property known as the epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) effect, where its permittivity approaches zero. Through experimental analysis and numerical calculations, the group revealed that the magneto-optical effect of the ENZ material is significantly enhanced in the wavelength band for optical communications.
This achievement expands the feasibility of devices such as integrated optical isolators and unidirectional topological optical waveguides, which have been difficult to realize with conventional technology. In addition to contributing to the further high-density integration of optical circuits, applications are also expected in areas such as thin-film polarizing elements and magnetic sensors.
These research findings were published in the online edition of the American scientific journal "Advanced Optical Materials" on September 15, 2023 (US Eastern Standard Time).
For the full press release, please see below.