12 August 2026
A photonic time crystal is an optical system of which properties such as its refractive index are modulated strongly and rapidly over time. One has now been obtained all-optically by delivering an intense terahertz light wave onto a material with a specialized microstructure that hosts collective waves of electrons known as plasmons.
‘Expert opinion’ is published under a CC BY 4.0 licence.ReferencesJoannopoulos, J. D., Johnson, S. G., Winn, J. N. & Meade, R. D. Photonic Crystals: Molding the Flow of Light 2nd edn (Princeton Univ. Press, 2008).
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Asgari, M. M. et al. Adv. Opt. Photon. 16, 958–1063 (2024).Article
