Graphene nonlinearity unleashing at lasing threshold in graphene-assisted cavities

Abstract: We investigate the nonlinear optical features of a graphene sheet embedded in an active cavity and we show that, when tuned near its lasing threshold, the cavity is able to isolate the spatially localized graphene nonlinearity thus producing a very strong nonlinear device response with multi-valued features. As opposed to standard situations where the small thickness of the graphene sheet hampers its remarkable nonlinear optical properties to be exploited, in our scheme the strong nonlinear optical regime is mainly triggered by the very intrinsic planar localization of graphene nonlinearity. The proposed strategy for exploiting graphene nonlinearity through its unleashing could open novel routes for conceiving ultra-efficient nonlinear photonic devices.