Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 20, 2026

Author Spotlight: Advancements and Applications in Nanoparticle Synthesis Through Laser Ablation in Liquids
Published on: June 16, 2023
Bacterially synthesized tellurium nanostructures for broadband ultrafast nonlinear optical applications
Kangpeng Wang1,2, Xiaoyan Zhang1, Ivan M Kislyakov1
1Laboratory of Micro-Nano Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, Laboratory of Laser and Infrared Materials, Key Laboratory of Materials for High-Power Laser, Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 201800, China.
Abstract:
Elementary tellurium is currently of great interest as an element with potential promise in nano-technology applications because of the recent discovery regarding its three two-dimensional phases and the existence of Weyl nodes around its Femi level. Here, we report on the unique nano-photonic properties of elemental tellurium particles [Te(0)], as harvest from a culture of a tellurium-oxyanion respiring bacteria. The bacterially-formed nano-crystals prove effective in the photonic applications tested compared to the chemically-formed nano-materials, suggesting a unique and environmentally friendly route of synthesis. Nonlinear optical measurements of this material reveal the strong saturable absorption and nonlinear optical extinctions induced by Mie scattering over broad temporal and wavelength ranges. In both cases, Te-nanoparticles exhibit superior optical nonlinearity compared to graphene. We demonstrate that biological tellurium can be used for a variety of photonic applications which include their proof-of-concept for employment as ultrafast mode-lockers and all-optical switches.
Related Concept Videos
06:15Ultrafast Laser-Ablated Nanoparticles and Nanostructures for Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering-Based Sensing Applications
15:06Measurement of Scattering Nonlinearities from a Single Plasmonic Nanoparticle
10:52Direct Imaging of Laser-driven Ultrafast Molecular Rotation
05:57Blood Flow Imaging with Ultrafast Doppler
07:13Biomolecular Imaging of Cellular Uptake of Nanoparticles using Multimodal Nonlinear Optical Microscopy
Nonlinear Pharmacokinetics: Causes of Nonlinearity
Nonlinear drug absorption can occur when the process is rate-limited by solubility, carrier-mediated transport systems, or saturation of the presystemic gut wall or hepatic metabolism. For instance, high doses of riboflavin...

