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Updated: Nov 19, 2025

Bulk and Thin Film Synthesis of Compositionally Variant Entropy-stabilized Oxides

Bulk and Thin Film Synthesis of Compositionally Variant Entropy-stabilized Oxides

Published on: May 29, 2018

Antimony thin films demonstrate programmable optical nonlinearity.

Zengguang Cheng^1,2, Tara Milne², Patrick Salter³

¹State Key Laboratory of ASIC and System, School of Microelectronics, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China. zgcheng@fudan.edu.cn harish.bhaskaran@materials.ox.ac.uk.

Science Advances

|February 1, 2021

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Researchers developed a novel active metal, antimony (Sb), for optoelectronics. This metal can switch between two stable optical states, enabling tunable metallic conductors for advanced nanophotonic and optoelectronic devices.

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Last Updated: Nov 19, 2025

Bulk and Thin Film Synthesis of Compositionally Variant Entropy-stabilized Oxides

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Published on: July 18, 2014

Area of Science:

Nanophotonics and Optoelectronics
Materials Science
Plasmonics

Background:

Metals at the nanoscale are crucial for manipulating light-matter interactions in plasmonics and nanophotonics.
The development of active metals with programmable optical states remains an underexplored research frontier.
Nonvolatile optical transitions in metals are highly sought after for advanced applications.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate antimony (Sb) as a pure metal capable of optically distinguishable, programmable states in nanoscale thin films.
To explore the potential of Sb for optoelectronic modulation and high-speed switching applications.
To assess the stability and applicability of Sb's tunable states at room temperature.

Main Methods:

Fabrication of nanoscale thin films of antimony (Sb).
Optical characterization to distinguish between crystalline and amorphous phases of Sb.
Evaluation of optoelectronic modulation capabilities using subpicosecond laser pulses.
Assessment of switching speeds between the two programmable states.

Main Results:

Antimony (Sb) thin films exhibit two optically distinct, programmable states corresponding to crystalline and amorphous phases.
These states are stable at room temperature, offering practical usability.
Subpicosecond pulses demonstrated effective optoelectronic modulation and rapid switching speeds.
The material is a single-element metal, simplifying deposition processes.

Conclusions:

Antimony (Sb) is a promising active metal for optoelectronic applications requiring tunable metallic conductors.
Its ability to switch between stable optical states at high speeds opens new avenues in nanophotonics.
The simplicity of Sb deposition facilitates integration into existing optoelectronic device architectures.