Application of the Model of “Quantum” Metamaterials: Metamaterial Caused Enhancement of Nonlinear Response

In this chapter, the first demonstration of exceptional light-with-light optical switching performance of the carbon nanotube MM—hybrid nanostructure of plasmonic MM hybridized with semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes (CNT) is provided. Modulation depth of 10% in the near-IR with sub-500 fs response time is achieved with the pump fluency of just 10 μJ/cm2, which is order of magnitude lower than in previously reported artificial nanostructures. Since spectral position of the excitonic response and MM plasmonic resonance can be adjusted by using CTNs of different diameter and scaling MM design, the giant nonlinear response of the hybrid MM—in principle—can be engineered to cover the entire second and third telecom windows, from O to U-band.