Photonic Assemblies of Randomly Oriented Nanocrystals for Engineered Nonlinear and Electro-Optic Effects

Nonlinear crystals that have a noncentrosymmetric crystalline structure, such as lithium niobate (LiNbO3) and barium titanate (BaTiO3) exhibit nonzero second-order tensor susceptibilities (χ(2)) and linear electro-optic coefficients (r ij ). The constraints associated with top-down nanofabrication methods have led to bottom up approaches to harness the strong nonlinearities and electro-optical properties. Here, we present an overview of photonic assemblies made of randomly oriented noncentrosymmetric nanocrystals via bottom-up fabrication methods. In this configuration, nanocrystals can form objects with tunable dimensions, increased complexity, and a great span of symmetry level, ranging from thin layers to spheres. At the same time, according to their shape, photonic assemblies may support optical modes, that is, Mie or guided, which can tailor linear optical properties and enhance nonlinear and electro-optic responses. As a result, assemblies of noncentrosymmetric nanocrystals can form a disruptive platform to realize photonic integrated devices free of etching process and over large surface areas. Last, we foresee potential applications of noncentrosymmetric nanocrystals in various fields of nano-optics and sensing.