All-optical flip-flop by carbon/metal nanostructures in a multi-wave mixing

This work presents a design of a flip-flop controlled by the nonlinear optical response exhibited by a dynamic distribution of nanostructures in a liquid. Silver decorated carbon nanotubes suspended in ethanol were employed. The flip-flop proposed corresponds to a probabilistic NAND latch. The nonlinear nanofluids were studied by two-wave mixing experiments with nanosecond pulses at 532 nm wavelength. The behavior of the system is based on the Brownian motion with influence over the nonlinear transmittance of the nanostructures associated with a probabilistic optical bit. The optical response of the latch system output states was defined by the irradiance dependent on nonlinear optical absorption of the nanofluid. Specifically, the optical logical outputs depend on the state present at the optical inputs and the previous optical output states regulated by the feedback of the system. The nonlinear optical evolution of the effects in the nanofluids was explored as probabilistic phenomena governed by a concentration gradient of nanoparticles. The evaluation of the stability of a nanofluid defines the variables in the probabilistic system proposed. This work highlights the potential of nanohybrid materials for processing probabilistic functions, switching quantum effects, and for developing optical sensors.