We experimentally demonstrate one-way transparency of light in multiferroic CuB(2)O(4). The material is rendered transparent for light propagating in one direction, while opaque for light propagating in the opposite direction. The novel transparency results from a destructive interference of the electric dipole and magnetic dipole transitions. The realization of the effect has been accomplished by the application of a high magnetic field and the proper selection of the propagation direction of light in agreement with our quantum mechanical formulation of nonreciprocal directional dichroism.
We report direction dependent luminescence (DDL), i.e., the asymmetry in the luminescence intensity between the opposite directions of the emission, in multiferroic CuB2O4. Although it is well known that the optical constants can change with the reversal of the propagation direction of light in multiferroic materials, the largest asymmetry in the luminescence intensity was 0.5 % so far. We have performed a measurement of photoluminescence with a He-Ne laser irradiation (633 nm). The luminescence intensity changes by about 70 % with the reversal of the magnetic field due to the interference between the electric dipole and magnetic dipole transitions. We also demonstrate the imaging of the canted antiferromagnetic domain structure of (Cu,Ni)B2O4 by using the large DDL.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.