Fundamental Limits to graphene plasmonics

ORAL

Abstract

Polaritons are hybrid excitations of light and matter that can confine the energy of long-wavelength radiation at the nano-scale. Plasmon polaritons may enable many enigmatic quantum effects including lasing, topological protection, and dipole-forbidden absorption. A necessary condition for realizing such phenomena is a long polariton lifetime, which is notoriously difficult to meet. Plasmon polaritons in graphene provide a platform for exploring light-matter interaction at the nano-scale. However, plasmonic dissipation in graphene has remained substantial and its fundamental limits remained undetermined. Here we use nanometre-scale infrared imaging to investigate propagating plasmon polaritons in high-mobility encapsulated graphene at cryogenic temperatures. In this regime, the propagation of plasmon polaritons is primarily restricted by the dielectric losses of the encapsulated layers, with a minor contribution from electron–phonon interactions. At liquid-nitrogen temperatures, the intrinsic plasmonic propagation length can exceed 50 plasmonic wavelengths, thus setting a record for highly confined and tunable polariton modes.

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Presenters

  • GuangXin Ni

    Physics, Columbia University, Columbia University

Authors

  • GuangXin Ni

    Physics, Columbia University, Columbia University

  • McLeod Swinton Alexander

    Columbia University

  • Zhiyuan Sun

    Physics, Columbia University, Columbia University, Department of Physics, Columbia University

  • Lei Wang

    Cornell University, Physics, Cornell University, Columbia University

  • Lin Xiong

    Physics, Columbia University, Columbia University

  • Kirk W Post

    University of California San Diego

  • Sai Sunku

    Department of Applied Physics and Mathematics, Columbia University in the City of New York, Department of Physics, Columbia University, New York 10027, Columbia University

  • Bor-Yuan Jiang

    University of California San Diego, UC San Diego

  • James Hone

    Columbia University, Mechanics, Columbia University, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Columbia University in the City of New York, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Columbia University, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027 USA, Mechanical Engineering, Columbia University

  • Cory R Dean

    Columbia University, Department of Physics, Columbia University in the City of New York, Department of Physics, Columbia University, Physics, Columbia University, Physics Department, Columbia University

  • Michael Fogler

    University of California, San Diego, Physics, University of California, San Diego, University of California San Diego, UC San Diego

  • Dimitri Basov

    Department of Physics, Columbia University in the City of New York, Department of Physics, Columbia University, New York 10027, department of physics, columbia university, Department of Physics, Columbia University, Physics, Columbia University, Columbia University