Yixiao Gao

Analytical model for plasmon modes in graphene-coated nanowire

An analytical model for plasmon modes in graphene-coated dielectric nanowire is presented. Plasmon modes could be classified by the azimuthal field distribution characterized by a phase factor exp(imφ) in the electromagnetic field expression and eigen equation of dispersion relation for plasmon modes is derived. The characteristic of plasmon modes could be tuned by changing nanowire radius, dielectric permittivity of nanowire and chemical potential of graphene. The proposed model provides a fast insight into the mode behavior of graphene-coated nanowire, which would be useful for applications based on graphene plasmonics in cylindrical waveguide.

Single-mode graphene-coated nanowire plasmonic waveguide

We propose in this Letter a single-mode graphene-coated nanowire surface plasmon waveguide. The single-mode condition and modal cutoff wavelength of high order modes are derived from an analytic model and confirmed by numerical simulation. The mode number diagram of the proposed waveguide in the wavelength-radius space is also demonstrated. By changing the Fermi level of graphene, the performance of the proposed waveguide could be tuned flexibly, offering potential application in tunable nanophotonic devices.

Tunable subwavelength terahertz plasmon- induced transparency in the InSb slot waveguide side-coupled with two stub resonators

We numerically investigated the realization of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) at the terahertz (THz) region in an InSb slot waveguide side-coupled with two stub resonators. The mechanism of the EIT phenomenon is theoretically analyzed and numerically studied by using coupled mode theory and the finite element method, respectively, and the theoretical results are in good agreement with the simulation results. The simulation results reveal that the EIT-like response is strongly dependent on the coupling separation between the two stub resonators, and we derived the best separation between the two stub resonators to get the most obvious EIT-like spectra. More importantly, the central wavelength of the EIT-like spectra can be actively controlled by tuning the temperature. This plasmonic waveguide system may have potential applications for ultracompact THz integrated circuits, such as thermo-tunable filters, THz switching, slow-light components, and THz sensitive sensors.

Tunable Plasmonic Filter Based on Graphene Split-Ring

We propose in this paper a tunable plasmonic filter based on graphene split-ring (GSR) resonator. It is found the resonances could be classified into two categories, i.e., even-parity and odd-parity mode according to the symmetry of field profile in GSR. The coupling between graphene nanoribbon and GSR is GSR-orientation sensitive, and the odd-parity mode presents a greater sensitivity due to its asymmetric field profile. The transmission spectrum of the proposed filter could be efficiently modified by tuning the shape, orientation, and Fermi level of GSR. The proposed structure can be applied in the tunable ultra-compact graphene plasmonic devices for future nanoplasmonic applications.

Graphene-coated tapered nanowire infrared probe: a comparison with metal-coated probes

We propose in this paper a graphene-coated tapered nanowire probe providing strong field enhancement in the infrared regimes. The analytical field distributions and characteristic equation of the supported surface plasmons mode are derived. Based on the adiabatic approximation, analytic methods are adopted in the investigation of field enhancement along the tapered region and show well consistence with the rigorous numerical simulations. Both the numerical and analytical results have shown that the graphene-coated nanowire probe could achieve an order of magnitude larger field enhancement than the metal-coated probes. The proposed probe may have promising applications for single molecule detection, measurement and nano-manipulation techniques.

Graphene circular polarization analyzer based on unidirectional excitation of plasmons

In this paper we propose a method of unidirectional excitation of graphene plasmons via metal nanoantenna arrays and reveal its application in a circular polarization analyzer. For nanoantenna pairs with orthogonal orientations, the graphene plasmons are excited through antenna resonances with the direction of propagation can be controlled by incident polarization. On the other hand, based on the spiral shape distribution of antenna arrays, a circular polarization analyzer can be obtained via the interaction of geometric phase effect of antenna arrays and the chirality carried by incident polarization. By utilizing the unidirectional excitation of plasmons, the extinction ratio of analyzer can be improved to over 103, which is at least an order of magnitude larger than the result of antenna pairs with same orientations or antenna arrays with closed circular shape formation. The proposed analyzer may find applications in analyzing chiral molecules using different circularly polarized waves.

Tunable graphene-coated spiral dielectric lens as a circular polarization analyzer

We propose a tunable circular polarization analyzer based on a graphene-coated spiral dielectric lens. Spatially separated solid dot shape (or donut shape) field can be achieved if the geometric shape of analyzer and incident circular polarization possess the opposite (or same) chirality. Moreover, distinct from the narrow working bandwidth of a traditional circular polarization analyzer, the focusing and defocusing effects in the analyzer are independent of the chemical potential of graphene, and depend only on the dielectric permittivities and the grating occupation ratio. Combined with the strong tunability of graphene plasmons, the operation wavelength of analyzer can be tuned by adjusting the graphene chemical potential without degrading the performance. The proposed analyzer could be used in applications in chemistry or biology, such as analyzing the physiological properties of chiral molecules based on circular polarization.

Magnetically-Controlled Logic Gates of Graphene Plasmons Based on Non-Reciprocal Coupling

In this paper, we propose magnetically-controlled logic gates of graphene plasmons based on non-reciprocal coupling within the multilayer graphene waveguide structure. The magnetooptical effect of semiconductor substrate leads to the difference in modal indices of graphene plasmons in opposite directions and non-reciprocal coupling, which is investigated by both coupled mode theory (CMT) and finite elements methods (FEM). Such a mechanism enables the design of magnetically- controlled NOT logic gate, whose output logic can be inversed by reversing the plasmons propagation directions. Furthermore, according to the Boolean algebra, we design two functional logic gates performing as OR (AND) logic gates for one direction of input plasmons, while NAND (NOR) logic gates for the reversed input direction. Minimum extinction ratios as 13.6 or 17.5 dB can be obtained for OR (NAND) or AND (NOR) logic gate. The proposed magnetically-controlled logic gates may provide new inspiration to non-reciprocal graphene plasmons devices.

Tunable Terahertz Plasmonic Perfect Absorber Based on T-Shaped InSb Array

High absorption efficiency is particularly desirable for various microtechnological applications. In this paper, a nearly perfect terahertz absorber for transverse magnetic (TM) polarization based on T-shaped InSb array is proposed and numerically investigated. Incident wave at the Fabry-Perot resonant frequency can be totally absorbed into the narrow grooves between the two adjacent T-shaped InSb arms. The absorption mechanism is theoretically and numerically studied by using the Fabry-Perot model and the finite element method (FEM), respectively. It is found that the proposed absorber has large angle tolerance. Moreover, the absorption peak can be controlled by varying the temperature. Furthermore, a new absorption peak will emerge while breaking the symmetry of the T-shaped InSb array. This tunable and angle-independent THz perfect absorber may find important applications in THz devices such as microbolometers, coherent thermal emitters, solar cells, photo detectors, and sensors.

Second harmonic generation in graphene-coated nanowires

We study second harmonic generation in a pair of graphene-coated nanowires. We show that the phase matching condition for harmonic generation can be engineered in a wide range of frequencies by tuning the spacing between graphene nanowires. We derive coupled mode equations describing the process of second harmonic generation using an unconjugated Lorentz reciprocity theorem. We show that the highest harmonic generation efficiency can be achieved by phase matching the fundamental mode with the two lowest order symmetric modes at the second harmonic frequency. Despite losses in graphene, we predict that the efficiency can be further enhanced by reducing the radius of nanowires due to larger mode overlap and lower propagation loss.