Drift-Induced Unidirectional Graphene Plasmons
Morgado, T. A.
;
Silveirinha, M. G.
ACS Photonics Vol. 5, Nº 11, pp. 4253 - 4258, October, 2018.
ISSN (print): 2330-4022
ISSN (online):
Scimago Journal Ranking: 2,98 (in 2018)
Digital Object Identifier: 10.1021/acsphotonics.8b00987
Abstract
Nonreciprocal photonic devices enable “one-way” light flows and are essential building blocks of optical systems. Here, we investigate an alternative paradigm to break reciprocity and achieve unidirectional subwavelength light propagation fully compatible with modern all-photonic highly integrated systems. In agreement with a few recent studies, our theoretical model predicts that a graphene sheet biased with a drift electric current has a strong nonreciprocal tunable response. Strikingly, we find that the propagation of the surface plasmon polaritons can be effectively “one-way” and may be largely immune to the backscattering from defects and obstacles. Furthermore, the drift-current biasing may boost the propagation length of the graphene plasmons by more than 100%. Our findings open new inroads in nonreciprocal photonics and offer a new opportunity to control the flow of light with one-atom thick nonreciprocal devices.