Tunable phonon polaritons in atomically thin van der Waals crystals of boron nitride

Near-Field Infrared Pump-Probe Imaging of Surface Phonon Coupling in Boron Nitride Nanotubes

Surface phonon modes are lattice vibrational modes of a solid surface. Two common surface modes, called longitudinal and transverse optical modes, exhibit lattice vibration along or perpendicular to the direction of the wave. We report a two-color, infrared pump-infrared probe technique based on scattering type near-field optical microscopy (s-SNOM) to spatially resolve coupling between surface phonon modes. Spatially varying couplings between the longitudinal optical and surface phonon polariton modes of boron nitride nanotubes are observed, and a simple model is proposed.

Three-dimensionally interconnected porous boron nitride foam derived from polymeric foams

In this work, for the first time, we report the successful synthesis of three-dimensionally interconnected porous boron nitride foams (BNFs) with a high degree of crystallinity using porous sacrificial polymeric templates.

Quantum emission from hexagonal boron nitride monolayers

Artificial atomic systems in solids are widely considered the leading physical system for a variety of quantum technologies, including quantum communications, computing and metrology. To date, however, room-temperature quantum emitters have only been observed in wide-bandgap semiconductors such as diamond and silicon carbide, nanocrystal quantum dots, and most recently in carbon nanotubes. Single-photon emission from two-dimensional materials has been reported, but only at cryogenic temperatures. Here, we demonstrate room-temperature, polarized and ultrabright single-photon emission from a colour centre in two-dimensional hexagonal boron nitride. Density functional theory calculations indicate that vacancy-related defects are a probable source of the emission. Our results demonstrate the unprecedented potential of van der Waals crystals for large-scale nanophotonics and quantum information processing.

Atomic-scale photonic hybrids for mid-infrared and terahertz nanophotonics

The field of nanophotonics focuses on the ability to confine light to nanoscale dimensions, typically much smaller than the wavelength of light. The goal is to develop light-based technologies that are impossible with traditional optics. Subdiffractional confinement can be achieved using either surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) or surface phonon polaritons (SPhPs). SPPs can provide a gate-tunable, broad-bandwidth response, but suffer from high optical losses; whereas SPhPs offer a relatively low-loss, crystal-dependent optical response, but only over a narrow spectral range, with limited opportunities for active tunability. Here, motivated by the recent results from monolayer graphene and multilayer hexagonal boron nitride heterostructures, we discuss the potential of electromagnetic hybrids--materials incorporating mixtures of SPPs and SPhPs--for overcoming the limitations of the individual polaritons. Furthermore, we also propose a new type of atomic-scale hybrid--the crystalline hybrid--where mixtures of two or more atomic-scale (∼3 nm or less) polar dielectric materials lead to the creation of a new material resulting from hybridized optic phonon behaviour of the constituents, potentially allowing direct control over the dielectric function. These atomic-scale hybrids expand the toolkit of materials for mid-infrared to terahertz nanophotonics and could enable the creation of novel actively tunable, yet low-loss optics at the nanoscale.

Broadband infrared vibrational nano-spectroscopy using thermal blackbody radiation

Infrared vibrational nano-spectroscopy based on scattering scanning near-field optical microscopy (s-SNOM) provides intrinsic chemical specificity with nanometer spatial resolution. Here we use incoherent infrared radiation from a 1400 K thermal blackbody emitter for broadband infrared (IR) nano-spectroscopy. With optimized interferometric heterodyne signal amplification we achieve few-monolayer sensitivity in phonon polariton spectroscopy and attomolar molecular vibrational spectroscopy. Near-field localization and nanoscale spatial resolution is demonstrated in imaging flakes of hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) and determination of its phonon polariton dispersion relation. The signal-to-noise ratio calculations and analysis for different samples and illumination sources provide a reference for irradiance requirements and the attainable near-field signal levels in s-SNOM in general. The use of a thermal emitter as an IR source thus opens s-SNOM for routine chemical FTIR nano-spectroscopy.

Edge and Surface Plasmons in Graphene Nanoribbons

We report on nano-infrared (IR) imaging studies of confined plasmon modes inside patterned graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) fabricated with high-quality chemical-vapor-deposited (CVD) graphene on Al2O3 substrates. The confined geometry of these ribbons leads to distinct mode patterns and strong field enhancement, both of which evolve systematically with the ribbon width. In addition, spectroscopic nanoimaging in the mid-infrared range 850-1450 cm(-1) allowed us to evaluate the effect of the substrate phonons on the plasmon damping. Furthermore, we observed edge plasmons: peculiar one-dimensional modes propagating strictly along the edges of our patterned graphene nanostructures.

Scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscopy with reconstruction of vertical interaction

Scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscopy provides access to super-resolution spectroscopic imaging of the surfaces of a variety of materials and nanostructures. In addition to chemical identification, it enables observations of nano-optical phenomena, such as mid-infrared plasmons in graphene and phonon polaritons in boron nitride. Despite the high lateral spatial resolution, scattering-type near-field optical microscopy is not able to provide characteristics of near-field responses in the vertical dimension, normal to the sample surface. Here, we present an accurate and fast reconstruction method to obtain vertical characteristics of near-field interactions. For its first application, we investigated the bound electromagnetic field component of surface phonon polaritons on the surface of boron nitride nanotubes and found that it decays within 20 nm with a considerable phase change in the near-field signal. The method is expected to provide characterization of the vertical field distribution of a wide range of nano-optical materials and structures.

Conventionally, scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscopy does not provide information on the vertical characteristic of near-field responses. Here, Xu et al. develop a method to reconstruct the vertical interaction response between the tip and the sample using this near-field technique.

Studying Edge Defects of Hexagonal Boron Nitride Using High-Resolution Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy

Studying the phonons of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is important for understanding its thermal, electronic, and imaging applications. Herein, we applied high-resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy (HREELS) to monitor the presence of edge defects in h-BN films. We observed an edge phonon at 90.5 meV with the initial formation of island-like domains on Ru(0001), which subsequently weakens with respect to the bulk phonon as the islands congregate into a film. The presence of a weak edge phonon peak even at full surface coverage of the h-BN film indicates the sensitivity of HREELS in detecting line defects. A shoulder peak at ∼160 meV assignable to sp(3) bonded modes was attributed to grain boundaries arising from misaligned domains. In addition, the strengths of substrate interaction and the rippling of the h-BN film can be judged from the shift in the phonon energy of the out-of-plane TO⊥ mode.

Graphene-Based Platform for Infrared Near-Field Nanospectroscopy of Water and Biological Materials in an Aqueous Environment

Scattering scanning near-field optical microscopy (s-SNOM) has emerged as a powerful nanoscale spectroscopic tool capable of characterizing individual biomacromolecules and molecular materials. However, applications of scattering-based near-field techniques in the infrared (IR) to native biosystems still await a solution of how to implement the required aqueous environment. In this work, we demonstrate an IR-compatible liquid cell architecture that enables near-field imaging and nanospectroscopy by taking advantage of the unique properties of graphene. Large-area graphene acts as an impermeable monolayer barrier that allows for nano-IR inspection of underlying molecular materials in liquid. Here, we use s-SNOM to investigate the tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) in water underneath graphene. We resolve individual virus particles and register the amide I and II bands of TMV at ca. 1520 and 1660 cm(-1), respectively, using nanoscale Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (nano-FTIR). We verify the presence of water in the graphene liquid cell by identifying a spectral feature associated with water absorption at 1610 cm(-1).

Accessing Phonon Polaritons in Hyperbolic Crystals by Angle-Resolved Photoemission Spectroscopy

Recently studied hyperbolic materials host unique phonon-polariton (PP) modes. The ultrashort wavelengths of these modes, as well as their low damping, hold promise for extreme subdiffraction nanophotonics schemes. Polar hyperbolic materials such as hexagonal boron nitride can be used to realize long-range coupling between PP modes and extraneous charge degrees of freedom. The latter, in turn, can be used to control and probe PP modes. Here we analyze coupling between PP modes and plasmons in an adjacent graphene sheet, which opens the door to accessing PP modes by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES). A rich structure in the graphene ARPES spectrum due to PP modes is predicted, providing a new probe of PP modes and their coupling to graphene plasmons.

Tuning and Persistent Switching of Graphene Plasmons on a Ferroelectric Substrate

We characterized plasmon propagation in graphene on thin films of the high-κ dielectric PbZr0.3Ti0.7O3 (PZT). Significant modulation (up to ±75%) of the plasmon wavelength was achieved with application of ultrasmall voltages (< ±1 V) across PZT. Analysis of the observed plasmonic fringes at the graphene edge indicates that carriers in graphene on PZT behave as noninteracting Dirac Fermions approximated by a semiclassical Drude response, which may be attributed to strong dielectric screening at the graphene/PZT interface. Additionally, significant plasmon scattering occurs at the grain boundaries of PZT from topographic and/or polarization induced graphene conductivity variation in the interior of graphene, reducing the overall plasmon propagation length. Lastly, through application of 2 V across PZT, we demonstrate the capability to persistently modify the plasmonic response of graphene through transient voltage application.

Graphene on hexagonal boron nitride as a tunable hyperbolic metamaterial

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is a natural hyperbolic material, in which the dielectric constants are the same in the basal plane (ε(t) ≡ ε(x) = ε(y)) but have opposite signs (ε(t)ε(z) < 0) in the normal plane (ε(z)). Owing to this property, finite-thickness slabs of h-BN act as multimode waveguides for the propagation of hyperbolic phonon polaritons--collective modes that originate from the coupling between photons and electric dipoles in phonons. However, control of these hyperbolic phonon polaritons modes has remained challenging, mostly because their electrodynamic properties are dictated by the crystal lattice of h-BN. Here we show, by direct nano-infrared imaging, that these hyperbolic polaritons can be effectively modulated in a van der Waals heterostructure composed of monolayer graphene on h-BN. Tunability originates from the hybridization of surface plasmon polaritons in graphene with hyperbolic phonon polaritons in h-BN, so that the eigenmodes of the graphene/h-BN heterostructure are hyperbolic plasmon-phonon polaritons. The hyperbolic plasmon-phonon polaritons in graphene/h-BN suffer little from ohmic losses, making their propagation length 1.5-2.0 times greater than that of hyperbolic phonon polaritons in h-BN. The hyperbolic plasmon-phonon polaritons possess the combined virtues of surface plasmon polaritons in graphene and hyperbolic phonon polaritons in h-BN. Therefore, graphene/h-BN can be classified as an electromagnetic metamaterial as the resulting properties of these devices are not present in its constituent elements alone.

Graphene/h-BN plasmon-phonon coupling and plasmon delocalization observed by infrared nano-spectroscopy

We observed the coupling of graphene Dirac plasmons with different surfaces using scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscopy integrated into a mid-infrared synchrotron-based beamline. A systematic investigation of a graphene/hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) heterostructure is carried out and compared with the well-known graphene/SiO2 heterostructure. Broadband infrared scanning near-field optical microscopy imaging is able to distinguish between the graphene/h-BN and the graphene/SiO2 heterostructure as well as differentiate between graphene stacks with different numbers of layers. Based on synchrotron infrared nanospectroscopy experiments, we observe a coupling of surface plasmons of graphene and phonon polaritons of h-BN (SPPP). An enhancement of the optical band at 817 cm(-1) is observed at graphene/h-BN heterostructures as a result of hybridization between graphene plasmons and longitudinal optical phonons of h-BN. Furthermore, longitudinal optical h-BN modes are preserved on suspended graphene regions (bubbles) where the graphene sheet is tens of nanometers away from the surface while the amplitude of transverse optical h-BN modes decrease.

Hamiltonian Optics of Hyperbolic Polaritons in Nanogranules

Semiclassical quantization rules and numerical calculations are applied to study polariton modes of materials whose permittivity tensor has principal values of opposite sign (so-called hyperbolic materials). The spectra of volume- and surface-confined polaritons are computed for spheroidal nanogranules of hexagonal boron nitride, a natural hyperbolic crystal. The field distribution created by polaritons excited by an external dipole source is predicted to exhibit raylike patterns due to classical periodic orbits. Near-field infrared imaging and Purcell-factor measurements are suggested to test these predictions.

Hyperbolic phonon-polaritons in boron nitride for near-field optical imaging and focusing

Hyperbolic materials exhibit sub-diffractional, highly directional, volume-confined polariton modes. Here we report that hyperbolic phonon polaritons allow for a flat slab of hexagonal boron nitride to enable exciting near-field optical applications, including unusual imaging phenomenon (such as an enlarged reconstruction of investigated objects) and sub-diffractional focusing. Both the enlarged imaging and the super-resolution focusing are explained based on the volume-confined, wavelength dependent propagation angle of hyperbolic phonon polaritons. With advanced infrared nanoimaging techniques and state-of-art mid-infrared laser sources, we have succeeded in demonstrating and visualizing these unexpected phenomena in both Type I and Type II hyperbolic conditions, with both occurring naturally within hexagonal boron nitride. These efforts have provided a full and intuitive physical picture for the understanding of the role of hyperbolic phonon polaritons in near-field optical imaging, guiding, and focusing applications.

Hyperbolic phonon polariton modes in natural hyperbolic materials could have uses in near-field optical imaging, guiding, and focusing applications. Here Li et al. demonstrate enlarged imaging and super-resolution focusing from a flat slab of hexagonal boron nitride enabled by hyperbolic phonon polariton modes.

Magnitude and phase-resolved infrared vibrational nanospectroscopy with a swept quantum cascade laser

We demonstrate a method of rapidly acquiring background-free infrared near-field spectra by combining magnitude and phase resolved scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscopy (s-SNOM) with a wavelength-swept quantum cascade laser (QCL). Background-free measurement of both near-field magnitude and phase allows for direct comparison with far-field absorption spectra, making the technique particularly useful for rapid and straightforward nanoscale material identification. Our experimental setup is based on the commonly used pseudo-heterodyne detection scheme, which we modify by operating the interferometer in the white light position; we show this adjustment to be critical for measurement repeatability. As a proof-of-principle experiment we measure the near-field spectrum between 1690 and 1750 cm(-1) of a PMMA disc with a spectral resolution of 1.5 cm(-1). We finish by chemically identifying two fibers on a sample surface by gathering their spectra between 1570 and 1750 cm(-1), each with a measurement time of less than 2.5 minutes. Our method offers the possibility of performing both nanoscale-resolved point spectroscopy and monochromatic imaging with a single laser that is capable of wavelength-sweeping.

Tunable Light-Matter Interaction and the Role of Hyperbolicity in Graphene-hBN System

Hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) is a natural hyperbolic material, which can also accommodate highly dispersive surface phonon-polariton modes. In this paper, we examine theoretically the mid-infrared optical properties of graphene-hBN heterostructures derived from their coupled plasmon-phonon modes. We find that the graphene plasmon couples differently with the phonons of the two Reststrahlen bands, owing to their different hyperbolicity. This also leads to distinctively different interaction between an external quantum emitter and the plasmon-phonon modes in the two bands, leading to substantial modification of its spectrum. The coupling to graphene plasmons allows for additional gate tunability in the Purcell factor and narrow dips in its emission spectra.

Strain and the optoelectronic properties of nonplanar phosphorene monolayers

Phosphorene is a new 2D atomic material, and we document a drastic reduction of its electronic gap when under a conical shape. Furthermore, geometry determines the properties of 2D materials, and we introduce discrete differential geometry to study them. This geometry arises from particle/atomic positions; it is not based on a parametric continuum, and it applies across broad disciplinary lines.

Lattice kirigami, ultralight metamaterials, polydisperse aggregates, ceramic nanolattices, and 2D atomic materials share an inherent structural discreteness, and their material properties evolve with their shape. To exemplify the intimate relation among material properties and the local geometry, we explore the properties of phosphorene––a new 2D atomic material––in a conical structure, and document a decrease of the semiconducting gap that is directly linked to its nonplanar shape. This geometrical effect occurs regardless of phosphorene allotrope considered, and it provides a unique optical vehicle to single out local structural defects on this 2D material. We also classify other 2D atomic materials in terms of their crystalline unit cells, and propose means to obtain the local geometry directly from their diverse 2D structures while bypassing common descriptions of shape that are based from a parametric continuum.

Subdiffractional focusing and guiding of polaritonic rays in a natural hyperbolic material

Uniaxial materials whose axial and tangential permittivities have opposite signs are referred to as indefinite or hyperbolic media. In such materials, light propagation is unusual leading to novel and often non-intuitive optical phenomena. Here we report infrared nano-imaging experiments demonstrating that crystals of hexagonal boron nitride, a natural mid-infrared hyperbolic material, can act as a ‘hyper-focusing lens' and as a multi-mode waveguide. The lensing is manifested by subdiffractional focusing of phonon–polaritons launched by metallic disks underneath the hexagonal boron nitride crystal. The waveguiding is revealed through the modal analysis of the periodic patterns observed around such launchers and near the sample edges. Our work opens new opportunities for anisotropic layered insulators in infrared nanophotonics complementing and potentially surpassing concurrent artificial hyperbolic materials with lower losses and higher optical localization.

Hexagonal boron nitride has many interesting properties, including a natural hyperbolic dispersion, making it attractive for nanophotonic applications. Here, Dai et al. show that metallic disks under the material launch phonon–polaritons, turning it into a hyper-focusing lens.

Selective radiative heating of nanostructures using hyperbolic metamaterials

Hyperbolic metamaterials (HMM) are of great interest due to their ability to break the diffraction limit for imaging and enhance near-field radiative heat transfer. Here we demonstrate that an annular, transparent HMM enables selective heating of a sub-wavelength plasmonic nanowire by controlling the angular mode number of a plasmonic resonance. A nanowire emitter, surrounded by an HMM, appears dark to incoming radiation from an adjacent nanowire emitter unless the second emitter is surrounded by an identical lens such that the wavelength and angular mode of the plasmonic resonance match. Our result can find applications in radiative thermal management.

Highly confined low-loss plasmons in graphene-boron nitride heterostructures

Graphene plasmons were predicted to possess simultaneous ultrastrong field confinement and very low damping, enabling new classes of devices for deep-subwavelength metamaterials, single-photon nonlinearities, extraordinarily strong light-matter interactions and nano-optoelectronic switches. Although all of these great prospects require low damping, thus far strong plasmon damping has been observed, with both impurity scattering and many-body effects in graphene proposed as possible explanations. With the advent of van der Waals heterostructures, new methods have been developed to integrate graphene with other atomically flat materials. In this Article we exploit near-field microscopy to image propagating plasmons in high-quality graphene encapsulated between two films of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN). We determine the dispersion and plasmon damping in real space. We find unprecedentedly low plasmon damping combined with strong field confinement and confirm the high uniformity of this plasmonic medium. The main damping channels are attributed to intrinsic thermal phonons in the graphene and dielectric losses in the h-BN. The observation and in-depth understanding of low plasmon damping is the key to the development of graphene nanophotonic and nano-optoelectronic devices.

Modifying the interlayer interaction in layered materials with an intense IR laser

We propose a transient interlayer compression in two-dimensional compound materials by using an intense IR laser resonant with the out-of-plane optical phonon mode (A(2u) mode). As a test case, we studied bilayer hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), which is one of the compound layered materials. Excited state molecular dynamics calculations using time-dependent density functional theory show an 11.3% transient interlayer contraction of h-BN due to an interlayer dipole-dipole attraction of the laser-pumped A(2u) mode. These results are applicable to other layered compound materials. Such layered materials are a good material for nanospace chemistry, e.g., intercalating molecules and acting with them, and IR irradiation to contract the interlayer distance could provide a new route for chemical reactions under pressure. The duration of the contraction is at least 1 ps in the current simulation, which is observable by high-speed electron-beam diffraction measurements.

Room-temperature voltage tunable phonon thermal conductivity via reconfigurable interfaces in ferroelectric thin films

Dynamic control of thermal transport in solid-state systems is a transformative capability with the promise to propel technologies including phononic logic, thermal management, and energy harvesting. A solid-state solution to rapidly manipulate phonons has escaped the scientific community. We demonstrate active and reversible tuning of thermal conductivity by manipulating the nanoscale ferroelastic domain structure of a Pb(Zr0.3Ti0.7)O3 film with applied electric fields. With subsecond response times, the room-temperature thermal conductivity was modulated by 11%.

Infrared Imaging and Spectroscopy Beyond the Diffraction Limit

Progress in nanotechnology is enabled by and dependent on the availability of measurement methods with spatial resolution commensurate with nanomaterials' length scales. Chemical imaging techniques, such as scattering scanning near-field optical microscopy (s-SNOM) and photothermal-induced resonance (PTIR), have provided scientists with means of extracting rich chemical and structural information with nanoscale resolution. This review presents some basics of infrared spectroscopy and microscopy, followed by detailed descriptions of s-SNOM and PTIR working principles. Nanoscale spectra are compared with far-field macroscale spectra, which are widely used for chemical identification. Selected examples illustrate either technical aspects of the measurements or applications in materials science. Central to this review is the ability to record nanoscale infrared spectra because, although chemical maps enable immediate visualization, the spectra provide information to interpret the images and characterize the sample. The growing breadth of nanomaterials and biological applications suggest rapid growth for this field.

Nanoscale infrared spectroscopy as a non-destructive probe of extraterrestrial samples

Advances in the spatial resolution of modern analytical techniques have tremendously augmented the scientific insight gained from the analysis of natural samples. Yet, while techniques for the elemental and structural characterization of samples have achieved sub-nanometre spatial resolution, infrared spectral mapping of geochemical samples at vibrational 'fingerprint' wavelengths has remained restricted to spatial scales >10 μm. Nevertheless, infrared spectroscopy remains an invaluable contactless probe of chemical structure, details of which offer clues to the formation history of minerals. Here we report on the successful implementation of infrared near-field imaging, spectroscopy and analysis techniques capable of sub-micron scale mineral identification within natural samples, including a chondrule from the Murchison meteorite and a cometary dust grain (Iris) from NASA's Stardust mission. Complementary to scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy probes, this work evidences a similarity between chondritic and cometary materials, and inaugurates a new era of infrared nano-spectroscopy applied to small and invaluable extraterrestrial samples.

Mid-infrared polaritonic coupling between boron nitride nanotubes and graphene

Boron nitride (BN) is considered to be a promising substrate for graphene-based devices in part because its large band gap can serve to insulate graphene in layered heterostructures. At mid-infrared frequencies, graphene supports surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs), whereas hexagonal-BN (h-BN) is found to support surface phonon polaritons (SPhPs). We report on the observation of infrared polaritonic coupling between graphene SPPs and boron nitride nanotube (BNNT) SPhPs. Infrared scattering type scanning near-field optical microscopy is used to obtain spatial distribution of the two types of polaritons at the nanoscale. The observation suggests that those polaritons interact at the nanoscale in a one-dimensional/two-dimensional (1D/2D) geometry, exchanging energy in a nonplanar configuration at the nanoscale. Control of the polaritonic interaction is achieved by adjustment of the graphene Fermi level through voltage gating. Our observation suggests that boron nitride nanotubes and graphene can interact at mid-infrared frequencies and coherently exchange their energies at the nanoscale through the overlap of mutual electric near field of surface phonon polaritons and surface plasmon polaritons. Such interaction enables the design of nano-optical devices based on BNNT-graphene polaritonics in the mid-infrared range.

Sub-diffractional volume-confined polaritons in the natural hyperbolic material hexagonal boron nitride

Strongly anisotropic media, where the principal components of the dielectric tensor have opposite signs, are called hyperbolic. Such materials exhibit unique nanophotonic properties enabled by the highly directional propagation of slow-light modes localized at deeply sub-diffractional length scales. While artificial hyperbolic metamaterials have been demonstrated, they suffer from high plasmonic losses and require complex nanofabrication, which in turn induces size-dependent limitations on optical confinement. The low-loss, mid-infrared, natural hyperbolic material hexagonal boron nitride is an attractive alternative. Here we report on three-dimensionally confined 'hyperbolic polaritons' in boron nitride nanocones that support four series (up to the seventh order) modes in two spectral bands. The resonant modes obey the predicted aspect ratio dependence and exhibit high-quality factors (Q up to 283) in the strong confinement regime (up to λ/86). These observations assert hexagonal boron nitride as a promising platform for studying novel regimes of light-matter interactions and nanophotonic device engineering.

Surface phonon polariton responses of hexagonal sapphire crystals with non-polar and semi-polar crystallographic planes

The surface phonon polariton (SPhP) characteristics of hexagonal sapphire crystals with non-polar and semi-polar crystallographic planes are investigated. A formulation that considers the effects of crystal orientation is employed to calculate the SPhP dispersion curves of the samples. The SPhP dispersion curves indicate that the SPhP responses of sapphire crystals in non-polar and semi-polar orientations are directionally sensitive. Resonance frequencies and spectral strengths of the SPhP modes can be modulated simply by tuning the angular positions of the samples. The validity of the theoretical results is confirmed by the polarized infrared attenuated total reflection measurements.

One-dimensional surface phonon polaritons in boron nitride nanotubes

Surface polaritons, which are electromagnetic waves coupled to material charge oscillations, have enabled applications in concentrating, guiding and harvesting optical energy below the diffraction limit. Surface plasmon polaritons involve oscillations of electrons and are accessible in noble metals at visible and near-infrared wavelengths, whereas surface phonon polaritons (SPhPs) rely on phonon resonances in polar materials, and are active in the mid-infrared. Noble metal surface plasmon polaritons have limited applications in the mid-infrared. SPhPs at flat interfaces normally possess long polariton wavelengths and provide modest field confinement/enhancement. Here we demonstrate propagating SPhPs in a one-dimensional material consisting of a boron nitride nanotube at mid-infrared wavelengths. The observed SPhP exhibits high field confinement and enhancement, and a very high effective index (neff~70). We show that the modal and propagation length characteristics of the SPhPs may be controlled through the nanotube size and the supporting substrates, enabling mid-infrared applications.

Graphene-enhanced infrared near-field microscopy

Graphene is a promising two-dimensional platform for widespread nanophotonic applications. Recent theories have predicted that graphene can also enhance evanescent fields for subdiffraction-limited imaging. Here, for the first time we experimentally demonstrate that monolayer graphene offers a 7-fold enhancement of evanescent information, improving conventional infrared near-field microscopy to resolve buried structures at a 500 nm depth with λ/11-resolution.

Ultrafast dynamics of surface plasmons in InAs by time-resolved infrared nanospectroscopy

We report on time-resolved mid-infrared (mid-IR) near-field spectroscopy of the narrow bandgap semiconductor InAs. The dominant effect we observed pertains to the dynamics of photoexcited carriers and associated surface plasmons. A novel combination of pump-probe techniques and near-field nanospectroscopy accesses high momentum plasmons and demonstrates efficient, subpicosecond photomodulation of the surface plasmon dispersion with subsequent tens of picoseconds decay under ambient conditions. The photoinduced change of the probe intensity due to plasmons in InAs is found to exceed that of other mid-IR or near-IR media by 1-2 orders of magnitude. Remarkably, the required control pulse fluence is as low as 60 μJ/cm(2), much smaller than fluences of ∼ 1-10 mJ/cm(2) previously utilized in ultrafast control of near-IR plasmonics. These low excitation densities are easily attained with a standard 1.56 μm fiber laser. Thus, InAs--a common semiconductor with favorable plasmonic properties such as a low effective mass--has the potential to become an important building block of optically controlled plasmonic devices operating at infrared frequencies.

Bismuth oxyhalide nanomaterials: layered structures meet photocatalysis

In recent years, layered bismuth oxyhalide nanomaterials have received more and more interest as promising photocatalysts because their unique layered structures endow them with fascinating physicochemical properties; thus, they have great potential photocatalytic applications for environment remediation and energy harvesting. In this article, we explore the synthesis strategies and growth mechanisms of layered bismuth oxyhalide nanomaterials, and propose design principles of tailoring a layered configuration to control the nanoarchitectures for high efficient photocatalysis. Subsequently, we focus on their layered structure dependent properties, including pH-related crystal facet exposure and phase transformation, facet-dependent photoactivity and molecular oxygen activation pathways, so as to clarify the origin of the layered structure dependent photoreactivity. Furthermore, we summarize various strategies for modulating the composition and arrangement of layered structures to enhance the photoactivity of nanostructured bismuth oxyhalides via internal electric field tuning, dehalogenation effect, surface functionalization, doping, plasmon modification, and heterojunction construction, which may offer efficient guidance for the design and construction of high-performance bismuth oxyhalide-based photocatalysis systems. Finally, we highlight some crucial issues in engineering the layered-structure mediated properties of bismuth oxyhalide photocatalysts and provide tentative suggestions for future research on increasing their photocatalytic performance.

Efficient coupling of light to graphene plasmons by compressing surface polaritons with tapered bulk materials

Graphene plasmons promise exciting nanophotonic and optoelectronic applications. Owing to their extremely short wavelengths, however, the efficient coupling of photons to propagating graphene plasmons-critical for the development of future devices-can be challenging. Here, we propose and numerically demonstrate coupling between infrared photons and graphene plasmons by the compression of surface polaritons on tapered bulk slabs of both polar and doped semiconductor materials. Propagation of surface phonon polaritons (in SiC) and surface plasmon polaritons (in n-GaAs) along the tapered slabs compresses the polariton wavelengths from several micrometers to around 200 nm, which perfectly matches the wavelengths of graphene plasmons. The proposed coupling device allows for a 25% conversion of the incident energy into graphene plasmons and, therefore, could become an efficient route toward graphene plasmon circuitry.