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Tunable Wide-Angle Tunneling in Graphene-Assisted Frustrated Total Internal Reflection
Thang Q Tran1, Sangjun Lee2, Hyungjun Heo1
1Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Ajou University, Suwon, South Korea.
Scientific Reports
|January 28, 2016
Summary
We demonstrate electrical control of light transmission using graphene in a frustrated total internal reflection (FTIR) setup. This novel approach enables efficient optical modulation with low loss, paving the way for new photonic devices.
Area of Science:
- Photonics
- Materials Science
- Electrical Engineering
Background:
- Graphene's tunable permittivity is valuable for photonic devices.
- Previous methods relied on small optical absorption or resonant structures.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose a new scheme for controlling evanescent coupling strength using graphene.
- To demonstrate electrical control of optical transmission with high dynamic range.
Main Methods:
- Inserting two graphene layers into a frustrated total internal reflection (FTIR) configuration.
- Utilizing graphene's near-zero permittivity at specific photon energies.
Main Results:
- Achieved electrical control of optical transmission from ~10(-5) to ~1.
- Demonstrated low dependency on the angle of incidence.
- Developed a waveguide optical modulator based on electrically controlled guided-mode existence.
Conclusions:
- The novel FTIR configuration with graphene offers unprecedented electrical control over optical transmission.
- This method bypasses limitations of absorption-based modulation, leading to low insertion loss and compact devices.
- Enables new designs for tunable photonic devices and optical modulators.
