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Updated: Jan 22, 2026

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Fabrication of Gate-tunable Graphene Devices for Scanning Tunneling Microscopy Studies with Coulomb Impurities
Published on: July 24, 2015
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Gate-tunable polariton superlens in 2D/3D heterostructures
Optics Express
|June 30, 2019
Summary
Researchers achieved negative refraction using hybrid surface phonon-hyperbolic polaritons (SPh-HP) in 2D van der Waals materials. This enables sub-wavelength infrared focusing with tunable graphene for advanced photonic devices.
Area of Science:
- Photonics and Materials Science
- Exploration of polariton behavior in van der Waals and semiconductor heterostructures.
Background:
- Polaritons in polar-dielectrics and van der Waals (vdW) materials enable strong photon confinement.
- Precise control of polariton propagation is key for developing deep sub-wavelength photonic devices.
Purpose of the Study:
- To report and investigate negative refraction of hybrid surface phonon-hyperbolic polaritons (SPh-HP).
- To demonstrate sub-wavelength focusing and electrical tunability for advanced photonic applications.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing interfaces between 2D van der Waals layers (hexagonal boron nitride) and 3D semiconductors (germanium, silicon carbide).
- Investigating hybrid polariton modes with naturally negative group velocity due to Type-I hyperbolicity.
- Demonstrating an in-plane superlens effect in ultrathin slabs (~10 nm).
- Achieving electrical tunability by controlling the Fermi level of graphene.
Main Results:
- Observed negative refraction of SPh-HP at material interfaces.
- Achieved spatial confinement of infrared wavelengths to sub-200 nm focal spots using an ultrathin superlens.
- Demonstrated electrical tunability of the superlens performance.
Conclusions:
- Hybrid SPh-HP modes enable negative refraction and sub-wavelength imaging.
- The demonstrated electrical tunability opens pathways for miniaturized infrared to THz modulators, photodetectors, and logic switches.
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