Tunable Lifetime and Nonlinearity in Two Dimensional Materials Plasmonic-Photonic Absorber

Area of Science:

• Plasmonics and Photonics
• Nonlinear Optics
• Materials Science

Background:

• Graphene nanoribbons offer tunable plasmonic properties.
• Understanding energy dissipation is crucial for plasmonic-photonic devices.
• Nonlinear optical responses are key for advanced photonic applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate a framework for tunable graphene nanoribbon plasmonic-photonic absorbers.
• To study the second and third-order nonlinear optical response of surface plasmons.
• To analyze energy exchange mechanisms and their impact on device performance.

Main Methods:

• Utilized coupled mode theory (CMT) and finite difference time domain (FDTD) methods.
• Investigated the influence of Fermi energy, carrier mobility, and superstrate refractive index.
• Analyzed the evolutions of total energy and lifetime of graphene surface plasmons (GSP).

Main Results:

• Quality factor and lifetime of absorbers are effectively tunable.
• Strongly localized fields enhance second harmonic (SH) and third harmonic (TH) wave generation.
• Graphene serves as an excellent platform for tunable plasmonic-photonic devices.

Conclusions:

• Manipulation of GSP quality factor and lifetime allows active control of energy conversion.
• Graphene nanoribbon absorbers demonstrate potential for advanced nonlinear optical applications.
• The study provides insights into micro-processes within 2D material plasmonic-photonic absorbers.