Guided spiraling phonon polaritons in rolled one-dimensional MoO₃ nanotubes

Area of Science:

• Condensed Matter Physics
• Materials Science
• Nanophotonics

Background:

• Reduced-dimensional materials offer unique ways to control electromagnetic fields at the nanoscale.
• Polaritons, quasiparticles formed from the coupling of photons with material excitations, are key to nanoscale light manipulation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To theoretically investigate hyperbolic phonon polaritons (HPhPs) in a novel rolled one-dimensional molybdenum trioxide (MoO3) nanotube structure.
• To explore the potential of these HPhPs for advanced nanophotonics applications.

Main Methods:

• Theoretical modeling and simulation of HPhPs in rolled MoO3 nanotubes.
• Analysis of propagation losses and electromagnetic confinement properties.
• Investigation of a canalized phonon polariton mode in twisted bilayer MoO3 nanotubes.

Main Results:

• HPhPs in rolled MoO3 nanotubes exhibit low propagation losses.
• Tunable electromagnetic confinement is achieved along the rolled direction.
• A spiraling canalized phonon polariton mode was successfully demonstrated in rolled twisted bilayer MoO3 nanotubes.

Conclusions:

• Rolled MoO3 nanotubes are a promising platform for manipulating light at the nanoscale.
• The demonstrated HPhPs enable potential applications in negative refraction, waveguiding, and routing.
• This work opens new avenues for nanophotonics circuits and devices.