Engineering shear polaritons in 2D twisted heterostructures

Abstract Materials hosting polaritons with extreme optical anisotropy enable nanoscale light manipulation, crucial for nanophotonic applications. In particular, hyperbolic shear polaritons (HShPs), featuring asymmetric propagation, axial dispersion, and loss redistribution, arise in low-symmetry mat...

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Main Authors: Lei Zhou, Xiang Ni, Zerui Wang, Enrico M. Renzi, Junbo Xu, Zhou Zhou, Yu Yin, Yanzhen Yin, Renkang Song, Zhichen Zhao, Ke Yu, Di Huang, Zhanshan Wang, Xinbin Cheng, Andrea Alù, Tao Jiang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-03-01
Series:Nature Communications
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-58197-4
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author Lei Zhou
Xiang Ni
Zerui Wang
Enrico M. Renzi
Junbo Xu
Zhou Zhou
Yu Yin
Yanzhen Yin
Renkang Song
Zhichen Zhao
Ke Yu
Di Huang
Zhanshan Wang
Xinbin Cheng
Andrea Alù
Tao Jiang
author_facet Lei Zhou
Xiang Ni
Zerui Wang
Enrico M. Renzi
Junbo Xu
Zhou Zhou
Yu Yin
Yanzhen Yin
Renkang Song
Zhichen Zhao
Ke Yu
Di Huang
Zhanshan Wang
Xinbin Cheng
Andrea Alù
Tao Jiang
author_sort Lei Zhou
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Materials hosting polaritons with extreme optical anisotropy enable nanoscale light manipulation, crucial for nanophotonic applications. In particular, hyperbolic shear polaritons (HShPs), featuring asymmetric propagation, axial dispersion, and loss redistribution, arise in low-symmetry materials (e.g., β-Ga2O3, CdWO4) through the intricate interplay of photons and non-orthogonal detuned resonant excitations supported by crystals with broken spatial symmetries. Versatile control over HShPs is still challenging to achieve, due to the properties of such bulk natural materials. Here, we unveil engineering and control over HShPs in two-dimensional materials by manipulating twisted bilayers of α-MoO3, which does not feature broken lattice symmetry at the material level. Infrared nanoimaging reveals precise control over HShP asymmetry in propagation, loss redistribution and confinement, achieved by adjusting the thickness and twist angle of the bilayer. Integration of a graphene electrostatic gate further enhances this control, enabling dynamic manipulation of HShPs. Our work expands the HShP platform for customizable polaritonics, advancing on-chip photonic applications.
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institution OA Journals
issn 2041-1723
language English
publishDate 2025-03-01
publisher Nature Portfolio
record_format Article
series Nature Communications
spelling doaj-art-322e3ff00ea54c039dff2c6a4433a38c2025-08-20T02:10:14ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-03-011611910.1038/s41467-025-58197-4Engineering shear polaritons in 2D twisted heterostructuresLei Zhou0Xiang Ni1Zerui Wang2Enrico M. Renzi3Junbo Xu4Zhou Zhou5Yu Yin6Yanzhen Yin7Renkang Song8Zhichen Zhao9Ke Yu10Di Huang11Zhanshan Wang12Xinbin Cheng13Andrea Alù14Tao Jiang15MOE Key Laboratory of Advanced Micro-Structured Materials, Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of Digital Optics, Institute of Precision Optical Engineering, and School of Physics Science and Engineering, Tongji UniversitySchool of Physics, Central South UniversityMOE Key Laboratory of Advanced Micro-Structured Materials, Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of Digital Optics, Institute of Precision Optical Engineering, and School of Physics Science and Engineering, Tongji UniversityPhotonics Initiative, Advanced Science Research Center, City University of New YorkMOE Key Laboratory of Advanced Micro-Structured Materials, Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of Digital Optics, Institute of Precision Optical Engineering, and School of Physics Science and Engineering, Tongji UniversityMOE Key Laboratory of Advanced Micro-Structured Materials, Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of Digital Optics, Institute of Precision Optical Engineering, and School of Physics Science and Engineering, Tongji UniversityMOE Key Laboratory of Advanced Micro-Structured Materials, Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of Digital Optics, Institute of Precision Optical Engineering, and School of Physics Science and Engineering, Tongji UniversityMOE Key Laboratory of Advanced Micro-Structured Materials, Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of Digital Optics, Institute of Precision Optical Engineering, and School of Physics Science and Engineering, Tongji UniversityMOE Key Laboratory of Advanced Micro-Structured Materials, Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of Digital Optics, Institute of Precision Optical Engineering, and School of Physics Science and Engineering, Tongji UniversityMOE Key Laboratory of Advanced Micro-Structured Materials, Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of Digital Optics, Institute of Precision Optical Engineering, and School of Physics Science and Engineering, Tongji UniversityMOE Key Laboratory of Advanced Micro-Structured Materials, Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of Digital Optics, Institute of Precision Optical Engineering, and School of Physics Science and Engineering, Tongji UniversityMOE Key Laboratory of Advanced Micro-Structured Materials, Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of Digital Optics, Institute of Precision Optical Engineering, and School of Physics Science and Engineering, Tongji UniversityMOE Key Laboratory of Advanced Micro-Structured Materials, Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of Digital Optics, Institute of Precision Optical Engineering, and School of Physics Science and Engineering, Tongji UniversityMOE Key Laboratory of Advanced Micro-Structured Materials, Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of Digital Optics, Institute of Precision Optical Engineering, and School of Physics Science and Engineering, Tongji UniversityPhotonics Initiative, Advanced Science Research Center, City University of New YorkMOE Key Laboratory of Advanced Micro-Structured Materials, Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of Digital Optics, Institute of Precision Optical Engineering, and School of Physics Science and Engineering, Tongji UniversityAbstract Materials hosting polaritons with extreme optical anisotropy enable nanoscale light manipulation, crucial for nanophotonic applications. In particular, hyperbolic shear polaritons (HShPs), featuring asymmetric propagation, axial dispersion, and loss redistribution, arise in low-symmetry materials (e.g., β-Ga2O3, CdWO4) through the intricate interplay of photons and non-orthogonal detuned resonant excitations supported by crystals with broken spatial symmetries. Versatile control over HShPs is still challenging to achieve, due to the properties of such bulk natural materials. Here, we unveil engineering and control over HShPs in two-dimensional materials by manipulating twisted bilayers of α-MoO3, which does not feature broken lattice symmetry at the material level. Infrared nanoimaging reveals precise control over HShP asymmetry in propagation, loss redistribution and confinement, achieved by adjusting the thickness and twist angle of the bilayer. Integration of a graphene electrostatic gate further enhances this control, enabling dynamic manipulation of HShPs. Our work expands the HShP platform for customizable polaritonics, advancing on-chip photonic applications.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-58197-4
spellingShingle Lei Zhou
Xiang Ni
Zerui Wang
Enrico M. Renzi
Junbo Xu
Zhou Zhou
Yu Yin
Yanzhen Yin
Renkang Song
Zhichen Zhao
Ke Yu
Di Huang
Zhanshan Wang
Xinbin Cheng
Andrea Alù
Tao Jiang
Engineering shear polaritons in 2D twisted heterostructures
Nature Communications
title Engineering shear polaritons in 2D twisted heterostructures
title_full Engineering shear polaritons in 2D twisted heterostructures
title_fullStr Engineering shear polaritons in 2D twisted heterostructures
title_full_unstemmed Engineering shear polaritons in 2D twisted heterostructures
title_short Engineering shear polaritons in 2D twisted heterostructures
title_sort engineering shear polaritons in 2d twisted heterostructures
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-58197-4
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