Plasmonic Polarization Sensing of Electrostatic Superlattice Potentials
Plasmon polaritons are formed by coupling light with delocalized electrons. The half-light and half-matter nature of plasmon polaritons endows them with unparalleled tunability via a range of parameters, such as dielectric environments and carrier density. Therefore, plasmon polaritons are expected...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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American Physical Society
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Physical Review X |
| Online Access: | http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.15.011019 |
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| author | Shuai Zhang Jordan Fonseca Daniel Bennett Zhiyuan Sun Junhe Zhang Ran Jing Suheng Xu Leo He S. L. Moore S. E. Rossi Dmitry Ovchinnikov David Cobden Pablo Jarillo-Herrero M. M. Fogler Philip Kim Efthimios Kaxiras Xiaodong Xu D. N. Basov |
| author_facet | Shuai Zhang Jordan Fonseca Daniel Bennett Zhiyuan Sun Junhe Zhang Ran Jing Suheng Xu Leo He S. L. Moore S. E. Rossi Dmitry Ovchinnikov David Cobden Pablo Jarillo-Herrero M. M. Fogler Philip Kim Efthimios Kaxiras Xiaodong Xu D. N. Basov |
| author_sort | Shuai Zhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Plasmon polaritons are formed by coupling light with delocalized electrons. The half-light and half-matter nature of plasmon polaritons endows them with unparalleled tunability via a range of parameters, such as dielectric environments and carrier density. Therefore, plasmon polaritons are expected to be tuned when in proximity to polar materials since the carrier density is tuned by an electrostatic potential; conversely, the plasmon polariton response might enable the sensing of polarization. Here, we use infrared nanoimaging and nanophotocurrent measurements to investigate heterostructures composed of graphene and twisted hexagonal boron nitride (t-BN), with alternating polarization in a triangular network of moiré stacking domains. We observe that the carrier density and the corresponding plasmonic response of graphene are modulated by polar domains in t-BN. In addition, we demonstrate that the nanometer-wide domain walls of graphene moirés superlattices, created by the polar domains of t-BN, provide momenta to assist the plasmonic excitations. Furthermore, our study establishes that the plasmon of graphene could function as a delicate sensor for polarization textures. The evolution of polarization textures in t-BN under uniform electric fields is tomographically examined via plasmonic imaging. Strikingly, no noticeable polarization switching is observed under applied electric fields up to 0.21 V/nm, at variance with transport reports. Our nanoimages unambiguously reveal that t-BN with triangular domains acts like a ferrielectric rather than a ferroelectric as claimed by many previous studies. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4a9088d8c7234d149fb4c0dcf82a7a74 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2160-3308 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | American Physical Society |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Physical Review X |
| spelling | doaj-art-4a9088d8c7234d149fb4c0dcf82a7a742025-01-31T16:43:17ZengAmerican Physical SocietyPhysical Review X2160-33082025-01-0115101101910.1103/PhysRevX.15.011019Plasmonic Polarization Sensing of Electrostatic Superlattice PotentialsShuai ZhangJordan FonsecaDaniel BennettZhiyuan SunJunhe ZhangRan JingSuheng XuLeo HeS. L. MooreS. E. RossiDmitry OvchinnikovDavid CobdenPablo Jarillo-HerreroM. M. FoglerPhilip KimEfthimios KaxirasXiaodong XuD. N. BasovPlasmon polaritons are formed by coupling light with delocalized electrons. The half-light and half-matter nature of plasmon polaritons endows them with unparalleled tunability via a range of parameters, such as dielectric environments and carrier density. Therefore, plasmon polaritons are expected to be tuned when in proximity to polar materials since the carrier density is tuned by an electrostatic potential; conversely, the plasmon polariton response might enable the sensing of polarization. Here, we use infrared nanoimaging and nanophotocurrent measurements to investigate heterostructures composed of graphene and twisted hexagonal boron nitride (t-BN), with alternating polarization in a triangular network of moiré stacking domains. We observe that the carrier density and the corresponding plasmonic response of graphene are modulated by polar domains in t-BN. In addition, we demonstrate that the nanometer-wide domain walls of graphene moirés superlattices, created by the polar domains of t-BN, provide momenta to assist the plasmonic excitations. Furthermore, our study establishes that the plasmon of graphene could function as a delicate sensor for polarization textures. The evolution of polarization textures in t-BN under uniform electric fields is tomographically examined via plasmonic imaging. Strikingly, no noticeable polarization switching is observed under applied electric fields up to 0.21 V/nm, at variance with transport reports. Our nanoimages unambiguously reveal that t-BN with triangular domains acts like a ferrielectric rather than a ferroelectric as claimed by many previous studies.http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.15.011019 |
| spellingShingle | Shuai Zhang Jordan Fonseca Daniel Bennett Zhiyuan Sun Junhe Zhang Ran Jing Suheng Xu Leo He S. L. Moore S. E. Rossi Dmitry Ovchinnikov David Cobden Pablo Jarillo-Herrero M. M. Fogler Philip Kim Efthimios Kaxiras Xiaodong Xu D. N. Basov Plasmonic Polarization Sensing of Electrostatic Superlattice Potentials Physical Review X |
| title | Plasmonic Polarization Sensing of Electrostatic Superlattice Potentials |
| title_full | Plasmonic Polarization Sensing of Electrostatic Superlattice Potentials |
| title_fullStr | Plasmonic Polarization Sensing of Electrostatic Superlattice Potentials |
| title_full_unstemmed | Plasmonic Polarization Sensing of Electrostatic Superlattice Potentials |
| title_short | Plasmonic Polarization Sensing of Electrostatic Superlattice Potentials |
| title_sort | plasmonic polarization sensing of electrostatic superlattice potentials |
| url | http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.15.011019 |
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