Showing papers by "Jianing Chen published in 2018"

Highly Confined and Tunable Hyperbolic Phonon Polaritons in Van Der Waals Semiconducting Transition Metal Oxides

Abstract: 2D van der Waals (vdW) layered polar crystals sustaining phonon polaritons (PhPs) have opened up new avenues for fundamental research and optoelectronic applications in the mid-infrared to terahertz ranges. To date, 2D vdW crystals with PhPs are only experimentally demonstrated in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) slabs. For optoelectronic and active photonic applications, semiconductors with tunable charges, finite conductivity, and moderate bandgaps are preferred. Here, PhPs are demonstrated with low loss and ultrahigh electromagnetic field confinements in semiconducting vdW α-MoO3 . The α-MoO3 supports strong hyperbolic PhPs in the mid-infrared range, with a damping rate as low as 0.08. The electromagnetic confinements can reach ≈λ0 /120, which can be tailored by altering the thicknesses of the α-MoO3 2D flakes. Furthermore, spatial control over the PhPs is achieved with a metal-ion-intercalation strategy. The results demonstrate α-MoO3 as a new platform for studying hyperbolic PhPs with tunability, which enable switchable mid-infrared nanophotonic devices.

A mid-infrared biaxial hyperbolic van der Waals crystal

Abstract: Hyperbolic media have attracted much attention in the photonics community, thanks to their ability to confine light to arbitrarily small volumes and to their use for super-resolution applications. The 2D counterpart of these media can be achieved with hyperbolic metasurfaces, which support in-plane hyperbolic guided modes thanks to nanopatterns which, however, pose significant fabrication challenges and limit the achievable confinement. We show that thin flakes of the van der Waals material {\alpha}-MoO3 can support naturally in-plane hyperbolic polariton guided modes at mid-infrared frequencies without any patterning. This is possible because {\alpha}-MoO3 is a biaxial hyperbolic crystal, with three different Restrahlen bands, each for a different crystal axis. Our findings can pave the way towards new paradigm to manipulate and confine light in planar photonic devices.

Optically Unraveling the Edge Chirality-Dependent Band Structure and Plasmon Damping in Graphene Edges.

Abstract: The nontrivial topological origin and pseudospinorial character of electron wavefunctions make edge states possess unusual electronic properties. Twenty years ago, the tight-binding model calculation predicted that zigzag termination of 2D sheets of carbon atoms have peculiar edge states, which show potential application in spintronics and modern information technologies. Although scanning probe microscopy is employed to capture this phenomenon, the experimental demonstration of its optical response remains challenging. Here, the propagating graphene plasmon provides an edge-selective polaritonic probe to directly detect and control the electronic edge state at ambient condition. Compared with armchair, the edge-band structure in the bandgap gives rise to additional optical absorption and strongly absorbed rim at zigzag edge. Furthermore, the optical conductivity is reconstructed and the anisotropic plasmon damping in graphene systems is revealed. The reported approach paves the way for detecting edge-specific phenomena in other van der Waals materials and topological insulators.

Nanoimaging of Electronic Heterogeneity in Bi2Se3 and Sb2Te3 Nanocrystals

Abstract: Author(s): Lu, X; Khatib, O; Du, X; Duan, J; Wei, W; Liu, X; Bechtel, HA; D'Apuzzo, F; Yan, M; Buyanin, A; Fu, Q; Chen, J; Salmeron, M; Zeng, J; Raschke, MB; Jiang, P; Bao, X | Abstract: Topological insulators (TIs) are quantum materials with topologically protected surface states surrounding an insulating bulk. However, defect-induced bulk conduction often dominates transport properties in most TI materials, obscuring the Dirac surface states. In order to realize intrinsic topological insulating properties, it is thus of great significance to identify the spatial distribution of defects, understand their formation mechanism, and finally control or eliminate their influence. Here, the electronic heterogeneity in polyol-synthesized Bi2Se3 and chemical vapor deposition-grown Sb2Te3 nanocrystals is systematically investigated by multimodal atomic-to-mesoscale resolution imaging. In particular, by combining the Drude response sensitivity of infrared scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscopy with the work-function specificity of mirror electron microscopy, characteristic mesoscopic patterns are identified, which are related to carrier concentration modulation originating from the formation of defects during the crystal growth process. This correlative imaging and modeling approach thus provides the desired guidance for optimization of growth parameters, crucial for preparing TI nanomaterials to display their intrinsic exotic Dirac properties.

Improving Luttinger-liquid plasmons in carbon nanotubes by chemical doping

Abstract: We realized the real-space imaging of Luttinger-liquid plasmons in semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes (s-SWCNTs) and studied the effects of chemical-doping-induced charge carrier density modulation on plasmons. Using scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscopy (s-SNOM), we compared the Luttinger-liquid plasmonic behavior in pre- and post-HNO3-doped SWCNTs. Raman measurements revealed that the physical mechanism is P-type doping. Through HNO3 doping, we effectively increased the charge carrier density in s-SWCNTs and achieved quantum plasmons simultaneously with strong confinement (λ0/λp ≈ 70) and high quality factor (Q ≈ 20). The combination of high quality factor and strong subwavelength confinement in Luttinger-liquid plasmons is critical to the future application of plasmonic devices.