• 文献标题:   Plasmons driven by single electrons in graphene nanoislands
  • 文献类型:   Article
  • 作  者:   MANJAVACAS A, THONGRATTANASIRI S, DE ABAJO FJG
  • 作者关键词:   graphene, plasmon, nanophotonic, graphene plasmonic, quantum plasmonic
  • 出版物名称:   NANOPHOTONICS
  • ISSN:   2192-8606 EI 2192-8614
  • 通讯作者地址:   IQFR CSIC
  • 被引频次:   30
  • DOI:   10.1515/nanoph-2012-0035
  • 出版年:   2013

▎ 摘  要

Plasmons produce large confinement and enhancement of light that enable applications as varied as cancer therapy and catalysis. Adding to these appealing properties, graphene has emerged as a robust, electrically tunable material exhibiting plasmons that strongly depend on the density of doping charges. Here we show that adding a single electron to a graphene nanoisland consisting of hundreds or thousands of atoms switches on infrared plasmons that were previously absent from the uncharged structure. Remarkably, the addition of each further electron produces a dramatic frequency shift. Plasmons in these islands are shown to be tunable down to near infrared wavelengths. These phenomena are highly sensitive to carbon edges. Specifically, armchair nanotriangles display sharp plasmons that are associated with intense near-field enhancement, as well as absorption cross-sections exceeding the geometrical area occupied by the graphene. In contrast, zigzag triangles do not support these plasmons. Our conclusions rely on realistic quantum-mechanical calculations, which are in ostensible disagreement with classical electromagnetic simulations, thus revealing the quantum nature of the plasmons. This study shows a high sensitivity of graphene nanoislands to elementary charges, therefore emphasizing their great potential for novel nano-optoelectronics applications.