Efficient plasmonic emission by the quantum Čerenkov effect from hot carriers in graphene.
Graphene plasmons have been found to be an exciting plasmonic platform, thanks to their high field confinement and low phase velocity, motivating contemporary research to revisit established concepts in light-matter interaction. In a conceptual breakthrough over 80 years old, Čerenkov showed how charged particles emit shockwaves of light when moving faster than the phase velocity of light in a medium. To modern eyes, the Čerenkov effect offers a direct and ultrafast energy conversion scheme from charge particles to photons. The requirement for relativistic particles, however, makes Čerenkov emission inaccessible to most nanoscale electronic and photonic devices. Here we show that graphene plasmons provide the means to overcome this limitation through their low phase velocity and high field confinement. The interaction between the charge carriers flowing inside graphene and the plasmons enables a highly efficient two-dimensional Čerenkov emission, giving a versatile, tunable and ultrafast conversion mechanism from electrical signal to plasmonic excitation.
Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
Ido
I
Kaminer
Physics Department and Solid State Institute, Technion, Haifa 32000, Israel.
Yaniv Tenenbaum
YT
Katan
Department of Physics, University of Zagreb, Bijenička c. 32, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia.
Hrvoje
H
Buljan
Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
Yichen
Y
Shen
Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
Ognjen
O
Ilic
Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
Josué J
JJ
López
Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology, 2 Fusionopolis Way, Innovis, Singapore 138634, Singapore.
Liang Jie
LJ
Wong
Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
John D
JD
Joannopoulos
Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
Marin
M
Soljačić