Tailoring of Electromagnetic Field Localizations by Two-Dimensional
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Light: Science & Applications (2017) 6, e17057; doi:10.1038/lsa.2017.57 OPEN Official journal of the CIOMP 2047-7538/17 www.nature.com/lsa ORIGINAL ARTICLE Tailoring of electromagnetic field localizations by two- dimensional graphene nanostructures Ze-Bo Zheng1,2, Jun-Tao Li2, Teng Ma3, Han-Lin Fang2, Wen-Cai Ren3, Jun Chen1, Jun-Cong She1, Yu Zhang1, Fei Liu1, Huan-Jun Chen1, Shao-Zhi Deng1 and Ning-Sheng Xu1 Graphene has great potential for enhancing light − matter interactions in a two-dimensional regime due to surface plasmons with low loss and strong light confinement. Further utilization of graphene in nanophotonics relies on the precise control of light loca- lization properties. Here, we demonstrate the tailoring of electromagnetic field localizations in the mid-infrared region by pre- cisely shaping the graphene into nanostructures with different geometries. We generalize the phenomenological cavity model and employ nanoimaging techniques to quantitatively calculate and experimentally visualize the two-dimensional electromagnetic field distributions within the nanostructures, which indicate that the electromagnetic field can be shaped into specific patterns depending on the shapes and sizes of the nanostructures. Furthermore, we show that the light localization performance can be further improved by reducing the sizes of the nanostructures, where a lateral confinement of λ0/180 of the incidence light can be achieved. The electromagnetic field localizations within a nanostructure with a specific geometry can also be modulated by chemical doping. Our strategies can, in principle, be generalized to other two-dimensional materials, therefore providing new degrees of freedom for designing nanophotonic components capable of tailoring two-dimensional light confinement over a broad wavelength range. Light: Science & Applications (2017) 6, e17057; doi:10.1038/lsa.2017.57; published online 6 October 2017 Keywords: chemical doping; electromagnetic field localizations; graphene; graphene nanostructures; graphene plasmons INTRODUCTION One of the most intriguing merits of graphene is that the plasmon- When the sizes of the devices approach the nanoscale, focusing and related characteristics are amenable to wide-range tuning by adjusting manipulating light becomes a great challenge in both scientific the charge carrier density, surrounding dielectric environment and the – research and industrial manufacturing. Nanostructure sustaining geometries of the graphene flakes12,13,15,22 24. In particular, structuring surface plasmons (SP) have been demonstrated to be excellent the graphene monolayer into flakes with nanometer sizes can lead to candidates for confining the light field at the nanoscale1,2.Themost optical near-fields with specific spatial distributions, whereby the 25–27 involved plasmonic materials include metal nanostructures and electromagnetic field will experience further confinements .How- highly doped semiconducting nanostructures, which exhibit SP ever, most of the reported graphene nanostructures are either formed resonances ranging from ultraviolet to near-infrared regions3–7.For adventitiously during mechanical exfoliation or fabricated with limited 26–30 fi remote, non-destructive and highly sensitive detection and ima- geometries , which limit the tunability of electromagnetic eld ging, the operation wavelengths of the SP are preferred to be in the localizations while preventing elucidation of the relationship between fi mid-infrared or terahertz regions8–10. Graphene with atomic the light eld localizations and geometries of the graphene nanos- tructures. The latter is associated with a more general topic that thickness has been shown to support strong SP in these – remains elusive, the electromagnetic field localization behaviors and regions11 15. The collective oscillations of the Dirac fermions can related mechanisms in two-dimensional nanostructures of atomic induce strong graphene SP with long lifetimes, which are able to thicknesses. realize extremely spatial confinement of the electromagnetic field in Here, from both the theoretical and experimental perspectives, we a broad band. These exceptional characteristics have made gra- explored tailoring of the electromagnetic field localizations in the mid- phene an outstanding platform for light focusing and manipulation infrared region using monolayers of graphene two-dimensional 14,15 fi in the two-dimensional regime , which can bene t applications nanostructures of different shapes and sizes. We generalized the 16,17 17–20 in optical communication , sensing and detection and phenomenological cavity model31 to visualize the electromagnetic 21 imaging . field distributions within the graphene nanostructures. The theoretical 1State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Display Material and Technology, School of Electronics and Information Technology, Guangzhou 510275, China; 2State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, School of Physics, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China and 3Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China Correspondence: HJ Chen, Email: [email protected]; SZ Deng, Email: [email protected]; NS Xu, Email: [email protected] Received 14 November 2016; revised 24 March 2017; accepted 28 March 2017; accepted article preview online 31 March 2017 Graphene nanostructure optical field localization ZB Zheng et al 2 predictions were corroborated by mapping the electromagnetic field graphene ribbons12,13,26. Alternatively, more SP reflectors can be distributions within the various graphene nanostructures using a generated by intentionally increasing the number of boundaries to nanoimaging technique. We further demonstrated that the localiza- form nanostructures, whereby back-and-forth reflections of the SP tions of the light field could be modulated with chemical doping of the waves in different directions can be realized and complex inter- graphene nanostructures. Our results can provide guidelines for the ference patterns can form (Figure 1b–1g). Furthermore, the design of graphene nanostructures with superior light focusing interference patterns can be tuned by adjusting the propagation capabilities, and help elucidate the SP mechanisms and therewith lengths of the SP waves by controlling the sizes of the nanos- the dynamics of the Dirac fermions in the graphene nanostructures. tructures with fixed shapes. In these regards, one can tailor the localizations of the electromagnetic field by precisely modifying the MATERIALS AND METHODS geometries of the graphene nanostructures. Fabrication of graphene nanostructures To verify the aforementioned principles, we performed theoretical Single-crystalline monolayer graphene was grown on 180-μmthick calculations of the SP interference patterns in graphene nanostructures Pt foils (99.9 wt% metal basis, 10 × 20 mm) using the ambient- with different boundaries. The calculations were based on a phenom- pressure chemical vapor deposition method32.Theflow rate of the enological cavity model31 that was generalized in our study to consider reaction gas and reaction temperature were finely controlled to obtain multiple boundaries in the nanostructures. The graphene SP waves single-crystalline graphene flakes with a domain size of ~ 400 μm. The were launched by a metal tip from an AFM (Figure 2a). The plasmon graphene was transferred onto a silicon substrate with a 290-nm oxide waves within the graphene nanostructures were the sum of the tip- layer using the electrochemical bubbling transfer method33.There- launched plasmon wave and those reflected from the boundaries after, graphene nanostructures of different shapes and sizes were (Supplementary Fig. S1), fabricated using high-resolution electron beam lithography combined X c ¼ c~ þ c~ ð Þ with soft O2-ion etching. The plasma etching duration was 1.5 min. sp;0 sp;j 1 The polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) resist was removed in acetone, j ~ which was followed by annealing the graphene samples in an Ar/H2 where csp;0 is the tip-launched plasmon wave, and the waves atmosphere (150/350 sccm) at 450 °C for 2 h to remove any organic reflected by theno boundaries can be described as ~ ~ 4p residues. c ; ¼ R ´ c ; exp À r g þ i .ParametersR , γ and r sp j j sp 0 lsp j sp j sp j describe the reflection coefficient, plasmon damping rate and distance Chemical doping of the graphene nanostructures between the graphene edge and AFM tip, respectively. The interference Chemical doping was conducted by exposing the graphene nanos- patterns are associated with |ψ|. To simplify the analysis, in the fi ~ λ γ tructures to HNO3 vapor (68% in volume). The sample was calculations, we xed csp;0, sp and sp as 1, 200 nm and 0.205, positioned so that the graphene was exposed to the acid vapor. The respectively. The plasmon wavelength of 200 nm corresponds to a separation between the HNO3 solution and sample surface was Fermi energy (EF) of 0.405 eV. One should note that choosing ~ 5 cm. The doping process lasted for more than 12 h to ensure the different values for these parameters only modifies the fine details of uniform adsorption of HNO3 onto the graphene surface. the results, whereas the underlying physics will not be affected. The calculated result for a 600-nm wide (3λsp)nanoribbonwas Nanoimaging of the graphene nanostructures given in Figure 2b, which exhibited two bright fringes close to the Nanoimaging was conducted using a scattering-type