Active tuning of anisotropic phonon polaritons in natural van der Waals crystals with negative permittivity substrates and its application in energy transport

Phonon polaritons(PhPs)exhibit directional in-plane propagation and ultralow losses in van der Waals(vdW)crystals,offering new possibilities for controlling the flow of light at the nanoscale.However,these PhPs,including their directional propagation,are inherently determined by the anisotropic crystal structure of the host materials.Although in-plane anisotropic PhPs can be manipulated by twisting engineering,such as twisting individual vdW slabs,dynamically adjusting their propagation presents a significant challenge.The limited application of the twisted bilayer structure in bare films further restricts its usage.In this study,we present a technique in which anisotropic PhPs supported by bare biaxial vdW slabs can be actively tuned by modifying their local dielectric environment.Excitingly,we predict that the iso-frequency contour of PhPs can be reoriented to enable propagation along forbidden directions when the crystal is placed on a substrate with a moderate negative permittivity.Besides,we systematically investigate the impact of polaritonic coupling on near-field radiative heat transfer(NFRHT)between heterostructures integrated with different substrates that have negative permittivity.Our main findings reveal that through the analysis of dispersion contour and photon transmission coefficient,the excitation and reorientation of the fundamental mode facilitate increased photon tunneling,thereby enhancing heat transfer between heterostructures.Conversely,the annihilation of the fundamental mode hinders heat transfer.Furthermore,we find the enhancement or suppression of radiative energy transport depends on the relative magnitude of the slab thickness and the vacuum gap width.Finally,the effect of negative permittivity substrates on NFRHT along the[001]crystalline direction ofα-MoO3 is considered.The spectral band where the excited fundamental mode resulting from the negative permittivity substrates is shifted to the first Reststrahlen Band(RB 1)ofα-MoO_(3) and is widened,resulting in more significant enhancement of heat flux from RB 1.We anticipate our results will motivate new direction for dynamical tunability of the PhPs in photonic devices.

Giant enhancement of negative friction by resonant coupling between localized surface phonon polaritons and graphene plasmonics

Negative friction refers to a frictional force that acts in the same direction as the motion of an object, which has been predicted in terahertz(THz) gain systems [Phys. Rev. B 108 045406(2023)]. In this work, we investigate the enhancement of the negative friction experienced by nanospheres placed near a graphene substrate. We find that the magnitude of negative friction is related to the resonant coupling between the surface plasmon polaritons(SPPs) of the graphene and localized surface phonon polaritons(LSPh P) of nanospheres. We exam nanospheres consisted of several different materials, including SiO_(2), Si C, Zn Se, Na Cl, ln Sb. Our results suggest that the LSPh P of Na Cl nanospheres match effectively with the amplified SPPs of graphene sheets. The negative friction for Na Cl nanospheres can be enhanced about one-to-two orders of magnitude compared to that of silica(SiO_(2)) nanospheres. At the resonant peak of negative friction, the required quasi-Fermi energy of graphene is lower for Na Cl nanospheres. Our finds hold great prospects for the mechanical manipulations of nanoscale particles.

Manipulation of surface phonon polaritons in Si C nanorods

Surface phonon polaritons(SPh Ps) are potentially very attractive for subwavelength control and manipulation of light at the infrared to terahertz wavelengths. Probing their propagation behavior in nanostructures is crucial to guide rational device design. Here, aided by monochromatic scanning transmission electron microscopy-electron energy loss spectroscopy technique, we measure the dispersion relation of SPh Ps in individual Si C nanorods and reveal the effects of size and shape. We find that the SPh Ps can be modulated by the geometric shape and size of Si C nanorods. The energy of SPh Ps shows redshift with decreasing radius and the surface optical phonon is mainly concentrated on the surface with large radius. Therefore, the fields can be precisely confined in specific positions by varying the size of the nanorod, allowing effective tuning at nanometer scale. The findings of this work are in agreement with dielectric response theory and numerical simulation, and provide novel strategies for manipulating light in polar dielectrics through shape and size control, enabling the design of novel nanoscale phononphotonic devices.

Terahertz phonon polariton imaging

In this article, we primarily review the time-resolved imaging of THz phonon polariton, which is generated by femtosecond laser in ferroelectric crystal. We pay more attention to the imaging in thin crystal, which can be used as an integration platform for terahertz-optics or terahertz-electrics. The imaging techniques, which can get quantitatively in-focus time-resolved images, are introduced in more detail. They have made enormous progress in recent years, and are powerful tools for the research of phonon polariton, optics, and THz wave. We also briefly introduce the generation principle and general propagation properties of THz phonon polariton.

Super-Planckian thermal radiation enabled by hyperbolic surface phonon polaritons

Excitation of surface resonance modes and presence of resonance-free hyperbolic modes are two common ways to enhance the near-field radiative energy transport, which can find wide applications in noncontact thermal management and energy harvesting.Here, we identify another way to achieve the super-Planckian thermal radiation via hyperbolic surface phonon polaritons(HSPhPs). Based on the fluctuation-dissipation theory, the near-field radiative heat flux between bulk hexagonal boron nitride(hBN) planes with the optical axis perpendicular to the radiative energy flow can be 120 times as large as the blackbody limit for a gap distance of 20 nm. When the film thickness is reduced to 10 nm, the radiative heat flux is found to increase by 26.3%.The underlying mechanism is attributed to the coupling of Type I HSPhPs inside the anisotropic hBN film, which improves the energy transmission coefficient over a broad wavevector space especially for waves with extremely high wavevectors. This work helps to deepen the understanding of near-field radiation between natural hyperbolic materials, and opens a new route to enhance the near-field thermal radiation.

Omnidirectional and compact Tamm phonon-polaritons enhanced mid-infrared absorber

Narrow band mid-infrared(MIR)absorption is highly desired in thermal emitter and sensing applications.We theoretically demonstrate that the perfect absorption at infrared frequencies can be achieved and controlled around the surface phonon resonance frequency of silicon carbide(SiC).The photonic heterostructure is composed of a distributed Bragg reflector(DBR)/germanium(Ge)cavity/SiC on top of a Ge substrate.Full-wave simulation results illustrate that the Tamm phonon-polaritons electric field can locally concentrate between the Ge cavity and the SiC film,contributed to the improved light-phonon interactions with an enhancement of light absorption.The structure has planar geometry and does not require nano-patterning to achieve perfect absorption of both polarizations of the incident light in a wide range of incident angles.Their absorption lines are tunable via engineering of the photon band-structure of the dielectric photonic nanostructures to achieve reversal of the geometrical phase across the interface with the plasmonic absorber.

Interface phonon polariton coupling to enhance grapheneabsorption

Here we present a graphene photodetector ofwhich the graphene and structural system infraredabsorptions are enhanced by interface phonon polariton(IPhP) coupling. IPhPs are supported at the SiC/AlNinterface of device structure and used to excite interbandtransitions of the intrinsic graphene under gated-fieldtuning. The simulation results show that at normalincidence the absorbance of graphene or system reachesup to 43% or closes to unity in a mid-infrared frequencyrange. In addition, we found the peak-absorption frequencyis mainly decided by the AlN thickness, and it has ared-shift as the thickness decreases. This structure has greatapplication potential in graphene infrared detectiontechnology.

Infrared phononic nanoantennas:Localized surface phonon polaritons in SiC disks

The electromagnetic interaction of light with polar materials shows a sharp and well defined electromagnetic response in the infrared(IR)region that consists mainly of excitation of optical phonons.Similar to surface plasmons in the visible region,surface phonons can couple efficiently to infrared light in micron-sized antennas made of polar materials.We applied the boundary element method to calculating the infrared electromagnetic response of single SiC disks acting as effective infrared antennas as a function of different parameters such as disk size and thickness.We also analyzed the effect of locating a probing metallic tip near the SiC disk to scatter light in the proximity of the SiC disk,thereby obtaining new spectral peaks connected with localized modes between the tip and the SiC disk.We then further investigated their application in IR scanning probe microscopy.A near-field map of the phononic resonances enhances the understanding of the nature of the IR extinction peaks.

Interface phonon-polaritons in quantum well systems of polar ternary mixed crystals

The interface phonon-polaritons in quantum well systems consisting of polar ternary mixed crystals are investi-gated. The numerical results of the interface phonon-polariton frequencies in the GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs, ZnSxSe1-x/ZnS, and ZnxCd1-xSe/ ZnSe quantum well systems are obtained and discussed. It is shown that there are six branches of interface phonon-polariton modes distributed in three bulk phonon-polariton forbidden bands in the systems. The electric fields of interface phonon polaritons are also presented and show the interface locality of the modes. The effects of the ＇two-mode＇ and ＇one-mode＇ behaviours of the ternary mixed crystals on the interface phonon-polariton modes are shown in the dispersion curves.

Nonstationary Stimulated Raman Scattering by Polaritons in Cubic Crystals

The purpose of this article is to consider two aspects of the nonstationary stimulated Raman scattering by polaritons in cubic crystals. The first feature is related to the pump field, which, by deforming the permittivity of the medium, changes its symmetry. As a result, for example, the cubic crystal becomes anisotropic. The second one results from the possibility of exciting anomalous longitudinal waves at the frequency of the mechanical phonons which is the fundamental difference between scattering by dipole-active (polar) phonons and that of by dipole-inactive (nonpolar) ones. When the phonon frequency is approached, the amplitude of the transverse polariton wave decreases due to increased absorption and the wave mismatch. The polariton wave becomes practically longitudinal. Such a wave is maintained by the pump field and exists only in a pumped medium. The system of four shortened nonstationary equations (two for the Stokes waves with perpendicular polarizations and two for both transverse and longitudinal polariton waves) is obtained. The analysis is carried out for a given stationary pump field which is assumed to be a linearly polarized plane electromagnetic wave. Principal attention was paid to the calculation and analysis of the gain factor which defines the intensities of both stimulated (SRS) and spontaneous Raman scattering. The expressions for two proper gain factors gμ are obtained for Stokes waves in nonstationary case. It was shown that the pumped cubic crystal becomes anisotropic. It is also shown that the values of intensities calculated by using the expression for gμ are consistent with the experimental results for spectra of ZnS.

Polarization Simultons in CARS by Polaritons

The system of shortened Maxwell’s equations simulating the processes of evolution of the stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) by polaritons in anisotropic dipole-active crystals is obtained. The theory was developed for the case of cubic crystals which become anisotropic due to the deformation of the dielectric constant by the linearly polarized pump wave. The pump field is a linearly polarized plane electromagnetic wave. We report the results of the theoretical investigation of the possibility of the existence of a regime of pulse propagation as simultaneous travel of solitary waves in coherent anti-Stokes stimulated Raman scattering by polaritons in anisotropic crystals. The emphasis was made on the existence of both Stokes and anti-Stokes pulses propagating with two stable and perpendicular to the direction of travel polarizations. We showed the theoretical possibility of simultaneous propagation of pulses not only at frequencies of Stokes and anti-Stokes waves but the pump frequency as well. We obtained the expression for the gain factor g. It is also shown that the expression for g is consistent with the experimental results for the spectra of ZnS.

Polarization Simultons in Stimulated Raman Scattering by Polaritons

Expressions are obtained for the shortened Maxwell’s equations simulating the evolution of the ultrashort pulses propagating in anisotropic dipole-active crystals in stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) by polaritons. The developed theory considers the case of cubic crystals which become anisotropic due to the deformation of the dielectric constant by the linearly polarized pump wave. The pump field is approximated by a linearly polarized plane electromagnetic wave. The possibility of simultaneous propagation of pulses on both different frequencies (pump and Stokes) and different polarization (simultons) is theoretically shown. It is also shown that the expression for the gain factor g in SRS is consistent with the experimental results for the spectra of ZnS.

Giant and controllable Goos—Hänchen shift of a reflective beam off a hyperbolic metasurface of polar crystals

We conduct a theoretical analysis of the massive and tunable Goos–Hänchen(GH) shift on a polar crystal covered with periodical black phosphorus(BP)-patches in the THz range. The surface plasmon phonon polaritons(SPPPs), which are coupled by the surface phonon polaritons(SPh Ps) and surface plasmon polaritons(SPPs), can greatly increase GH shifts.Based on the in-plane anisotropy of BP, two typical metasurface models are designed and investigated. An enormous GH shift of about-7565.58 λ_(0) is achieved by adjusting the physical parameters of the BP-patches. In the designed metasurface structure, the maximum sensitivity accompanying large GH shifts can reach about 6.43 × 10^(8) λ_(0)/RIU, which is extremely sensitive to the size, carrier density, and layer number of BP. Compared with a traditional surface plasmon resonance sensor, the sensitivity is increased by at least two orders of magnitude. We believe that investigating metasurface-based SPPPs sensors could lead to high-sensitivity biochemical detection applications.

Near-field radiative heat transfer between nanoporous GaN films

Photon tunneling effects give rise to surface waves,amplifying radiative heat transfer in the near-field regime.Recent research has highlighted that the introduction of nanopores into materials creates additional pathways for heat transfer,leading to a substantial enhancement of near-field radiative heat transfer(NFRHT).Being a direct bandgap semiconductor,GaN has high thermal conductivity and stable resistance at high temperatures,and holds significant potential for applications in optoelectronic devices.Indeed,study of NFRHT between nanoporous GaN films is currently lacking,hence the physical mechanism for adding nanopores to GaN films remains to be discussed in the field of NFRHT.In this work,we delve into the NFRHT of GaN nanoporous films in terms of gap distance,GaN film thickness and the vacuum filling ratio.The results demonstrate a 27.2%increase in heat flux for a 10 nm gap when the nanoporous filling ratio is 0.5.Moreover,the spectral heat flux exhibits redshift with increase in the vacuum filling ratio.To be more precise,the peak of spectral heat flux moves fromω=1.31×10^(14)rad·s^(-1)toω=1.23×10^(14)rad·s^(-1)when the vacuum filling ratio changes from f=0.1 to f=0.5;this can be attributed to the excitation of surface phonon polaritons.The introduction of graphene into these configurations can highly enhance the NFRHT,and the spectral heat flux exhibits a blueshift with increase in the vacuum filling ratio,which can be explained by the excitation of surface plasmon polaritons.These findings offer theoretical insights that can guide the extensive utilization of porous structures in thermal control,management and thermal modulation.

Near-field radiative heat transfer in hyperbolic materials

In the post-Moore era, as the energy consumption of micro-nano electronic devices rapidly increases, near-field radiative heat transfer(NFRHT) with super-Planckian phenomena has gradually shown great potential for applications in efficient and ultrafast thermal modulation and energy conversion. Recently, hyperbolic materials, an important class of anisotropic materials with hyperbolic isofrequency contours, have been intensively investigated. As an exotic optical platform, hyperbolic materials bring tremendous new opportunities for NFRHT from theoretical advances to experimental designs. To date, there have been considerable achievements in NFRHT for hyperbolic materials, which range from the establishment of different unprecedented heat transport phenomena to various potential applications. This review concisely introduces the basic physics of NFRHT for hyperbolic materials, lays out the theoretical methods to address NFRHT for hyperbolic materials, and highlights unique behaviors as realized in different hyperbolic materials and the resulting applications. Finally, key challenges and opportunities of the NFRHT for hyperbolic materials in terms of fundamental physics, experimental validations, and potential applications are outlined and discussed.

含三元合金缺陷层有限超晶格中的界面声子-极化激元模

采用转移矩阵方法,研究了含三元合金缺陷层(AlxGa1-xAs)有限超晶格(GaAs/AlAs)中的界面声子-极化激元模性质.结果表明,这种有限超晶格中的声子-极化激元模在剩余射线区[ωTO,ωLO]的分布依赖于缺陷层含Al的浓度x,部分类GaAs(AlAs)声子-极化激元模随着浓度x的增加向低(高)频区移动.此外,而且还可以清晰地看到它们在局域模、表面模和扩展模之间的演变.还发现声子-极化激元模的分布随着组份层和缺陷层厚度的改变,其局域位置和特性发生显著变化.

三元混晶三层系统的表面和界面声子极化激元

运用改进的无规元素等位移模型和玻恩-黄近似,结合电磁场的麦克斯韦方程和边界条件,研究了真空/极性三元混晶薄膜/极性二元半导体衬底三层系统的表面和界面声子极化激元,以AlxGa1-xAs/GaAs和ZnxCd1-xSe/ZnSe为例,获得了表面和界面声子极化激元模的色散关系以及表面和界面模的频率随混晶组分和薄膜厚度的变化关系.结果表明:与二元晶体三层系统以及三元混晶单层薄膜不同,在三元混晶三层异质结系统中存在五支表面和界面声子极化激元模,这五支表面和界面模的频率曲线位于二元晶体和三元混晶的体声子极化激元的禁带区间内,且其能量随混晶组分和薄膜厚度呈非线性变化,三元混晶的"单模"和"双模"性也在色散曲线中体现了出来.

薄膜厚度对三元混晶四层系统的表面和界面声子极化激元的影响

运用改进的无规元素等位移模型和玻恩-黄近似,结合电磁场的麦克斯韦方程和边界条件,研究了薄膜厚度对真空/极性二元晶体薄膜/极性三元混晶薄膜/半无限大极性二元半导体衬底构成的四层异质结系统的表面和界面声子极化激元的影响,以GaAs/Al0.4Ga0.6As四层异质结系统为例,获得了表面和界面声子极化激元模的频率随薄膜厚度的变化关系.结果表明:三元混晶四层异质结系统中存在七支表面和界面声子极化激元模,且当薄膜厚度发生变化时,只对位于其表面或界面处的极化激元模有影响,对其余的极化激元模几乎没有任何影响.

膜厚对三元混晶双层系中声子极化激元模的影响

采用改进的无规元素等位移模型和玻恩-黄近似,运用电磁场的麦克斯韦方程和边界条件,研究了薄膜厚度对由极性三元混晶组成的双层薄膜系统中的表面和界面声子极化激元的影响.以GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs双层系统为例,获得了其中表面和界面声子极化激元作为膜厚之函数的数值结果并进行了讨论.结果指出:在双层系统的六支表面和界面声子极化激元模中,当两种薄膜材料的厚度均变化时,只有三支界面声子极化激元的频率随之变化,而另外三支表面声子极化激元的频率则几乎不变.而当只有其中一种薄膜材料的厚度发生变化时,则只对其与另一种薄膜材料界面处且位于此种材料的纵横光学声子频率区间内的界面极化激元的频率有影响,而对其他的表面和界面极化激元的频率则没有太大的影响.

三元混晶三层薄膜系统的表面和界面声子极化激元

运用改进的无规元素等位移模型和玻恩-黄近似,结合电磁场的麦克斯韦方程和边界条件,研究了三元混晶三层薄膜系统的表面和界面声子极化激元.以Ⅲ-Ⅴ族和Ⅱ-Ⅵ族三元混晶三层薄膜系统为例,获得了表面和界面声子极化激元模的色散关系以及表面模和界面模的频率随三元混晶组分和薄膜厚度的变化关系.结果表明,由于表面和界面数量的增加,与三元混晶量子阱和双层薄膜系统不同,在Al_xGa_(1-x)As/GaAs/Al_xGa_(1-x)As和ZnSe/Zn_xCd_(1-x)Se/ZnSe三层薄膜系统中分别存在十支和八支表面和界面模,且三元混晶的组分和薄膜厚度变化时,表面和界面声子极化激元模的频率随之呈非线性变化,其色散曲线也很好地表征了三元混晶的"单模"和"双模"性.