Infrared dielectric metamaterials from high refractive index chalcogenides

High-index dielectric materials are in great demand for nanophotonic devices and applications, from ultrathin optical elements to metal-free sub-diffraction light confinement and waveguiding. Here we show that chalcogenide topological insulators are particularly apt candidates for dielectric nanopho...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature communications 2020-04, Vol.11 (1), p.1692-1692, Article 1692
Main Authors: Krishnamoorthy, H. N. S., Adamo, G., Yin, J., Savinov, V., Zheludev, N. I., Soci, C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
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142/126
147/135
639/301/1019/1021
639/624/1075/1082
639/624/399/1015
Arrays
Bismuth tellurides
Chalcogenides
Crystals
Dielectrics
Electric fields
Electromagnetic fields
Humanities and Social Sciences
Infrared spectra
Light diffraction
Metamaterials
multidisciplinary
Optical components
Optical properties
Optics
Refractivity
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Single crystals
Topological insulators
Topology
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Summary:High-index dielectric materials are in great demand for nanophotonic devices and applications, from ultrathin optical elements to metal-free sub-diffraction light confinement and waveguiding. Here we show that chalcogenide topological insulators are particularly apt candidates for dielectric nanophotonics architectures in the infrared spectral range, by reporting metamaterial resonances in chalcogenide crystals sustained well inside the mid-infrared, choosing Bi 2 Te 3 as case study within this family of materials. Strong resonant modulation of the incident electromagnetic field is achieved thanks to the exceptionally high refractive index ranging between 7 and 8 throughout the 2–10 μm region. Analysis of the complex mode structure in the metamaterial allude to the excitation of circular surface currents which could open pathways for enhanced light-matter interaction and low-loss plasmonic configurations by coupling to the spin-polarized topological surface carriers, thereby providing new opportunities to combine dielectric, plasmonic and magnetic metamaterials in a single platform. High-index dielectric materials are in great demand for nanophotonic applications. Here, the authors show that chalcogenide topological insulators are suitable candidates for dielectric nanophotonics in the infrared spectral range by reporting resonances in Bi 2 Te 3 crystals sustained in the mid-infrared.
ISSN:2041-1723
2041-1723
DOI:10.1038/s41467-020-15444-0