Gate-tunable negative refraction of mid-infrared polaritons

Negative refraction provides a platform to manipulate mid-infrared and terahertz radiation for molecular sensing and thermal emission applications. However, its implementation based on metamaterials and plasmonic media presents challenges with optical losses, limited spatial confinement, and lack of...

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Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2023-02, Vol.379 (6632), p.558-561
Main Authors: Hu, Hai, Chen, Na, Teng, Hanchao, Yu, Renwen, Xue, Mengfei, Chen, Ke, Xiao, Yuchuan, Qu, Yunpeng, Hu, Debo, Chen, Jianing, Sun, Zhipei, Li, Peining, de Abajo, F Javier García, Dai, Qing
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bicrystals
Boron
Boron nitride
Chemical perception
Chemoreception
Graphene
Image resolution
Light beams
Molybdenum
Molybdenum trioxide
Polaritons
Refraction
Sensitivity enhancement
Sensors
Thermal imaging
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Summary:Negative refraction provides a platform to manipulate mid-infrared and terahertz radiation for molecular sensing and thermal emission applications. However, its implementation based on metamaterials and plasmonic media presents challenges with optical losses, limited spatial confinement, and lack of active tunability in this spectral range. We demonstrate gate-tunable negative refraction at mid-infrared frequencies using hybrid topological polaritons in van der Waals heterostructures. Specifically, we visualize wide-angle negatively refracted polaritons in α-MoO films partially decorated with graphene, undergoing reversible planar nanoscale focusing. Our atomically thick heterostructures weaken scattering losses at the interface while enabling an actively tunable transition of normal to negative refraction through electrical gating. We propose polaritonic negative refraction as a promising platform for infrared applications such as electrically tunable super-resolution imaging, nanoscale thermal manipulation, enhanced molecular sensing, and on-chip optical circuitry.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.adf1251