Phonon Polaritons in Monolayers of Hexagonal Boron Nitride

Abstract

Phonon polaritons in van der Waals materials reveal significant confinement accompanied with long propagation length: important virtues for tasks pertaining to the control of light and energy flow at the nanoscale. While previous studies of phonon polaritons have relied on relatively thick samples, here reported is the first observation of surface phonon polaritons in single atomic layers and bilayers of hexagonal boron nitride (hBN). Using antenna‐based near‐field microscopy, propagating surface phonon polaritons in mono‐ and bilayer hBN microcrystals are imaged. Phonon polaritons in monolayer hBN are confined in a volume about one million times smaller than the free‐space photons. Both the polariton dispersion and their wavelength–thickness scaling law are altered compared to those of hBN bulk counterparts. These changes are attributed to phonon hardening in monolayer‐thick crystals. The data reported here have bearing on applications of polaritons in metasurfaces and ultrathin optical elements.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Jul 28, 2019
Source ID
10.1002/adma.201806603

Entities

People

  • Bor‐yuan Jiang
  • Christopher J Ciccarino
  • Daniel Rodan‐legrain
  • Dimitri. N. Basov
  • Edwin Hang Tong Teo
  • Jialiang Shen
  • Jing Kong
  • Michael M. Fogler
  • Nicholas Rivera
  • Pablo Jarillo‐herrero
  • Prineha Narang
  • Qiong Ma
  • Roland Yingjie Tay
  • Siyuan Dai
  • Wenjing Fang
  • Yijing Stehle

Organizations

  • Air Force Office of Scientific Research
  • Army Research Office
  • Auburn University
  • Columbia University
  • Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
  • Harvard University
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Nanyang Technological University
  • National Science Foundation
  • Office of Basic Energy Sciences
  • Sichuan University
  • United States Department of Energy
  • University of California, San Diego

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Materials Science and Engineering.
  • Nanofabrication and Microfabrication.
  • Optical Physics and Photonics.

Technology Areas

  • Space