We report on time-resolved mid-infrared (mid-IR) near-field spectroscopy of the narrow bandgap semiconductor InAs. The dominant effect we observed pertains to the dynamics of photoexcited carriers ...and associated surface plasmons. A novel combination of pump–probe techniques and near-field nanospectroscopy accesses high momentum plasmons and demonstrates efficient, subpicosecond photomodulation of the surface plasmon dispersion with subsequent tens of picoseconds decay under ambient conditions. The photoinduced change of the probe intensity due to plasmons in InAs is found to exceed that of other mid-IR or near-IR media by 1–2 orders of magnitude. Remarkably, the required control pulse fluence is as low as 60 μJ/cm2, much smaller than fluences of ∼1–10 mJ/cm2 previously utilized in ultrafast control of near-IR plasmonics. These low excitation densities are easily attained with a standard 1.56 μm fiber laser. Thus, InAsa common semiconductor with favorable plasmonic properties such as a low effective masshas the potential to become an important building block of optically controlled plasmonic devices operating at infrared frequencies.
An indirect exciton is a bound state of an electron and a hole in spatially separated layers. Two-dimensional indirect excitons can be created optically in heterostructures containing double quantum ...wells or atomically thin semiconductors. We study theoretically the transmission of such bosonic quasiparticles through nanoconstrictions. We show that the quantum transport phenomena, for example, conductance quantization, single-slit diffraction, two-slit interference, and the Talbot effect, are experimentally realizable in systems of indirect excitons. We discuss similarities and differences between these phenomena and their counterparts in electronic devices.
The ground state and the transport properties of graphene subject to the potential of in-plane charged impurities are studied. The screening of the impurity potential is shown to be nonlinear, ...producing a fractal structure of electron and hole puddles. Statistical properties of this density distribution as well as the charge compressibility of the system are calculated in the leading-log approximation. The conductivity depends logarithmically on alpha, the dimensionless strength of the Coulomb interaction. The theory is asymptotically exact when alpha is small, which is the case for graphene on a substrate with a high dielectric constant.
The ground-state energy and the density correlation function of the electron liquid in a thin one-dimensional wire are computed. The calculation is based on an approximate mapping of the problem with ...a realistic Coulomb interaction law onto exactly solvable models of mathematical physics. This approach becomes asymptotically exact in the limit of a small wire radius but remains numerically accurate even for modestly thin wires.
The underlying physics behind an experimental observation often lacks a simple analytical description. This is especially the case for scanning probe microscopy techniques, where the interaction ...between the probe and the sample is nontrivial. Realistic modeling to include the exact details of the probe is widely acknowledged as a challenge. Due to various complexity constraints, the probe is often only approximated in a simplified geometry, leading to a source for modeling inconsistencies. On the other hand, a well-trained artificial neural network based on real data can grasp the hidden correlation between the signal and the sample properties, circumventing the explicit probe modeling process. In this work we show that, via a combination of model calculation and experimental data acquisition, a physics-infused hybrid neural network can predict the probe–sample interaction in the widely used scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscope. This hybrid network provides a long-sought solution for accurate extraction of material properties from tip-specific raw data. The methodology can be extended to other scanning probe microscopy techniques as well as other data-oriented physical problems in general.
The use of work-function-mediated charge transfer has recently emerged as a reliable route toward nanoscale electrostatic control of individual atomic layers. Using α-RuCl3 as a 2D electron acceptor, ...we are able to induce emergent nano-optical behavior in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) that arises due to interlayer charge polarization. Using scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscopy (s-SNOM), we find that a thin layer of α-RuCl3 adjacent to an hBN slab reduces the propagation length of hBN phonon polaritons (PhPs) in significant excess of what can be attributed to intrinsic optical losses. Concomitant nano-optical spectroscopy experiments reveal a novel resonance that aligns energetically with the region of excess PhP losses. These experimental observations are elucidated by first-principles density-functional theory and near-field model calculations, which show that the formation of a large interfacial dipole suppresses out-of-plane PhP propagation. Our results demonstrate the potential utility of charge-transfer heterostructures for tailoring optoelectronic properties of 2D insulators.
We characterized plasmon propagation in graphene on thin films of the high-κ dielectric PbZr0.3Ti0.7O3 (PZT). Significant modulation (up to ±75%) of the plasmon wavelength was achieved with ...application of ultrasmall voltages (< ±1 V) across PZT. Analysis of the observed plasmonic fringes at the graphene edge indicates that carriers in graphene on PZT behave as noninteracting Dirac Fermions approximated by a semiclassical Drude response, which may be attributed to strong dielectric screening at the graphene/PZT interface. Additionally, significant plasmon scattering occurs at the grain boundaries of PZT from topographic and/or polarization induced graphene conductivity variation in the interior of graphene, reducing the overall plasmon propagation length. Lastly, through application of 2 V across PZT, we demonstrate the capability to persistently modify the plasmonic response of graphene through transient voltage application.
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