Home > Press > Graphene enables all-electrical control of energy flow from light emitters: First signatures of graphene plasmons at telecommunications wavelength revealed
This is an illustration of the electrically controlled energy flow into photons and plasmons. CREDIT: ICFO |
Abstract:
At the heart of lasers, displays and other light-emitting devices lies the emission of photons. Electrically controlled modulation of this emission is of great importance in applications such as optical communication, sensors and displays. Moreover, electrical control of the light emission pathways opens up the possibility of novel types of nano-photonics devices, based on active plasmonics.
Scientists from ICFO, MIT, CNRS, CNISM and Graphenea have now demonstrated active, in-situ electrical control of the energy flow from erbium ions into photons and plasmons. The experiment was implemented by placing the erbium emitters a few tens of nanometers away from the graphene sheet, whose carrier density (Fermi energy) is electrically controlled. Partially funded by the EC Graphene Flagship, this study entitled "Electrical control of optical emitter relaxation pathways enabled by graphene", has been published in Nature Physics.
Erbium ions are essentially used for optical amplifiers and emit light at a wavelength of 1.5 micrometers, the so called third telecom window. This is an important window for optical telecommunications because there is very little energy loss in this range, and thus highly efficient information transmission.
The study has shown that the energy flow from erbium into photons or plasmons can be controlled simply by applying a small electrical voltage. The plasmons in graphene are rather unique, as they are very strongly confined, with a plasmon wavelength that is two orders of magnitude smaller than the wavelength of the emitted photons. As the Fermi energy of the graphene sheet was gradually increased, the erbium emitters went from exciting electrons in the graphene sheet, to emitting photons or plasmons. The experiments revealed the long-sought-after graphene plasmons at near-infrared frequencies, relevant for these telecommunications applications. In addition, the strong concentration of optical energy offers new possibilities for data storage and manipulation through active plasmonic networks.
Frank Koppens commented: "This work shows that electrical control of light at the nanometer scale is possible and efficient, thanks to the optoelectronics properties of graphene."
###
Funding Information
This work was funded by the E.C. under Graphene Flagship, as well as the NWO Rubicon fellowship, The Fundacio Cellex Barcelona, the ERC and the MIT MISTI-Spain program.
####
About ICFO-The Institute of Photonic Sciences
ICFO-The Institute of Photonic Sciences was created in 2002 by the government of Catalonia and the Technical University of Catalonia as a centre of research excellence devoted to the science and technologies of light with a triple mission: to conduct frontier research, train the next generation of scientists, and provide knowledge and technology transfer. Today, it is one of the top research centres worldwide in its category as measured by international rankings.
Research at ICFO targets the forefront of science and technology based on light with programs directed at applications in Health, Renewable Energies, Information Technologies, Security and Industrial processes, among others. The institute hosts 300 professionals based in a dedicated building situated in the Mediterranean Technology Park in the metropolitan area of Barcelona.
ICFO participates in a large number of projects and international networks of excellence and is host to the NEST program which is financed by Fundación Privada Cellex Barcelona. Ground-breaking research in graphene is being carried out at ICFO and through key collaborative research partnerships such as the FET Graphene Flagship. Prof Frank Koppens is the co-leader of the Optoelectonics work package within Flagship program.
For more information, please click here
Contacts:
Alina Hirschmann
34-935-542-246
Copyright © ICFO-The Institute of Photonic Sciences
If you have a comment, please Contact us.Issuers of news releases, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.
Related Links |
Related News Press |
News and information
Simulating magnetization in a Heisenberg quantum spin chain April 5th, 2024
NRL charters Navy’s quantum inertial navigation path to reduce drift April 5th, 2024
Discovery points path to flash-like memory for storing qubits: Rice find could hasten development of nonvolatile quantum memory April 5th, 2024
Chemistry
What heat can tell us about battery chemistry: using the Peltier effect to study lithium-ion cells March 8th, 2024
Nanoscale CL thermometry with lanthanide-doped heavy-metal oxide in TEM March 8th, 2024
Superconductivity
Optically trapped quantum droplets of light can bind together to form macroscopic complexes March 8th, 2024
Graphene/ Graphite
NRL discovers two-dimensional waveguides February 16th, 2024
Announcements
NRL charters Navy’s quantum inertial navigation path to reduce drift April 5th, 2024
Discovery points path to flash-like memory for storing qubits: Rice find could hasten development of nonvolatile quantum memory April 5th, 2024
Interviews/Book Reviews/Essays/Reports/Podcasts/Journals/White papers/Posters
Simulating magnetization in a Heisenberg quantum spin chain April 5th, 2024
Discovery points path to flash-like memory for storing qubits: Rice find could hasten development of nonvolatile quantum memory April 5th, 2024
Photonics/Optics/Lasers
With VECSELs towards the quantum internet Fraunhofer: IAF achieves record output power with VECSEL for quantum frequency converters April 5th, 2024
Nanoscale CL thermometry with lanthanide-doped heavy-metal oxide in TEM March 8th, 2024
Optically trapped quantum droplets of light can bind together to form macroscopic complexes March 8th, 2024
HKUST researchers develop new integration technique for efficient coupling of III-V and silicon February 16th, 2024
Research partnerships
Discovery points path to flash-like memory for storing qubits: Rice find could hasten development of nonvolatile quantum memory April 5th, 2024
Researchers’ approach may protect quantum computers from attacks March 8th, 2024
'Sudden death' of quantum fluctuations defies current theories of superconductivity: Study challenges the conventional wisdom of superconducting quantum transitions January 12th, 2024
The latest news from around the world, FREE | ||
Premium Products | ||
Only the news you want to read!
Learn More |
||
Full-service, expert consulting
Learn More |
||