Exceptional Points and Asymmetric Mode Switching in Plasmonic Waveguides

We investigate the exceptional points (EPs) in a non-Hermitian system composed of a pair of graphene sheets with different losses. There are two surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) modes in the graphene waveguide. By varying the distance between two graphene sheets and chemical potential of graphene,...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of lightwave technology Vol. 34; no. 22; pp. 5258 - 5262
Main Authors Ke, Shaolin, Wang, Bing, Qin, Chengzhi, Long, Hua, Wang, Kai, Lu, Peixiang
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published IEEE 15.11.2016
Subjects
Adiabatic
Chemicals
Eigenvalues and eigenfunctions
Exceptional point
geometric phase
Graphene
mode switching
Optical waveguides
Propagation constant
Propagation losses
surface plasmon polaritons
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:We investigate the exceptional points (EPs) in a non-Hermitian system composed of a pair of graphene sheets with different losses. There are two surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) modes in the graphene waveguide. By varying the distance between two graphene sheets and chemical potential of graphene, the EPs appear as the eigenvalues, that is, the wave vectors of the two modes coalesce. The cross conversion of eigenmodes and variation of geometric phase can be observed by encircling the EP in the parametric space formed by the geometric parameters and chemical potential of graphene. At the same time, a certain input SPP mode may lead to completely different output. The study paves a way to the development of nanoscale sensitive optical switches and sensors.
ISSN:0733-8724
1558-2213
DOI:10.1109/JLT.2016.2609899