Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

Optics Express

Tunable plasmonically induced transparency with giant group delay in gain-assisted graphene metamaterials

Yi Zeng, Zi-xiao Ling, Gui-Dong Liu, Ling-Ling Wang, Qi Lin

Published Apr 5, 2022• 57 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We propose a graphene metamaterial consisting of several layers of longitudinally separated graphene nanoribbon array embedded into gain-assisted medium, demonstrating electromagnetically induced transparency-like spectra. Combined with finite-difference time-domain simulations, the transfer matrix method and temporal coupled-mode theory are adopted to quantitatively describe its transmission characteristics. These transmission characteristics can be tuned by altering the gain level in medium layer and the Fermi energy level in graphene. Additionally, it is the incorporation between gain medium and graphene nanoribbons with optimized geometrical parameters and Fermi energy level that the destructive interference between high order graphene plasmonic modes can be obtained, suggesting drastic phase transition with giant group delay and ultra-high group index up to 180 ps and 104, respectively. Our results can achieve efficient slow light effects for better optical buffers and other nonlinear applications.

DOI
10.1364/oe.455954

Related papers

Graphene-based electromagnetically induced transparency with coupling Fabry–Perot resonators

Huawei Zhuang, Fanmin Kong, Kang Li +1 more

We investigate the plasmonic analog of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) using two adjacent graphene-based Fabry-Perot (F-P) resonators side coupling to a nanoribbon waveguide. By the coupling mode theory in time and F-P resonant model, the destructive interference from the coupling of the two F-P resonators results in the EIT-like optical response. The induced peak and width of the transparency window can be dynamically manipulated by varying the coupling distance of the two resonators, and the transparent window is easily shifted by tuning the resonator length or the chemical potential of the graphene nanoribbon. In order to verify the characteristics of slow light, the group index profile is analyzed at different coupling distances. The proposed graphene-based EIT-like system could open up new opportunities for potential applications in plasmonic slow light and optical information buffering devices.

Applied Optics•Aug 20, 2015•15 citations

A tailored ultra-broadband electromagnetically induced transparency metamaterial based on graphene

Fen-Ying Li, Tao Zhang, Quan-Fang Chen +3 more

Abstract Based on graphene, an ultra-broadband electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) window with dynamic tunability is realized in theory. Through altering the Fermi level of graphene that can be regulated by the external voltage, the EIT window and the EIT effect, especially the slow-wave effect, can be easily adjusted. Moreover, the bandwidth of the EIT window can be changed by the incidence angle, achieving the transformation from broadband to narrowband. At the same time, by discussing the polarization state and loss index, the characteristics of polarization insensitivity and low loss are proved. Additionally, the influences of other parameters are discussed, such as the relaxation time of graphene and coupling distance. These unique features enable the designed EIT metamaterial to be masterly applied to optical switches, optical modulators, and slow-light devices.

Physica Scripta•Nov 17, 2021•7 citations

An actively ultrafast tunable giant slow-light effect in ultrathin nonlinear metasurfaces

Cuicui Lu, Xiaoyong Hu, Kebin Shi +4 more

A slow-light effect based on metamaterial-induced transparency (MIT) possesses great practical applications for integrated photonic devices. However, to date, only very weak slow-light effects have been obtained in metamaterials because of the intrinsic loss of metal. Moreover, no active control of slow-light has been achieved in metamaterials. Here, we report the realization of a giant slow-light effect on an ultrathin metasurface that consists of periodic arrays of gold nanoprism dimers with a thickness of 40 nm sandwiched between a multilayer-graphene micro-sheet/zinc oxide nanoparticle layer and a monolayer graphene/polycrystalline indium tin oxide layer. The strong field confinement of the plasmonic modes associated with the MIT ensures a tremendous reduction in the group velocity around the transparency window. A group index of more than 4 × 103 is achieved, which is one order of magnitude greater than that of previous reports. A large tunable wavelength range of 120 nm is achieved around the center of the transparency window when the pump light intensity is only 1.5 kW cm−2. The response time is as fast as 42.3 ps. These results demonstrate the potential for the realization of various functional integrated photonic devices based on metasurfaces, such as all-optical buffers and all-optical switches. The achievement of a giant slow-light effect in an ultrathin metamaterial could prove useful for constructing ultrafast optical memories. Cuicui Lu and co-workers from Peking University in China made an engineered nonlinear metasurface from a periodic array of gold nanoprism dimers (40-nanometre-thick equilateral triangles with a side length of 400 nanometres). They patterned the gold nanoprisms onto a glass sheet that had been coated with a conductive film of indium tin oxide and a monolayer of graphene. The scientists then coated the prisms with zinc oxide nanoparticles and several layers of graphene. The resulting metasurface sandwich exhibited strong, ultrafast nonlinear properties. In particular, a giant, tunable slow light effect was reported with a group index of more than 4,000 and a tunable wavelength of 120 nanometres.

Light Science & Applications•Jun 19, 2015•67 citations

Low-power, ultrafast, and dynamic all-optical tunable plasmonic analog to electromagnetically induced transparency in two resonators side-coupled with a waveguide system

Boyun Wang, Tao Wang, Xiaoming Li +2 more

We theoretically and numerically investigate a low-power, ultrafast, and dynamic all-optical tunable plasmonic analog to electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in two nanodisk resonators side-coupled to a metal-insulator-metal plasmonic waveguide system. The optical Kerr effect is enhanced by the slow light effect of the plasmonic EIT-like effect and the plasmonic waveguide based on graphene-Ag composite material structures with giant effective Kerr nonlinear coefficient. The optical Kerr effect modulation method is applied to improve tuning rate with response time of subpicoseconds or even femtoseconds. With dynamically tuning the propagation phase of the plasmonic waveguide, π-phase shift of the transmission spectrum in the plasmonic EIT-like system is achieved under excitation of a pump light with an intensity as low as 5.85 MW/cm2. The group delay is controlled between 0.09 and 0.4 ps. All observed schemes are analyzed rigorously through finite-difference time-domain simulations and coupled-mode formalism. Results show a new direction toward the low power consumption and ultrafast responses of integration plasmonic photonic devices and all-optical dynamical storage of light devices in optical communication and quantum information processing.

Journal of Applied Physics•Jun 5, 2015•6 citations

Ultra-slow-light and dynamically quantitative optical storage modulation via quasi-BICs

Dongwen Zeng, Zeyu Wu, Guiqiang Liu +6 more

We achieve dynamically tunable dual quasi-bound states in the continuum (quasi-BICs) by implementing them in a silicon–graphene multilayer composite structure and utilize the quasi-BIC modes to achieve ultra-large group delays (velocity of light slows down 10 5 times), showing 2–3 orders of magnitude higher than the group delays of previous electromagnetically induced transparency modes. The double-layer graphene holds great tuning capability and leads to the dramatically reduced group delay from 1929.82 to 1.58 ps with only 100 meV. In addition, the log-linear variation rule of group delay with Fermi level ( E f ) in the range of 0–10 meV is analyzed in detail, and the double-logarithmic function relationship between the group delay and quality factor ( Q -factor) is theoretically verified. Finally, the quantitative modulation of the optical storage is further realized in this basis. Our research provides ideas for the reform and upgrading of slow optical devices.

Optics Letters•May 3, 2024•19 citations

Gain-assisted plasmon induced transparency in T-shaped metamaterials for slow light

Jinna He, Junqiao Wang, Pei Ding +2 more

We theoretically investigate the gain-assisted plasmonic analog of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in a novel planar metamaterial, whose unit cell consists of two perpendicularly connected metallic bars, forming a 'T' configuration. An EIT-like resonance can be achieved by introducing symmetry breaking into its shape. The results show that the group index is greatly enhanced at the optimum value of the gain due to a dramatic amplification of the EIT-like resonance. Furthermore, a trade-off between the group index and the transmittance at the EIT-like resonance, which always exists in passive systems with no gains, can be removed at an approximate gain level. E-field enhancements are used to understand the underlying physics.

Journal of Optics•Apr 9, 2015•20 citations
We propose a graphene metamaterial consisting of several layers of longitudinally separated graphene nanoribbon array embedded into gain-assisted medium, demonstrating electromagnetically induced transparency-like spectra. Combined with finite-difference time-domain simulations, the transfer matrix method and temporal coupled-mode theory are adopted to quantitatively describe its transmission characteristics. These transmission characteristics can be tuned by altering the gain level in medium layer and the Fermi energy level in graphene. Additionally, it is the incorporation between gain medium and graphene nanoribbons with optimized geometrical parameters and Fermi energy level that the destructive interference between high order graphene plasmonic modes can be obtained, suggesting drastic phase transition with giant group delay and ultra-high group index up to 180 ps and 104, respectively. Our results can achieve efficient slow light effects for better optical buffers and other nonlinear applications.
We investigate the plasmonic analog of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) using two adjacent graphene-based Fabry-Perot (F-P) resonators side coupling to a nanoribbon waveguide. By the coupling mode theory in time and F-P resonant model, the destructive interference from the coupling of the two F-P resonators results in the EIT-like optical response. The induced peak and width of the transparency window can be dynamically manipulated by varying the coupling distance of the two resonators, and the transparent window is easily shifted by tuning the resonator length or the chemical potential of the graphene nanoribbon. In order to verify the characteristics of slow light, the group index profile is analyzed at different coupling distances. The proposed graphene-based EIT-like system could open up new opportunities for potential applications in plasmonic slow light and optical information buffering devices.
Abstract Based on graphene, an ultra-broadband electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) window with dynamic tunability is realized in theory. Through altering the Fermi level of graphene that can be regulated by the external voltage, the EIT window and the EIT effect, especially the slow-wave effect, can be easily adjusted. Moreover, the bandwidth of the EIT window can be changed by the incidence angle, achieving the transformation from broadband to narrowband. At the same time, by discussing the polarization state and loss index, the characteristics of polarization insensitivity and low loss are proved. Additionally, the influences of other parameters are discussed, such as the relaxation time of graphene and coupling distance. These unique features enable the designed EIT metamaterial to be masterly applied to optical switches, optical modulators, and slow-light devices.
A slow-light effect based on metamaterial-induced transparency (MIT) possesses great practical applications for integrated photonic devices. However, to date, only very weak slow-light effects have been obtained in metamaterials because of the intrinsic loss of metal. Moreover, no active control of slow-light has been achieved in metamaterials. Here, we report the realization of a giant slow-light effect on an ultrathin metasurface that consists of periodic arrays of gold nanoprism dimers with a thickness of 40 nm sandwiched between a multilayer-graphene micro-sheet/zinc oxide nanoparticle layer and a monolayer graphene/polycrystalline indium tin oxide layer. The strong field confinement of the plasmonic modes associated with the MIT ensures a tremendous reduction in the group velocity around the transparency window. A group index of more than 4 × 103 is achieved, which is one order of magnitude greater than that of previous reports. A large tunable wavelength range of 120 nm is achieved around the center of the transparency window when the pump light intensity is only 1.5 kW cm−2. The response time is as fast as 42.3 ps. These results demonstrate the potential for the realization of various functional integrated photonic devices based on metasurfaces, such as all-optical buffers and all-optical switches. The achievement of a giant slow-light effect in an ultrathin metamaterial could prove useful for constructing ultrafast optical memories. Cuicui Lu and co-workers from Peking University in China made an engineered nonlinear metasurface from a periodic array of gold nanoprism dimers (40-nanometre-thick equilateral triangles with a side length of 400 nanometres). They patterned the gold nanoprisms onto a glass sheet that had been coated with a conductive film of indium tin oxide and a monolayer of graphene. The scientists then coated the prisms with zinc oxide nanoparticles and several layers of graphene. The resulting metasurface sandwich exhibited strong, ultrafast nonlinear properties. In particular, a giant, tunable slow light effect was reported with a group index of more than 4,000 and a tunable wavelength of 120 nanometres.
We theoretically and numerically investigate a low-power, ultrafast, and dynamic all-optical tunable plasmonic analog to electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in two nanodisk resonators side-coupled to a metal-insulator-metal plasmonic waveguide system. The optical Kerr effect is enhanced by the slow light effect of the plasmonic EIT-like effect and the plasmonic waveguide based on graphene-Ag composite material structures with giant effective Kerr nonlinear coefficient. The optical Kerr effect modulation method is applied to improve tuning rate with response time of subpicoseconds or even femtoseconds. With dynamically tuning the propagation phase of the plasmonic waveguide, π-phase shift of the transmission spectrum in the plasmonic EIT-like system is achieved under excitation of a pump light with an intensity as low as 5.85 MW/cm2. The group delay is controlled between 0.09 and 0.4 ps. All observed schemes are analyzed rigorously through finite-difference time-domain simulations and coupled-mode formalism. Results show a new direction toward the low power consumption and ultrafast responses of integration plasmonic photonic devices and all-optical dynamical storage of light devices in optical communication and quantum information processing.
We achieve dynamically tunable dual quasi-bound states in the continuum (quasi-BICs) by implementing them in a silicon–graphene multilayer composite structure and utilize the quasi-BIC modes to achieve ultra-large group delays (velocity of light slows down 10 5 times), showing 2–3 orders of magnitude higher than the group delays of previous electromagnetically induced transparency modes. The double-layer graphene holds great tuning capability and leads to the dramatically reduced group delay from 1929.82 to 1.58 ps with only 100 meV. In addition, the log-linear variation rule of group delay with Fermi level ( E f ) in the range of 0–10 meV is analyzed in detail, and the double-logarithmic function relationship between the group delay and quality factor ( Q -factor) is theoretically verified. Finally, the quantitative modulation of the optical storage is further realized in this basis. Our research provides ideas for the reform and upgrading of slow optical devices.
We theoretically investigate the gain-assisted plasmonic analog of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in a novel planar metamaterial, whose unit cell consists of two perpendicularly connected metallic bars, forming a 'T' configuration. An EIT-like resonance can be achieved by introducing symmetry breaking into its shape. The results show that the group index is greatly enhanced at the optimum value of the gain due to a dramatic amplification of the EIT-like resonance. Furthermore, a trade-off between the group index and the transmittance at the EIT-like resonance, which always exists in passive systems with no gains, can be removed at an approximate gain level. E-field enhancements are used to understand the underlying physics.