Ultraconfined THz Phonon Polaritons in Hafnium Dichalcogenides

R A Kowalski; N. S Mueller; G Álvarez-Pérez; M Obst; K Diaz-Granados; G Carini; A Senarath; S Dixit; R Niemann; R. B Iyer; F. G Kaps; J Wetzel; J. M Klopf; I. I Kravchenko; M Wolf; T. G Folland; L. M Eng; S. C Kehr; P Alonso-Gonzalez; A Paarmann; J. D Caldwell

doi:10.48550/arxiv.2502.09909

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Ultraconfined THz Phonon Polaritons in Hafnium Dichalcogenides

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Ultraconfined THz Phonon Polaritons in Hafnium Dichalcogenides

R A Kowalski, N. S Mueller, G Álvarez-Pérez, M Obst, K Diaz-Granados, G Carini, A Senarath, S Dixit, R Niemann, R. B Iyer, …

ArXiV.org

Cornell University

02/13/2025

DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2502.09909

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Preprint (Author's original)This preprint has not been evaluated by subject experts through peer review. Preprints may undergo extensive changes and/or become peer-reviewed journal articles. Open Access

Abstract

The confinement of electromagnetic radiation to subwavelength scales relies on strong light-matter interactions. In the infrared (IR) and terahertz (THz) spectral ranges, phonon polaritons are commonly employed to achieve extremely subdiffractional light confinement, with much lower losses as compared to plasmon polaritons. Among these, hyperbolic phonon polaritons in anisotropic materials offer a highly promising platform for light confinement, which, however, typically plateaus at values of {\lambda}0/100, with {\lambda}0 being the free-space incident wavelength. In this study, we report on ultraconfined phonon polaritons in hafnium-based dichalcogenides with confinement factors exceeding {\lambda}0/250 in the terahertz spectral range. This extreme light compression within deeply sub-wavelength thin films is enabled by the unprecedented magnitude of the light-matter coupling strength in these compounds, and the natural hyperbolicity of HfSe2 in particular. Our findings emphasize the critical role of light-matter coupling for polariton confinement, which for phonon polaritons in polar dielectrics is dictated by the transverse-longitudinal optic phonon energy splitting. Our results demonstrate transition metal dichalcogenides as an enabling platform for THz nanophotonic applications that push the limits of light control.

Physics - Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics

Physics - Optics

Details

Title: Subtitle: Ultraconfined THz Phonon Polaritons in Hafnium Dichalcogenides
Creators: R A Kowalski - Vanderbilt University
N. S Mueller - Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society
G Álvarez-Pérez - Italian Institute of Technology
M Obst - Technische Universität Dresden
K Diaz-Granados - Vanderbilt University
G Carini - Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society
A Senarath - Vanderbilt University
S Dixit - Vanderbilt University
R Niemann - Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society
R. B Iyer - University of Iowa, Iowa City, IO, USA
F. G Kaps - Technische Universität Dresden
J Wetzel - Technische Universität Dresden
J. M Klopf - Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf
I. I Kravchenko - Oak Ridge National Laboratory
M Wolf - Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society
T. G Folland - University of Iowa
L. M Eng - Technische Universität Dresden
S. C Kehr - Technische Universität Dresden
P Alonso-Gonzalez - Universidad de Oviedo
A Paarmann - Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society
J. D Caldwell - Vanderbilt University
Resource Type: Preprint
Publication Details: ArXiV.org
DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2502.09909
ISSN: 2331-8422
Publisher: Cornell University; Ithaca, New York
Language: English
Date posted: 02/13/2025
Academic Unit: Physics and Astronomy
Record Identifier: 9984790996502771

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