Physical Society Colloquium

Graphene Photonics and Plasmonics

Phaedon Avouris

T. J. Watson Research Center
IBM

I will present an overview of our work on the properties and potential applications of the single and collective electronic excitations of graphene. I will review the graphene single electron excitations from the UV to THz frequencies, their nature, characteristics and ways of tuning them. I would consider the mechanisms of photocurrent generation in this material and its use as the basis of photodetectors covering a wide range of the spectrum. Then I will focus on the properties of its collective (plasmon) excitations and compare their characteristics with those of the noble metals. I will mostly concentrate on localized graphene plasmons in patterned nano/micro-structures. Emphasis will be on the optical behavior in the IR and THz regions, the role of size quantization, doping effects, and the effects of external electric and magnetic fields. Plasmon-plasmon hybridization and hybridization of graphene plasmons with substrate and adsorbed overlayer phonons, as well as plasmon damping mechanisms, will be discussed. Finally, I will consider applications of graphene plasmons in the enhancement of photocurrents in graphene infrared photodetectors and of the vibrational spectra of adsorbed molecules.