8 research outputs found
Electronic interactions in Dirac fluids visualized by nano-terahertz spacetime mapping
Ultraclean graphene at charge neutrality hosts a quantum critical Dirac fluid
of interacting electrons and holes. Interactions profoundly affect the charge
dynamics of graphene, which is encoded in the properties of its collective
modes: surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs). The group velocity and lifetime of
SPPs have a direct correspondence with the reactive and dissipative parts of
the tera-Hertz (THz) conductivity of the Dirac fluid. We succeeded in tracking
the propagation of SPPs over sub-micron distances at femto-second (fs) time
scales. Our experiments uncovered prominent departures from the predictions of
the conventional Fermi-liquid theory. The deviations are particularly strong
when the densities of electrons and holes are approximately equal. Our imaging
methodology can be used to probe the electromagnetics of quantum materials
other than graphene in order to provide fs-scale diagnostics under
near-equilibrium conditions
Long-Lived Phonon Polaritons in Hyperbolic Materials
Natural hyperbolic materials with dielectric permittivities of opposite signs along different principal axes can confine long-wavelength electromagnetic waves down to the nanoscale, well below the diffraction limit. Confined electromagnetic waves coupled to phonons in hyperbolic dielectrics including hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) and α-MoO3 are referred to as hyperbolic phonon polaritons (HPPs). HPP dissipation at ambient conditions is substantial, and its fundamental limits remain unexplored. Here, we exploit cryogenic nanoinfrared imaging to investigate propagating HPPs in isotopically pure hBN and naturally abundant α-MoO3 crystals. Close to liquid-nitrogen temperatures, losses for HPPs in isotopic hBN drop significantly, resulting in propagation lengths in excess of 8 μm, with lifetimes exceeding 5 ps, thereby surpassing prior reports on such highly confined polaritonic modes. Our nanoscale, temperature-dependent imaging reveals the relevance of acoustic phonons in HPP damping and will be instrumental in mitigating such losses for miniaturized mid-infrared technologies operating at liquid-nitrogen temperatures.Research at Columbia is supported by Vannevar Bush Faculty
Fellowship ONR-VB: N00014-19-1-2630. We thank A.
Sternbach and S. Zhang for helpful discussions. Exfoliation
and transfer of hBN onto desired substrates and electron beam
lithography of gold disks were performed by J.T.M. and
supported by the National Science Foundation
(DMR1904793). Additional structure fabrication was supported
by the Center on Precision-Assembled Quantum
Materials, funded through the U.S. National Science
Foundation (NSF) Materials Research Science and Engineering
Centers (award no. DMR-2011738). Initial simulations
and experimental design from Vanderbilt were provided by
J.D.C. in collaboration with the Columbia team (D.N.B. and
G.N.) and was supported by the Office of Naval Research
(N00014-18-1-2107). The hBN phonon band structure
calculation was performed by R.C. and L.A. and supported
by the Spanish MINECO/FEDER grant (MAT2015-71035-
R). Cryogenics nano-optics experiments at Columbia were
solely supported as part of Programmable Quantum Materials,
an Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the U.S.
Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Science, Basic Energy
Sciences (BES), under award no. DE-SC0019443. D.N.B is the
Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation’s EPiQS Initiative
Investigator no. 9455.Peer reviewe
Quantitative terahertz emission nanoscopy with multiresonant near-field probes
By sampling terahertz waveforms emitted from InAs surfaces, we reveal how the entire, realistic geometry of typical near-field probes drastically impacts the broadband electromagnetic fields. In the time domain, these modifications manifest as a shift in the carrier-envelope phase and emergence of a replica pulse with a time delay dictated by the length of the cantilever. This interpretation is fully corroborated by quantitative simulations of terahertz emission nanoscopy based on the finite element method. Our approach provides a solid theoretical framework for quantitative nanospectroscopy and sets the stage for a reliable description of subcycle, near-field microscopy at terahertz frequencies.</p
Quantitative terahertz emission nanoscopy with multiresonant near-field probes
By sampling terahertz waveforms emitted from InAs surfaces, we reveal how the entire, realistic geometry of typical near-field probes drastically impacts the broadband electromagnetic fields. In the time domain, these modifications manifest as a shift in the carrier-envelope phase and emergence of a replica pulse with a time delay dictated by the length of the cantilever. This interpretation is fully corroborated by quantitative simulations of terahertz emission nanoscopy based on the finite element method. Our approach provides a solid theoretical framework for quantitative nanospectroscopy and sets the stage for a reliable description of subcycle, near-field microscopy at terahertz frequencies
Quantitative terahertz emission nanoscopy with multiresonant near-field probes
By sampling terahertz waveforms emitted from InAs surfaces, we reveal how the entire, realistic geometry of typical near-field probes drastically impacts the broadband electromagnetic fields. In the time domain, these modifications manifest as a shift in the carrier-envelope phase and emergence of a replica pulse with a time delay dictated by the length of the cantilever. This interpretation is fully corroborated by quantitative simulations of terahertz emission nanoscopy based on the finite element method. Our approach provides a solid theoretical framework for quantitative nanospectroscopy and sets the stage for a reliable description of subcycle, near-field microscopy at terahertz frequencies.</p
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Terahertz response of monolayer and few-layer WTe2 at the nanoscale
Tungsten ditelluride (WTe2) is an atomically layered transition metal dichalcogenide whose physical properties change systematically from monolayer to bilayer and few-layer versions. In this report, we use apertureless scattering-type near-field optical microscopy operating at Terahertz (THz) frequencies and cryogenic temperatures to study the distinct THz range electromagnetic responses of mono-, bi- and trilayer WTe2 in the same multi-terraced micro-crystal. THz nano-images of monolayer terraces uncovered weakly insulating behavior that is consistent with transport measurements. The near-field signal on bilayer regions shows moderate metallicity with negligible temperature dependence. Subdiffractional THz imaging data together with theoretical calculations involving thermally activated carriers favor the semimetal scenario with [Formula: see text] over the semiconductor scenario for bilayer WTe2. Also, we observed clear metallic behavior of the near-field signal on trilayer regions. Our data are consistent with the existence of surface plasmon polaritons in the THz range confined to trilayer terraces in our specimens. Finally, data for microcrystals up to 12 layers thick reveal how the response of a few-layer WTe2 asymptotically approaches the bulk limit