Single-photon nonlinear optics with graphene plasmons

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that graphene nanostructures can enable strong nonlinear optical interactions at the single-photon level, leveraging plasmon confinement and graphene's intrinsic nonlinearity for quantum optical applications.

Contribution

It introduces a method to achieve significant single-photon nonlinearities using graphene plasmons, a novel approach for quantum nonlinear optics.

Findings

Graphene nanostructures can enhance electric fields for nonlinear interactions.

The system can function as a single-photon switch.

Potential for quantum control of light using graphene-based devices.

Abstract

We show that it is possible to realize significant nonlinear optical interactions at the few photon level in graphene nanostructures. Our approach takes advantage of the electric field enhancement associated with the strong confinement of graphene plasmons and the large intrinsic nonlinearity of graphene. Such a system could provide a powerful platform for quantum nonlinear optical control of light. As an example, we consider an integrated optical device that exploits this large nonlinearity to realize a single photon switch.