Photothermal Engineering of Graphene Plasmons

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how continuous-wave optical pumping can actively modulate graphene plasmons by leveraging high electron temperatures, enabling active control of nanophotonic responses for photothermal applications.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method for active photothermal modulation of graphene plasmons through optical pumping, exploiting high electron temperatures while maintaining lattice stability.

Findings

Predicted self-consistent active modulation of graphene plasmons.

Showed high electron temperatures achievable with optical pumping.

Potential for active control in photothermal nanodevices.

Abstract

Nanoscale photothermal sources find important applications in theranostics, imaging, and catalysis. In this context, graphene offers a unique suite of optical, electrical, and thermal properties, which we exploit to show self-consistent active photothermal modulation of its nanoscale response. In particular, we predict the existence of plasmons confined to the optical landscape tailored by continuous-wave external-light pumping of homogeneous graphene. This result relies on the high electron temperatures achievable in optically pumped clean graphene while its lattice remains near ambient temperature. Our study opens a new avenue toward the active optical control of the nanophotonic response in graphene with potential application in photothermal devices.