Difference frequency generation of surface plasmon-polaritons in Landau quantized graphene

TL;DR

This paper presents a quantum-mechanical theory for difference frequency generation of surface plasmon-polaritons in Landau-quantized graphene, revealing unexpectedly high second-order nonlinearity and potential for integrated photonic applications.

Contribution

It introduces a rigorous quantum model for nonlinear plasmonic processes in Landau-quantized graphene, highlighting high susceptibility and efficiency in integrated photonic structures.

Findings

High second-order susceptibility (~10^{-3} m/V) in graphene.

Predicted nonlinear power conversion efficiency of tens of μW/W^2.

Optimal waveguide configurations for maximum efficiency identified.

Abstract

We develop a rigorous quantum-mechanical theory of the nonlinear optical process of difference frequency generation of surface plasmon-polaritons in Landau-quantized graphene. Although forbidden in the electric-dipole approximation, the second-order susceptibility is surprisingly high, equivalent to the bulk magnitude above $10^{-3}$ m/V. We consider the graphene monolayer as a nonlinear optical component of a monolithic photonic chip with integrated pump fields. The nonlinear power conversion efficiency of the order of tens $\mu$W/W$^2$ is predicted from structures of $10-100$ $\mu$m size. We investigate a variety of waveguide configurations to identify the optimal geometry for maximum efficiency.