Tunable Low-Loss Hyperbolic Plasmon Polaritons in a T$_{d}\,$-WTe$_2$ Single Layer

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that monolayer T$_d$-WTe$_2$ exhibits tunable hyperbolic plasmon polaritons with low losses, adjustable via doping, strain, and temperature, opening new avenues for light-matter interaction control.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive theoretical analysis showing how strain and doping can tune hyperbolic plasmon polaritons in monolayer WTe$_2$, including regime switching and loss reduction.

Findings

Hyperbolic plasmon polaritons are supported in monolayer WTe$_2$.

Strain and doping can tune the hyperbolic regime and extend it to near-infrared.

Low electron-phonon scattering leads to low plasmon losses.

Abstract

Natural hyperbolic two-dimensional systems are a fascinating class of materials that could open alternative pathways to the manipulation of plasmon propagation and light-matter interactions. Here, we present a comprehensive study of the optical response in T$_d\,$-WTe$_2$ by means of density-functional and many-body perturbation theories. We show how monolayer WTe$_2$ with in-plane anisotropy sustains hyperbolic plasmon polaritons, which can be tuned via chemical doping and strain. The latter is able to extend the hyperbolic regime toward the near infrared with low losses. Moreover, with a moderate strain, WTe$_2$ can even be switched between elliptic and hyperbolic regimes. In addition, plasmons in WTe$_2$ are characterized by low losses owing to electron-phonon scattering, which is responsible for the temperature dependence of the plasmon line width. Interestingly, the temperature can also be utilized to tune the in-plane anisotropy of the WTe$_2$ optical response.