Mode Conversion of Hyperbolic Phonon Polaritons in van der Waals terraces

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how breaking symmetry in van der Waals terraces enables mode conversion of hyperbolic polaritons, facilitating integration of high-momentum modes for advanced nanophotonic applications.

Contribution

It introduces a method to convert hyperbolic polariton modes across dispersion orders by engineering step-shaped vdW structures, verified through microscopy and simulations.

Findings

Mode conversion achieved in hBN and alpha-MoO3 terraces.

Varying step size controls polariton mode conversion.

Potential for enhanced nano-optical device integration.

Abstract

Electromagnetic hyperbolicity has driven key functionalities in nanophotonics, including super-resolution imaging, efficient energy control, and extreme light manipulation. Central to these advances are hyperbolic polaritons - nanometer-scale light-matter waves - spanning multiple energy-momentum dispersion orders with distinct mode profiles and incrementally high optical momenta. In this work, we report the mode conversion of hyperbolic polaritons across different dispersion orders by breaking the structure symmetry in engineered step-shape van der Waals (vdW) terraces. The mode conversion from the fundamental to high-order hyperbolic polaritons is imaged using scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscopy (s-SNOM) on both hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) and alpha-phase molybdenum trioxide (alpha-MoO3) vdW terraces. Our s-SNOM data, augmented with electromagnetic simulations, further demonstrate the alteration of polariton mode conversion by varying the step size of vdW terraces. The mode conversion reported here offers a practical approach toward integrating previously independent different-order hyperbolic polaritons with ultra-high momenta, paving the way for promising applications in nano-optical circuits, sensing, computation, information processing, and super-resolution imaging.