Strongly confined Mid-infrared to Terahertz Phonon Polaritons in Ultra-thin SrTiO3

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: He, Peiyi, Li, Jiade, Li, Cong, Li, Ning, Han, Bo, Shi, Ruochen, Qi, Ruishi, Du, Jinlong, Yu, Pu, Gao, Peng
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866909915015020544
author He, Peiyi
Li, Jiade
Li, Cong
Li, Ning
Han, Bo
Shi, Ruochen
Qi, Ruishi
Du, Jinlong
Yu, Pu
Gao, Peng
author_facet He, Peiyi
Li, Jiade
Li, Cong
Li, Ning
Han, Bo
Shi, Ruochen
Qi, Ruishi
Du, Jinlong
Yu, Pu
Gao, Peng
contents Phonon polaritons (PhPs) enable subwavelength light control for infrared sensing, imaging, and optoelectronics, but conventional polar materials have narrow Reststrahlen bands, limiting applications. Materials that support PhPs with broad spectral range, strong field confinement, slow group velocity, and high quality factor are therefore needed. Here, using monochromatic electron energy loss spectroscopy in a scanning transmission electron microscope, we demonstrate that ultra-thin SrTiO3 membranes possess the desired properties. Systematic measurements across varying thicknesses reveal two PhP branches with wide spectral dispersion, strong confinement, and anomalously slow group velocities spanning from the mid-infrared to terahertz range. Notably, in 3-nm-thick membranes, these polaritons exhibit unprecedented confinement factors exceeding 500 and group velocities as low as ~ 7 x 10-5c, rivaling the best-performing van der Waals materials. These findings establish perovskite oxide such as SrTiO3 as versatile platforms for tailoring light-matter interactions at the nanoscale, providing critical insights for the design of next-generation photonic devices requiring broadband operation and enhanced optical confinement.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2504_09140
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Strongly confined Mid-infrared to Terahertz Phonon Polaritons in Ultra-thin SrTiO3
He, Peiyi
Li, Jiade
Li, Cong
Li, Ning
Han, Bo
Shi, Ruochen
Qi, Ruishi
Du, Jinlong
Yu, Pu
Gao, Peng
Optics
Materials Science
Applied Physics
Phonon polaritons (PhPs) enable subwavelength light control for infrared sensing, imaging, and optoelectronics, but conventional polar materials have narrow Reststrahlen bands, limiting applications. Materials that support PhPs with broad spectral range, strong field confinement, slow group velocity, and high quality factor are therefore needed. Here, using monochromatic electron energy loss spectroscopy in a scanning transmission electron microscope, we demonstrate that ultra-thin SrTiO3 membranes possess the desired properties. Systematic measurements across varying thicknesses reveal two PhP branches with wide spectral dispersion, strong confinement, and anomalously slow group velocities spanning from the mid-infrared to terahertz range. Notably, in 3-nm-thick membranes, these polaritons exhibit unprecedented confinement factors exceeding 500 and group velocities as low as ~ 7 x 10-5c, rivaling the best-performing van der Waals materials. These findings establish perovskite oxide such as SrTiO3 as versatile platforms for tailoring light-matter interactions at the nanoscale, providing critical insights for the design of next-generation photonic devices requiring broadband operation and enhanced optical confinement.
title Strongly confined Mid-infrared to Terahertz Phonon Polaritons in Ultra-thin SrTiO3
topic Optics
Materials Science
Applied Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.09140