Excitation of Propagating Plasmons in a Periodic Graphene Structure by Incident Terahertz Waves

Abstract

Plasmonic transport is considered as a replacement for electronic transport in low-dimensional systems like field-effect transistors, as plasmons are faster than electrons. Plasmons in graphene are promising for use at THz frequencies, but this research is held back by the primitive state of circuitry for plasmonic devices. This study employs an asymmetric periodic grating to solve the problem of effective excitation of propagating plasmons in graphene. The important role of ``dark'' (weakly radiative) plasmon modes in efficient excitation is revealed. The approach outlined here could help to fill the need for THz plasmon sources, for tomorrow's devices.