Graphene Plasmonics and Light-Matter Interactions

Graphene plasmonics explores the collective oscillations of Dirac fermions in atom-thin carbon layers and their interaction with electromagnetic fields. Owing to its high carrier mobility, electrical tunability and ultrathin form factor, graphene supports plasmon resonances with strong spatial confinement from terahertz through mid-infrared frequencies. These resonances dramatically enhance local optical fields and enable the manipulation of light–matter interactions at the nanoscale. Theoretical frameworks based on the random-phase approximation describe the dispersion and damping of graphene plasmons, while experiments have demonstrated active control of resonance frequency via electrostatic gating or chemical doping. By coupling graphene plasmons to molecular vibrations, phonons in substrates or quantum emitters, researchers have achieved ultrasensitive detection, on-chip modulators, photodetectors and nonlinear optical devices. The global significance spans environmental monitoring, biomedical diagnostics, secure communications and ultrafast computing, with ongoing efforts to integrate graphene plasmonic elements into scalable photonic architectures.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have achieved deterministic all-optical generation and electrical control of multiple graphene plasmon polaritons by combining frequency-comb pulses with a hybrid fibre–graphene waveguide. Difference frequency generation in this platform enables broadband excitation of plasmons up to 50 THz and fast logic operations for integrated optoelectronic circuits. Another key advance demonstrated far-field nanoscale infrared spectroscopy using an electrically tunable graphene plasmonic structure on a dielectric film. By avoiding plasmon–phonon hybridisation, this design covers the full molecular fingerprint region, detecting sub-monolayer vibrational modes with ultrahigh sensitivity. Foundational work on three-dimensional nanoporous graphene has further revealed tunable terahertz to mid-infrared absorptions, leveraging porosity and doping to extend graphene plasmonics into broad-band sensor applications.

Graphene Plasmonics and Light-Matter Interactions publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in graphene plasmonics and light-matter interactions across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Graphene plasmon: Collective oscillation of charge carriers in graphene coupled to an electromagnetic field.

Plasmon polariton: Hybrid quasiparticle formed by strong coupling between a plasmon and a photon at a material interface.

Difference frequency generation (DFG): Nonlinear optical process in which two input light frequencies mix to produce a new output frequency equal to their difference.

Surface-enhanced infrared absorption (SEIRA): Technique that uses plasmonic nanostructures to amplify the infrared absorption signals of nearby molecules.

Mid-infrared (mid-IR): Spectral region of infrared light typically spanning wavelengths from 2.5 µm to 25 µm.

Terahertz (THz): Electromagnetic frequencies between approximately 0.1 THz and 10 THz, bridging microwaves and infrared.

References

1. Synthesized complex-frequency excitation for ultrasensitive molecular sensing. eLight (2024).
2. Far-field nanoscale infrared spectroscopy of vibrational fingerprints of molecules with graphene plasmons. Nature Communications (2016).
3. Terahertz and mid-infrared plasmons in three-dimensional nanoporous graphene. Nature Communications (2017).
4. Nonlinear co-generation of graphene plasmons for optoelectronic logic operations. Nature Communications (2022).
5. Electronically tunable extraordinary optical transmission in graphene plasmonic ribbons coupled to subwavelength metallic slit arrays. Nature Communications (2016).