Infrared Topological Plasmons in Graphene

Phys Rev Lett. 2017 Jun 16;118(24):245301. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.118.245301. Epub 2017 Jun 16.

Abstract

We propose a two-dimensional plasmonic platform-periodically patterned monolayer graphene-which hosts topological one-way edge states operable up to infrared frequencies. We classify the band topology of this plasmonic system under time-reversal-symmetry breaking induced by a static magnetic field. At finite doping, the system supports topologically nontrivial band gaps with mid-gap frequencies up to tens of terahertz. By the bulk-edge correspondence, these band gaps host topologically protected one-way edge plasmons, which are immune to backscattering from structural defects and subject only to intrinsic material and radiation loss. Our findings reveal a promising approach to engineer topologically robust chiral plasmonic devices and demonstrate a realistic example of high-frequency topological edge states.