Unidirectional ray polaritons in twisted asymmetric stacks

J. Álvarez-Cuervo, M. Obst, S. Dixit, G. Carini, A. I. F. Tresguerres-Mata, C. Lanza, E. Terán-García, G. Álvarez-Pérez, L. F. Álvarez-Tomillo, K. Diaz-Granados, R. Kowalski, A. S. Senerath, N. S. Mueller, L. Herrer, J. M. Teresa, S. Wasserroth, J. M. Klopf, T. Beechem, M. Wolf, L. M. Eng, T. G. Folland, A. Tarazaga Martín-Luengo, J. Martín-Sánchez, S. C. Kehr (), A. Y. Nikitin (), J. D. Caldwell (), P. Alonso-González () and A. Paarmann ()
Additional contact information
J. Álvarez-Cuervo: University of Oviedo
M. Obst: TUD Dresden University of Technology
S. Dixit: Vanderbilt University
G. Carini: Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society
A. I. F. Tresguerres-Mata: University of Oviedo
C. Lanza: University of Oviedo
E. Terán-García: University of Oviedo
G. Álvarez-Pérez: University of Oviedo
L. F. Álvarez-Tomillo: University of Oviedo
K. Diaz-Granados: Vanderbilt University
R. Kowalski: Vanderbilt University
A. S. Senerath: Vanderbilt University
N. S. Mueller: Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society
L. Herrer: CSIC-Universidad de Zaragoza
J. M. Teresa: CSIC-Universidad de Zaragoza
S. Wasserroth: Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society
J. M. Klopf: Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf
T. Beechem: Purdue University and Birck Nanotechnology Center
M. Wolf: Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society
L. M. Eng: TUD Dresden University of Technology
T. G. Folland: University of Iowa
A. Tarazaga Martín-Luengo: University of Oviedo
J. Martín-Sánchez: University of Oviedo
S. C. Kehr: TUD Dresden University of Technology
A. Y. Nikitin: Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC)
J. D. Caldwell: Vanderbilt University
P. Alonso-González: University of Oviedo
A. Paarmann: Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society

Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract The vast repository of van der Waals (vdW) materials supporting polaritons offers numerous possibilities to tailor electromagnetic waves at the nanoscale. The development of twistoptics—the modulation of the optical properties by twisting stacks of vdW materials—enables directional propagation of phonon polaritons (PhPs) along a single spatial direction, known as canalization. Here we demonstrate a complementary type of directional propagation of polaritons by reporting the visualization of unidirectional ray polaritons (URPs). They arise naturally in twisted hyperbolic stacks with very different thicknesses of their constituents, demonstrated for homostructures of $$\alpha$$ α -MoO3 and heterostructures of $$\alpha$$ α -MoO3 and $$\beta$$ β -Ga2O3. Importantly, their ray-like propagation, characterized by large momenta and constant phase, is tunable by both the twist angle and the illumination frequency. Apart from their fundamental importance, our findings introduce twisted asymmetric stacks as efficient platforms for nanoscale directional polariton propagation, opening the door for applications in nanoimaging, (bio)-sensing, or polaritonic thermal management.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-52750-3

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