J. Eur. Opt. Society-Rapid Publ. 2025, 21, 28 Ó The Author( s), published by EDP Sciences, 2025 https:// doi. org / 10.1051 / jeos / 2025022 Available online at: https:// jeos. edpsciences. org
Journal of the European Optical Society-Rapid Publications
RESEARCH ARTICLE Plasmonic characteristics of magnetized plasma – graphenemagnetized plasma – perfect magnetic conductor planar waveguides
M. Umair 1, Abdul Ghaffar 1,*, Majeed A. S. Alkanhal 2,*
, Yasin Khan 2, M. U. Shahid 1, and M. Amir Ali 3
1 |
Department of Physics, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan |
2 |
Department of Electrical Engineering, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia |
3 |
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, PR China |
Received 28 March 2025 / Accepted 24 April 2025
Abstract. This manuscript explores the novel characteristics of surface plasmon polaritons( SPPs) in the terahertz( THz) frequency region by numerically investigating the magnetized plasma – graphene-magnetized plasma – perfect magnetic conductor( PMC) planar interface. Substrates are assumed to be PMCs. The dispersion equations for the field components are derived, and the Kubo formula is utilized for the physical modeling of graphene conductivity. The numerical results show that the plots of effective mode index, propagation length, and phase velocity can be varied by adjusting the chemical potential, number of graphene layers, and tensorial permittivity parameters of the magnetized plasma medium( i. e., plasma frequency and cyclotron frequency). Furthermore, the cutoff frequency for the proposed waveguide structure is analyzed.
Keywords: Plasmonics, Graphene, Magnetized Plasma, Waveguide, Perfect magnetic conductor.
Introduction
Like electronics, optics and photonics are extremely efficient technologies that can be used in a wide variety of industries across various fields. Although information processing is still based on electronic transistors and microchips, photonic alternatives are increasingly being incorporated into information technology. The use of photonic devices and technologies can be found in a number of fields, such as communications, information processing, manufacturing, biomedical, sensing, defense, and security. With photonics as a means for transmitting and processing signals, power consumption can be reduced, operation speed can be increased, and bandwidth can be widened [ 1 ]. However, many challenges are associated with photonic devices, including the need for high levels of precision [ 2 ]. Furthermore, unlike electronic devices, which are based on transistors, photonic devices are not designed on the basis of a base unit. To overcome such limitations, plasmonic devices have been proposed as a replacement for photonic devices [ 3 ]. In the optics community, the nanophotonics and plasmonics fields have often been combined because of their capability of operating on subwavelength scales and integrating with electronics. In recent years, the field of plasmonics has drawn considerable attention due to the ability
* Corresponding authors: aghaffar16 @ uaf. edu. pk; majeed @ ksu. edu. sa to confine electromagnetic( EM) waves to device sizes that are compatible with electronics [ 4 ]. In plasmonics, a surface wave is generated when an EM wave is coupled to oscillations of a delocalized electron in metal at a dielectric metal interface, which are known as surface plasmon polaritons( SPPs). In metal, these waves are confined to tens of nanometers, which allows plasmonic devices to be designed on this scale and integrated with electronic devices [ 5 ]. In this context, different authors have used various optical materials for the propagation of metal-based SPPs [ 6 – 11 ]. However, as with any other technology, there are challenges associated with plasmonics. At terahertz( THz) frequencies, metal shows propagation losses. A major disadvantage of plasmonic waveguides is the extremely high propagation losses, particularly when the mode of confinement is on a subwavelength level [ 12 ]. SPP modes are subject to this fundamental limitation: stronger SPP confinement pushes the field closer to the metal, which results in higher propagation losses. Optics researchers are exploring new optical materials to overcome these challenges.
Graphene SPPs offer unique research opportunities for scientists and possess exceptional electrical and optical properties [ 13, 14 ]. Compared to metal dielectric SPP waves, graphene SPP waves exhibit a very strong confinement mode and low propagation loss [ 15, 16 ]. One of graphene’ s most notable properties is its zero-bandgap structure, which distinguishes it from other naturally occurring materials, since graphene electrons behave like massless
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