Propagation of hybrid TM-TE surface plasmons on magnetically-biased graphene sheets

The propagation of plasmons on magnetically biased graphene sheets is addressed. The analysis is based on the transverse resonance method extended to handle the graphene conductivity tensor and allows easily accounting for substrate effects. A transcendental equation is obtained for the propagation constant of the resulting hybrid transverse magnetic-transverse electric mode. A closed-form approximate expression for a graphene layer sandwitched between two different media is also provided. Application of the method shows that the presence of a magnetic field leads to extreme field localization, namely, very small guided wavelength, as compared with usual plasmons in graphene or noble metals. The extent of field localization and its frequency can be dynamically controlled by modifying the applied magnetostatic and electrostatic bias field, respectively. These features could enable extreme device miniaturization and enhanced resolution in sensing applications. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4769749]