Self-biased reconfigurable graphene stacks for terahertz plasmonics

The gate-controllable complex conductivity of graphene offers unprecedented opportunities for reconfigurable plasmonics at terahertz and mid-infrared frequencies. However, the requirement of a gating electrode close to graphene and the single ‘control knob’ that this approach offers limits the practical implementation and performance of these devices. Here we report on graphene stacks composed of two or more graphene monolayers separated by electrically thin dielectrics and present a simple and rigorous theoretical framework for their characterization. In a first implementation, two graphene layers gate each other, thereby behaving as a controllable single equivalent layer but without any additional gating structure. Second, we show that adding an additional gate allows independent control of the complex conductivity of each layer within the stack and provides enhanced control on the stack equivalent complex conductivity. These results are very promising for the development of THz and mid-infrared plasmonic devices with enhanced performance and reconfiguration capabilities. The unusual electronic and optical properties of graphene are finding increasing applications for terahertz and mid-infrared plasmonics. Here, the authors show how monolayers of graphene separated by thin dielectric layers can act as tunable structures for plasmonic device platforms.