Tunable bulk polaritons of graphene-based hyperbolic metamaterials

The tunable hyperbolic metamaterial (HMM) based on the graphene-dielectric layered structure at THz frequency is presented, and the surface and bulk polaritons of the graphene-based HMM are theoretically studied. It is found that the dispersions of the polaritons can be tuned by varying the Fermi energy of graphene sheets, the graphene-dielectric layers and the layer number of graphene sheets. In addition, the highly confined bulk polariton mode can be excited and is manifested in an attenuated total reflection configuration as a sharp drop in the reflectance. Such properties can be used in tunable optical reflection modulation with the assistance of bulk polaritons.