English

Multiple truly topological unidirectional surface magnetoplasmons at terahertz frequencies

Optics 2025-05-23 v2

Abstract

Unidirectional propagation based on surface magnetoplasmons (SMPs) has recently been realized at the interface of magnetized semiconductors. However, usually SMPs lose their unidirectionality due to non-local effects, especially in the lower trivial bandgap of such structures. More recently, a truly unidirectional SMP (USMP) has been demonstrated in the upper topological non-trivial bandgap, but it supports only a single USMP, limiting its functionality. In this work, we present a fundamental physical model for multiple, robust, truly topological USMP modes at terahertz (THz) frequencies, realized in a semiconductor-dielectric-semiconductor (SDS) slab waveguide under opposing external magnetic fields. We analytically derive the dispersion properties of the SMPs and perform numerical analysis in both local and non-local models. Our results show that the SDS waveguide supports two truly (even and odd) USMP modes in the upper topological non-trivial bandgap. Exploiting these two modes, we demonstrate unidirectional SMP multimode interference (USMMI), being highly robust and immune to backscattering, overcoming the back-reflection issue in conventional bidirectional waveguides. To demonstrate the usefullness of this approach, we numerically realize a frequency- and magnetically-tunable arbitrary-ratio splitter based on this robust USMMI, enabling multimode conversion. We, further, identify a unique index-near-zero (INZ) odd USMP mode in the SDS waveguide, distinct from conventional semiconductor-dielectric-metal waveguides. Leveraging this INZ mode, we achieve phase modulation with a phase shift from -π\pi to π\pi. Our work expands the manipulation of topological waves and enriches the field of truly non-reciprocal topological physics for practical device applications.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2501.09376,
  title  = {Multiple truly topological unidirectional surface magnetoplasmons at terahertz frequencies},
  author = {Shengquan Fan and Tianjing Guo and Binbin Zhou and Jie Xu and Xiaohua Deng and Jiangtao Lei and Yun Shen and Meicheng Fu and Kosmas L. Tsakmakidis and Lujun Hong},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2501.09376},
  year   = {2025}
}
R2 v1 2026-06-28T21:08:05.364Z