Tunable optical bistability of graphene-wrapped dielectric cylinders

We theoretically study the role of nonlinear surface plasmoms on the optical bistability of graphene-wrapped dielectric cylinders, within the framework of both full-wave scattering theory and the quasistatic limit. Typical hysteresis curves are observed in both near-field and far-field spectra. Moreover, we demonstrate that introducing the full wave theory results in another bistable behavior with a high applied electromagnetic field, suggesting a more explicit way in analyzing the unstable behavior of the graphene-wrapped dielectric cylinder. Furthermore, optical stable region and the switching threshold values are proved to be tunable by changing either the size, permittivity of the nanocylinder or the chemical potential of graphene, promising the graphene-wrapped dielectric cylinder a candidate for all-optical switching and nano-memories.