Nonlinear quantum optical properties of graphene: the role of chirality and symmetry

Abstract

We present a semiclassical theory of linear and nonlinear optical response of graphene. The emphasis is placed on the nonlinear optical response of graphene from the standpoint of the underlying chiral symmetry. The Bloch quasiparticles in low energy limit, around the degeneracy points are dominantly chiral. It is shown for the first time that this chiral behavior in conjunction with scale invariance in graphene around the Dirac points results in the strong nonlinear optical response. Explicit expressions for the linear and nonlinear conductivity tensors are derived based on Semiconductor Bloch Equations (SBEs). The linear terms agree with the result of Kubo formulation. The three main additive mechanisms contribute in the nonlinear optical response of graphene: pure intraband, pure interband and the interplay between them. For each contribution, an explicit response function is derived. The Kerr-type nonlinearity of graphene is then studied and it is demonstrated that its Kerr nonlinear coefficient is several orders of magnitude higher than that of many other known semiconductors. In addition, the nonlinear refractive index of graphene can also be tuned and enhanced by applying a gate voltage.

14 pages

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Cited by in corpus (14)

• Electrically Tunable Optical Nonlinearities in Graphene-Covered SiN Waveguides Characterized by Four-Wave Mixing
• Measuring the Nonlinear Refractive Index of Graphene using the Optical Kerr Effect Method
• Linear and nonlinear optical response of crystals using length and velocity gauges: Effect of basis truncation
• Giant enhancement of the third harmonic in graphene integrated in a layered structure
• Theory of the strongly nonlinear electrodynamic response of graphene: A hot electron model
• Experimental Characterization of Ultrafast, Tunable and Broadband Optical Kerr Nonlinearity in Graphene
• Enhanced optical Kerr effect method for a detailed characterization of the third order nonlinearity of 2D materials applied to graphene
• Influence of optical nonlinearities on plasma waves in graphene
• Third-order Optical Nonlinearity in Two-dimensional Transition Metal Dichalcogenides
• A study of the nonlinear optical response of the plain graphene and gapped graphene monolayers beyond the Dirac approximation
• Anomalous optical saturation of low-energy Dirac states in graphene and its implication for nonlinear optics
• Optical modelling of single and multilayer 2D materials and heterostructures
• The quantum scale invariance in graphene-like quantum electrodynamics
• Quantum Optomagnetics in Graphene