Optical properties of strained graphene

The optical conductivity of graphene strained uniaxially is studied within the Kubo-Greenwood formalism. Focusing on inter-band absorption, we analyze and quantify the breakdown of universal transparency in the visible region of the spectrum, and analytically characterize the transparency as a function of strain and polarization. Measuring transmittance as a function of incident polarization directly reflects the magnitude and direction of strain. Moreover, direction-dependent selection rules permit the identification of the lattice orientation by monitoring the van Hove transitions. These photoelastic effects in graphene can be explored towards atomically thin, broadband optical elements. Copyright (C) EPLA, 2010