Transverse electric surface mode in atomically thin Boron-Nitride

The spatial confinement and the propagation length of surface waves in a single-layer two-dimensional atomic crystal are analyzed in terms of its surface susceptibility and its surface conductivity. Based on the values of these macroscopic parameters, extracted from experimental observations, it is confirmed that graphene supports a transverse magnetic nonradiating surface mode in the ultraviolet spectral region while a single-layer hexagonal Boron-Nitride is predicted to support a transverse electric nonradiating surface mode in the visible spectrum. This last mode, at a vacuum wavelength of 633 nm, has a spatial confinement of 15 mu m and an intensity-propagation distance greater than 2 cm. (C) 2016 Optical Society of America