Polarized light source based on graphene-nanoribbon hybrid structure

Nanoscale light source is the key element for on-chip integrated optical communication system. As an important property of light source, polarization can be exploited to improve the information capacity of optical communication and the sensitivity of optical sensing. We demonstrate a novel TE-polarized light source based on graphene-nanoribbon (G-NR) hybrid structure. Thanks to the polarizing dependent absorption along graphene layer, the random polarized emission of nanoribbon (NR) can be transferred into the same TE polarization. In addition, lasing action in G-NR hybrid structure is also investigated. We attribute the polarization control to the differential attenuation of electromagnetic modes in graphene. Our simulation revealed electromagnetic field distribution and far field polar images of TE and TM modes in nanoribbon, which is consistent with experimental results. The compact G-NR hybrid structure light source offers a new way to realize the polarization controllable nanoscale light source and facilitate the practical applications of nanowire or nanoribbon light source. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.