Edge plasmons and cut-off behavior of graphene nano-ribbon waveguides

Graphene nano-ribbon waveguides with ultra-short plasmon wavelength are a promising candidate for nanoscale photonic applications. Graphene edge plasmons are the fundamental and lowest losses mode. Through finite element method, edge plasmons show large effective refractive index and strong field confinement on nanoscale ribbons. The edge plasmons follow a k1/2 dispersion relation. The wavelengths of the edge plasmons and center plasmons differ by a fixed factor. The width of edge plasmon is inversely proportional to wave vector of edge plasmon kedge. Edge defects associate with graphene nano-ribbon induce extra losses and reduce the propagation length. Cut-off width of edge plasmons reduces with increasing frequency. Cut-off width of center plasmon is enlarged by edge component but the enlargement effect diminishing with the increase of kedge. The results are important for the application of graphene plasmon towards ultra-compact photonic devices.