Dielectric-loaded black phosphorus surface plasmon polariton waveguides.

By using the effective-index method (EIM) and the finite element methods (FEM), a surface plasmon polariton (SPP) waveguide structured by a dielectric ridge placed on monolayer black phosphorus is proposed and analyzed in the infrared spectral region. It is found that the strong anisotropic dispersion of the black phosphorus (BP) gives rise to direction-dependent waveguide modes in a dielectric-loaded black phosphorus waveguide (DLBPW). The effective mode index, propagation loss and cutoff wavelength of higher order modes are investigated along the armchair (AC) and the zigzag (ZZ) directions of the black phosphorus. Moreover, the propagation characteristics of single-mode are investigated for different widths of the dielectric ridge and different polarization directions of the black phosphorus. Via tuning the carrier density, the electromagnetic field propagation features can be effectively modified. Also, the coupling effect by adding more dielectric bridges can tune the propagation properties. These results will lead to great applications in black phosphorus-based optical integrated devices.