Researchers discover abnormally strong light absorption in graphene

Scientists from University of Regensburg, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Moscow institute of Physics and Technology, and University of Kansas have discovered abnormally strong light absorption in graphene. The effect arises from the conversion of ordinary electromagnetic waves into super-slow surface waves running through graphene. The observation is of fundamental interest and shows in an impressive way how the interaction of Bernstein modes, collective excitations of electrons driven by their cyclotron motion and the smearing of electric fields at the smallest scales due to nonlocality can influence the radiation absorption of graphene. This behavior could serve as the basis for extremely sensitive infrared and terahertz detectors much smaller than existing ones, with similar absorption efficiency. The investigations were carried out in the framework of the Collaborative Research Centre 1277 and published in the journal Nature Physics.