Spatial modulation of the electromagnetic energy transfer by excitation of graphene waveguide surface plasmons

Abstract

We theoretically study the electromagnetic energy transfer between donor and acceptor molecules near a graphene waveguide. The surface plasmons (SPs) supported by the structure provide decay channels which lead to an improvement in the energy transfer rate when the donor and acceptor are localized on the same side or even on opposite sides of the waveguide. The modification of the energy transfer rate compared to its value in absence of the waveguide are calculated by deforming the integration path into a suitable path in the complex plane. Our results show that this modification is dramatically enhanced when the symmetric and antisymmetric SPs are excited. Notable effects on the spatial dependence of the energy transfer due to the coherent interference between these SP channels, which can be tuned by chemical potential variations, are highlighted and discussed in terms of SP propagation characteristics.