John E. Buchner | Searcharxiv

arXiv2026

Deterministic control over launching efficiency of higher-order hyperbolic phonon polaritons

Hyperbolic materials, which exhibit an extreme form of birefringence enabling the volume confinement and frequency-dependent propagation of deeply sub-diffractional optical modes, offer the opportunity for extreme confinement via the stimulation polaritonic modes, with substantially higher confinement obtained through the efficient excitation of of the higher-order (shorter wavelength) hyperbolic polaritonic modes, which they can support. However, while these higher-order hyperbolic polaritons (HO-HPhPs) form high-momentum ray-like propagation within the bulk, efficient excitation of these modes, especially in contrast to the long-wavelength lower-momentum surface polariton propagating modes, has remained a challenge. Critically, the large momentum mismatch between these modes and free-space light, alongside the spatial mismatch between the sub-diffractional scatterer and the distinct modal distribution of HO-HPhPs, lead to a suppressed launching efficiency of these higher-order modes, limiting their use in nanophotonic applications. Here, we report the experimental observation of a 10-fold enhancement in the excitation efficiency of HO-HPhPs through the use of subsurface scatterers over traditional surface scattering (e.g. a flake edge or gold launcher) within single-crystalline α-MoO3 slabs. We employ full-wave numerical simulations to investigate the role of the spatial overlap between HO-HPhP modal distributions and the scatterer placement upon excitation efficiency. Furthermore, we develop a generalized process using transfer matrix method to selectively design modal HO-HPhP excitation, which advances the capabilities of HPhP multiplexing for on-chip applications.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2026

Tailoring phonon-driven responses in α-MoO3 through isotopic enrichment

The implementation of polaritonic materials into nanoscale devices requires selective tuning of parameters to realize desired spectral or thermal responses. One robust material is α-MoO3, which as an orthorhombic crystal boasts three distinct phonon dispersions, providing three polaritonic dispersions of hyperbolic phonon polaritons (HPhPs) across the mid-infrared (MIR). Here, the tunability of both optical and thermal responses in isotopically enriched α-MoO3 (98MoO3, Mo18O3 and 98Mo18O3) are explored. A uniform ~5 % spectral redshift from 18O enrichment is observed in both Raman- and IR-active TO phonons. Both the in- and out-of-plane thermal conductivities for the isotopic variations are reported. Ab initio calculations both replicate experimental findings and analyze the select-mode three-phonon scattering contributions. The HPhPs from each isotopic variation are probed with s-SNOM and their Q- factors are reported. A Q-factor maxima increase of ~50 % along the [100] in the RB2 and ~100 % along the [001] in the RB3 are reported for HPhPs supported in 98Mo18O3. Observations in both real and Fourier space of higher-order HPhP modes propagating in single slabs of isotopically enriched α-MoO3 without the use of a subdiffractional surface scatterer are presented here. This work illustrates the tunability of α-MoO3 for thermal and nanophotonic applications.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗