Thermal manipulation of plasmons in atomically thin films

(Light Publishing Center, Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics And Physics, Chinese Academy) Nanoscale photothermal effects can induce substantial changes in the optical response experienced by the probing light, thus suggesting their applications in all-optical light modulation. By exploiting nanosystems composed of graphene or ultrathin metal films, ultrafast laser pumps can be used to raise the electron temperature of graphene during a picosecond timescale, in which its surface condu...