Extreme Mid-IR Light Trapping with Graphene Plasmons

The mid-infrared and terahertz spectral ranges are crucial in areas such as molecular and biological sensing, food inspection, and the identifi cation of hazardous materials, as many molecular resonances reside in this part of the spectrum. Detecting molecular signatures requires a signifi cant fi eld intensity, which can be achieved by tightly focusing the optical fi eld to small dimensions, for example.