A nanophotonic switching cell

We present a nanophotonic/nanometric switching cell to operate in the infrared and terahertz frequency range of telecommunications. This switching cell is based on a directional coupler made of two graphene nanoribbons separated in the vertical direction, which are embedded in a hexagonal boron nitride substrate. Theoretical analysis revealed that a graphene based nanophotonics coupler, initially working in the bar state (or cross state), can be brought into the cross state (or bar state), by modifying the graphene sheet chemical potential via the gate voltage. The analytical results are confirmed by the finite element method simulations and numerical analysis scripts. (paper)