Analysis of transient electromagnetic wave interactions on graphene-based devices using integral equations

Graphene is a monolayer of carbon atoms structured in the form of a honeycomb lattice. Recent experimental studies have revealed that it can support surface plasmons at Terahertz frequencies thanks to its dispersive conductivity. Additionally, characteristics of these plasmons can be dynamically adjusted via electrostatic gating of the graphene sheet (K. S. Novoselov, et al., Science, 306, 666–669, 2004). These properties suggest that graphene can be a building block for novel electromagnetic and photonic devices for applications in the fields of photovoltaics, bio-chemical sensing, all-optical computing, and flexible electronics. Simulation of electromagnetic interactions on graphene-based devices is not an easy task. The thickness of the graphene sheet is orders of magnitude smaller than any other geometrical dimension of the device. Consequently, discretization of such a device leads to significantly large number of unknowns and/or ill-conditioned matrix systems.