Tunable magnetization of infrared epsilon-near-zero media via field-effect modulation

Abstract

In this letter, we demonstrate that field effect modulation enables electrical tuning of the effective permeability of epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) media at infrared frequencies. In particular, hexagonal silicon carbide (6H-SiC) is incorporated as an epsilon-near-zero host in a gated 6H-SiC/SiO2/Si heterostructure. The change in the applied voltage leads to a change in the carrier concentration of the accumulation layer formed at the interface of 6H-SiC and SiO2 which can alter the effective permeability of the heterostructure by virtue of the photonic doping effect. We will rigorously model and analyze the structure by linking charge transport and electromagnetic models. The presented mechanism allows for tuning the impedance and magnetization of ENZ materials in real-time while capturing extreme cases of epsilon-and-mu-near-zero and magnetic conductor. As such, it can be used for various applications such as real-time engineering of thermal emission, dynamic switching, reconfigurable tunneling, and holography.