The Optical Properties and Plasmonics of Anisotropic 2D Materials

In the fast growing 2D materials family, anisotropic 2D materials, with their intrinsic in-plane anisotropy, exhibit a great potential in optoelectronics. One such typical material is black phosphorus (BP), with a layer-dependent and highly tunable bandgap. Such intrinsic anisotropy adds a new degree of freedom to the excitation, detection, and control of light. Particularly, hyperbolic plasmons with hyperbolic q-space dispersion are predicted to exist in BP films, where highly directional propagating polaritons with divergent densities of states are hosted. Combined with a tunable electronic structure, such natural hyperbolic surfaces may enable a series of exotic applications in nanophotonics. Herein, the anisotropic optical properties and plasmons (especially hyperbolic plasmons) of BP are discussed. In addition, other possible 2D material candidates (especially anisotropic layered semimetals) for hyperbolic plasmons are examined. This review may stimulate further research interest in anisotropic 2D materials and fully unleash their potential in flatland photonics.