Curvature-Induced Optical Transitions in Graphene

Optical properties of periodically rippled graphene depending on the direction of hexagonal layer bending were investigated using density functional theory within the random-phase approximation. The corrugation was demonstrated to allow transitions being forbidden in the flat structure, which produce new resonances in the optical spectra of graphene. The most significant distinction between dielectric functions of flat graphene and rippled models was detected in low-energy region for light polarization perpendicular to the layer surface. The structure and positions of resonances were almost independent on the direction of graphene corrugation that can be useful for application of rippled graphene in optics.