  We report the experimental observation of all-optical modulation of light in
a graphene film. The graphene film is scanned across a standing wave formed by
two counter-propagating laser beams in a Sagnac interferometer. Through a
coherent absorption process the on-axis transmission is modulated with close to
80% efficiency. Furthermore we observe modulation of the scattered energy by
mapping the off-axis scattered optical signal: scattering is minimized at a
node of the standing wave pattern and maximized at an antinode. The results
highlight the possibility to switch and modulate any given optical interaction
with deeply sub-wavelength films.

Optics