Beam manipulating by metal–anisotropic–metal plasmonic lens

Abstract

Embedding anisotropic media in the slit region of a plasmonic nano-optic lens is proposed as a new method of actively modulating the output beam. The focal length can be controlled easily by exposing the plasmonic nano-optic lens to a constant external electric field. The physical principle of this phenomenon is evaluated from the phase of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) in the slits and the electro-optical effect of liquid crystals. Our numerical simulations using the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) technique reveal that a large tuning range of the focal length up to 545 nm at the first communication window can be achieved. The special feature of the proposed structure gives it an opportunity to be used as an efficient element in ultrahigh nano-scale integrated photonic circuits for miniaturization and tuning purposes.