Recent advancements in surface plasmon polaritons-plasmonics in subwavelength structures in microwave and terahertz regimes

Abstract

This paper presents a review of recent investigational studies on exciting Surface Plasmon Polaritons (SPPs) in MicroWave (MW) and TeraHertZ (THz) regimes by using subwavelength corrugated patterns on conductive or metal surfaces. This article also describes SPP Microstrip (MS) structures at microwave and terahertz frequencies, and compares their significance with that of conventional MS Transmission Lines (TL), in order to tackle the key challenges of high gain, bandwidth size, compactness, TL losses, and signal integrity in high-end electronic devices. Because they have subwavelength properties, surface plasmon polaritons are gaining attention for their improved performance and ability for miniaturization in high-speed dense circuits. They possess comparably minuscule wavelength compared to incident light (photons). Consequently, they can demonstrate stronger spatial confinement and higher local field intensity at optical frequencies. In addition to engineering spoof SPP waveguides, which are created by engraving grooves and slits on metal surfaces to allow operation on at low frequencies (microwave and terahertz), semiconductors with smaller permittivity values and thus lower free charge carrier concentration have been demonstrated as a potential candidate in plasmonic devices. If necessary, further tuning of semiconductor-based SPP structures is aided by controlling the charge carrier concentration through doping, or by external stimuli such as optical illumination or thermal excitation of charge carriers from valence to conduction bands. This article conclusively covers previously elucidated perspectives on manipulating SSPPs in the MW and THz ranges, and emphasizes how these could steer next-generation plasmonic devices.