Spontaneous emission from within a metal-clad cavity mediated by coupled surfaceplasmon–polaritons

Abstract

The emission of light from within a sub-wavelength metal-clad cavity is investigated.We find that emitters placed inside such a cavity emit into the coupled surfaceplasmon–polariton mode supported by this structure. We use grating structures to couplethe non-radiative coupled surface plasmon–polariton modes to light and present the resultsof measurements of photoluminescence from such structures in the form of dispersioncurves. We discuss our findings in the context of sub-wavelength cavities as a means tocontrol the emission of light.