Coupling Of Surface Plasmon Polaritons Research Articles

Polarization-independent and omnidirectional nearly perfect absorber with ultra-thin 2D subwavelength metal grating in the visible region.

A polarization-independent and omnidirectional nearly perfect absorber in the visible region has been proposed. The absorber is two-layer structure consisting of a subwavelength metal grating layer embedded in the high refractive index and lossless dielectric layer on the metal substrate. Extraordinary optical absorption with absorption peaks of over 99% can be achieved over the whole visible region for both TM and TE polarization. This absorption is attributed to cavity mode (CM) resonance caused by the coupled surface plasmon polaritons (SPP). Through adjusting the grating thickness, the absorption peak can be tuned linearly, which is highly advantageous to design various absorbers. Furthermore, the absorbance retains ultra-high over a wide angular range of incidence for both TM and TE polarization. This nearly perfect absorber offers great potential in the refractive index (RI) sensors, integrated photodetectors, solar cells and so on.

Active loaded plasmonic antennas at terahertz frequencies: Optical control of their capacitive-inductive coupling

We demonstrate the photogeneration of loaded dipole plasmonic antennas resonating at THz frequencies. This is achieved by the patterned optical illumination of a semiconductor surface using a spatial light modulator. Our experimental results indicate the existence of capacitive and inductive coupling of localized surface plasmon polaritons. By varying the load in the antenna gap we are able to switch between both coupling regimes. Furthermore, we determine experimentally the effective impedance of the antenna load and verify that this load can be effectively expressed as a LC resonance formed by a THz inductor and capacitor connected in a parallel circuit configuration. These findings are theoretically supported by full electrodynamic calculations and by simple concepts of lumped circuit theory. Our results open new possibilities for the design of active THz circuits for optoelectronic devices.

Efficient optical coupling in AlGaN/GaN quantum well infrared photodetector via quasi-one-dimensional gold grating.

In this letter, a new kind of grating, quasi-one-dimensional gold grating, has been proposed to enhance the optical coupling in AlGaN/GaN quantum well infrared photodetector (QWIP). The electric field distribution, current density and energy flow are analyzed by an algorithm of finite element method (FEM). Significantly enhanced electric field component E(z) perpendicular to multiple quantum wells (MQWs) is explained by introducing the resonant coupling of surface plasmon polariton (SPP) and localized surface plasmon (LSP). The |E(z)|(2) in MQWs reaches 0.85 (V/m(2) when the electric field intensity (|E(0)|(2)) of normal incidence is 1 (V/m(2) at 4.65 μm, showing 2 times and 1.3 times increase compared with that obtained via a one-dimensional gold grating and a two-dimensional gold grating, respectively. The results confirm that the quasi-one-dimensional gold grating provides more plasma excitation source and higher charge density with structure optimization, resulting in a high optical coupling efficiency of 85% in quantum well region.

Polarization controlled coupling and shaping of surface plasmon polaritons by nanoantenna arrays.

We demonstrate experimentally the use of ordered arrays of nanoantennas for polarization controlled plasmonic beam shaping and excitation. Rod- and cross-shaped nanoantennas are used as local point-like sources of surface plasmon polaritons, and the desired phase of the generated plasmonic beam is set directly through their spatial arrangement. The polarization selectivity of the optical nanoantennas allows us to further control the excitation, enabling the realization of a variety of complex and functional plasmonic beam shaping elements. We demonstrate this concept by generating plasmonic self-accelerating beams, plasmonic bottle beams, and switchable dual-focii plasmonic lenses. The freedom in the design and arrangement of these nanoantennas enables us to specifically tailor and control the shapes, wavelengths, and coupling efficiencies of complex plasmonic beams.

Coupling between surface plasmon polaritons and transverse electric polarized light via L-shaped nano-apertures.

Given that plasmonic fields are intrinsically transverse magnetic (TM), coupling surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) and transverse electric (TE) polarized light, especially at nanoscale, remain challenging. We propose the use of L-shaped nano-apertures to overcome this fundamental limitation and enable coupling between SPPs and TE polarized light. Polarization conversion originates from the interference of two resonant modes excited in the nano-apertures and the nearly 180° phase retardation between them. The experiments show that both TE-to-plasmon and plasmon-to-TE couplings can be implemented at the subwavelength scale. This discovery provides great freedom when manipulating light based on SPPs at the nanoscale and helps in using the energy of TE polarized light.

Super low threshold plasmonic WGM lasing from an individual ZnO hexagonal microrod on an Au substrate for plasmon lasers.

We demonstrate an individual ZnO hexagonal microrod on the surface of an Au substrate which can become new sources for manufacturing miniature ZnO plasmon lasers by surface plasmon polariton coupling to whispering-gallery modes (WGMs). We also demonstrate that the rough surface of Au substrates can acquire a more satisfied enhancement of ZnO emission if the surface geometry of Au substrates is appropriate. Furthermore, we achieve high Q factor and super low threshold plasmonic WGM lasing from an individual ZnO hexagonal microrod on the surface of the Au substrate, in which Q factor can reach 5790 and threshold is 0.45 KW/cm2 which is the lowest value reported to date for ZnO nanostructures lasing, at least 10 times smaller than that of ZnO at the nanometer. Electron transfer mechanisms are proposed to understand the physical origin of quenching and enhancement of ZnO emission on the surface of Au substrates. These investigations show that this novel coupling mode holds a great potential of ZnO hexagonal micro- and nanorods for data storage, bio-sensing, optical communications as well as all-optic integrated circuits.

Focusing surface plasmon polaritons in archimedes' spiral nanostructure

Surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) are a hybrid mode of a light field and metallic collective electrons oscillated resonantly and excited at the metal/dielectric interface. Recently extensive research has been carried out due to its technological potential in nano-optics. The SPPs coupling, focusing, waveguiding and resonance enhancement are hot spots in this field. In particular, to find a simple method that can focus SPPs into a highly confined spot with the size beyond the diffraction limit is still a big challenge. In this work, we have fabricated the Archimedes' spiral structures with different structural parameters on an Au film by using focused ion beam etching technique. Through changing the chiralities of the incident circularly polarized light and the spiral structure, we have studied theoretically and experimentally the focusing properties of the Archimedes spiral structures with different parameters. We find that besides the chiralities of the incident light and the spiral structure, the pitch of screw of the spiral structure and the wavelength of the excited light also affect the surface plasmon field. The resulting surface plasmon fields inside the structure are the zero-order, first-order, and high-order evanescent Bessel beams. By using a phase analysis and a finite-difference time-domain simulation method, we calculate the electric field and phase distribution in different spiral structures. A near-field vortex mode with different spin-dependent topological charges can be obtained in the structures. Furthermore, the results of the scanning near-field optical microscopy measurements verify the theory and simulation results. The method of using an Archimedes' spiral structure to focus SPPs provides a new route to manipulate the SPPs optical field in nanoscale. Based on theoretical calculation and FDTD simulation in this work, we have studied the physical process of the optical field manipulation in spiral structures. The significant and innovated points of this work are: a) We have developed the phase theory, and analyzed the field manipulation process of spiral structures with different parameters and chiralities at different circular polarization and wavelengths. b) A more effective and convenient way is used for SPPs focusing in linearly polarized light and circularly polarized light. c) A near-field vortex surface mode with different spin-dependent topological charges is obtained for the structure. This work can be considered to have applications in SPPs tweezers, highly integrated photonic devices.

A highly efficient surface plasmon polaritons excitation achieved with a metal-coupled metal-insulator-metal waveguide

We propose a novel metal-coupled metal-insulator-metal (MC-MIM) waveguide which can achieve a highly efficient surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) excitation. The MC-MIM waveguide is formed by inserting a thin metal film in the insulator of an MIM. The introduction of the metal film, functioning as an SPPs coupler, provides a space for the interaction between SPPs and a confined electromagnetic field of the intermediate metal surface, which makes energy change and phase transfer in the metal-dielectric interface, due to the joint action of incomplete electrostatic shielding effect and SPPs coupling. Impacts of the metal film with different materials and various thickness on SPPs excitation are investigated. It is shown that the highest efficient SPPs excitation is obtained when the gold film thickness is 60 nm. The effect of refractive index of upper and lower symmetric dielectric layer on SPPs excitation is also discussed. The result shows that the decay value of refractive index is 0.3. Our results indicate that this proposed MC-MIM waveguide may offer great potential in designing a new SPPs source.

Compact Plasmonic Unidirectional Coupler With High Performance Based on an Asymmetric Slit-Groove Structure

A new scheme for unidirectional coupling of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) from freely propagating light into a metal-insulator-metal waveguide is proposed, which is composed of an asymmetric double-slit of different widths sandwiched by symmetric grooves. A theoretical model based on coupled-mode equations is developed to facilitate structure design and elucidate the underlying physical mechanism. With the model, the asymmetric double-slit with different widths is designed for unidirectional launching of SPPs with an ultrahigh extinction ratio of 44.8 dB at the wavelength 800 nm. A method of stepwise design is proposed for simplicity of design and convenience of analysis. Proof-of-principle demonstrations show that an ultrahigh extinction ratio of 37.1 dB and significant field enhancement for the proposed whole structure are obtained. In addition, an ultracompact plasmonic dichroic splitter based on the asymmetric double-slit with high extinction ratios of 24.2 and $-$ 21.8 dB at splitting wavelengths of 800 and 900 nm is achieved, and the lateral dimension of the plasmonic dichroic splitter is only 760 nm.

Low-loss plasmonic supermodes in graphene multilayers.

We investigate the supermodes in arbitrary layers of graphene sheets, which are collective guided modes formed by coupling of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) in each graphene sheet. In terms of the dispersion relation, we analyse the effective indexes and mode profiles of the supermodes. Numerical simulations reveal that the supermodes can be well approximated by linear superposition of SPPs in individual graphene sheets. Among all the possible supermodes, there is an interesting one possessing both lowest propagation loss and shortest mode wavelength. The loss of the supermode decreases as the number of layers increases and saturates at about 5 layers. The graphene multilayers may find potential applications in low-loss plasmonic waveguides and so constructed optical devices.

Angular Dependence of Cathodoluminescence of Linear and Circular Au Gratings: Imaging the Coupling Angles between Surface Plasmon Polaritons and Light

We measured the wavelength-dependent angular light distribution upon cathodoluminescence of micrometer-sized linear and circular gold gratings to study the coupling of surface plasmon polaritons (SPP) to light. A point source of SPP was excited next to the gratings with an electron beam of a scanning electron microscope. Subsequent scattering of propagating SPP at the gratings led to emission of light. The observed angular emission pattern, i.e., the azimuthal and polar angles of the emitted light, could be well-explained within a simple model, considering momentum conservation upon the scattering process with the grating wave vector. Whereas the angular distribution of the emitted light was dependent on both grating period and shape, the spectral distribution was not significantly affected. Focusing of light coupled from SPP by sectors of circular gratings and narrow linear grating structures was also demonstrated.

Symmetry‐Broken Metamaterial Absorbers as Reflectionless Directional Couplers for Surface Plasmon Polaritons in the Visible Range

Gradient‐index meta‐surfaces have been shown to have the ability to manipulate wavefronts at will in a reflectionless manner in the GHz range, including the extreme example of converting freely propagating waves into surface waves with high efficiency. Upon approaching the optical regime, the gradient‐index concept encounters difficulties due to fabrication limitations. Here, it is theoretically and experimentally demonstrated that asymmetric, periodic, two‐element metal–insulator–metal structures can serve as reflectionless directional converters between freely propagating visible photons and surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs). Coupling between propagating modes caused by the broken symmetry and localized modes generated by individual elements is shown to be the mechanism of this high‐efficiency process, yielding an observed Rabi splitting of ∼135 meV. Direct experimental evidence is obtained for reflectionless (<8% measured reflectance) directional SPP coupling in the visible range, with directionality approaching 100%. These results are meaningful for varied applications in integrated nanoplasmonics, plasmonic logic, and plasmonic light harvesting.

Pushing the resolution of photolithography down to 15nm by surface plasmon interference.

A deep ultraviolet plasmonic structure is designed and a surface plasmon interference lithography method using the structure is proposed to generate large-area periodic nanopatterns. By exciting the anti-symmetric coupled surface plasmon polaritons in the structure, ultrahigh resolution periodic patterns can be formed in a photoresist. The resolution of the generated patterns can be tuned by changing the refractive index and thickness of the photoresist. We demonstrate numerically that one-dimensional and two-dimensional patterns with a half-pitch resolution of 14.6 nm can be generated in a 25 nm-thick photoresist by using the structure under 193 nm illumination. Furthermore, the half-pitch resolution of the generated patterns can be down to 13 nm if high refractive index photoresists are used. Our findings open up an avenue to push the half-pitch resolution of photolithography towards 10 nm.

Efficient out-coupling and beaming of Tamm optical states via surface plasmon polariton excitation

We present evidence of optical Tamm states to surface plasmon polariton (SPP) coupling. We experimentally demonstrate that for a Bragg stack with a thin metal layer on the surface, hybrid Tamm-SPP modes may be excited when a grating on the air-metal interface is introduced. Out-coupling via the grating to free space propagation is shown to enhance the transmission as well as the directionality and polarization selection for the transmitted beam. We suggest that this system will be useful on those devices, where a metallic electrical contact as well as beaming and polarization control is needed.

Characterization of Grating Coupled Surface Plasmon Polaritons Using Diffracted Rays Transmittance

A method to sense the excitation of surface plasmon polariton (SPP) on metallic grating device using the transmitted signal will be presented. The grating transmittance signal will be fully characterized varying the light incident angle and azimuthal grating orientation by means of the SPP vector model and rigorous coupled-wave analysis simulation. Simulation results will be compared with experimental measurements obtained with a 635 nm wavelength laser in the transverse magnetic polarization mode. The laser will light grating devices in contact with either air or water through a customized microfluidic chamber. A characterization of the diffracted rays will show the relationship between the grating coupling configuration and the Kretschmann one. In fact, the diffracted ray affected by SPP resonance is transmitted with an output angle which is the same incident angle that should be used to excite SPP in Kretschmann configuration. Lastly, the grating parameters (amplitude and metal thickness) impact on transmittance signal will be analyzed with respect to the order zero reflectance signal.

Nonlocal Effects on Optical Gradient Force from Coupled Surface Plasmon Polaritons in Wire Medium Waveguides

We analytically study optical gradient forces from the mutual coupling between surface plasmon polariton (SPP) modes at the interfaces of two wire medium metamaterial waveguides separated by a linear dielectric. Based on the nonlocal model, dispersion properties and optical gradient forces from coupled SPP modes are analyzed mainly and compared with the local case. The forces from the coupled SPP modes are calculated by Maxwell stress tensor. Numerical results show that the nonlocal effects on dispersion properties and optical forces are very large, especially in the case of large propagation constant, and that symmetric (antisymmetric) SPP modes give rise to an attractive (repulsive) interaction, respectively. In addition, the nonlocal effects on the cutoff frequency for the antisymmetric SPP modes are clarified. These properties indicate that the force from the coupled SPPs at wire medium metamaterials offer another avenue for controlling the growth and self-assembling of artificial metamaterials.

ZnO as a tunable metal: new types of surface plasmon polaritons.

The use of the free-electron gas in a heavily doped semiconductor (ZnO:Ga) enables the realization of almost arbitrarily shaped surface-plasmon-polariton dispersion curves in planar geometries. In particular, by preparing metal-metal-type interfaces, we demonstrate surface-plasmon polaritons exhibiting finite frequencies in the long-wavelength limit. Moreover, coupling of surface plasmon polaritons at adjacent interfaces allows for the controlled formation of frequency gaps or, alternatively, the opening of otherwise forbidden regions by an appropriate layer design. Our findings reveal a considerable plasmonic potential of this semiconductor-based approach, e.g., for achieving propagation control or phase matching for nonlinear optical processes as well as novel many-particle phenomena.

Double-Frequency Filter Based on Coupling of Cavity Modes and Surface Plasmon Polaritons

In order to achieve a double-frequency filter, we design a sandwiched structure with a dual-prism total reflection configuration. The sandwiched structure consists of one metal layer and two same media layers. The transmission properties are studied through the standard transfer matrix method. Such system can form two hybrid cavity-surface plasmon-polariton modes. The coupling of the two hybrid modes results in resonance tunneling effect and mode splitting. Mode splitting leads to the coupled double peaks. The difference of double-peak frequencies can be adjusted through changing the metal thickness, and the position of double peaks can be also tunable through changing incidence direction. Such system can be used in designing double-frequency filters and terahertz emission devices.

Low-loss waveguiding and detecting structure for surface plasmon polaritons

A simple and low-loss metal/semiconductor surface plasmon polariton (SPP) device consisting of a SPP waveguide and a detector is studied theoretically and experimentally. We demonstrate a simple diffraction structure (a metal grating) where the SPP couples from the waveguide to the detector. The SPP can propagate without large losses at the air/Au interface, and this interface was used for SPP waveguiding. To convert the SPP into an electric signal using internal photoemission, the propagating SPP is coupled into the Au/Si interface by the diffraction structure. The propagation direction of the coupled SPP at the Au/Si interface depends on the slit pitch of the diffraction structure, and the direction can be controlled by adjusting the pitch. The slit pitch is also modeled using a diffraction grating equation, and the results show good agreement with those of simulations using the finite-difference time-domain method. When diffraction structures consisting of a multi-slit structure and a disk array are placed at the end of the waveguide, SPP coupling into the Au/Si interface is also observed. The photocurrents detected at the Au/Si interface are much larger when compared with that detected for the device without the diffraction structure (26 times for the multi-slit structure and 10 times for the disk array). From the polarization angle dependence of the detected photocurrent, we also confirmed that the photocurrent was caused by the SPP propagating at the air/Au interface.

Broadband Surface Plasmon Polariton Directional Coupling via Asymmetric Optical Slot Nanoantenna Pair

Surface plasmon polariton (SPP) coupling is a basic subject for plasmonic study and applications. Optical nanoantennas enable downscaling of the SPP coupling to subwavelength scales. In this study, asymmetric optical slot nanoantenna pairs composed of two optical slot nanoantennas with different lengths are proposed for SPP directional coupling. Broadband unidirectional launching of SPPs is achieved, and the extinction ratio obtained experimentally reaches up to 44. The bandwidth is larger than 157 nm. Furthermore, SPP direction-selective radiation is demonstrated using the asymmetric optical slot nanoantenna pairs. A novel plasmonic display device showing the propagation direction of SPPs is achieved by employing asymmetric optical slot nanoantenna pairs without any electric device. Asymmetric optical slot nanoantenna pairs have large potential in the directional control of SPP launching and radiation and can be very useful in compact optical circuits and other photonic integrations.