Surface Plasmon Polariton Field Research Articles

Characterization of a four-channel surface plasmon polaritons emitter based on a combined grooves coupling structure using photoemission electron microscopy

In various functional devices relying on femtosecond surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs), actively controlling the propagation direction of the SPPs field is crucial for designing plasmon-based functional devices. This capability is particularly valuable in optical logic circuits and optical communication systems. In this study, we employed photoemission electron microscopy (PEEM) to conduct near-field imaging of the SPPs field generated by a novel combination of wide and narrow grooves etched on a flat silver film. Experimental results revealed that femtosecond SPPs fields excited by laser pulses with different linear polarizations (±45°) can be emitted in four distinct directions, showcasing the combined groove structure's potential as a four-channel SPPs emitter. Additionally, Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) simulations were utilized to model the time evolution envelope of SPPs modes excited by groove coupling structures irradiated with laser pulses of varying polarization directions. The physical mechanism behind the combined groove structures as a four-channel SPPs emitter was thoroughly analyzed, and the experimental findings closely aligned with the FDTD simulation results. This research is of significant importance for advancing novel ultra-fast micro-nano optoelectronic devices with exceptional properties and for constructing ultra-fast information processing systems in plasmonics nanocircuits.

Unveiling the Loss Mode Enabled Tunable Plasmonic Chirality at Flat Metal Surface.

Plasmonic chirality has garnered significant interest in the past decade due to its enhanced chiral light-matter interactions. Current methods for achieving plasmonic chirality often rely on complex nanostructures or metamaterials, which are hampered by intricate fabrication processes. In this work, we present an approach to generate plasmonic chiral structured surface plasmon polariton (s-SPP) fields on a single, flat metal surface, bypassing elaborate fabrication techniques. The plasmonic chiral s-SPP fields are excited by the superposition of multiple differently oriented transverse magnetic polarized plane waves. We demonstrate, both theoretically and experimentally, the flexible tuning of chiral plasmonic patterns by adjusting the symmetry and phase differences of the incident waves. This method provides a facile mean to optically tailor plasmonic chiral properties on a subwavelength scale, offering potential applications in sensing, enantioselective reactions, imaging, and reconfigurable chiral switches.

Simulation Study of Dynamic Rotation and Deformation for Plasmonic Electric Field-Skyrmions

The topological properties of optical skyrmions in confined electromagnetic fields are perfectly presented through spin vectors and electric-field vectors. However, currently, electric-field optical skyrmions in surface plasmon polaritons are mostly presented in the form of a Néel type. Most control strategies involve linear directional movement, and topological manipulation methods are monotonous. We specifically propose a multi-arc symmetric slit array, which generates skyrmions from the surface plasmon polariton (SPP) field under excitation of a linearly polarized Gaussian light-source array and exhibits strong dependence processes on the rotation, deformation, and phase distribution of the incident light source. We also discuss the independence and synthesis of deformation and rotation related to phase difference and positions of regulation, respectively, which provide the possibility for rich deformations under different rotation states. Our work extends new ideas for the dynamic control of plasmonic skyrmions, which is of great significance to fields such as spin photonics and nano-positioning.

Spatiotemporal modulation of ultrafast plasmonic vortices with spin–orbit coupling

The vortex field of surface plasmon polariton with orbital angular momentum (OAM), called plasmonic vortex, has played an important role in various research fields. However, the spatiotemporal properties of plasmonic vortex pulses excited by ultrafast laser, especially the dynamics of spin‒orbit coupling in the ultrafast plasmonic vortex field, have yet to be investigated deeply. Here, we study the spatiotemporal modulation of ultrafast plasmonic vortices with spin‒orbit coupling, using both analytical and simulation methods. The ultrafast plasmonic vortices are excited by a ring-shaped plasmonic lens, with an incident light composed of two time-delayed femtosecond sub-pulses carrying the same OAM but orthogonal circular polarizations. The dynamics of time-varying electric field, energy flow and angular momentum distributions of the plasmonic vortices are demonstrated, revealing details of the spin‒orbit coupling in spatiotemporal domain, such as the merging of multiple phase singularities with energy flow loops, and the variation of spin/orbital angular momentum per photon over time. This work could deepen the understanding of spin‒orbit coupling in plasmonic field and provide new ideas for ultrafast on-chip optical information processing.

Study of Bragg scattering in the presence of dipole-dipole interaction in plasmonic nanohybrids

We have developed a theory of the Bragg scattering for metallic nanohybrid made of an ensemble of metallic nanorods doped in a substrate. The substrate can gas, liquid or solid. An external laser field is applied to study the Bragg scattered light. The photons from the incident laser interact with the surface plasmons od nanorods and produce surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs). The incident laser field also induced dipoles in the ensemble of nanorods and they interact with each other via the dipole-dipole interaction (DDI). We have developed a theory for Bragg scattering for metallic nanohybrids using the coupled-mode formulism based on Maxwell’s equation in the presence of SPP and DDI fields. It is found that the theory of Bragg scattered depends on the susceptibility induced by the SPP and DDI fields. We used the quantum mechanical density matrix method to calculate the susceptibility. An analytical expression of the Bragg scattered light intensity is obtained. These expressions can be useful for experimental scientists and engineers who can used them to compare their experiments and make new types of plasmonic devices. Next, we have compared our theory with the experiment data for a nanohybrid made of ensemble of Au-nanoris doped in water. We found a good agreement between theory and experiments. We have also performed the numerical simulations to study the effect of SPP and DDI fields on the Bragg intensity. We have predicted an enhancement the Brag intensity due to the SPP and DDI couplings. The enhancement is due to the two extra scattering mechanisms of the SPP and DDI polaritons with acoustic phonons. We have also found that the one peak in the Bragg intensity can be split int many peaks due the SPP coupling, DDI coupling and phase factor. The splitting is due the Bragg factor appearing in the theory, and it includes the coupling of the incident laser, SPP and DDI electric fields with of acoustic phonons. The enhancement effect can be used to fabricate new types of nanosensors. Similarity, splitting phenomenon can be used to fabricate new types nanoswitches where one peak can be considered as the OFF position and many peaks can be considered as the ON position.

Tailoring group delay dispersion of surface plasmon polaritons propagating on thin gold film by chirped femtosecond laser pulses

Understanding the propagation characteristics of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) is of great significance in designing and constructing on-chip integrated systems utilizing plasmonic effect. Accurately characterizing and flexibly controlling SPP on thin metal film are indispensable. Here, we theoretically derive the group velocity dispersion of SPP propagation on the surface of Au films with various thicknesses. The results obtained in this work indicate that when the thickness of the Au film is less than 40 nm, group velocity dispersion of SPP decreases significantly as the film thickness increases. The decrease of group velocity dispersion becomes mild with the thickness increasing from 40 nm to 60 nm, then the dispersion keeps a very low constant value for the film thicker than 60 nm. Using the finite-difference time-domain method, temporal evolution of localized electric field of SPP is numerically simulated for various propagation distances. By comparing the field amplitudes and the dispersions of SPP which are excited by incident light pulses with different dispersions, group velocity dispersions of SPP on the Au films are obtained, showing a good consistence with the theoretical results. Moreover, we demonstrate that by utilizing the tailored SPP to excite metal nanoantenna, selective excitations at different frequencies on a femtosecond temporal scale can be achieved through localized surface plasmonic resonant effect. Manipulating the sign and amount of the dispersion from the incident pulse, the active control of the switching sequence and switching time of electric field between the Au cylinders can be achieved. Manipulating the propagation distance of SPP, the active control of the switching time of electric field between the Au cylinders can be achieved. Therefore, those results provide a promising avenue for realizing functions such as signal propagation, reception, adjustment, and encoding in on-chip interconnect circuit systems based on SPP. This work shows that the dispersion can be used as degree of freedom for controlling the amplitude, phase and pulse width of SPP propagating on thin film, and it is of great importance in designing and controlling on-chip integrated systems through utilizing plasmonic effect, such as ultrafast frequency demodulators and nanoantennas in on-chip interconnect optical circuits.

Modelling of asymmetric channel plasmonic polariton waveguides

Channel plasmonic polariton (CPP) waveguides are a promising technology for integrated photonics. They offer several advantages over other plasmonic waveguides and are well-suited for various applications. In this research, a new design of asymmetric double-trenched CPP waveguide is suggested and examined. This design consists of two silicon trenches etched into a silicon dioxide substrate layer; with a gold layer sandwiched in between. The trenches are asymmetric, with one trench being wider than the other. This asymmetry creates a spatially varying surface plasmon polariton (SPP) field, which can guide light along the waveguide. The polarization characteristics of this proposed design are analyzed over a specific wavelength range (0.7 - 1.7 µm) to evaluate the mode confinement of the light within the structure. The design performance was optimized by changing the gold layer thickness and the dimensions of the lower trench. Different scenarios are examined to observe TE and TM-polarized modes’ behavior within the groove. A 1867.119 dB/µm suppression level at 0.92 µm wavelength is achieved which offers a small-size component for compact photonic logic gates, enabling the development of next-generation photonic devices.

Manipulation of surface plasmon polariton fields excitation at quantum-size slit in a dielectric and graphene interface

The dispersion relation of surface plasmon polaritons is controlled and modified at the interface of atomic and Graphene medium. The beats patterns and moire fringes spacing are modified from vectorial character of the waves and parameters of the driving fields coupled with system energy levels. The beats patterns are investigated with the influence of control fields and its parameters. It is reported that the phase shifts Φ1,2 are the strong functions of the probe detuning and distance x along the interface. The light and surface plasmon polariton waves polarization is a strong oscillation function of both the position and time variation as well as driving fields parameters. The maximum value of phase sensitivity SΦ1 is 600 and SΦ2 is 400 radian per unit change of refractive index of the atomic medium at x=20λ. This work is particularly useful for surface plasmon resonance sensors technology.

Manipulation of plasmonic vortex fields using positive elliptically polarized beams

Several studies have investigated methods for the direct excitation of surface plasmon polariton (SPP) vortex fields by using scalar beams with linear and circular polarization. In this paper, we propose novel devices for generating SPP vortex fields by using positive elliptically polarized beams. These devices excited SPP vortices with a uniform electric field intensity distribution, that did not vary arbitrarily with changes in the incident beam amplitude ratio. Moreover, when the incident scalar beam was transformed into a vector beam with different amplitude ratios at every point in space, the topological charge of the SPP vortex field could be dynamically modulated by changing the polarization order and rotation direction of the incident vector beam. The fields generated by different structures after the superposition of SPP vortices had spatial intensity distributions that varied with changes in the incident beam amplitude ratio. These properties provide a new idea for realizing different spatial intensity distributions for a dynamic modulation SPP field.

Evaluation of the Efficiency of Generation of Terahertz Surface Plasmon Polaritons by the End-Fire Coupling Technique

One of the most important problems in the plasmonics of the terahertz (THz) range, which is actively developing now, is the efficient generation of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs). The simplest and most promising technological technique of photon excitation of THz SPPs is through diffraction of radiation on the edge of the conducting surface of the sample (the end-fire coupling technique). In this paper, we experimentally evaluated the efficiency of the generation of monochromatic THz SPPs (λ0 = 141 μm) by this method with a sample in the form of a cylindrical segment, the convex surface of which has a gold layer coated by zinc sulfide (ZnS) with thickness d = 0–2 µm. Such configuration of the surface supporting the SPPs not only shields the detector from parasitic bulk waves arising during diffraction but also enables one to change the distribution of the SPP field in the air by varying the coating layer thickness d. On an uncoated gold surface, the SPP generation efficiency was η ≈ 20%. In the presence of a ZnS layer on the gold, the SPP generation efficiency gradually increased with d, reached the maximum (ηmax ≈ 60%) at d ≈ 1 μm, and then gradually decreased. Theoretical analysis showed that the efficiency of the SPP generation can be raised up to 80% due to the selection of an optimal SPP field profile via variation of the thickness of the dielectric layer on the metal surface, as well as with optimal incidence of the focused radiation on the edge of the sample.

Particle Trapping Properties of Metal Annular Slits under Vector Field Excitation

This article presents the particle capture performance of annular slits, which offer a simple alternative to complex micro/nano structures used to excite and focus surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs). Additionally, the annular slits are compatible with a variety of vector light fields, generating diverse SPP field distributions under their excitation. These SPP fields can be regulated by varying the vector light field parameters, thereby offering the annular slit structure the ability to flexibly capture and manipulate particles. The rotation and movement of captured objects can be achieved by changing the position and phase difference of the incident beams with linear polarization. Different material and sized metallic particles can be stably captured with a radially polarized beam excitation due to the strong convergence. These capabilities are demonstrated by evaluating the optical force and trapping potential based on the finite difference time domain (FDTD) simulation. This study provides valuable insights into the practical application of annular slits for particle capture and manipulation.

Plasmonic spin-multiplexing metasurface for controlling the generation and in-plane propagation of surface plasmon polaritons

Surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) are electromagnetic waves that travel along a metal–dielectric interface and are finding an ever-increasing number of applications in newly emerging nano-photonic and optoelectronic technologies. Different from the traditional approach to excite SPPs using prism or grating, metallic metasurfaces incorporating nano-slots with different orientations enable the photonic spin-dependent directional coupling of SPPs, which shows the unique spin tunability. However, the propagations of these generated SPPs are still correlative due to the conjugated phase profiles of metasurfaces for two incident orthogonal spin states. Here, we propose a plasmonic spin-multiplexing metasurface composed of nano-slots with different geometric dimensions and orientations to efficiently control the near-field generation and in-plane propagation of SPPs. By taking into account both the geometric phase and resonant phase of the nano-slots, the metasurface can generate two independent and fully decoupled SPP fields for a pair of orthogonal spin states. As proof-of-concept, we design a series of spin-multiplexing metasurfaces to numerically demonstrate different near-field optical functionalities, including spin-controlled plasmonic bi-focusing, self-accelerating beams, and vortices. We envision this approach may have potential applications in designing polarization-dependent tunable plasmonic nano-devices.

The Spin Texture Topology of Polygonal Plasmon Fields

Spin and field textures define the topology of the electric and magnetic fields in vacuum. These textures can be imposed on matter by light–matter interactions on the nanometer spatial and DC to femtosecond time scales to define the spatial and temporal symmetries of quasiparticle interactions. How to define the topology of thermodynamically evolving or dynamically imposed polaritonic textures is still an open question in applying control parameters such as temperature or phase of structured light. In this Perspective, we specifically consider the spin topology of geometrical plasmonic lattices formed by surface plasmon polariton fields spanning the full range of polygonal symmetries, ranging from the triangular to the circular including the intermediate aperiodic quasicrystalline tilings. Our premise is that the distortion of a triangular or a square lattice into a circular one, without introducing discontinuous geometric change, as by cutting, must preserve the polariton topology. From this perspective, we review the recent studies of stable optical field-induced dynamic quasiparticles with topological spin textures on the nanoscale. Specifically, we draw attention to how the topological spin textures evolve through the continuous deformation of the surface plasmon generating polygon geometries from triangular to circular. The goal of this Perspective is to introduce the topological properties of plasmonic vortices and to expand the discussion and understanding of how their topological spin and field textures dress material properties for exploration of fundamental physics and applications in photonics and spintronics.

Metasurfaces for Amplitude-Tunable Superposition of Plasmonic Orbital Angular Momentum States.

The superposition of orbital angular momentum (OAM) in a surface plasmon polariton (SPP) field has attracted much attention in recent years for its potential applications in classical physics problems and quantum communications. The flexible adjustment of the amplitudes of two OAM states can provide more freedom for the manipulation of superposed states. Here, we propose a type of plasmonic metasurface consisting of segmented spiral-shaped nanoslits that not only can generate the superposition of two OAM states with arbitrary topological charges (TCs), but also can independently modulate their relative amplitudes in a flexible manner. The TCs of two OAM states can be simultaneously modulated by incident light, the rotation rate of the nanoslits, and the geometric parameters of the segmented spiral. The relative amplitudes of the two OAM states are freely controllable by meticulously tuning the width of the nanoslits. Under a circularly polarized beam illumination, two OAM states of opposite TCs can be superposed with various weightings. Furthermore, hybrid superposition with different TCs is also demonstrated. The presented design scheme offers an opportunity to develop practical plasmonic devices and on-chip applications.

Two-color laser PEEM imaging of horizontal and vertical components of femtosecond surface plasmon polaritons

Explicit visualization of different components of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) propagating at dielectric/metal interfaces is crucial in offering chances for the detailed design and control of the functionalities of plasmonic nanodevices in the future. Here, we reported independent imaging of the vertical and horizontal components of SPPs launched from a rectangular trench in the gold film by a 400-nm laser-assisted near-infrared (NIR) femtosecond laser time-resolved photoemission electron microscopy (TR-PEEM). The experiments demonstrate that distinct imaging of different components of SPPs field can be easily achieved by introducing the 400-nm laser. It can circumvent the risk of sample damage and information loss of excited SPPs field that is generally confronted in the usual NIR laser TR-PEEM scheme. The underlying mechanism for realizing distinct imaging of different components of the SPPs field with two-color PEEM is revealed via measuring the double logarithmic dependence of photoemission yield with the 800-nm and 400-nm pulse powers of different polarizations. Moreover, it is found that the PEEM image quality of the vertical and horizontal components of the SPPs field is nearly independent of the 400-nm pulse polarization. These results pave a way for SPPs-based applications and offer a possible solution for drawing a space–time field of SPPs in three dimensions.

A generic metasurface for the optical pulling of dielectric or plasmonic or chiral Mie objects

In the year 1902, scientists observed a phenomenon occurring at metal interface, known as Wood’s anomaly, which led to the discovery of SPP (Surface Plasmon Polariton). Since then, SPP has received a great deal of attention due to its ability to direct light in the sub-wavelength scale. Their ability to pull objects of various materials, however, has not been thoroughly studied yet. Notably, creating pulling force for different types of particles in a single setup is quite challenging and rare in the literature. In this article, we propose a methodology through which exerting pulling force on spherical dielectric or plasmonic or chiral objects has been made possible within a common diameter range in an on-chip configuration by shining the light from the bottom of a metasurface. In our setup, two SPP waves have been excited by using periodic gratings made of metasurfaces placed on a metal–dielectric interface, which has created such optical pulling forces based on non-paraxial behavior of SPP. Pulling in dielectric object has been enabled due to the induced multipole radiation. The reversal of internal electric field and current density, due to interference field of SPP, has generated the pulling force for the plasmonic object. In contrast, the pulling force on chiral objects has been explained based on the direction of energy flow within the object. These changes occur when the SPP becomes non-paraxial enough for the three objects enabling on-chip object transportation and opening new boundaries for radius-based sorting, which can aid in the analysis of nanoparticle and biomolecules.

A topological lattice of plasmonic merons

Topology is an intrinsic property of the orbital symmetry and elemental spin–orbit interaction, but also, intriguingly, designed vectorial optical fields can break existing symmetries, to impose (dress) topology through coherent interactions with trivial materials. Through photonic spin–orbit interaction, light can transiently turn on topological interactions, such as chiral chemistry, or induce non-Abelian physics in matter. Employing electromagnetic simulations and ultrafast, time-resolved photoemission electron microscopy, we describe the geometric transformation of a normally incident plane wave circularly polarized light carrying a defined spin into surface plasmon polariton field carrying orbital angular momentum which converges into an array of plasmonic vortices with defined spin textures. Numerical simulations show how within each vortex domain, the photonic spin–orbit interaction molds the plasmonic orbital angular momentum into quantum chiral spin angular momentum textures resembling those of a magnetic meron quasiparticles. We experimentally examine the dynamics of such meron plasmonic spin texture lattice by recording the ultrafast nanofemto plasmonic field evolution with deep subwavelength resolution and sub-optical cycle time accuracy from which we extract the linear polarization, L-line singularity distribution, that defines the periodic lattice boundaries. Our results reveal how vectorial optical fields can impress their topologically nontrivial spin textures by coherent dressing or chiral excitations of matter.

Geometric Control Over the Edge Diffraction of Electrically Excited Surface Plasmon Polaritons by Tunnel Junctions

Plasmonic metal–insulator–metal tunnel junctions (MIM-TJs) readily excite surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) by inelastic electron tunneling, well below the diffraction limit, eliminating the need for bulky optical elements. The highly confined MIM cavity mode (MIM-SPP) excited by the tunneling electrons dominantly outcouples to photons and single-interface SPPs which further outcouple as photons and give characteristic features in the Fourier plane of observation. Here, we employ SPP waveguides, directly integrated with MIM-TJs, to explore the diffraction of single-interface SPPs at the edges of the metal stripe waveguides. In addition to the leakage of the SPP modes through the metal electrodes, SPP edge diffraction presents as an additional channel for SPP outcoupling, not limited by the thickness of the waveguide. Edge diffraction manifests as a straight-line feature in the Fourier plane of the far-field and by systematically varying the width of the waveguides, we show that the in-plane momentum of the SPPs can be controlled, which in turn leads to control over the edge diffraction. We fabricated MIM-TJs with integrated plasmonic stripe waveguides of different widths, and the propagation and confinement of the SPP modes along the edges of the SPP waveguides are directly identified by the experimental back focal plane imaging, which are further corroborated by numerical simulations. Our findings can be exploited for applications ranging from sensing to nonlinear plasmonics, where focusing and localization of SPP fields are necessary.

Multifunctional Plasmonic Grating Based on the Phase Modulation of Excitation Light.

Multifunctional optical devices are desirable at all times due to their features of flexibility and high efficiency. Based on the principle that the phase of excitation light can be transferred to the generated surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs), a plasmonic grating with three functions is proposed and numerically demonstrated. The Cherenkov SPPs wake or nondiffracting SPPs Bessel beam or focusing SPPs field can be correspondingly excited for the excitation light, which is modulated by a linear gradient phase or a symmetrical phase or a spherical phase, respectively. Moreover, the features of these functions such as the propagation direction of SPPs wake, the size and direction of the SPPs Bessel beam, and the position of SPPs focus can be dynamically manipulated. In consideration of the fact that no extra fabrication is required to obtain the different SPPs fields, the proposed approach can effectively reduce the cost in practical applications.

Circular polarization analyzer based on surface plasmon polariton interference.

The determination of chirality of circularly polarized light (CPL) is of great significance to the development of various optical techniques. In this paper, a miniature circular polarization analyzer (CPA) based on surface plasmon polariton (SPP) interference is proposed. The proposed CPA consists of a micron scale long sub-wavelength slit and two groups of spatially arranged periodic sub-wavelength rectangular groove pairs, which are etched in a metal layer. Under the illumination of a CPL with a given chirality, the proposed CPA is capable of forming SPP-mediated interference fringes with different periods in far field. The chirality of CPL can be directly and quantitatively differentiated by the frequency value of the far field SPP-mediated interference fringes. Different from the existing SPP-based CPAs, the proposed CPA can directly image the chirality information in far field, avoiding near-field imaging of the SPP field.