基于塔姆激元-表面等离极化激元混合模式的单缝加凹槽纳米结构的增强透射

金属单缝纳米结构因为结构简单、易于集成,常用在基于表面等离极化激元(surface plasmon polaritons,SPPs)的纳米结构中构建光源.但是,金属亚波长单缝结构一直存在透射率低的问题,如何提高其透射率一直是研究的重点.为了更好地提高金属亚波长单缝的透射率,本文对之前文献提出的分布式布拉格反射镜(distributed bragg reflector,DBR)和金属银薄膜纳米缝结构进行改进,在金属银薄膜两侧设计凹槽.当TM偏振光由DBR侧入射至DBR-银纳米缝结构时,DBR-银膜界面上和银膜入射侧凹槽一起激发的塔姆激元(Tamm plasmon polaritons,TPPs)和SPPs,以及纳米缝和银膜出射侧凹槽对的SPPs同时激发,利用凹槽激发的SPPs和银膜表面处的TPPs-SPPs混合模式的干涉相长耦合作用,通过塔姆激元的局域场增强效应和两侧凹槽与单纳米缝的干涉相长耦合作用进一步提高了表面等离极化激元模式的激发效率,再加上纳米缝中的类法布里-珀罗腔共振效应,使纳米缝的透射率得到增强.本文采用有限元方法研究了DBR-银纳米缝结构上单纳米缝加凹槽的透射特性.经过一系列参数优化,使DBR-银纳米缝凹槽结构的最大透射率增加到0.22,相对于TiO_2-银纳米缝结构的透射率(0.01)提高了22倍,比文献[23]得到的最大透射率0.166有所提高.研究结果在纳米光源设计、光子集成电路和光学信号传输等相关领域具有一定的应用价值.     

基于SPPs-CDEW混合模式的亚波长单缝多凹槽结构全光二极管

全光二极管是集成光子回路上最基本的光子器件,如何有效增强全光二极管的单向透射性,提高消光比一直是学者们研究的重点.当前,利用表面等离极化激元(surface plasmon polaritons,SPPs)和复合衍射衰逝波(composite diffracted evanescent wave,CDEW)的亚波长金属微纳结构构建全光二极管器件还鲜有研究.因此,开发出一种可调制的全光二极管,对未来制备复杂的光子回路具有重要意义.本文提出了一种基于SPPs-CDEW混合模式设计全光二极管的方法和结构,该结构结合纳米缝中的类法布里-珀罗共振效应,利用结构参数对SPPs进行调控,实现了光束单向透过的功能.首先,利用理论推导和有限元算法分析了单缝-对称双凹槽纳米结构的透射增强现象,提出了透射增强和削弱的物理机理.其次,计算出规约化透射率随单狭缝和凹槽对之间距离变化的远场透射谱,给出的理论和数值计算结果符合得很好.最后,通过此透射谱精确确定凹槽的位置和数量,得出上表面对称分布五对增强透射凹槽、下表面六对抑制透射凹槽的最优全光二极管结构,有效增强了全光二极管的单向透射性,提高了消光比,最大消光比可以达到38.3 dB,即正向透射率是反向透射率的6761倍,比已有文献提高了14.6 dB,并在850 nm左右有70 nm宽的工作波长带宽(20 dB).本文提出的光二极管结构简单,宽带宽工作,易于集成,耦合效率高,研究结果对光学信号传输、集成光回路、超分辨率光刻等相关领域具有潜在的应用价值.     

Multiple paths to enhance optical transmission through a single subwavelength slit

In this Letter, we explore transmission properties of a single subwavelength slit flanked by a finite array of grooves made on a thick metallic film. We identify three main mechanisms that can enhance optical transmission: groove cavity mode excitation (controlled by the depth of the grooves), in-phase groove reemission (controlled by the period of the groove array), and slit waveguide mode (controlled by the thickness of the metal film). By tuning these geometrical parameters, enhancements of transmission of light by up to 2 orders of magnitude can be achieved when all three mechanisms coincide. Experimental verification of these findings is also shown for structured silver films fabricated by focused-ion-beam milling.     

Controlling strong electromagnetic fields at subwavelength scales

We investigate the optical response of two subwavelength grooves on a metallic screen, separated by a subwavelength distance. We show that the cavity, Fabry-Perot-like mode, already observed in one-dimensional periodic gratings and known for a single slit, splits into two resonances in our system: a symmetric mode with a small Q factor, and an antisymmetric one which leads to a much stronger field enhancement. This behavior results from the near-field coupling of the grooves. Moreover, the use of a second incident wave allows control of the localization of the photons in the groove of our choice, depending on the phase difference between the two incident waves. The system acts exactly as a subwavelength optical switch operated from far field.     

Influence of V-shaped plasmonic nanostructures on beam propagation

The influence of V-shaped plasmonic nanostructures caused by focused ion beam milling on transmission properties are addressed in this paper. In order to evaluate the influence, a finite-difference and time-domain numerical method is employed for simulation of the plasmonic structures flanked with the corrugations with equal groove depth at the exit side of a metal film which is coated on a quartz substrate. Our simulation results have shown that a V-shaped subwavelength central slit/aperture is helpful for beam shaping. It plays a positive and dominant role in transmissivity. However, the V-shaped grooves cause a red shift of the peak wavelength and a broadening of the cut-off wavelength. This leads to the beam diverging in the region of the far field. In the case of the existence of both the V-shaped central slit and the V-shaped grooves, the influence of the grooves is less compared to that of the central slit, and can be ignored theoretically. PACS 02.60.Cb; 02.70.Bf; 07.79.Fc; 42.25.Bs     

Mid-infrared heavily n-doped GaAs extraordinary transmission through subwavelength grooves

Transmission of an electromagnetic wave from a heavily doped n-type GaAs film is studied theoretically. The calculations are performed using the two-dimensional finite-different time-domain method. From the calculations, we find the extraordinary transmission of p-polarized waves through the film with subwavelength grooves on both surfaces at mid-infrared frequencies. By determining a set of groove parameters, we optimize the transmission to as high as 55.2%. We ascribe this extraordinary transmission to the coupling of the surface-plasmon polariton modes and waveguide modes. Such an enhanced transmission device can be useful for mid-infrared wave filters, emitters, and monitors.     

Mechanism of enhancing output power of plasmonic very-small-aperture lasers

Light transmission through a single subwavelength slit surrounded by periodic grooves in layered films consisting of Au and dielectric material is analyzed by the finite difference time domain method in two dimensions. The results show that the transmission field can be enhanced by the corrugations on the output plane, which is a supplementary explanation for the extraordinary optical transmission. PACS 78.20.-e; 78.20.Bh; 78.20.Ci; 78.70.-g     

中红外下半导体掺杂调制的表面等离子体透射增强效应

理论研究了平面电磁波通过n型重掺GaAs薄膜的透射谱.当GaAs薄膜两表面刻上亚波长的周期性沟槽结构时,透射谱在中红外波段出现了异常的透射增强现象.把这一现象归因于表面等离子体模式和波导模式的耦合.通过优化结构参数可以得到最大的透射效率.此外,发现随着掺杂浓度的升高,透射谱线中的透射峰逐渐向高频方向移动,最优化后透射峰值随掺杂浓度的升高而逐渐降低.这是由于掺杂浓度的改变,导致了不同的等离子体频率和电子碰撞频率,从而影响了激发模式和薄膜对电磁波的吸收. 关键词： 表面等离子体 掺杂半导体 增强透射 掺杂调制     

Extraordinary acoustic transmission through a 1D grating with very narrow apertures

Recently, there has been an increased interest in studying extraordinary optical transmission (EOT) through subwavelength aperture arrays perforated in a metallic film. In this Letter, we report that the transmission of an incident acoustic wave through a one-dimensional acoustic grating can also be drastically enhanced. This extraordinary acoustic transmission (EAT) has been investigated both theoretically and experimentally, showing that the coupling between the diffractive wave and the wave-guide mode plays an important role in EAT. This phenomenon can have potential applications in acoustics and also might provide a better understanding of EOT in optical subwavelength systems.     

Polarization-Independent Directional Beaming of Light by a Subwavelength Metal Slit

We present the directional beaming effect of light at the terahertz frequency by using a subwavelength slit in the metal film. The metal is dressed with anisotropic dielectric so that both the transverse electric （TE） and transverse magnetic （TM） polarized waves can be well guided on the metal surface and reach the phase matching. By using a periodical array of dielectric ridges and grooves around the slit, the guided waves can be scattered out of the slit and interfere with the transmitted light directly through the slit. The results performed by finite-difference at time-domain computations indicate that the directional beaming of light can be obtained simultaneously for both the TE and TM polarized waves after optimizing the geometric parameters. The structure may find great applications in polarization-independent optical devices such as couplers, connectors, beam collimator, and etc.     

Multi-interaction of surface wave between subwavelength grooves surrounding a single metallic slit

We propose a physical understanding of scattering by subwavelength grooves surrounding a single perfect conductor slit based on the superposition of a cylindrical traveling surface wave and a standing surface wave. The collective reflection coefficient was introduced to handle the multi-interaction of the surface wave between subwavelength grooves, and a slit–grooves focusing structure was designed to demonstrate its validity. In comparison to numerical simulations by the finite difference time domain method, the proposed method proves effective in describing the multi-interaction behavior of a surface wave and in further refining the phase perturbation at the grooves’ exits.     

介质覆层下金属周期结构变化对TE波异常透射特性的影响

根据金属光栅结构变化对TE波异常透射特性影响的研究需要,建立了相应的模型。应用时域有限差分(FDTD)方法分别计算了单缝结构、多缝结构、不同宽度和不同周期等结构下的透射分布特征。研究发现添加凹槽会对金属表面能量的传递起阻碍作用。透射频域宽度随薄膜宽度增加而增加。随着狭缝宽度的增加,透射率分布曲线包络线趋于平坦,主透射峰短波长侧透射曲线分布基本不变,而主透射峰及其长波长侧的透射曲线分布变宽。这说明宽度的变化影响了表面共振模式,从而影响透射的分布。单个狭缝的透射与多周期结构相比,透射率曲线几乎重合,表明狭缝对表面模式没有调制作用,各狭缝的透射相对独立。     

Critical process of extraordinary optical transmission through periodic subwavelength hole array: Hole-assisted evanescent-field coupling

We present a new explanation of the extraordinary optical transmission through subwavelength hole array in metal films. By using the classical coupled-wave theory, we analyzed the coupling process between light and the surface plasmons wave on metal films with hole array. The analysis shows clearly the physical mechanism of extraordinary optical transmission. The calculation demonstrates that, instead of energy flux directly passing through the holes, the electromagnetic modes could exchange energy by overlapping the evanescent fields under the assistance of hole array. The periodicity of the array provides the momentum-matching condition to present the transmission peaks. The theory exhibits a good agreement with the experimental results reported in every detail.     

Optical beam splitting and asymmetric transmission in bi-layer metagratings

In this work, inspired by advances in twisted two-dimensional materials, we design and study a new type of optical bi-layer metasurface system, which is based on subwavelength metal slit arrays with phase-gradient modulation, referred to as metagratings(MGs). It is shown that due to the found reversed diffraction law, the interlayer interaction that can be simply adjusted by the gap size can produce a transition from optical beam splitting to high-efficiency asymmetric transmission of incident light from two opposite directions. Our results provide new physics and some advantages for designing subwavelength optical devices to realize efficient wavefront manipulation and one-way propagation.     

Optical properties of metallo-dielectric deep trench gratings: role of surface plasmons and Wood-Rayleigh anomaly

We present optical measurements performed on a gold film deposited on deep subwavelength grooves etched in a quartz substrate at visible wavelengths where the Wood-Rayleigh (WR) anomaly and surface plasmon polaritons (SPs) are well separated. The measurements show that transmission of TM-polarized light through the slit array vanishes when SPs are excited at the air-metal interface, whereas the WR anomaly appears as small peaks.     

Enhanced light transmission through a single subwavelength aperture

The optical transmission through a subwavelength aperture in a metal film is strongly enhanced when the incident light is resonant with surface plasmons at the corrugated metal surface surrounding the aperture. Conversely, the aperture acts as a novel probe of the surface plasmons, yielding useful insights for optimizing the transmission enhancement. For the optimal corrugation geometry, a set of concentric circular grooves, three times more light is transmitted through the central subwavelength aperture than directly impinges upon it. This effect is useful in the fabrication of near-field optical devices with extremely high optical throughput.     

Enhanced optical reflection and multiple-peak transmission from a subwavelength slit with surface corrugations

We have observed a new phenomenon of the enhanced optical reflection and transmission from a subwavelength metallic slit with surface corrugations. The reflected energy is focused by the periodic structure and our experiment shows that it is more effective than a planar metal surface in real situations. The transmission spectrum performs the feature of a multipeak narrow-band transmission with a wavelength spacing of 1.4 nm resulting from the FP cavity resonance in the substrate film. Such optical response properties of our sample will be very useful for applications in many fields including wavelength-division-multiplexing (WDM) optical communications systems.     

Resonant transmission of light through finite chains of subwavelength holes in a metallic film

In this Letter we show that the extraordinary optical transmission phenomenon found before in 2D hole arrays is already present in a linear chain of subwavelength holes, which can be considered as the basic geometrical unit showing this property. In order to study this problem, we have developed a new theoretical framework, able to analyze the optical properties of finite collections of subwavelength apertures and/or dimples (of any shape and placed in arbitrary positions) drilled in a metallic film.     

Waveguide resonance of subwavelength metallic slits

The transmission characteristics of a metallic film with subwavelength periodic slits are investigated by using the two-dimensional finite-difference time-domain method (2D-FDTD). Two models are constructed to show the dependance of the transmission spectrum on the slit structure. A sandwiched structure is used to exhibit the contribution of the metallic wall inside slits to the extraordinary high transmission. And a filled slit structure is employed to reflect the relation between the average refractive index inside the slits and the transmission spectrum of the structure. The transmission characteristics of two structures can be explained well with the waveguide resonance theory.     

Enhancement of spatial coherence by surface plasmons

We report on a method to generate a stationary interference pattern from two independent optical sources, each illuminating a single slit in Young's interference experiment. The pattern arises as a result of the action of surface plasmons traveling between subwavelength slits milled in a metal film. The visibility of the interference pattern can be manipulated by tuning the wavelength of one of the optical sources.