Propagation of THz plasmon pulse on corrugated and flat metal surface

We report here experiments on surface plasmon excitation and propagation along corrugated and smooth aluminum surface in the terahertz frequency range. Narrowband plasmon excitation by a subpicosecond terahertz pulse is shown to be a transient process and plasmon propagation sufficiently changes its measured time profile. Plasmon propagation during its excitation and detection changes measured signal. We suggest to use parameters T (plasmon duration) and τ (plasmon lifetime) to describe the narrowband THz plasmon pulse. Plasmon duration and lifetime were defined and plasmon propagation lengths on smooth and corrugated surface were measured. Plasmon propagation length on flat surface turned out to be much smaller than it is predicted by the Drude model.     

Enhancing surface plasmon polariton propagation by two-layer dielectric-loaded waveguides on silver surface

We report a study of a two-layer dielectric-loaded surface plasmon polariton waveguide (TDLSPPW) which consisted of two dielectric layers (high-index/low-index) on a silver film. The discontinuity of the electric field at the interfaces resulted in a concentrated field in the low-index region. It efficiently reduced the propagation loss of the surface plasmon polariton mode. The mode fields and corresponding complex propagation constants were calculated by a vector finite-difference method. The propagation properties were measured by a modified near-field optical microscope. It is confirmed that the propagation length of the proposed TDLSPPW was about 1.6 times longer than conventional single-layer SPP waveguides. In addition, a 90^° waveguide turn with 3 μm radius showed that the bending loss was smaller than 2 dB.     

Research progress of femtosecond surface plasmon polariton

As the combination of surface plasmon polariton and femtosecond laser pulse,femtosecond surface plasmon polariton has both nanoscale spatial resolution and femtosecond temporal resolution,and thus provides promising methods for light field manipulation and light-matter interaction in extreme small spatiotemporal scales.Nowadays,the research on femtosecond surface plasmon polariton is mainly concentrated on two aspects:one is investigation and characterization of excitation,propagation,and dispersion properties of femtosecond surface plasmon polariton in different structures or materials;the other one is developing new applications based on its unique properties in the fields of nonlinear enhancement,pulse shaping,spatiotemporal super-resolved imaging,and others.Here,we introduce the research progress of properties and applications of femtosecond surface plasmon polariton,and prospect its future research trends.With the further development of femtosecond surface plasmon polariton research,it will have a profound impact on nano-optoelectronics,molecular dynamics,biomedicine and other fields.     

Suppression of radiative losses of surface polaritons on nanostructured thin metal films

The strong electromagnetic coupling between surface plasmon polariton modes on opposite interfaces of a finite thickness periodically nanostructured metal film has been studied. Surface polariton dispersion and associated electromagnetic field distributions have been analyzed. It was shown that at a frequency that corresponds to the crossing of film Bloch modes of different symmetries, the radiative losses of surface polaritons that are related to the polaritons' coupling to light during propagation on the structured surface are suppressed.     

不同衬底银膜表面等离子激元波的辐射效率

不同衬底银膜表面等离子激元波的辐射效率邓里文王恭明（复旦大学物理系上海２００４３３）ＥｆｉｃｉｅｎｃｙｏｆＥｍｉｓｉｏｎｆｒｏｍＳｕｒｆａｃｅＰｌａｓｍｏｎＷａｖｅｓｆｏｒＤｉｆｅｒｅｎｔＳｔｒｕｃｔｕｒｅｓｏｆＡｇＦｉｌｍｓＤｅｎｇＬｉｗｅｎ，Ｗａ...     

不同预淀积层银膜表面等离子激元波的辐射效率

测量了棱镜／ＬＢ膜／银膜／空气，棱镜／银膜／空气，棱镜／银膜／空气三种结构在衰减全反射条件下激发的表面等离子激元波由于银膜－空气界面粗糙度而散射以空气中的辐射效率，同时，由散射光强分布计算出表面度粗糙度参数随横向相关长度σ和表面波纹深度δ，再由σ和δ计算出理论辐射效率，理论与实验结果相符合。     

Surface plasmon THz waves on gratings

Because of their long propagation length at a metal surface in the far infrared, surface plasmons make potentially feasible the design and realization of 2D integrated terahertz systems over a metallic substrate. The coupling of a terahertz beam to the surface plasmon wave is very efficiently achieved by diffraction gratings engraved at the metal surface. In this article, we present a review of some recent works we performed in view of characterizing this coupling phenomenon. The analysis of the experimental data supplied by terahertz time-domain spectroscopy allows us to point out the main parameters that govern this diffraction process and the propagation of a surface plasmon over a flat or corrugated metal surface. To cite this article: M. Nazarov et al., C. R. Physique 9 (2008).     

Inverse faraday effect in plasmonic films

It is shown that the inverse Faraday effect appears in the case of surface plasmon polariton propagation near a metal/paramagnetic interface. The inverse Faraday effect in nanostructured periodically perforated metal-dielectric films increases because of the excitation of surface plasmon polaritons. In this case, a stationary magnetic field is amplified by more than an order of magnitude compared to the case of a smooth paramagnetic film. The distribution of an electromagnetic field is sensitive to the wavelength and the angle of incidence, which allows one to effectively control the local magnetization that arises due to the inverse Faraday effect.     

High light transmission through thin absorptive corrugated films

The enhancement of light transmittance through periodically relief thin absorptive film at surface plasmon polariton excitation conditions, as a function of relief interrelation, was considered theoretically. Our calculation of transmittance-reflectance through periodically relief thin absorptive film was performed in the framework of differential formalism. There are two basic relief interrelation forms, namely, correlated and anticorrelated ones. The obtained spectral and angular dependencies demonstrate an essential increase of surface plasmon polariton peaks in the case of anticorrelated corrugation of film in comparison with the correlated ones.     

Dispersion and damping of a surface plasmon polariton on a one-dimensional randomly rough metal surface

Abstract

By the use of the reduced Rayleigh equation for the amplitude of a surface plasmon polariton on a one-dimensional randomly rough metal surface that is in contact with vacuum, we calculate the dispersion and damping of the surface electromagnetic wave to the lowest nonzero order in the rms height of the surface. It is found that the frequency of the surface plasmon polariton is depressed by the surface roughness. The attenuation of the surface plasmon polariton in the long wavelength limit is due primarily to its scattering into other surface plasmon polaritons, while in the short wavelength limit it is due primarily to its roughness-induced scattering into volume electromagnetic waves in the vacuum. The energy mean free path of the surface plasmon polariton is shorter on a randomly rough metal surface than it is on a lossy planar metal surface, and the surface plasmon polariton is more tightly bound to a rough surface than to a planar one.     

Long-range surface plasmon polaritons with subwavelength mode expansion in an asymmetrical system

Long-range surface plasmon polariton (LRSPP) modes in an asymmetrical system, in which the thin metal film is sandwiched between a semi-infinite substrate and a high permittivity polymer film with a finite thickness, are theoretically calculated and analyzed. Due to the high permittivity of the polymer film, at proper polymer film thicknesses, the index-matching condition of the dielectrics at both sides of the metal can be satisfied for supporting LRSPP modes, and the electromagnetic field above the metal can be localized well. It is found that these LRSPP modes have both long propagation lengths and subwavelength mode expansion above the metal at the optimal polymer film thicknesses. Furthermore, the requirements on the refractive index and the thickness of the polymer film to support LRSPP modes at the optimal thicknesses are found to be not critical.     

基于纳米天线的多通道高强度定向表面等离子体波激发

设计了一种带有纳米天线的金属微腔结构, 以实现高强度表面等离子的定向激发. 在利用双狭缝结构实现表面等离子体波定向激发的基础上, 分别结合共振增强和干涉相长原理, 在传统结构的入射端面上添加纳米天线结构, 并增加狭缝通道数, 实现了定向激发的表面等离子体波的能量增强. 基于纳米天线的多通道高强度定向表面等离子体波激发装置结构简单, 系统紧凑, 并能够有效提高定向传播的表面等离子体波的能量密度和传播距离, 其对微纳光学传输和高密度光学集成领域等方面的研究具有重要意义.     

Removal of surface plasmon polariton eigenmodes degeneracy

The effect of the tilt angle of a metal film on the transmissivity of subwavelength holes in optically thick metal film is investigated. We found that the transmission efficiency can be highly dependent on the tilt angle. It is also found that when the input photons are not polarized along the eigenmode directions of surface plasmon polariton, a birefringent phenomenon is observed when a periodic array of subwavelength holes is tilted. Linear polarization states can be changed to elliptical polarization states, and a phase can be added between two eigenmodes. The phase is changed with the tilt angle. A model based on surface plasmon polariton eigenmodes degeneracy is presented to explain these experimental results. PACS 81.07.-b; 71.36.+c; 78.66.Bz     

Topological mode switching in a graphene doublet with exceptional points

We investigate the switching between two surface plasmon polariton modes in a non-Hermitian system composed of a pair of graphene sheets using topological operations. The topological operation is implemented by suitably designing the waveguide geometry and the chemical potential of graphene, which is equivalent to changing the system parameters along a closed loop in the parameter space. Efficient and robust mode switching takes place as the loop encloses an exceptional point and the wave experiences a sufficiently large propagation length. Moreover, we show this mode switching is chiral, in the sense that the output modes are different for choosing different loop directions. The study provides a promising approach to robust mode switching on a deep-subwavelength scale.     

The mechanism of light emission from statistically rough tunnel junctions

Its is found that the spectrum of the light emitted by statistically rough tunnel junctions in the range 400–700 nm correlates with the calculated damping of the fast surface plasmon polariton mode of the tunnel junction structure. It is deduced that the radiative decay of this mode is responsible for the bulk of the light emission. It is shown that the view of existing theory that emission from statistically rough junctions is mediated by the slow surface plasmon polariton mode is untenable. Our deductions firmly consolidate a suggestion due to Kroo, Szentirmay and Felszerfalvi.     

Optical interaction in a plasmonic metallic particle chain coupled to a metallic film

We study the coupling of localized surface plasmon and surface plasmon polariton modes in a system composed of a metallic nanoparticle chain imbedded in a dielectric–metal–dielectric substrate. The results show the influence of outside parts and imbedded parts of particles on the interaction between localized surface plasmon and surface plasmon polariton modes. An enhancement can be observed in our structure. This kind of the structure has a very promising candidate for biosensing and surface enhanced spectroscopy applications.     

Toward an electrically pumped spaser

The use of surface plasmon polariton (SPP)-based waveguides can significantly reduce the size of optical interconnects, but the propagation length of SPPs is limited by Joule heating losses and does not exceed a few micrometers. In this paper, we present an SPP amplification scheme that utilizes compact electrical pumping and gives a possibility for designing really compact on-chip waveguides. Moreover, we demonstrate here numerically that this approach can be easily used to design an electrically pumped cw or pulsed spaser.     

Long-range propagation of plasmon polaritons in a thin metal film on a one-dimensional photonic crystal surface

We present experimental results on ultralong-range surface plasmon polaritons, propagating in a thin metal film on a one-dimensional (1D) photonic crystal surface over a distance of several millimeters. This propagation length is about 2 orders of magnitude higher than the one in the ordinary Kretschmann configuration at the same optical frequency. We show that a long-range surface plasmon polaritons propagation may take place not only in a (quasi)symmetrical scheme, where a thin metal film is located between two media with (approximately) the same refraction index, but also in a scheme where the thin metal film is located between an appropriate 1D photonic crystal and an arbitrary (air, water, etc.) medium. The ultralong-range surface plasmon polaritons are potentially important for biosensors, plasmonics, and other applications.     

Plasmon beams interaction at interface between metal and dielectric with saturable Kerr nonlinearity

We present a novel theory of surface plasmon polariton interaction on the surface of dielectric with saturable Kerr nonlinearity. The effect of the total internal reflection of a weak signal plasmon beam from a high-power reference beam is discussed. Both ray and wave theories are used to describe signal propagation. The effect of the signal tunneling through the narrow inhomogeneity induced by the reference beam is considered.     

The near field correlation spectrum of a metallic film

The spatial two-point coherence function of the thermal radiation field at subwave-distance from a metallic film is calculated within fluctuation electrodynamics. Long-range oscillations as a function of lateral separation are seen; we interpret their features by comparing to the dispersion relations of surface plasmon polariton modes on the thin film. The hybridization of the surface modes on the top and bottom interfaces leads to a beatnote in the field correlations, for specific detector setups.