Complex Modulation in Plasmon-Assisted Transmission Spectra of a Two-Slit Structure

We study the plasmon-assisted transmission of two kinds of slit structures in a 290-nm-thick silver film on a glass substrate. For the two-slit structure, the total transmission intensity spectra displays a complex modulation, which is attributed to different propagation constants of the surface plasmon polaritons （SPPs） on the silver-air and silver-glass interfaces. Replacing one of the two slits by a shallow corrugation results in a simple sinusoidal intensity modulation because of the only effective SPP excitation and propagation on the silver-air interface. These confirm the role of different SPP propagations and interference in the transmission properties of metal nanoslits.     

Tuning the negative electromagnetic response in periodically perforated metal-dielectric-metal structures

We fabricate Ag-SU-8-Ag sandwich metamaterials perforated with a periodic array of dipoles. The transmittance spectra of both experiment and modeling have indicated the existence of low- and high-intensity transmission bands in midinfrared frequencies. The position of these transmission bands depend on the dipole length, and lattice structure. The high-intensity transmission bands are due to the excitation of the external surface plasmon plartion (SPP) modes and the localized modes, while the low-intensity transmission bands are from the excitation of the internal SPP modes. The transmittance of the low transmission bands can be increased by decreasing the relative position of the two transmission bands, and the negative electromagnetic response of the metamaterials is also increased. However, if we further decrease the relative position of the two bands, the low transmission band will be merged in the high transmission band, and no negative electromagnetic response can be retrieved.     

等离子体诱导透明的T形-圆形波导滤波器

提出一种新型的由T形与圆形谐振腔组成的光学滤波器,并利用二维有限元法研究了它的特性。仿真结果显示,当这两个腔在共振峰附近处于失谐状态时,会产生电磁诱导透明现象;同时,由于两个腔的透射谱形是不同的,所以当改变圆形腔的半径或T形结构的宽度时,总体结构的透射谱形会呈现为一种Fano线,这种变化尖锐非对称的Fano线使得结构对于折射率的敏感性高达1 400 nm/RIU。本文还研究了滤波器特性随结构尺寸的变化,发现在滤波器几何结构一定的情况下,透射只发生在特定的波长处。该滤波器可以用于光子回路和灵敏探测。     

Efficient directional excitation of surface plasmon polaritons by partial dielectric filling slit structure

In this paper, we investigate the excitation of surface plasmon polariton (SPP) in the metallic slit partly filled with dielectric by using the finite-difference time-domain method. It is found that the slit structure displays high asymmetry in the field distribution and SPP excitation due to the difference in matching degree of SPP wavevector on the two sides of slit exit. At certain incident wavelengths, the power flow carried by SPP modes on one side of slit exit is over three orders of magnitude greater than that on the other side, an efficient directional excitation is achieved. The SPP generation efficiencies on both sides of slit exit can be periodically adjusted by the dielectric width, but their changes are not synchronous, implying that such slit structure could be acted as a directional splitter/coupler. Moreover, the asymmetry degree of SPP excitation can also be modulated by the refractive index of dielectric layer.     

Systematical research on the characteristics of a vertical coupled Fabry–Perot plasmonic filter

A nanometric surface plasmon polariton (SPP) filter based on a vertical coupled metal–insulator–metal (MIM) Fabry–Perot resonator is proposed and analyzed. The transmission characteristics of the SPP filter are analyzed in detail by using the finite difference time domain method. And the resonance condition derived by the numerical method is consonant with the analytic model based on the Fabry–Perot model, which includes the metal loss and dispersion effects. And the simulation results show that multiple transmission dips can be formed and the resonance wavelengths of the transmission dips can be altered by the Fabry–Perot cavity length and width. Also the extinction ratio and the quality factor of the filter are affected by the barrier thickness of the coupling region. The proposed nanometric plasmonic filter is simple and very promising for the SPP waveguides platform.     

Classifying the transmission resonances of a subwavelength aperture within a thin metallic film by breaking the symmetry

Here by introducing an I-shape structure to break the symmetry of a thin metallic film, the contributions of Fabry–Perot (FP) resonance-like modes and surface plasmon polariton (SPP) resonance-like are determined. The finite difference-time domain (FDTD) simulation is utilized to provide a clear picture of the electromagnetic field distribution and transmission profile. The FP matrix method is employed to specify the contribution of FP resonance. Some of the predicted resonances of the FP matrix method coincide with the simulation result which is labeled as FP resonance-like modes. The remaining resonance modes in transmission profile are considered as SPP resonance-like modes. Our results provide explicit evidence that both FP resonator modes and SPP resonance are responsible for extraordinary optical transmission (EOT) through a subwavelength aperture.     

采用银纳米圆盘阵列提高LED发光特性的研究

为了提高GaN基蓝光LED的发光效率,设计了在LED有源层上方引入银纳米圆盘阵列的模型。利用时域有限差分方法计算了银纳米圆盘阵列不同结构参数情况下LED有源层自发辐射率的变化情况及光提取效率值。通过对有源区的近场分布和LED远场方向性的分析,理论上解释了利用该金属纳米结构生成的表面等离激元对LED性能增强的影响,利用该模型可使得表面等离激元与有源层有效耦合,从而增强有源层的自发辐射率。此外,银纳米粒子组成的阵列结构所生成的栅格矢量可以补偿表面等离激元的波矢量,从而可将局域化表面等离激元转为辐射性表面等离激元,显著提高LED顶端光提取效率。结果表明,当银纳米圆盘颗粒满足直径为120nm,厚度为30nm时,含该结构的GaN基蓝光LED自发辐射率比普通LED增强了3.6倍。在此基础上,当其按照晶格常数为220nm的三角晶格排列时,顶端光提取效率增强为2.5倍。这些结果为实际的高性能GaN基LED的设计与优化提供了一定的参考。     

Extraordinary optical transmission through metal gratings with single and double grooved surfaces

We investigate the transmission properties of a normally incident TM plane wave through metal films with periodic parabolic-shaped grooves on single and double surfaces using the finite-difference-time-domain method. Nearly zero transmission efficiency is found at wavelengths corresponding to surface plasmon excitation on a flat surface in the case where the single surface is grooved. Meanwhile, resonant excitation of surface plasmon polariton (SPP) Bloch modes leads to a strong transmission peak at slightly larger wavelengths. When the grating is grooved on double surfaces, the transmission enhancement can be dramatically improved due to the resonant tunnelling between SPP Bloch modes.     

Surface plasmon-polaritons wave fields in the vicinity of a metallic nanohole

It is shown that metal surface with a nanohole can support surface plasmon-polaritons (SPP), whose wave fields are described by Hankel functions. These plasmons can be excited by an electromagnetic wave incident at the metal surface. The optical transmission through subwavelength holes in metal films can essentially be enhanced by interaction of the incident light with surface plasmons. Dependence of excitation of the wave field of SPP on the incidence angle and on the wavelength of incident light is considered.     

Plasmonic Mach-Zehnder interferometric sensor based on a metal-insulator-metal nanostructure

A plasmonic Mach-Zehnder interferometric sensor based on a semicircular aperture-slit nanostructure patterned on a metal-insulator-metal film is proposed and demonstrated by finite difference time domain(FDTD) simulation. Due to the interference between two different surface plasmon polariton modes in this design, the transmission spectra exhibit oscillation behaviors in a broad bandwidth, and can be readily tailored by changing the SPP path length and core layer thickness. Based on this principle, the characteristics of refractive index sensing are also demonstrated by simulation. This structure is illuminated with a collimated light source from the back side to avoid impacts on the interference. Meanwhile,these results show that the proposed structure is promising for portable, efficient, and sensitive biosensing applications.     

Directional excitation of surface plasmon polaritons in structure of subwavelength metallic holes

In this paper, we propose a structure formed by two subwavelength holes fabricated in a metal film to realize directional excitation of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs). The holes are employed as SPP sources, and the relative phase of SPPs generated at the hole exit end can be adjusted by changing the dielectric material filled in holes. Using the difference in relative phase values of SPP for two holes filled with different dielectric media, the SPPs can interfere constructively along one direction while destructively along the opposite direction. Our theoretical analysis is verified by the three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain method. Moreover, the directional excitation of SPPs in two-hole array structure is also discussed. It is found that the effect of SPPs directional excitation is improved with the increase of the number of two-hole.     

金属-光折变材料复合全息结构对表面等离激元的波前调控

表面等离激元(surface plasmon polaritons, SPPs)控制具有重要意义.表面电磁波全息法是在金属表面设计能有效控制SPP传输的凹槽阵列结构.本文提出一种新的SPP传输的控制方法,利用金属-光折变材料复合全息结构控制SPP传播.在金属表面覆盖一层光折变材料,两束SPP波在光折变材料内干涉生成全息结构,利用此全息结构能够控制SPP的传播.通过时域有限差分法模拟验证,结果显示,通过金属-光折变材料复合全息结构可以有效地控制SPP波束的传输,实现SPP平面波束的单点聚焦、两点聚焦,以及生成零阶和一阶高斯SPP波束.经过优化发现,光折变材料的最佳厚度为3.3μm,最佳折射率调制度为0.06.现有SPP控制器件主要是通过离子束刻蚀,而金属-光折变材料复合全息结构不需要刻蚀,从而扩展了SPP控制的器件的制作方法,为SPPs的全光控制提供了新的思路,使SPP全光控制成为可能,进一步实现了SPP全光开关等功能.     

Spectrum of Single-Photon Scattering in a Strong-Coupling Hybrid Optomechanical System

The single-photon excitation and transmission spectra of strong-coupling hybrid optomechanics are theoretically analyzed, where a two-level system (TLS) is coupled to a mechanical resonator (MR), generating Jaynes–Cummings-type polariton doublets. In this model, both the optomechanical coupling and the TLS-MR coupling are strong. In this parameter region, polaron-assisted excitation reemission processes can strongly affect the single-photon excitation and output spectra of the cavity. It is found that the fine structure around each sideband can be used to characterize the TLS-MR and the effective TLS-photon couplings, even at the single-quantum level. Thus, the spectrum structures may make it possible to sensitively probe the quantum nature of a macroscopic mechanical element. A possible approach for tomographic reconstruction of the state of a TLS, utilizing the single-photon transmission spectra, is further provided.     

Fano resonances in complex plasmonic super-nanoclusters: The effect of environmental modifications on the LSPR sensitivity

In this study, gold nanodisk clusters in heptamer orientations as clusters were used to design a super-heptamer consisting of one central and six peripheral heptamers. We examined the position and movement of the plasmon and Fano resonances by sketching the spectral response of the superstructure for various nanodisk dimensions. The quality of the interference between the superradiant and subradiant plasmon resonance modes of the nanodisk clusters was found to depend strongly on the structural configuration and the refractive index of the environmental medium. We replaced the central heptamer with a nanodisk and probed the position of the Fano resonance by geometrically altering the nanodisk structure. Finally, the effect of the dielectric environment on the plasmon response of both of the studied structures was examined numerically and theoretically. The localized surface plasmon resonance sensitivity of the finite plasmonic structures to the presence of liquid substances was investigated and shown by plotting the linear figure of merit. The finite-difference time-domain method was used as a numerical tool to investigate the plasmon response of the structure.     

Mode characteristics of silver-coated inverted-wedge silica microdisks

The characteristics of whispering gallery modes(WGM) in silver-coated inverted-wedge silica microdisks are theoretically investigated by using finite element method. Dielectric TE mode always exists in silver-coated inverted-wedge resonators; dielectric TM mode tends to couple with SPP modes; only pure interior surface plasmonic polariton(SPP) mode but not pure exterior SPP mode is observed in contrast to the metal-coated cylindrical and toroidal resonators. The dependence of quality factor of different kinds of WGMs on the radius of the resonator and the thickness of the coated silver layer are systematically analyzed. We find that the quality factors of the hybrid WGMs associated with SPP mode can reach 104. The maximum light intensity enhancement in ambient for a hybrid mode consisting of a dielectric TM mode and an exterior SPP mode can be obtained when a silver film of thickness ~40 nm is deposited. The silver-coated inverted-wedge silica resonators may be widely applied in sensing and surface enhanced Raman scattering.     

Anomalous transmission of terahertz wave through one-dimensional lamellar metallic grating

The anomalous transmission through one-dimensional lamellar metallic gratings was investigated in terahertz (THz) regime. The extraordinary optical transmission (EOT) is identified to originate from two possible ways: coupling of incident light with waveguide resonances and coupling of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) at the upper and lower interfaces of metal grating. The dual effects of SPPs have been clarified in this study: (i) the excitation of SPP modes at each individual interface results in the weakness of the THz wave transmission; and (ii) the coupling of SPP modes at two interfaces of metal grating is attributed to enhancement of THz wave transmission. The enhanced transmission is dominated by the coupling of incident light with transverse waveguide resonances. Numerical simulation based on finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) agrees well with experimental results.     

Plasmonic coupler based on the nanoslit with bump

In this paper, we propose a plasmonic coupler which is composed of a nanoslit with a bump. The slit is used to generate surface plasmon polariton (SPP), and the bump is employed as a SPP reflector. It is found that the phase difference between the SPP propagating the opposite direction to the bump and the one reflected by the bump can be periodically adjusted by the distance between the center of slit and the bump. When the constructive interference between the two SPPs occurs, the proposed structure can be regarded as a undirectional plasmonic coupler. Moreover, we also find that the propagation of the interfering SPPs is influenced by the width and length of bump. It is expected that our results may be utilized to control the electromagnetic wave in subwavelength optics.     

Reliable control of magnetic vortex chirality in asymmetrically optimized magnetic nanodisk

Magnetic vortex has attracted attention in the field of information storage because their topological spin structures with chiral bistable states. If the vortex core polarity and vortex circulation sense can be controlled simultaneously in a nanodisk, which will be more beneficial to realize the multi-bit ultrahigh density storage. In this paper, a reliable control scheme for magnetic vortex chirality is proposed by optimizing the structure of Pac-Man-like nanodisk. The results show that the polarity and circulation of the vortex can be controlled simultaneously by changing the direction of the global magnetic field, and even the chiral states of the vortex can be determined by detecting the stray field distribution on the surface of the nanodisk. The optimized Pac-Man-like nanodisk provide an experimental method for the control and detection of magnetic vortex chirality, which will be beneficial to the realization of multi-bit magnetic storage or magnetic logic technology in the future.     

Determination of the composition and content of pulsed cluster beams from time-of-flight mass spectra of cluster fragments

The properties of a superconducting flux quantum bit (qubit) in the quasidispersive mode, where the frequency of a probe signal is lower than the qubit excitation frequency but is close to it, have been experimentally studied. It has been shown that all parameters of the qubit inductively coupled to a coplanar resonator can be determined at the single-frequency excitation from the analysis of the frequency responses of the transmission of the probe signal at the output of this resonator. Under the additional excitation of the qubit by the signal at the second harmonic of the cavity, resonance dips have been observed because of resonance between the probe signal and induced Rabi splitting. It has been shown that the positions of these dips are in good agreement with the parameters of the qubit that are obtained by analyzing the amplitude–frequency response within the width of the fundamental resonance frequency.     

Plasmon-induced transparency effect in hybrid terahertz metamaterials with active control and multi-dark modes

We numerically demonstrate a photo-excited plasmon-induced transparency (PIT) effect in hybrid terahertz (THz) metamaterials. The proposed metamaterials are regular arrays of hybrid unit cells composed of a metallic cut wire and four metallic split-ring resonators (SRRs) whose gaps are filled with photosensitive semiconductor gallium arsenide (GaAs) patches. We simulate the PIT effect controlled by external infrared light intensity to change the conductivity of GaAs. In the absence of photo excitation, the conductivity of GaAs is 0, thus the SRR gaps are disconnected, and the PIT effect is not observed since the dark resonator (supported by the hybrid SRRs) cannot be stimulated. When the conductivity of GaAs is increased via photo excitation, the conductivity of GaAs can increase rapidly from 0 S/m to 1×10⁶ S/m and GaAs can connect the metal aluminum SRR gaps, and the dark resonator is excited through coupling with the bright resonator (supported by the cut wire), which leads to the PIT effect. Therefore, the PIT effect can be dynamically tuned between the on and off states by controlling the intensity of the external infrared light. We also discuss couplings between one bright mode (CW) and several dark modes (SRRs) with different sizes. The interference analytically described by the coupled Lorentz oscillator model elucidates the coupling mechanism between one bright mode and two dark modes. The phenomenon can be considered the result of linear superposition of the coupling between the bright mode and each dark mode. The proposed metamaterials are promising for application in the fields of THz communications, optical storage, optical display, and imaging.