Tunable surface plasmon polariton microcavity

The tunability of a one-dimensional surface plasmon polariton microcavity is studied theoretically, which is formed by seven silver ridges. The magnitude of the electric-field intensity of the microcavity mode is enhanced by two orders compared with that of the perfect silver ridge array. The localization properties of the surface plasmon polariton microcavity can be tailored by adjusting the structure parameters or by changing the refractive index of the covering material. The potential applications in photonics devices are also discussed.     

Dual mode near-field scanning optical microscopy for near-field imaging of surface plasmon polariton

In this paper, we theoretically and experimentally demonstrate that metal coated apertured probes are efficient near-field probes on surfaces with high reflectivity for the scattering as well as for the collection mode near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM). We show that a blunt apertured metal coated tip is very effective in suppressing image dipoles which affect strongly the signals scattered from frequently used sharp metal tips or gold nanoparticle attached probes. By using a simultaneous collection and scattering mode (dual mode) NSOM we measure the near-field images of surface plasmon polariton (SPP) launched from a slit. The collection mode measures propagating SPP along lateral distance in a long scan range with high signal-to-noise ratio, and the scattering mode measures the polarization resolved near-field of SPP. Comparisons of the measured data obtained in the dual mode enable to easily characterize SPP and to separate the measured near-field into the propagating SPP and the directly transmitted light.     

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.     

Modeling of a surface plasmon polariton interferometer

We model the operation of a micro-optical interferometer for surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) that comprises an SPP beam-splitter formed by equivalent scatterers lined up and equally spaced. The numerical calculations are carried out by using a relatively simple vectorial dipolar model for multiple SPP scattering [Phys. Rev. B 67 (2003) 165405]. The SPP beam-splitter is simulated elucidating the influence of system parameters, such as the angle of SPP beam incidence, scattering particle size, and inter-particle distance, on the splitting efficiency and phase difference between the transmitted and reflected beams. It is found that the splitting efficiency is very sensitive to the size of scatterers and angle of incidence. Comparing our simulations with experimental data available in the literature, we conclude that this approach can be used, with certain limitations, for modelling of SPP components assembled of individual scatterers, e.g., beam-splitters and interferometers, and suggest further improvements of the model used.     

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     

Engineering optical gradient force from coupled surface plasmon polariton modes in nanoscale plasmonic waveguides

We explore the dispersion properties and optical gradient forces from mutual coupling of surface plasmon polariton(SPP) modes at two interfaces of nanoscale plasmonic waveguides with hyperbolic metamaterial cladding.With Maxwell's equations and Maxwell stress tensor,we calculate and compare the dispersion relation and optical gradient force for symmetric and antisymmetric SPP modes in two kinds of nanoscale plasmonic waveguides.The numerical results show that the optical gradient force between two coupled hyperbolic metamaterial waveguides can be engineered flexibly by adjusting the waveguide structure parameters.Importantly,an alternative way to boost the optical gradient force is provided through engineering the hyperbolic metamaterial cladding of suitable orientation.These special optical properties will open the door for potential optomechanical applications,such as optical tweezers and actuators.     

Long-range surface plasmon polariton modes with a large field localized in a nanoscale gap

A planar five-layer waveguide with a metal-insulator (with the low permittivity)-metal structure embedded in a high-permittivity dielectric is theoretically studied. A long-range surface mode draws special attention because of its superior properties of low attenuation and a large field localized inside the nanoscale middle gap provided with permittivity-contrast. Effects of the surrounding permittivity and the metal film thickness are investigated, and the electric field amplitude in the gap can be dozens of times higher than that at the outer interfaces. This plasmonic structure may have potential applications in integrated photonic devices.     

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.     

Splitting of a surface plasmon polariton beam by chains of nanoparticles

The operation of a micro-optical beam splitter for surface plasmon polaritons (SPP’s) formed by lined up scatterers is modeled and studied in the framework of a vectorial dipolar approach for multiple SPP scattering by equivalent non-spherical nanoparticles. It is shown that the inclusion of anisotropic polarizability of individual scatterer in the vectorial dipolar model of multiple SPP scattering allows one to obtain, in some cases, quantitative agreement between modeling and experimental results. As an example, we apply this approach to model an SPP beam-splitter formed by a chain of spheroidal particles. The dependencies of the splitting efficiency on the shape of particles, the incidence angle and the waist of an incident SPP Gaussian beam are considered. It is found that the efficiency is very sensitive to the shape of scatterers and the angle of SPP beam incidence. Comparison of numerical results with experimental data shows good agreement with respect to the particle shape and incident angular dependences. PACS 02.70.-c; 71.36.+c; 78.68.+m     

Hybrid waveguide-surface plasmon polariton modes in a guided-mode resonance grating

We analyze the coupling between surface plasmon polaritons in a metal grating and the guided modes of a dielectric waveguide. Our model structure is a gold wire grating on a slab waveguide made of silicon nitride on silica wafer. The excitation of guided-mode resonances, surface plasmon polariton modes and hybrid waveguide-plasmon modes are observed in numerical simulations. Our experiments verify the existence of the predicted modes. These hybrid modes add significant degrees of freedom in designing structures for plasmonic applications.     

IR surface plasmon (polariton) phase spectroscopy

New experimental evidence is presented which shows that the reliability and the precision of the determination of the optical constants of the metallic and dielectric surfaces can be improved by using the surface electromagnetic wave absorption spectroscopy and SEW phase spectroscopy simultaneously.     

降低表面等离子激元寄生吸收损失的途径研究

从纳米Ag颗粒表面等离子激元光学及表面高能电场特性两方面入手,较为系统地研究了周围介质的导电特性对表面等离子激元的影响.通过对复合薄膜紫外-可见-近红外光谱及表面增强拉曼散射光谱的分析,指出绝缘性的Al₂O₃介质薄膜能够起到良好的表面电场定域效果,且不会引入附加的光吸收损失;而导电性的ITO薄膜则会引入表面价电子的溢出损失,加速了表面电场的衰逝,同时引起长波方向上显著的光吸收损失.研究还表明致密的Al₂O₃介质薄膜能够起到良好的屏蔽作用,且纳米Ag颗粒表面等离子激元特性仅受最近邻材料特性的影响.研究结果为在硅基薄膜太阳电池中实现对纳米Ag颗粒的阻挡、寄生光吸收损失的降低以及表面高能电场的利用,提供了一条有效的解决途径.     

Waveguiding in surface plasmon polariton band gap structures

Using near-field optical microscopy, we investigate propagation and scattering of surface plasmon polaritons (SPP's) excited in the wavelength range of 780-820 nm at nanostructured gold-film surfaces with areas of 200-nm-wide scatterers arranged in a 400-nm-period triangular lattice containing line defects. We observe the SPP reflection by such an area and SPP guiding along line defects at 782 nm, as well as significant deterioration of these effects is 815 nm, thereby directly demonstrating the SPP band gap effect and showing first examples of SPP channel waveguides in surface band gap structures.     

金属导线偶合THz表面等离子体波

利用THz时域光谱技术,研究了具有不同排列参数的金属导线阵列的透射特性,分析了金属导线半径,排列间隔以及入射电场的偏振方向对表面等离子体波产生和传播的影响.在具有等间隔缝隙的金属导线中,当电场偏振方向垂直金属导线时,透射信号受等离子模式和谐振腔模式的共振效应的影响;而当电场偏振平行金属导线时,只存在谐振腔模式的共振. 关键词： THz 时域光谱 铜导线 表面等离子体     

长程表面等离子体的增强效应

研究了双层金属薄膜构型中构型参数对长程表面等离子体的影响,并发现了衰减全反射激发方法下长程表面等离子体的增强效应.以特征矩阵算法为基础,通过数值计算构型的反射谱,研究构型参数的变化对反射谱的影响.发现由于衰减全反射激发方法中耦合器的存在导致的非对称特性,会使双层金属薄膜构型中的长程表面等离子体拥有本征模式特性以外的有趣特性,如长程模式得到增强而另一支受到抑制,从而使能量更为集中在希望被激发的一支.研究结果对非对称激发构型中的长程表面等离子体研究具有启发意义.     

One-atom-thick reflectors for surface plasmon polariton surface waves on graphene

Inspired by its analog from classic optics, we introduce one-atom-thick reflectors for infrared (IR) surface plasmon polaritons (SPP) surface waves based on graphene. Using numerical simulations, we first present the simple case of one-atom-thick straight-line mirror and then show how a one-atom-thick parabolic reflector (mirror) can be envisioned for focusing guided SPP waves on the graphene.     

Analysis of waveguide structure for surface plasmon polariton interference

This paper describes a multi-reflected mode based on a narrow waveguide to enlarge the interferential area of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs). A reasonable thickness of metal film is coated under the waveguide, the incident angle and the waveguide thickness are optimized in order to effectively increase interferential area. This is a key point for research into the Goos--H\"anchen shift to optimize the waveguide thickness. Finally, the SPP interferential field is simulated with the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) technique to prove the optimized results, and indicates that not only is the interferential area enlarged, but the high contrast is also maintained. Furthermore, the mode can fabricate some specific interferential patterns by adding some modulating techniques to the waveguide. So the mode has potential application in the fabrication of sub-wavelength patterns.     

A theoretical study of “structure-induced” surface plasmon polariton modes on metals and semiconductors using ATR

The possibility is theoretically examined, of the observation of “structure-induce” surface plasmon polariton modes on semi-finite free electron metals and semiconductors, using the Otto ATR configuration. This is achieved by introducing spatial dispersion into a model double step-function surface density profile. For both metals and semiconductors it is shown that well-defined minima in the reflectivity plots are associated with structure-induced modes. Furthermore, these modes occur quite strongly below the critical angle, which suggests that they are best developed in their radiative form.     

Unidirectional manipulation of surface plasmon polariton by dual-nanocavity in a T-shaped waveguide

A structure of two dimensional T-shaped metal-insulator-metal waveguide with dual-nanocavity is proposed. The two nanocavities located at each side of the slit on the lower metallic surface, act as band rejection filters and are capable of stopping the surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) at the resonant wavelengths. The Fabry-Perot interferometry theory and the Finite-Difference-Time-Domain method are utilized to investigate the proposed waveguide. The numerical results demonstrate the realization of miniaturized photonic devices for effectively switching the SPPs propagation between the left and right waveguides in one direction.     

表面等离子体激元纳米激光器技术及应用研究进展

传统半导体激光器由于采用光学系统反馈而存在衍射极限,其腔长至少是其发射波长的一半,因此难以实现微小化。基于表面等离子体激元的纳米激光器可以实现深亚波长乃至纳米尺度的激光发射,而且现代微纳加工技术的逐步成熟,也为亚波长乃至纳米量级激光器的研制提供了成熟的技术条件。本文重点综述了国际上已成功实验验证的基于表面等离子体激元的纳米激光器的最新研究进展,综述了表面等离子体激元的基本原理,给出了若干种表面等离子体激元纳米激光器的结构和特点,指出该类激光器现存问题主要表现在激元损耗高及由此引起的制备工艺和电泵浦涉及的技术难题。文中最后展望了纳米激光器的应用和研究前景。