On the characteristics of commonly nonideal rectangular ridge dielectric-loaded surface plasmon polariton waveguides in practical fabrication processing

In this paper, four commonly nonideal structures of the ideal rectangular dielectric ridge dielectric-loaded surface plasmon polariton waveguides (DLSPPWs) in actual fabrication processing were studied. The mode effective index, propagation length, field distributions, effects of geometric deviation, lateral field confinement and figures of merit of fundamental mode were calculated at the telecommunication wavelengths. It was found that, the propagation length, the lateral field confinement and figures of merit of four nonideal rectangle ridge DLSPPWs were changed compared with the ideal rectangular dielectric ridge DLSPPW. However, the field distributions were kept, and, the characteristics of nonideal rectangle ridge DLSPPWs were affected by the geometric deviation. This study presents the characteristics of commonly nonideal rectangle ridge DLSPPWs and provides substantial information for processing and optimizing the rectangular dielectric ridge DLSPPWs in practical fabrication processing.     

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.     

Semi-elliptical dielectric-loaded surface plasmon-polariton waveguides

Semi-elliptical dielectric-loaded surface plasmon-polariton waveguide (DLSPPW) is proposed. The mode effective index, field confinement, and propagation length of the fundamental mode supported by it are calculated at the telecom wavelength λ = 1.55 μm for different dimensions of a polymer ridge (with the refractive index of 1.535) placed on a gold film surface. The waveguide structure is found to exhibit 23% increase of the propagation length while showing similar confinement as compared to conventional rectangular DLSPPW when ridge thickness t < 450 nm (ridge width w = 600 nm) and ridge width w < 320 nm (ridge thickness t = 600 nm).     

THz surface plasmon jump between two metal edges

We excite surface plasmon in the THz frequency range at a metal surface using a diffraction grating coupler. Then the excited surface plasmon propagates along the flat metal surface, scatters into free space at the sample edge and then couples onto the flat surface of a second device similar to the emitting one. Using THz time-domain spectroscopy, we study plasmon propagation and its coupling processes in time and frequency domains. We measure a surface plasmon propagation length, at a flat air-aluminum interface, smaller than expected. We report for the first time a high coupling efficiency of the THz surface plasmon field between the two grating devices separated by a several centimeters-thick air gap.     

Graded-index ridge surface plasmon polaritons waveguide

We propose and analyze a long-range dielectric-loaded surface plasmon polariton （SPP） waveguide based on graded-index ridge over server millimeter distances. Then the influence of the dielectric thickness and the ridge refractive index on propagation length and mode width is discussed and simulated with the finite ele- ment raethod. The result shows that the SPP can propagate as long as 3.42 mm, as well as the mode width keeping as 1.64μm, a better one compared with the fixed refractive index. Considering its nanoscale dimension and outstanding performance, the structure is easily realized when connected with electrodes.     

Control of the distribution of surface plasmon local field by altering the surrounding material

The field distribution of the surface plasmon (SP) around a silver nanowire greatly influences its applications for both spectrum enhancement and nano-waveguide. This paper demonstrates the change of the SP local field distribution of a silver nanowire on glass substrate with the refractive index of the covering medium by numerical simulation. The hot energy site is observed focusing on the interface between the nanowire and the surround material of larger refractive index. Moreover, we also find that the surface plasmon field becomes more confined as the refractive index between the substrate and medium has a larger gap, while a homogeneous distribution of the surrounding dielectric material around the nanowire shows a uniform local field distribution with a larger surface plasmon propagation length. The change of related parameters, such as effective index, mode area, and propagation length are also comprehensively investigated against the refractive index for nanowires with 100, 200, 300 nm diameter. Considering the wide use of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) material, the field distribution of silver nanowire partially imbedded in PMMA against the PMMA thickness is also studied.     

Dye assisted enhanced transmission in near field optical lithography

Surface plasmon lithography using embedded-amplitude masks has received considerable attention in recent times for its ability to produce high density features with resolution beyond diffraction limit. However plasmon damping caused due to intrinsic metal absorption restricts the achievable aspect ratio of the fabricated features. One possible way to rectify this issue is to use a gain medium to amplify the surface plasmons and thereby increase their propagation length. In this context this paper proposes a novel concept of employing dye medium to enhance plasmon propagation in mask based surface plasmon lithography, so as to obtain higher transmission depth in the writing medium. The proposed concept is supported by numerical simulations and the results obtained indicate a 14.5 fold field enhancement in presence of dye (gain) medium.     

Tunable coupling of a hybrid plasmonic waveguide consisting of two identical dielectric cylinders and a silver film

The propagation length of surface plasmon polaritons(SPPs) is intrinsically limited by the metallic ohmic loss that is enhanced by the strongly confined electromagnetic field. In this paper, we propose a new class of hybrid plasmonic waveguides(HPWs) that can support long-range SPP propagation while keeping subwavelength optical field confinement. It is shown that the coupling between the waveguides can be well tuned by simply varying the structural parameters. Compared with conventional HPWs, a larger propagation length as well as a better optical field confinement can be simultaneously realized. The proposed structure with better optical performance can be useful for future photonic device design and optical integration research.     

Single mode ridge waveguides based on vinyltriethoxysilane hybrid sol–gel material

In this work, fabrication and characterization of a single-mode vinyltriethoxysilane (VTES) based hybrid organic–inorganic sol–gel ridge waveguide is reported. VTES based hybrid sol–gel material has been deposited by multiple spin-coating process on quartz substrate. Channel waveguides have been fabricated by UV photopolymerization followed by wet etching process. Optical guided mode was observed to ensure the single mode condition while cut-back technique was performed for loss propagation measurement. Optical propagation losses were measured to be 1.6 dB/cm at 1.31 μm wavelength. This value shows that this material is a promising choice for the development of integrated optical circuits for telecommunication field.     

Spectral broadening of a few-cycle laser pulse propagating in fused quartz

Results of theoretical study of nonlinear propagation of a few-cycle laser pulse in a fused quartz are presented. With use of the finite-difference technique we have integrated numerically the system of the nonlinear Maxwell equations describing the propagation of a linearly polarized pulse at the central wavelength in the range of zero dispersion (λ₀ = 1.27 μm) and duration 20 fs. The evolution of the laser pulse spectrum is calculated and the dependences of the shift of the spectral peak on both the strength of electric field and medium length are obtained.     

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.     

改进型混合表面等离子体微腔激光器的研究

设计了一种拥有增益介质脊和空气间隙的改进型混合表面等离子体微腔激光器,并在微腔的两端面镀一层50 nm厚的银反射镜,有效地提高了纳米激光器的性能.基于COMSOL Multiphysics软件分别构建二维截面和三维立体模型,在1550 nm的工作波长下对该改进型结构的传输性能以及微腔性能进行分析.结果表明:该激光器具有显著的亚波长限制能力和很大的传输距离,最长距离可以达到1.29 mm.测试该激光器的微腔性能时,通过调整结构参数获得了高质量因子、低增益阈值以及深亚波长下的超小有效模式体积0.001092μm~3和超高的Purcell因子8.29×10~5.与先前结构对比,在结构参数统一时,所设计的结构具有更低的激光激射阈值和更强的微腔局域能力.所设计的改进型混合表面等离子体微腔激光器可以作为各种光子器件的基本构建模块,并可应用于传感、纳米聚焦和纳米激光等领域.     

紫外表面等离激元在基于氧化锌纳米线的半导体-绝缘介质-金属结构中的输运特性研究

研究了紫外表面等离激元在半导体纳米线-绝缘介质-金属构成的波导结构中的输运问题,借助有限元方法,对这种波导所支持导模的电磁能分布、有效折射率、传播长度和有效模场面积随电磁参数和几何结构参数的依赖关系进行了分析.计算结果表明:以氧化锌纳米线作为增益介质,绝缘材料选择折射率小的空气,金属选择铝能够实现对输出光场的亚波长约束,有效模场面积达到λ2/100,同时保持低的传输损耗和高场强限制能力;有望用作纳米光源,使得相关的生物探测器件和医疗诊断设备实现更高的灵敏度和更小的体积.     

Growth and characterization of ZnO multipods on functional surfaces with different sizes and shapes of Ag particles

Three-dimensional ZnO multipods are successfully synthesized on functional substrates using the vapor transport method in a quartz tube. The functional surfaces, which include two different distributions of Ag nanoparticles and a layer of commercial Ag nanowires, are coated onto silicon substrates before the growth of ZnO nanostructures. The structures and morphologies of the ZnO/Ag heterostructures are investigated using X-ray diffraction and field emission scanning electron microscopy. The sizes and shapes of the Ag particles affect the growth rates and initial nucleations of the ZnO structures, resulting in different numbers and shapes of multipods. They also influence the orientation and growth quality of the rods. The optical properties are studied by photoluminescence, UV-vis, and Raman spectroscopy. The results indicate that the surface plasmon resonance strongly depends on the sizes and shapes of the Ag particles.     

涂覆石墨烯的非对称并行电介质纳米线波导的模式特性分析

采用多级展开方法,对涂覆石墨烯的非对称并行电介质纳米线波导的模式特性进行了分析.首先对这种波导中的表面等离子模式进行分类,然后对七种低阶模式的有效折射率和传播长度随工作频率、几何结构参数和石墨烯费米能的依赖关系进行详细的分析.结果表明,通过改变工作频率、几何结构参数和石墨烯的费米能,可以在较大范围内调节模式的特性.与有限元法进行的对比表明,基于多级方法的半解析结果与有限元法的数值结果非常符合.研究结果可为涂覆石墨烯的非对称并行电介质纳米线的设计和制作提供一定的理论基础.     

Dipole and quadrupole plasmon in confined quasi-one-dimensional electron gas systems

An eigen-equation of plasmon excitation in confined quasi-one-dimensional systems is presented. Besides dipole plasmons, quadrupole plasmons are found in the systems by comparing the eigen-solutions with the dipole response. For both dipole and quadrupole plasmons, the plasmon frequencies decrease with the increase of the system's length, and their size dependence can be well fitted by the plasmon dispersion in the infinite systems calculated by the random phase approximation. Through extensively studies of eigen-charge density and induced charge density, we find that quadrupole plasmon corresponds to symmetric charge density distribution, and can only be excited by non-uniform electric field.     

介观尺寸原子链中的等离激元：紧束缚模型

本文运用紧束缚模型对介观尺寸原子链的等离激发进行了系统的研究, 通过量子响 应理论和相无规近似得到了等离激元的本征频率方程, 通过该方程计算了系统中等离子体的激发能量, 并分别对体系的本征振荡以及外电场作用在原子链上发生共振的情况进行了研究. 结果表明, 体系在外场作用下发生共振时, 偶极矩的峰值与等离子体的激发态相对应, 说明外场此时激发了等离激元; 体系处在共振情况下, 电荷振荡的幅度远远大于非共振的情况, 相对来说体系的电荷虚部的共振更为明显. 对于体系的本征等离振荡频率, 同等长度时等离子体的激发能量总是大于同级的单电子激发能量; 等离激元的能谱与原子链的长度和电子密度以及系统的库仑关联强度都有很大关系; 在原子链长度保持不变的情况下, 等离子体的激发能量随电子数目的变化以半满为中心呈对称关系. 关键词： 纳米结构 一维原子链 等离激元     

Characteristics of coupled plasmon modes in asymmetric layered system

We used an asymmetric layered system functioning as a plasmon waveguide coupler to couple surface plasmon modes with gap plasmon modes. The planar system was analyzed by the transfer matrix method to design the optical dimensions of the system. We simulated the effective mode indexes and H-field distribution of the coupled modes, for different gap widths and refractive indexes. For the calculated modes the propagation lengths were calculated. Furthermore, a sample structure was fabricated and odd gap plasmon modes were excited with a coupling prism in an attenuated-total-reflection (ATR) configuration. The mode index measurement showed good agreement with the simulation data.     

Resolution improvement of surface plasmon-enhanced, liquid crystal spatial light modulator: Simulation studies

Spatial resolution is an important performance characteristic of spatial light modulators (SLM). One of the key factors affecting the spatial resolution of liquid crystal (LC)-based SLM is the fringing field effect. This effect can be reduced in thin LC cells with corresponding reduction in the electro-optical response. A strong electro-optic response in thin LC layer can be attained using the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) phenomenon. While SPR-based LC SLMs were already demonstrated about 15 years ago, their development has been hampered in part by low resolution, due to the finite propagation length of the surface plasmons (SPs). A fine patterning of the metal layer supporting the propagation of SPs is studied as a possible solution for reducing the spatial blurring associated with the long propagation length of SPs. The results of detailed computer simulations showing improved resolution SPR-LC-SLM are presented.     

Plasmon hybridization in nanorod dimers

Using the plasmon hybridization method we investigate the plasmon modes of nanorod dimers in axial and parallel orientations. We show that the plasmon modes of the system can be viewed as bonding and anti-bonding modes resulting from the hybridization of the plasmon modes of the individual nanorods. The dimer plasmon modes are found to depend sensitively on separation between the nanorods and on their relative spatial orientation. The calculated optical properties agree quantitatively with results from the numerical finite-difference time-domain method. The electric field enhancements are found to depend strongly on aspect ratio defined as the ratio of the major and minor radii, and on the relative orientation of the nanorods. For a nanorod dimer of fixed overall length, the maximum field enhancements are lower than those induced in a solid sphere dimer.