Compact surface plasmon amplifier in nonlinear hybrid waveguide

Surface plasmon polariton(SPP), a sub-wavelength surface wave promising for photonic integration, always suffers from the large metallic loss that seriously restricts its practical application. Here, we propose a compact SPP amplifier based on a nonlinear hybrid waveguide(a combination of silver, LiNbO_3, and SiO_2), where a couple of Bragg gratings are introduced in the waveguide to construct a cavity. This special waveguide is demonstrated to support a highly localized SPP-like hybrid mode and a low loss waveguide-like hybrid mode. To provide a large nonlinear gain, a pumping wave input from the LiNbO_3 waveguide is designed to resonate inside the cavity and satisfy the cavity phase matching to fulfill the optical parametric amplification(OPA) of the SPP signal. Proper periods of gratings and the cavity length are chosen to satisfy the impedance matching condition to ensure the high input efficiency of the pump wave from the outside into the cavity. In theoretical calculations, this device demonstrates a high performance in a very compact scheme(~3.32 μm) and a much lower pumping power for OPA compared with single-pass pumping. To obtain a comprehensive insight into this cavity OPA, the influences of the pumping power, cavity length, and the initial phase are discussed in detail.     

Modelling of the surface plasmon resonance waveguide sensor with Bragg grating

The operation of a novel device – a waveguide surface plasmon resonance sensor with a UV-written Bragg grating – is theoretically analysed using two methods. In the simple perturbation approach, the metal/dielectric layer system supporting the resonance excitation of the surface plasma wave is considered to be a perturbation of the original dielectric waveguide with Bragg grating that is analysed using a coupled-mode theory. The second approach consists of the rigorous method of bi-directional mode expansion and propagation using the Floquet mode formalism developed recently for the analysis of waveguide grating structures. The results of both approaches are mutually compared, and the operation characteristics of this novel sensing device are briefly described.     

Symmetric surface plasmon resonance sensing structure excited by a planar waveguide

In this paper, we describe a novel waveguide surface plasmon resonance sensing structure, which consists of a symmetric structure and a planar waveguide. The core component is the symmetric structure of the metal layer, tested sample, and metal layer. The refractive index matching condition of this structure can be adjusted through the thickness of the sample. The planar waveguide is used to excite the surface plasmon wave, and then the parameters are tested and analyzed. The surface plasmon wave is excited when glycerin solutions with concentrations of 0%–70% are used to detect at thicknesses of 300 and 500 nm. The problem that the effective refractive index of the ion exchange planar waveguide is large and using this index to excite the surface plasmon wave between the metal and dielectric for detection is difficult to achieve can be countered by appropriately choosing the thickness of the dielectric in order to be able to measure different refractive indices.     

Adjustable surface plasmon resonance with Au,Ag, and Ag@Au core-shell nanoparticles

We report an experimental study on the synthesis of metal nanoparticles （NPs） with adjustable optical density based on surface plasmon resonance （SPR）. Metal NPs prepared by laser ablation in liquid method and the effect of laser parameters on the size, distribution, wavelength of SPR of Ag, Au, and mixture of Ag-Au, and Ag core/Au shell NPs are investigated. Our results show that the adjustable SPR band can be achieved in each class of NPs which is suitable for adjustable optical window applications.     

纳米Ag材料表面等离子体激元引起的表面增强拉曼散射光谱研究

用热蒸发的方法制备了纳米Ag材料,并用扫描电子显微镜对纳米粒子进行了形貌的表征,通过紫外—可见分光光度计得到Ag纳米粒子的透过谱,得到了Ag纳米粒子的表面等离子体共振的峰值位置.以罗丹明6G为探针分子测定Ag纳米粒子衬底的表面增强拉曼散射效应,通过拉曼散射光谱与透过谱研究了由表面等离子体激元的强极化场引起的表面增强拉曼散射效应,结合透过谱与拉曼增益因子提出了一种描述表面等离子体光学和电学特性的方法,并结合扫描电镜的结果给出了不同结构的纳米Ag材料对表面等离子体激元强度的影响. 关键词： 热蒸发 纳米Ag材料 表面等离子体 表面增强拉曼散射     

Utilization of surface plasmon resonance of Au/Pt nanoparticles for highly photosensitive ZnO nanorods network based plasmon field effect transistor

Hydrothermally processed highly photosensitive ZnO nanorods based plasmon field effect transistors (PFETs) have been demonstrated utilizing the surface plasmon resonance coupling of Au and Pt nanoparticles at Au/Pt and ZnO interface. A significantly enhanced photocurrent was observed due to the plasmonic effect of the metal nanoparticles (NPs). The Pt coated PFETs showed I_on/I_off ratio more than 3 × 10⁴ under the dark condition, with field-effect mobility of 26 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹ and threshold voltage of −2.7 V. Moreover, under the illumination of UV light (λ = 350 nm) the PFET revealed photocurrent gain of 10⁵ under off-state (−5 V) of operation. Additionally, the electrical performance of PFETs was investigated in detail on the basis of charge transfer at metal/ZnO interface. The ZnO nanorods growth temperature was preserved at 110 °C which allowed a low temperature, economical and simple method to develop highly photosensitive ZnO nanorods network based PFETs for large scale production.     

Fiber-optic surface plasmon resonance-based sensor with AZO/Au bilayered sensing layer

We describe a surface plasmon resonance-based fiber sensor based on a side-polished graded-index mul- timode fiber, in which an Al-doped zinc oxide/gold （AZO/Au） bilayer is deposited on the side-polished surface of the fiber core to improve the detection sensitivity of the device. The AZO/Au layer is used as the active sensing member of the device with a combination of a 75-nm-thick AZO layer and a 40-nm-thick Au layer. Such a device is then applied to the concentration measurement of CHaCOONa solutions, as an example showing a good response to concentration variation. The results indicate that the additional AZO layer in the active sensing member may lead to higher detection sensitivity and greater measurement stability in the measurements of solution concentration.     

Modelling of surface plasmon resonance waveguide sensor by complex mode expansion and propagation method

Light propagation in a surface plasmon resonance sensor based on a planar glass ion-exchanged waveguide covered with a thin gold layer is modelled using the eigenmode propagation and matching technique. Optical field distribution along the sensor and the dependence of the transmitted power on the refractive index of the sensed medium is calculated. Experimental results obtained with K+↔Na+ ion-exchanged waveguides are also reported. This revised version was published online in November 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Surface plasmon resonance detection using amorphous carbon/Au multilayer structure

Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) can be used to detect the change in reflective index on a metal surface. In this report, we propose detection of the SPR can easily be applied to estimate the thickness of the amorphous carbon (a-C:H) films. To detect changes in film thickness using SPR, devices with an a-C:H/Au structure were fabricated. The a-C:H films were deposited by electron cyclotron resonance plasma chemical vapor deposition (ECR-CVD) and sputtering, and the obtained film densities were 1.4 and 1.6 g/cm³, respectively. By the deposition of an 11-nm thick a-C:H film on a Au layer by sputtering, the SPR angle changed from 44.90° to 47.05°. For a-C:H deposited by ECR-CVD, the SPR angle was shifted from 44.24° for Au without the a-C:H layer to 58.44° after deposition of 45 nm thick a-C:H film. In both systems of the SPR angle increased with increasing the film thickness. The rate at which the SPR angle shifted depended on the a-C:H film density. These results show that the thickness of an a-C:H film can be determined by the SPR angle shift on an a-C:H layer using a-C:H/Au device with an a-C:H film of the same density.     

Effects of thickness & shape on localized surface plasmon resonance of sexfoil nanoparticles

Localized surface plasmon(LSPR) resonance and sensing properties of a novel nanostructure(sexfoil nanoparticle)are studied using the finite-difference time-domain method. For the sandwich sexfoil nanoparticle, the calculated extinction spectrum shows that with the thickness of the dielectric layer increasing, long-wavelength peaks blueshift, while shortwavelength peaks redshift. Strong near-field coupling of the upper and lower metal layers leads to electric and magnetic field resonances; as the thickness increases, the electric field resonance gradually increases, while the magnetic field resonance decreases. The obtained refractive index sensitivity and figure of merit are 332 nm/RIU and 3.91 RIU~(-1), respectively. In order to obtain better sensing ability, we further research the LSPR character of monolayer Ag sexfoil nanoparticle. After a series of trials to optimize the thickness and shape, the refractive index sensitivity approximates 668 nm/RIU, and the greatest figure of merit value comes to 14.8 RIU~(-1).     

Compact and efficient coupler to interface hybrid dielectric-loaded plasmonic waveguide with silicon photonic slab waveguide

A coupler is proposed to interface a hybrid dielectric-loaded plasmonic waveguide (HDLPW) with a silicon photonic slab waveguide. The HDLPW is firstly designed and optimized to attain the best tradeoff between the mode confinement and the propagation distance. The designed coupler is inspired from the taper configuration and numerically modeled through finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulation. The results demonstrate that a high confinement and low loss of the energy is achieved from a silicon photonic slab waveguide into the dielectric slot of area 50×200 nm² in the HDLPW. The transmission attained through the coupler with a compact size of 400 nm is found to be as high as 80% (1 dB). Further, the planar nature of taper configuration makes the coupler easy to fabricate using the state-of-the-art CMOS facilities. The proposed coupler is useful in enabling the integration between photonic and hybrid plasmonic waveguides and thus realizing on-chip hybrid integrated circuits.     

Unidirectional excitation of surface plasmon polaritons in T-shaped waveguide with nanodisk resonator

The unidirectional excitation of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) in a novel configuration is numerically investigated by the finite-difference time-domain method. It is found that the transmission varies periodically with the increase of distance between the nanodisk resonator and horizontal nanoslit, which can be interpreted by the interference theory. The operating wavelength of this structure can be tuned by altering the refractive index of the nanodisk resonator. This subwavelength-scale structure exhibits high transmission (～58%) due to the constructive interference of the SPP modes, and thus can find important applications on the manipulation of SPP excitation in highly integrated optical circuits.     

Large dielectrophoresis force and torque induced by localized surface plasmon resonance of Au nanoparticle array

A new approach is proposed for manipulating and rotating micro- or nano-objects by using polarized laser light with low intensity. The polarized light excites resonant dipoles on a cap-shaped Au nanoparticle array, which generates a highly nonuniform radiation field that induces large dielectrophoresis force on dielectric objects. The orientation control of the objects is realized by adjusting the polarization direction of the incident light. Theoretical modeling, fabrication, and characterization results for the cap-shaped Au nanoparticle array, as well as preliminary trapping results, are reported.     

Multipole surface plasmon resonance of an aluminium surface

The surface photoelectric effect and the surface plasmon resonances appear when a p/transverse magnetic polarized laser hits a gas-solid interface. We model this effect in the long wave length (LWL) domain (λ_vac > 10 nm, ?ω < 124 eV) by combining the Ampère-Maxwell equation, written in classical approximation, with the material equation for the susceptibility. The resulting model, called the vector potential from the electron density (VPED), calculates the susceptibility as a product of the bulk susceptibility and the electron density of the actual system. The bulk susceptibility is a sum of the bound electron scalar susceptibility taken from the experiment and of the conduction electron non-local isotropic susceptibility tensor in a jellium metal (Lindhard, 1954 [1]). The electron density is the square of the wave function solution of the Schrödinger equation. The analysis of observables, the reflectance R and the photoelectron yield Y as well as the induced charge density permits to identify and characterize the multipole surface plasmon resonance of Al(111) appearing at ω_m ∼ 0.8ω_p or 11-12 eV.     

各向异性特异材料波导中表面等离子体的共振性质

使用时域有限差分法,研究了各向异性特异材料(AMM)作为包层的AMM/介质/AMM波导中表面等离子体的共振性质.色散关系表明,当特异材料为负磁导率的always-cutoff型时,AMM/介质/AMM波导支持TE极化的表面等离子体,表面等离子体的波长随着中间介质层的厚度和特异材料磁等离子体频率的减小而变短.在有限长度AMM/介质/AMM波导中,由于两端界面的反射,表面等离子体模在波导中形成Fabry-Perot共振,而实现亚波长的表面等离子体微腔.在共振频率,电场强度在微腔的中部达到最大值,而磁场分别在两端界面处达到最大,电磁能强局域在中间介质层中,这一性质将在可调的具有强局域特性的亚波长微腔及腔量子电动力学中具有潜在的应用.     

梳状波导结构中石墨烯表面等离子体的传播性质

理论上研究了介质/石墨烯/介质梳状波导结构中表面等离子体的传播性质. 波导中表面等离子体模的有效折射率随着石墨烯费米能级的提高而减小, 随着介质折射率的增加而增加. 分析和仿真结果表明, 基于这种梳状波导可以在中红外波段实现新型的纳米等离子体滤波器, 器件的尺度在几百纳米的范围. 通过改变梳状分支的长度, 石墨烯的费米能级, 介质的折射率和波导中石墨烯的层数, 很容易来调节带隙的位置. 另外, 滤波带隙的宽度随着梳状分支数的增加而增加. 这种滤波性质将在可调的高集成光子滤波器件中具有潜在的应用.     

激励表面等离子共振的金属薄膜最佳厚度分析

根据电磁场在金属薄膜中的能量分布规律和金属薄膜具有复介电常数的特点,对激励表面等离子共振的金属薄膜的最佳厚度进行了探讨. 指出金属薄膜的最佳厚度与激励光波长和金属薄膜的折射率有关,建立了描述它们之间关系的数学表达式,并用实验方法进行验证. 将理论结果与他人的测量结果进行对比后发现,两者符合较好. 研究结果表明：在角度调制下的表面等离子共振传感器,为了获得更高的灵敏度,可根据激励光波长和金属薄膜折射率的虚部确定所要制备金属薄膜的最佳厚度;在波长调制下,则由中心波长和折射率的虚部确定金属薄膜的最适宜使用厚度. 关键词： 折射率 金属薄膜 全内反射 表面等离子共振     

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.