Plasmonic demultiplexer and guiding.

Area of Science:

• Photonics and Plasmonics
• Nanotechnology
• Optical Engineering

Background:

• Surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) are electromagnetic waves confined to the interface between a conductor and a dielectric.
• Efficiently coupling light to SPPs and guiding them in a wavelength-selective manner is crucial for integrated photonic circuits.
• Existing methods for SPP manipulation often face limitations in resolution and channel capacity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and experimentally demonstrate a novel two-dimensional plasmonic demultiplexer for SPPs.
• To achieve wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) functionality using SPPs.
• To enable applications in integrated plasmonic circuits, spectroscopy, and filtering.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a gold film with precisely patterned concentric grooves.
• Utilizing leakage radiation microscopy (LRM) for imaging and characterization of SPP propagation.
• Experimental demonstration of light-SPP coupling, dispersion control, and guided wave routing.

Main Results:

• Successful demonstration of a two-dimensional plasmonic demultiplexer.
• Achieved high-resolution SPP guiding with a resolution as fine as 10 nm.
• Leakage radiation microscopy confirmed wavelength-selective focusing and routing of SPPs into different waveguides.
• Demonstrated effective dispersion control for SPPs.

Conclusions:

• The proposed plasmonic demultiplexer effectively couples light to SPPs and routes different wavelengths into distinct waveguides.
• This device functions as a WDM element for integrated plasmonic circuits.
• The technology holds potential for advanced plasmonic spectroscopy and filtering applications.