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Evaluating Plasmonic Transport in Current-carrying Silver Nanowires
Published on: December 11, 2013
Tailoring of high-Q-factor surface plasmon modes on silver microtubes
Andreas Rottler1, Markus Bröll, Stephan Schwaiger
1Institut für Angewandte Physik und Mikrostrukturforschungszentrum, Universität Hamburg, Jungiusstrasse 11, D-20355 Hamburg, Germany. arottler@physnet.uni‐hamburg.de
Optics Letters
|April 12, 2011
Summary
Surface plasmon polaritons on silver tubes show high quality factors due to mode coupling. Gain materials like rhodamine 6G significantly enhance these quality factors for plasmonic devices.
Area of Science:
- Optics and Photonics
- Materials Science
Background:
- Surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) are electromagnetic waves confined to the interface between a conductor and a dielectric.
- Whispering gallery modes (WGMs) are known for their high quality factors in optical resonators.
- Silver nanostructures are commonly used for supporting SPPs due to their favorable optical properties.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the excitation and properties of SPPs on silver tubes.
- To understand the origin of high quality factors in these SPP modes.
- To explore the effect of incorporating gain materials on the quality factors.
Main Methods:
- Finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulations were employed to model SPP propagation on silver tubes.
- Analysis of azimuthal whispering gallery modes and their associated quality factors.
- Inclusion of gain material (rhodamine 6G) data within the simulation to assess its impact.
Main Results:
- SPPs on silver tubes exhibit azimuthal whispering gallery modes with quality factors in the hundreds.
- High quality factors are attributed to the coupling between SPP modes and photonic modes within the tube.
- The presence of rhodamine 6G as a gain material significantly enhances the quality factors up to 3000.
Conclusions:
- Silver tubes support SPPs with WGM characteristics and high quality factors.
- Mode coupling is crucial for achieving high-quality factor SPP resonances.
- Gain materials offer a viable route for boosting the performance of plasmonic resonators for potential applications.
