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Determination of the Excitation and Coupling Rates Between Light Emitters and Surface Plasmon Polaritons
Published on: July 21, 2018
Polarization-controlled tunable directional coupling of surface plasmon polaritons
Jiao Lin1, J P Balthasar Mueller, Qian Wang
1School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|April 20, 2013
Summary
Researchers developed novel plasmonic couplers to efficiently control light coupling into surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs). These devices offer polarization-controlled directional launching of SPPs, overcoming previous limitations in efficiency and directionality.
Area of Science:
- Photonics and Nanotechnology
- Electromagnetism and Optics
Background:
- Coupling light into surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) at metal-dielectric interfaces is crucial for nanoscale optics.
- Traditional methods suffer from polarization sensitivity and lack of directional control.
Purpose of the Study:
- To design and demonstrate plasmonic couplers that overcome limitations in polarization sensitivity and directional control for SPP excitation.
- To achieve polarization-controlled, tunable, and directional launching of SPPs with high efficiency.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of plasmonic couplers with polarization-sensitive apertures in a gold film.
- Experimental demonstration of bidirectional and unidirectional SPP launching.
- Application of the design to circular structures for radial SPP generation.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated polarization-controlled tunable directional coupling of SPPs.
- Achieved polarization-invariant total conversion efficiency.
- Preserved incident polarization information during SPP coupling.
- Successfully generated radially convergent and divergent SPPs.
Conclusions:
- The developed plasmonic couplers effectively address challenges in SPP excitation.
- The polarization-sensitive aperture design enables versatile control over SPP directionality and polarization.
- The concept shows potential for a wide range of applications in nanophotonics and optical devices.
