Realization of Plasmonic Microcavity with Full Transverse and Longitudinal Mode Selection

Surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) manipulation is of vital importance to construct ultracompact integrated micro/nano-optical devices and systems. Here we report the design, fabrication, and characterization of a SPP microcavity with full transverse and longitudinal mode selection and control on the surface of gold film. The designed microcavity supports the fundamental and first-order transverse modes of Gaussian mode beam with controllable longitudinal modes, respectively. The transverse mode is determined by two holographic mirrors made from deliberately designed groove patterns via the surface electromagnetic wave holography methodology, while the longitudinal mode is determined by the length of cavity. Both numerical simulations and leaky-wave SPP mode observations confirm the realization of full mode selection in the fabricated cavity. Our work opens up a powerful way to fully explore longitudinal and transverse mode control in SPP microcavities, which will be beneficial for light-matter interaction enhancement, construction of novel SPP nanolaser and microlaser, optical sensing, and optical information processing.