Harmonics Generation by Surface Plasmon Polaritons on Single Nanowires

We present experimental observations of visible wavelength second- and third-harmonic generation on single plasmonic nanowires of variable widths. We identify that near-infrared surface plasmon polaritons, which are guided along the nanowire, act as the source of the harmonics generation. We discuss the underlying mechanism of this nonlinear process, using a combination of spatially resolved measurements and numerical simulations to show that the visible harmonics are generated via a combination of both local and propagating plasmonic modes. Our results provide the first demonstration of nanoscale nonlinear optics with guided, propagating plasmonic modes on a lithographically defined chip, opening up new routes toward integrated optical circuits for information processing.