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Fabrication and Characterization of Disordered Polymer Optical Fibers for Transverse Anderson Localization of Light
Published on: July 29, 2013
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Transverse Anderson localization of surface plasmon polaritons.
Optics Letters
|June 2, 2017
Summary
We studied how disorder affects surface plasmon polaritons in waveguide arrays. Disorder causes these polaritons to localize transversely and shifts their momentum distribution from a continuous band to discrete modes.
Area of Science:
- Plasmonics and Nanophotonics
- Condensed Matter Physics
Background:
- Surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) are light-like אבל confined to surfaces.
- Evanescently coupled waveguides enable SPP propagation and interaction.
- Disorder in nanostructures can significantly alter wave propagation phenomena.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of diagonal disorder on SPP propagation in coupled waveguide arrays.
- To analyze the real-space and momentum-space behavior of SPPs under disorder.
- To observe novel transitions in the SPP momentum distribution due to disorder.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of dielectric loaded surface plasmon polariton (DLSPP) waveguides.
- Implementation of diagonal disorder by random height variations.
- Leakage radiation microscopy (LRM) for real-space and momentum-space imaging.
Main Results:
- Observed transverse localization of SPPs in real space with increasing disorder.
- Recorded momentum-space distributions showing a disorder-induced transition.
- Identified a shift from a continuous SPP band to discrete modes in momentum space.
Conclusions:
- Disorder plays a crucial role in controlling SPP localization and momentum distribution.
- The observed transition to discrete modes offers new possibilities for manipulating SPP propagation.
- This research contributes to understanding wave localization phenomena in disordered photonic systems.
