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Directional excitation of surface plasmon using multi-mode interference in an aperture
M Z Alam1, Z Yang2, M Sheik-Bahae2
1Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Queen's University, Kingston, K7L 3N9, Canada. m.alam@queensu.ca.
Scientific Reports
|February 5, 2021
Summary
Highly directional surface plasmon excitation is achieved by controlling light interference in a metal slot. This plasmonics technique enhances nanophotonics and biosensing applications, confirmed by numerical and experimental results.
Area of Science:
- Plasmonics
- Nanophotonics
- Optical sensing
Background:
- Plasmonics offers significant potential in nanophotonics and biosensing.
- Many applications require localized surface plasmon excitation with high directionality.
Purpose of the Study:
- To demonstrate a method for achieving highly directional surface plasmon excitation.
- To explore the utility of this method in various nanophotonic applications.
Main Methods:
- Numerical analysis of light interference within a metal slot structure.
- Adjustment of the angle of incidence to control surface plasmon excitation.
- Near-field scanning measurements for experimental validation.
Main Results:
- Achieved highly directional surface plasmon excitation through controlled light interference.
- Numerical simulations confirmed strong directionality.
- Experimental measurements validated the numerical findings.
Conclusions:
- The proposed method enables highly directional surface plasmon excitation.
- The technique is applicable to plasmonic waveguide excitation, nanolithography, and optical sensing.
- Demonstrated successful application in directional excitation of dielectric-loaded plasmonic waveguides and proposed a scheme for high-contrast surface plasmon interference lithography.
