Active control of surface plasmon polaritons with phase change materials

Active control of surface plasmon polaritons(SPPs)is highly desired for nanophotonics.Here we employ a phase change material Ge_(2)Sb_(2)Te_(5)(GST)to actively manipulate the propagating direction of SPPs at the telecom wavelength.By utilizing the phase transition-induced refractive index change of GST,coupled with interference effects,a nanoantenna pair containing GST is designed to realize switchable one-way launching of SPPs.Devices based on the nanoantenna pairs are proposed to manipulate SPPs,including the direction tuning of SPP beams,switchable SPP focusing,and switchable cosine–Gauss SPP beam generating.Our design can be employed in compact optical circuits and photonics integration.

Propagation of surface magnetoplasmon polaritons in a symmetric waveguide with two-dimensional electron gas

The properties of surface magnetoplasmon polaritons(SMPPs)in a symmetric structure,composed of two semi-infinite regions of high-density two-dimensional electron gas(2DEG)separated by a thin film in Voigt configuration,are investigated.The normal and absorption dispersion relations for the transverse magnetic polarization are derived by correlating Maxwell’s equation and the boundary conditions.It is demonstrated that the features of SMPPs are greatly influenced by the external magnetic field,collision frequency of 2DEG,the dielectric constant,and the thickness of the thin film,suggesting that the locations and propagation lengths of SMPPs can be governed accordingly.It is shown that the symmetry of the physical geometry preserves the symmetry of the dispersion relations of SMPPs.Furthermore,it is discovered that as the external magnetic field increases,the penetration depth of SMPPs decreases,while their energy loss reduces,implying that plasmons can propagate for longer distances.Additionally,it is observed that SMPPs in the symmetric configuration have a longer lifetime than those in the asymmetric configuration.

Polarization Simultons in CARS by Polaritons

The system of shortened Maxwell’s equations simulating the processes of evolution of the stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) by polaritons in anisotropic dipole-active crystals is obtained. The theory was developed for the case of cubic crystals which become anisotropic due to the deformation of the dielectric constant by the linearly polarized pump wave. The pump field is a linearly polarized plane electromagnetic wave. We report the results of the theoretical investigation of the possibility of the existence of a regime of pulse propagation as simultaneous travel of solitary waves in coherent anti-Stokes stimulated Raman scattering by polaritons in anisotropic crystals. The emphasis was made on the existence of both Stokes and anti-Stokes pulses propagating with two stable and perpendicular to the direction of travel polarizations. We showed the theoretical possibility of simultaneous propagation of pulses not only at frequencies of Stokes and anti-Stokes waves but the pump frequency as well. We obtained the expression for the gain factor g. It is also shown that the expression for g is consistent with the experimental results for the spectra of ZnS.

Efficient transfer of metallophosphor excitons via confined polaritons in organic nanocrystals

We investigate the transfer of phosphorescent energy between co-assembled metallophosphors in crystalline nanostructures [Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 57 7820(2018) and J. Am. Chem. Soc. 140 4269(2018)]. Neither Dexter's nor Forster's mechanism of resonance energy transfer(RET) could account fully for the observed rates, which exceed 85% with significant temperature dependence. But there exists an alternative pathway on RET mediated by intermediate states of resonantly confined exciton–polaritons. Such a mechanism was used to analyze artificial photosynthesis in organic fluorescents [Phys.Rev. Lett. 122 257402(2019)]. For metallophosphors, the confined modes act as extended states lying between the molecular S_(1) and T_(1) states, offering a bridge for the long-lived T_(1) excitons to migrate from donors to acceptors. Population dynamics with parameters taken entirely based on experiments fits the observed lifetimes of phosphorescence across a broad range of doping and temperature.

Coherent and tunable radiation with power enhancement from surface plasmon polaritons

Surface plasmon polaritons excited by an electron beam can be transformed into coherent and tunable light radiation waves with power enhancement in the simple structure of a metal film with a dielectric medium loading. In this paper, the process of the radiation transformation of this radiation, and the dependencies of the radiation characteristics on the parameters of the structure and the electron beam are studied in detail. The radiation power enhancement is greatly influenced by the beam energy and the film thickness in the infrared to ultraviolet frequency region. Up to 122 times radiation power enhancement and 6.5% radiation frequency tuning band can be obtained by optimizing the beam energy and the parameters of the film.

Electromagnetic interaction between local surface plasmon polaritons and an atmospheric surface wave plasma jet

We analyze the electromagnetic interaction between local surface plasmon polaritons （SPPs） and an atmospheric surface wave plasma jet （ASWPJ） in combination with our designed discharge device. Before discharge, the excitation of the SPPs and the spatial distribution of the enhanced electric field are analyzed. During discharge, the critical breakdown electric field of the gases at atmospheric gas pressure and the surface wave of the SPPs converted into electron plasma waves at resonant points are studied. After discharge, the ionization development process of the ASWPJ is simulated using a two- dimensional fluid model. Our results suggest that the local enhanced electric field of SPPs is merely the precondition of gas breakdown, and the key mechanism in maintaining the discharge development of a low-power ASWPJ is the wave-mode conversion of the local enhanced electric field at the resonant point.

Long-range surface plasmon polaritons with subwavelength mode expansion in an asymmetrical system

Long-range surface plasmon polariton （LRSPP） modes in an asymmetrical system, in which the thin metal film is sandwiched between a semi-infinite substrate and a high permittivity polymer film with a finite thickness, are theoret~ ically calculated and analyzed. Due to the high permittivity of the polymer film, at proper polymer film thicknesses, the index-matching condition of the dielectrics at both sides of the metal can be satisfied for supporting LRSPP modes, and the electromagnetic field above the metal can be localized well. It is found that these LRSPP modes have both long propagation lengths and subwavelength mode expansion above the metal at the optimal polymer film thickncsses. Furthermore, the requirements on the refractive index and the thickness of the polymer film to support LRSPP modes at the optimal thicknesses are found to be not critical.

Two-color laser PEEM imaging of horizontal and vertical components of femtosecond surface plasmon polaritons

Explicit visualization of different components of surface plasmon polaritons(SPPs) propagating at dielectric/metal interfaces is crucial in offering chances for the detailed design and control of the functionalities of plasmonic nanodevices in the future. Here, we reported independent imaging of the vertical and horizontal components of SPPs launched from a rectangular trench in the gold film by a 400-nm laser-assisted near-infrared(NIR) femtosecond laser time-resolved photoemission electron microscopy(TR-PEEM). The experiments demonstrate that distinct imaging of different components of SPPs field can be easily achieved by introducing the 400-nm laser. It can circumvent the risk of sample damage and information loss of excited SPPs field that is generally confronted in the usual NIR laser TR-PEEM scheme. The underlying mechanism for realizing distinct imaging of different components of the SPPs field with two-color PEEM is revealed via measuring the double logarithmic dependence of photoemission yield with the 800-nm and 400-nm pulse powers of different polarizations. Moreover, it is found that the PEEM image quality of the vertical and horizontal components of the SPPs field is nearly independent of the 400-nm pulse polarization. These results pave a way for SPPs-based applications and offer a possible solution for drawing a space-time field of SPPs in three dimensions.

Mode splitting and multiple-wavelength managements of surface plasmon polaritons in coupled cavities

Resonance cavity is a basic element in optics,which has wide applications in optical devices.Coupled cavities(CCs)designed in metal-insulator-metal(MIM)bus waveguide are investigated through the finite difference time domain method and coupled-mode theory.In the CCs,the resonant modes of the surface plasmon polaritons(SPPs)split with the thickness decreasing of the middle baffle.Through the coupled-mode theory analysis,it is found that the phase differences introduced in opposite and positive couplings between two cavities lead to mode splitting.The resonant wavelength of positive coupling mode can be tuned in a large range(about 644 nm)through adjusting the coupling strength,which is quite different from the classical adjustment of the optical path in a single cavity.Based on the resonances of the CCs in the MIM waveguide,more compact devices can be designed to manipulate SPPs propagation.A device is designed to realize flexible multiple-wavelength SPPs routing.The coupling in CC structures can be applied to the design of easy-integrated laser cavities,filters,multiple-wavelength management devices in SPPs circuits,nanosensors,etc.

Pulsed microwave-driven argon plasma jet with distinctive plume patterns resonantly excited by surface plasmon polaritons

Atmospheric lower-power pulsed microwave argon cold plasma jets are obtained by using coaxial transmission line resonators in ambient air.The plasma jet plumes are generated at the end of a metal wire placed in the middle of the dielectric tubes.The electromagnetic model analyses and simulation results suggest that the discharges are excited resonantly by the enhanced electric field of surface plasmon polaritons.Moreover,for conquering the defect of atmospheric argon filamentation discharges excited by 2.45-GHz of continued microwave,the distinctive patterns of the plasma jet plumes can be maintained by applying different gas flow rates of argon gas,frequencies of pulsed modulator,duty cycles of pulsed microwave,peak values of input microwave power,and even by using different materials of dielectric tubes.In addition,the emission spectrum,the plume temperature,and other plasma parameters are measured,which shows that the proposed pulsed microwave plasma jets can be adjusted for plasma biomedical applications.

Investigation on Surface Plasmon Polaritons and Localized Surface Plasmon Production Mechanism in Micro-Nano Structures

The simulation mechanism of surface plasmon polaritons(SPPs)and localized surface plasmon(LSP)in different structures was studied,including the Au reflection grating(Au grating),Au substrate with dielectric ribbons grating(Au substrate grating),and pure electric conductor(PEC)substrate with Au ribbons grating(Au ribbons grating).And the characteristics of the Smith-Purcell radiation in these structures were presented.Simulation results show that SPPs are excited on the bottom surface of Au substrate grating grooves and LSP is stimulated on the upper surface both of Au ribbons grating grooves and Au grating grooves.Owing to the irreconcilable contradiction between optimizing the grating diffraction radiation efficiency and optimizing the SPPs excitation efficiency in the Au substrate grating,only 40-times enhancement of the radiation intensity was obtained by excited SPPs.However,the LSP enhanced structure overcomes the above problem and gains much better radiation enhancement ability,with about 200-times enhancement obtained in the Au ribbons grating and more than 500-times enhancement obtained in the Au grating.The results presented here provide a way of developing miniature,integratable,tunable,high-power-density radiation sources from visible light to ultraviolet rays at room temperature.

Spoof surface plasmon polaritons excited leaky-wave antenna with continuous scanning range from endfire to forward

A novel leaky-wave antenna(LWA)utilizing spoof surface plasmon polaritons(SSPPs)excitation is proposed with continuous scanning range from endfire to forward.The designed transmission line unit supports two SSPPS modes,of which the 2nd order mode is applied in the design.A novel strategy has been devised to excite the spatial radiation of the-1st order harmonics by arranging periodic counter changed sinusoidal structures on both sides of the SSPPs transmission line.Both full-wave simulation and measurement results show that the proposed LWA presents wide scanning angle from endfire to forward.In the frequency range from 4 GHz to 10 GHz,LWAs achieve scanning from 90°to+20°,covering the entire backward quadrant continuously.

Character Diagnosis for Surface-Wave Plasmas Excited by Surface Plasmon Polaritons

The plasma parameters of planar-type surface-wave plasmas （SWPs） are diagnosed based on the resonant excitation of surface plasmon polaritons （SPPs）. The plasma parameter distributions are obtained by changing the discharge conditions of gas pressure and incident power. The measured experimental results show that the plasma near the heating layer is excited by surface waves of SPPs while the plasma located downstream originates from diffusion Moreover, the influence of high-frequency oscillations plays a significant role in producing the proposed SWPs with bi-Maxwellian electron energy distributions.

Cherenkov terahertz radiation from Dirac semimetals surface plasmon polaritons excited by an electron beam

We demonstrate a physical mechanism for terahertz(THz) generation from surface plasmon polaritons(SPPs). In a structure with a bulk Dirac semimetals(BDSs) film deposited on a dielectric substrate, the energy of the asymmetric SPP mode can be significantly enhanced to cross the light line of the substrate due to the SPP-coupling between the interfaces of the film. Therefore, the SPPs can be immediately transformed into Cherenkov radiation without removing the wavevector mismatch. Additionally, the symmetric SPP mode can also be dramatically lifted to cross the substrate light line when a buffer layer with low permittivity relative to the substrate is introduced. In this case, dual-frequency THz radiation from the two SPP modes can be generated simultaneously. The radiation intensity is significantly enhanced by over two orders due to the field enhancement of the SPPs. The radiation frequency can be tuned in the THz frequency regime by adjusting the beam energy and the chemical potential of the BDSs. Our results could find potential applications in developing room temperature, tunable, coherent, and intense THz radiation sources to cover the entire THz band.

Theoretical demonstration of surface plasmon polaritons in plasma/vacuum interface in GHz frequency

permittivity of the material may lead to the enhanced radiation of an antenna embedded in a finite plasma, which suggests a potential way to solve blackout problem in space technology. However, the enhanced radiation phenomenon is still lack of strict theoretical investigations of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) in plasma in GHz frequency. In this paper, we demonstrate the SPPs excited at a plasma/vacuum interface in GHz frequency by the consistency of the simulated and theoretical results. With SPPs, plasma layer thicker than skin depth can be penetrated with w < wp, which is a complement of wave propagation theory in plasma. We also discuss the influences of thickness d, collision frequency Γ, and different plasma frequencies on SPPs. For plasma frequencies with large difference, common numerical methods have difficulties in result comparison under the same mesh size because of the computer capacity and memory. The analytical multilayer method used in the paper does not need to generate mesh, so the studies of plasma frequencies with large difference can be carried out. The simulation shows that the SPPs can be excited for an arbitrary plasma frequency. We believe the study will be beneficial for the problem of wave propagation in plasma science and technology.

Numerical investigation of the enhanced unidirectional surface plasmon polaritons generator

A unidirectional surface plasmon polaritons(SPPs) generator with greatly enhanced generation efficiency is proposed. The SPPs generator consists of an asymmetric single nanoslit coated with a polyviny alcohol(PVA) film and a silver rectangle block. The generation efficiency of this SPPs generator is investigated using the finite difference time domain method. Due to the presence of the silver rectangle block, the SPPs generation efficiency of the asymmetric single nanoslit with PVA film can be greatly enhanced and the corresponding wavelength with the maximum enhancement factor can be tuned flexibly. The influence of the structural parameters on the generation efficiency is also investigated for the enhanced unidirectional SPPs generator.

Tuning infrared absorption in hyperbolic polaritons coated silk fibril composite

Advanced textiles for thermal management give rise to many functional applications and unveil a new frontier for the study of human thermal comfort.Manipulating the coated quasi-particles between the composite components offers a platform to study the advanced thermoregulatory textiles.Here,we propose that coating the hyperbolic polariton can be an effective tool to tune infrared absorption in hexagonal boron nitride-coated silk composite.Remarkably,we achieve significant tuning of the infrared absorption efficiency of silk fibrils through the designed hexagonal boron nitride film.The underlying mechanism is related to resonance coupling between hyperbolic phonon polaritons.We find a notably high infrared absorption efficiency,nearly 3 orders larger than that without hBN coating,which can be achieved in our composite system.Our results indicate the promising future of advanced polariton-coated textiles and open a pathway to guide the artificial-intelligence design of advanced functional textiles.

High-confinement ultra-wideband bandpass filter using compact folded slotline spoof surface plasmon polaritons

A novel bandpass filter(BPF)based on spoof surface plasmon polaritons(SSPPs)using a compact folded slotline structure is proposed and experimentally demonstrated.The proposed novel SSPPs structure compared with a conventional plasmonic waveguide with slot line SSPPs unit structure at the same size,the considerable advantages in much lower asymptotic frequency with tight field confinement,which enable the proposed filter to be more miniaturization.A high-efficient mode conversion structure is designed to transition from TE-mode to SSPPs-mode by gradient slotline lengths.The low-frequency stop-band can be committed with microstrip to slotline evolution on both sides of the dielectric,while the high-frequency cutoff band is realized by the proposed SSPPs structure.The influence of dispersion relation,electric field distribution,surface current,and structural parameters on the transmission characteristics of the proposed BPF are analyzed by finite difference time domain(FDTD).To validate the design concept,the prototype of the miniaturized SSPPs BPF has been manufactured and measured.The experimental results show high performance of the fabricated sample,in which the working in a range of 0.9 GHz-5.2 GHz with the relative bandwidth is 142%,the insertion loss less than 0.5 dB,the reflection coefficient less than-10 dB,and the group delay is less than one ns.This works provides a mirror for realizing the miniaturization of waveguides,and the application and development of high-confinement SSPPs functional devices in the microwave and THz regimes.

Omnidirectional and compact Tamm phonon-polaritons enhanced mid-infrared absorber

Narrow band mid-infrared(MIR)absorption is highly desired in thermal emitter and sensing applications.We theoretically demonstrate that the perfect absorption at infrared frequencies can be achieved and controlled around the surface phonon resonance frequency of silicon carbide(SiC).The photonic heterostructure is composed of a distributed Bragg reflector(DBR)/germanium(Ge)cavity/SiC on top of a Ge substrate.Full-wave simulation results illustrate that the Tamm phonon-polaritons electric field can locally concentrate between the Ge cavity and the SiC film,contributed to the improved light-phonon interactions with an enhancement of light absorption.The structure has planar geometry and does not require nano-patterning to achieve perfect absorption of both polarizations of the incident light in a wide range of incident angles.Their absorption lines are tunable via engineering of the photon band-structure of the dielectric photonic nanostructures to achieve reversal of the geometrical phase across the interface with the plasmonic absorber.

Surface plasmon polaritons of symmetric and asymmetric metamaterial slabs

The p and s-polarized surface plasmon polaritons （SPPs） of symmetric and asymmetric slabs formed arbitrarily by four types of conventional materials： dielectrics, negative dielectric permittivity materials, negative magnetic permeability materials, and left-handed materials are comprehensively analysed. The existence regions, dispersion relations, and excitation of SPPs in different frequency regions are investigated in detail. For symmetric slabs, the numbers and the frequency positions of surface polariton branches are quite different. At the same time, the pairs of the p or s-polarized SPP branches occur in the same frequency range. For asymmetric slabs, the SPP branches in mid- and high-frequency ranges are greatly different. In addition, the slab thickness has a great effect on SPPs of asymmetric and symmetric slabs. The attenuated total reflection spectra for the cases of p and s polarizations in these slabs are also calculated.