Mode evolution and nanofocusing of grating-coupled surface plasmon polaritons on metallic tip

We present a detailed analysis on mode evolution of gratingcoupled surface plasmonic polaritons （SPPs） on a conical metal tip based on the guidedwave theory. The eigenvalue equations for SPPs modes are discussed, revealing that cylindrical metal waveguides only support TM01 and HEm1 surface modes. During propagation on the metal tip, the gratingcoupled SPPs are converted to HE31, HE21, HE11 and TM01 successively, and these modes are sequentially cut off except TM01. The TM01 mode further propagates with drastically increasing effective mode index and is converted to localized surface plasmons （LSPs） at the tip apex, which is responsible for plasmonic nanofocusing. The gapmode plasmons can be excited with the focusing TM01 mode by approaching a metal substrate to the tip apex, resulting in further enhanced electric field and reduced size of the plasmonic focus.

Role of localised surface plasmon polaritons coupling in optical transmission through double-layer metal apertures

In this paper, we investigate the optical properties of the double-layer metal films perforated with single apertures by analysing the coupling of localized surface plasmon polaritons （LSPPs）. It is found that the amplitude and the wavelength of transmission peak in such a structure can be adjusted by changing the longitudinal interval D between two films and the lateral displacements dx and dy which are parallel and perpendicular to the polarization direction of incident light, respectively. The variation of longitudinal interval D results in the redshift of transmission peak due to the change of coupling strength of LSPPs near the single apertures. The amplitude of transmission peak decreases with the increase of dy and is less than that in the case of dx, which originates from the difference in coupling manner between LSPPs and the localized natures of LSPPs.

Contribution of surface plasmon polaritons to extraordinary optical transmission through metallic nanoslit

A single metallic nanoslit is employed for investigating the contribution of Surface Plasmon Polaritons(SPPs) to Extraordinary Optical Transmission(EOT) based on rigorous electromagnetic theory and the Spectrum Analysis Method(SAM). Numerical results shows that the SPP is the main factor responsible for the EOT, and a phase singularity is observed.

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.

Graphene-supported manipulation of surface plasmon polaritons in metallic nanowaveguides

We investigate the electrically controlled light propagation in the metal–dielectric–metal plasmonic waveguide with a sandwiched graphene monolayer. The theoretical and simulation results show that the propagation loss exhibits an obvious peak when the permittivity of graphene approaches an epsilon-near-zero point when adjusting the gate voltage on graphene. The analog of electromagnetically induced transparency(EIT) can be generated by introducing side-coupled stubs into the waveguide. Based on the EIT-like effect, the hybrid plasmonic waveguide with a length of only 1.5 μm can work as a modulator with an extinction ratio of ～15.8 d B, which is 2.3times larger than the case without the stubs. The active modulation of surface plasmon polariton propagation can be further improved by tuning the carrier mobility of graphene. The graphene-supported plasmonic waveguide system could find applications for the nanoscale manipulation of light and chip-integrated modulation.

Surface plasmon-polaritons on ultrathin metal films

We discuss the surface plasmon-polaritons used for ultrathin metal films with the aid of linear response theory and make comparisons with the known result given by Economou E N. In this paper we consider transverse electromagnetic fields and assume that the electromagnetic field in the linear response formula is the induced field due to the current of the electrons. It satisfies the Maxwell equation and thus we replace the current （charge） term in the Maxwell equation with the linear response expectation value. Finally, taking the external field to be zero, we obtain the dispersion relation of the surface plasmons from the eigenvalue equation. In addition, the charge-density and current-density in the z direction on the surface of ultrathin metal films are also calculated. The results may be helpful to the fundamental understanding of the complex phenomenon of surface plasmon-polaritons.

On-chip photonic Fourier transform with surface plasmon polaritons

The Fourier transform(FT),a cornerstone of optical processing,enables rapid evaluation of fundamental mathematical operations,such as derivatives and integrals.Conventionally,a converging lens performs an optical FT in free space when light passes through it.The speed of the transformation is limited by the thickness and the focal length of the lens.By using the wave nature of surface plasmon polaritons(SPPs),here we demonstrate that the FT can be implemented in a planar configuration with a minimal propagation distance of around 10 mm,resulting in an increase of speed by four to five orders of magnitude.The photonic FT was tested by synthesizing intricate SPP waves with their Fourier components.The reduced dimensionality in the minuscule device allows the future development of an ultrafast on-chip photonic information processing platform for large-scale optical computing.

Manipulating surface plasmon waves by transformation optics:Design examples of a beam squeezer,bend,and omnidirectional absorber

We present several design examples of how to apply transformation optics and curved space under coordinate transformation to manipulating the surface plasmon waves in a controlled manner.We demonstrate in detail the design procedure of the plasmonic wave squeezer,in-plane bend and omnidirectional absorber.We show that the approximation method of modifying only the dielectric material of a dielectric-metal surface of the plasmonic device could lead to acceptable performance,which facilitates the fabrication of the device.The functionality of the proposed plasmonic device is verified using three-dimensional full-wave electromagnetic simulations.Aiming at practical realization,we also show the design of a plasmonic in-plane bend and omnidirectional absorber by an alternative transformation scheme,which results in a simple device structure with a tapered isotropic dielectric cladding layer on the top of the metal surface that can be fabricated with existing nanotechnology.

Surface plasmon polaritons based optical directional coupler

As a basic optical device, the optical directional coupler (ODC) is basically used as optical splitters, optic switches and so on. A novel ODC employing surface plas- mon polaritons (SPPs) is proposed for high integration. The finite difference time domain (FDTD) method is adopted to simulate and analyze its properties. Results show that the ODC proposed here follows the general regulations of a conventional dielectric ODC, but its transverse size is of nanoscale, which improves the optical integration greatly. For 1550 nm and 1310 nm input wavelengths, when the coupling region length (L) equals half of its coupling length, the Excess Loss is respectively 0.57 dB and 0.56 dB, which is practical in applications. So the research on the present ODC is of some practical importance.

Nanoscale all-optical devices based on surface plasmon polaritons

Surface plasmon polariton,a kind of surface electromagnetic wave propagating along the interface between metals and dielectrics,provides an excellent platform for the realization of integrated photonic devices due to its unique properties of confining light into subwavelength scales.Our recent research progresses of nanoscale integrated photonic devices based on surface plasmon polaritons,including all-optical switches,all-optical logic discriminator,and all-optical routers,are introduced in detail.

Effects of shape of terminus on excitation of surface plasmon modes on metal nanowires

The effects of the shape of a nanowire terminus on the excited surface plasmon polariton （SPP） modes are investigated. The conical terminus and terminus cut at a certain angle are studied. For the first time, the quantitative mode decompositions are carried out to derive the full information about excited SPP modes. It is demonstrated that tuning the shape of the terminus provides an effective method to control the composition of excited SPP modes on metal nanowires. It is especially found that some important patterns, such as the pure TM0 mode and the superposition of TM0 and HE＋1 or HE-1 modes, can be generated by some specific shapes of the terminus, whereas there is no way to produce these patterns using flat-end nanowires.

Characterization of the Optical Properties of Heavy Metal Ions Using Surface Plasmon Resonance Technique

The aim of this research is to characterize the optical properties of heavy metal ions (Hg2+, Cu2+, Pb2+ and Zn2+) using surface plasmon resonance (SPR) technique. Glass cover slips, used as substrates were coated with a 50 nm gold film using sputter coater. The measurement was carried out at room temperature using Kretchmann SPR technique. When the air medium outside the gold film is changed to heavy metal ions solution, the resonance angle shifted to the higher value for all samples of heavy metal ions solution. By our developed fitting program (using Matlab software), the experimental SPR curves were fitted to obtain the refractive index of Hg2+, Cu2+, Pb2+ and Zn2+ ions solution with different concentrations. Both the real and imaginary part of refractive index of the heavy metal ions solution increased with the concentration. The results give the basic idea such that the SPR technique could be used as an alternative optical sensor for detecting heavy metal ions in solution.

The determination of the thickness and the optical dispersion property of gold film using spectroscopy of a surface plasmon in the frequency domain

We propose to use wavelength modulation approach,i.e.,the spectroscopy of a surface plasmon in the frequency domain,to characterize the optical dispersion property of gold film.Using this method,we determine the dispersion relationship of gold film in a wavelength range from 537.12 nm to 905.52 nm,and our results accord well with the reported results by other authors.This method is particularly suited for studying the optical dispersion properties of thin metal films,because a series of dielectric constants over a wide spectral range can be determined simultaneously via only a single scan of the incident angle,thereby avoiding the repeated measurements required when using the angular modulation approach.

Plasmonically induced reflection in metal-insulator-metal waveguides with two silver baffles coupled square ring resonator

A plasmonic waveguide coupled system that is composed of a square ring cavity and a metal-insulator-metal （MIM） waveguide with two silver baffles is proposed. The transmission and reflection properties of the proposed plasmonic system are investigated numerically using the finite element method. The normalized Hz field distributions are calculated to analyze the transmission mode in the plasmonic system. The extreme destructive interference between light mode and dark mode causes plasmonically induced reflection （PIR） window in the transmission spectrum. The PIR window is fitted using the coupled mode theory. The analytical result agrees with the simulation result approximately. In addition, the PIR window can be controlled by adjusting structural parameters and filling different dielectric into the MIM waveguide and the square ring cavity. The results provide a new approach to designing plasmonic devices.

Analysis and Investigation of Slow Light Based on Plasmonic Induced Transparency in Metal-Dielectric-Metal Ring Resonator in a Waveguide System with Different Geometrical Designs

In this paper we will try to create, propose and analyze structure of a slow light device, based on plasmonic induced transparency in a metal-dielectric-metal based ring resonator. Group index by first design about 37 and second design about 35 earned. The proposed dielectric material is Poly Methyl Meta Acrylate (PMMA) sandwiched by gold metal cladding. Finite Element Method-con- ducted Electromagnetic simulations are employed to evaluate the plasmonic designs for behavior of slow light. The signal and pump wavelength are assumed to be 830 nm and 1550 nm respectively in the systems. The overall length of the plasmonic slow light system is 600 nm. In a wide range of frequency bands, the optical properties of metals can be described with a plasma model. The optical signal can be achieved with the use of surface waves on the boundary between the insulating materials and metals with dimensions smaller than the diffraction limit. The main goal, is estimation of optical characteristics such as bandwidth, the Real and Imaginary parts of refractive index, group velocity and slow down factor in such optical devices. The obtained results and observations, can be useful in basic research and the production of highly integrated plasmonic devices.

Modified surface plasmonic waveguide formed by nanometric parallel lines

In this paper, two kinds of modified surface plasmonic waveguides formed by nanometric parallel lines are proposed. The finite-difference frequency-domain method is used to study propagation properties of the fundamental mode supported by these surface plasmonie waveguide structures. Results show that the transverse magnetic field of the fundamental mode is mainly distributed in the face to face region formed by two rods. With the same geometrical parameters and the same working wavelength of 632.8 nm, in the case of rods with a triangular cross-section, the degree of localization of field is strong, i.e. the mode area is small, but the fraction of the modal power in the metal increases, so the effective index increases and the propagation length of the mode decreases. With the same geometrical parameters, relative to the case of a working wavelength of 632.8 nm, when working wavelength is large, the mode area of transverse magnetic field distribution is large, i.e. the degree of localization of field is weak, and the interaction of field and silver is weak too, then the effective index decreases, so the propagation length increases. The rounded radii of rods have a great influence on the performance of the surface plasmonic waveguides with rounded triangular cross-sections, but have little influence on the performance of surface plasmonic waveguides with rounded square cross-sections. Since the distribution of transverse magnetic field, effective index, propagation length and the mode area can be adjusted by the geometrical parameters, this kind of modified surface plasmonic waveguide can be applied to the field of photonic device integration and sensors.

Research progress of femtosecond surface plasmon polariton

As the combination of surface plasmon polariton and femtosecond laser pulse,femtosecond surface plasmon polariton has both nanoscale spatial resolution and femtosecond temporal resolution,and thus provides promising methods for light field manipulation and light-matter interaction in extreme small spatiotemporal scales.Nowadays,the research on femtosecond surface plasmon polariton is mainly concentrated on two aspects:one is investigation and characterization of excitation,propagation,and dispersion properties of femtosecond surface plasmon polariton in different structures or materials;the other one is developing new applications based on its unique properties in the fields of nonlinear enhancement,pulse shaping,spatiotemporal super-resolved imaging,and others.Here,we introduce the research progress of properties and applications of femtosecond surface plasmon polariton,and prospect its future research trends.With the further development of femtosecond surface plasmon polariton research,it will have a profound impact on nano-optoelectronics,molecular dynamics,biomedicine and other fields.

Plasmonic Field Enhancement for Vibration Spectroscopy at Metal/Water Interfaces

Electrochemical （EC） reactions play vital roles in many disciplines, and its molecular-level understanding is highly desired, in particular under reactions. The vibration spectroscopy is a powerful in situ technique for chemical analysis, yet its application to EC reactions is hindered by the strong attenuation of infrared （IR） light in both electrodes and electrolytes. Here we demonstrate that by incorporating appropriate sub-wavelength plasmonic structures at the metal electrode, the IR field at the EC interface can be greatly enhanced via the excitation of surface plasmon. This scheme facilitates in situ vibrational spectroscopic studies, especially using the surface-specific sum-frequency generation technique.

A novel spoof surface plasmon polariton structure to reach ultra-strong field confinements

Ultrathin corrugated metallic structures have been proved to support spoof surface plasmon polariton (SPP) modes on two-dimension (2D) planar microwave circuits.However,to provide stronger field confinement,larger width of strip is required to load deeper grooves,which is cumbersome in modern large-scale integrated circuits and chips.In this work,a new spoof SPP transmission line (TL) with zigzag grooves is proposed.This new structure can achieve stronger field confinement compared to conventional one with the same strip width.In other words,the proposed spoof SPP TL behaves equivalently to a conventional one with much larger size.Dispersion analysis theoretically indicates the negative correlation between the ability of field confinement and cutoff frequencies of spoof SPP TLs.Numerical simulations indicate that the cutoff frequency of the proposed TL is lower than the conventional one and can be easily modified with the fixed size.Furthermore,two samples of the new and conventional spoof SPP TLs are fabricated for experimental demonstration.Measured S-parameters and field distributions verify the ultra-strong ability of field confinement of the proposed spoof SPP TL.Hence,this novel spoof SPP structure with ultra-strong field confinement may find wide applications in microwave and terahertz engineering.

Plasmonic Mach-Zehnder interferometric sensor based on a metal-insulator-metal nanostructure

A plasmonic Mach-Zehnder interferometric sensor based on a semicircular aperture-slit nanostructure patterned on a metal-insulator-metal film is proposed and demonstrated by finite difference time domain（FDTD） simulation. Due to the interference between two different surface plasmon polariton modes in this design, the transmission spectra exhibit oscillation behaviors in a broad bandwidth, and can be readily tailored by changing the SPP path length and core layer thickness. Based on this principle, the characteristics of refractive index sensing are also demonstrated by simulation. This structure is illuminated with a collimated light source from the back side to avoid impacts on the interference. Meanwhile,these results show that the proposed structure is promising for portable, efficient, and sensitive biosensing applications.