Surface-plasmon hopping along coupled coplanar cavities

International audience; We report on surface-plasmon propagation along coupled coplanar cavities periodically distributed in an otherwise unperturbed plasmonic crystal. We show that the dispersion of particular Bloch modes can exhibit multiple energy gaps that can be adjusted by choosing the cavity size. For resonant sizes, the composite crystals composed of juxtaposed cavities can support plasmon modes at frequencies within the gap of the unperturbed grating. In this case, we demonstrate that the surface-plasmon propagation relies on a hopping mechanism.

Characterization of thermo-optical 2×2 switch configurations made of Dielectric Loaded Surface Plasmon Polariton Waveguides for telecom routing architecture

We report on the characterization of thermo-optic switch structures based on Dielectric Loaded Surface Plasmon Polariton Waveguide for high data bit rate transfer. Performances are extracted by Leakage Radiation Microscopy and compared to numerical results.

DEVELOPMENT AND NEAR-FIELD CHARACTERIZATION OF SURFACE PLASMON WAVEGUIDES

Near-field optical response of a two-dimensional grating of gold nanoparticles

Laboratoire de Physique, Optique Submicronique, Universite´de Bourgogne, Boite Postale 47870, F-21078 Dijon, France~Received 1 August 2000; published 4 April 2001!This article reports on the near-field optical response of a small square grating of gold nanoparticles tailoredby electron-beam lithography. The investigation of the grating is aimed at a deepened understanding ofelectromagnetic interaction among particles due to scattered light fields. Therefore, a photon scanning tunnel-ing microscope is applied to acquire near-field optical images. Two different incident wavelengths are used tocharacterize the intensity and the spatial localization of the electromagnetic near field both in and out…

10 Gb/s transmission and thermo-optic resonance tuning in silicon-plasmonic waveguide platform

The first system-level experimental results of hybrid Si-DLSPP structures incorporated into a SOI chip are reported. We demonstrate over 7nm thermo-optical tuning of a Si-Plasmonic racetrack-resonator and verify error-free 10Gb/s transmission through 60um Si-Plasmonic waveguide.

Active Plasmonics in True Data Traffic Applications: Thermo-Optic On/Off Gating Using a Silicon-Plasmonic Asymmetric MachZehnder Interferometer

We present the first system-level demonstration of an active plasmonic device in 10-Gb/s data traffic conditions. An asymmetric silicon-plasmonic Mach-Zehnder interferometer with dielectric-loaded plasmonic waveguides serving as the electrically controlled arms, operates as thermo-optic ON/OFF gating element with 2.8-mu s response time and 10.8-mW power consumption. We present the first system-level demonstration of an active plasmonic device in 10-Gb/s data traffic conditions. An asymmetric silicon-plasmonic Mach-Zehnder interferometer with dielectric-loaded plasmonic waveguides serving as the electrically controlled arms, operates as thermo-optic ON/OFF gating element with 2.8-mu s respon…

Leakage radiation microscopy of surface plasmon coupled emission: investigation of gain-assisted propagation in an integrated plasmonic waveguide.

International audience; Using a single-mode dielectric-loaded surface plasmon polariton waveguide doped with quantum dots, we were able to slightly increase the propagation length of the mode by stimulated emission of plasmon. We analyse the amplification phenomenon in the visible range by combining leakage radiation microscopy and surface plasmon coupled emission techniques.

Optical addressing at the subwavelength scale

The Green dyadic formalism is applied to the study of the optical properties of dielectric subwavelength structures integrated in coplanar geometry. We first consider homogeneous wires with high refractive index featuring subwavelength cross sections. We show that such wires may have guiding properties and that they may be coupled with a local illumination produced by a focused Gaussian beam totally reflected at the substrate interface. When excited by the focused beam, these subwavelength optical waveguides (SOW's) provide a confined source of light that could be used to excite a single nanoscopic object. Well designed heteregeneous wires resulting from the alignment of dielectric particle…

Plasmonics co-integrated with silicon nitride photonics for high-sensitivity interferometric biosensing

We demonstrate a photonic integrated Mach-Zehnder interferometric sensor, utilizing a plasmonic stripe waveguide in the sensing branch and a photonic variable optical attenuator and a phase shifter in the reference arm to optimize the interferometer operation. The plasmonic sensor is used to detect changes in the refractive index of the surrounding medium exploiting the accumulated phase change of the propagating Surface-Plasmon-Polariton (SPP) mode that is fully exposed in an aqueous buffer solution. The variable optical attenuation stage is incorporated in the reference Si3N4 branch, as the means to counter-balance the optical losses introduced by the plasmonic branch and optimize interfe…

Differential method for modeling dielectric-loaded surface plasmon polariton waveguides

This paper demonstrates the efficiency of the differential method, a conventional grating theory, to investigate dielectric loaded surface plasmon polariton waveguides (DLSPPWs), known to be a potential solution for optical interconnects. The method is used to obtain the mode effective indices (both real and imaginary parts) and the mode profiles. The results obtained with the differential method are found to be in good agreement with those provided by the effective index method or finite elements. The versatility of the differential method is demonstrated by considering complex configurations such as trapezoidal waveguides or DLSPPWs lying on a finite width metal stripe.

0.48Tb/s (12x40Gb/s) WDM transmission and high-quality thermo-optic switching in dielectric loaded plasmonics

We demonstrate Wavelength Division Multiplexed (WDM)-enabled transmission of 480Gb/s aggregate data traffic (12x40Gb/s) as well as high-quality 1x2 thermo-optic tuning in Dielectric-Loaded Surface Plasmon Polariton Waveguides (DLSPPWs). The WDM transmission characteristics have been verified through BER measurements by exploiting the heterointegration of a 60 mu m-long straight DLSPPW on a Silicon-on-Insulator waveguide platform, showing error-free performance for six out of the twelve channels. High-quality thermo-optic tuning has been achieved by utilizing Cycloaliphatic-Acrylate-Polymer as an efficient thermo-optic polymer loading employed in a dual-resonator DLSPPW switching structure, …

Optimization of surface plasmons launching from subwavelength hole arrays: modelling and experiments

International audience; The launching of surface plasmons by micro-gratings of subwavelength apertures milled in a thick metal film is important for the development of surface plasmon based circuits. By comparing the near-field optical images of such surface plasmon sources with the results of a Huygens-Fresnel principle based scattering model, we show that the properties of the locally launched SP beams such as divergence or uniformity can be tuned by adjusting the shape of the micro-gratings. This allows us to propose an optimized source array well adapted for providing a narrow, collimated and uniform beam. (c) 2007 Optical Society of America.

Optical gain, spontaneous and stimulated emission of surface plasmon polaritons in confined plasmonic waveguide

International audience; We develop a theoretical model to compute the local density of states in a confined plasmonic waveguide. Based on this model, we derive a simple formula with a clear physical interpretation for the lifetime modification of emitters embedded in the waveguide. The gain distribution within the active medium is then computed following the formalism developed in a recent work [Phys. Rev. B 78, 161401 (2008)], by taking rigorously into account the pump irradiance and emitters lifetime modifications in the system. We finally apply this formalism to describe gain–assisted propagation in a dielectric–loaded surface plasmon polariton waveguide.

Dihedron dielectric loaded surface plasmon athermal polarization converter.

We investigate numerically a novel plasmonic polarization converter relying on the excitation of a so-called dihedron dielectric loaded plasmon polariton. The dihedron dielectric loaded waveguide consists of a dielectric ridge implemented at the inner corner of a metal-coated dielectric step. For a dielectric ridge with a square cross section, the plasmon polariton modes supported by each side of the metallized step hybridize to create supermodes with crossed polarizations. We show that the two supermodes can be operated in a dual-mode interferometer configuration to perform an efficient (24 dB) TE-TM/TM-TE polarization conversion over typical distances below 30 μm at telecommunications wav…

Atomic diffraction from nanostructured optical potentials

We develop a versatile theoretical approach to the study of cold-atom diffractive scattering from light-field gratings by combining calculations of the optical near-field, generated by evanescent waves close to the surface of periodic nanostructured arrays, together with advanced atom wavepacket propagation on this optical potential.

Addressing and imaging high optical index dielectric ridges in the optical near field

Experimental observation of light coupling between ${\mathrm{TiO}}_{2}$ integrated waveguides of subwavelength cross section and pure three-dimensional evanescent light fields is reported. This near-field optical phenomenon is produced by controlling the location of the focusing of a laser beam totally reflected at the surface of the sample. The phenomenon is observed in direct space with a photon scanning tunneling microscope. Dielectric ridges several tens of micrometers long have been efficiently excited with this technique. Upon excitation, the extremities of the linear dielectric wires display intense light spots localized both inside and around the ridge. For ridge lengths up to $30\e…

High speed optical transmission at 2 μm in subwavelength waveguides made of various materials

We report the transmission of a 10 Gbps telecommunication signal at 2 μm in waveguides made of three different materials: Si, SiGe and TiO2. Bit error rates below 10−9 can be achieved after transmission in the devices with subwavelength dimensions.

Near-field observation of evanescent light wave coupling in subwavelength optical waveguides

International audience; We report the observation, in the range of visible frequencies, of the coupling of light into integrated waveguides of subwavelength cross-sections together with a subwavelength detection at the output, of such guides. Coupling in is produced by controlling the focusing of a laser beam totally reflected at the surface of the sample. Several tens of micrometres long dielectric ridges have been efficiently excited with this technique. The phenomenon is observed in direct space by a Photon Scanning Tunneling Microscope which also allows to test the principle of detection in a subwavelength volume.

Single-molecule controlled emission in planar plasmonic cavities

International audience; We study the fluorescence emission from single dye molecules in coplanar plasmonic cavities composed of a thin gold film surrounded by two in-plane surface plasmon Bragg mirrors. We first discuss the effect of the presence of Bragg mirrors on the radiation diagram of surface plasmon coupled emission. Then, we investigate the role of the planar cavity size by single-molecule fluorescence lifetime imaging. Experimental data are compared to numerical simulations of the decay rates calculated as a function of the molecule orientation and position within the cavity. The creation of new decay channels by coupling to the cavity modes is also discussed. We measure a plasmoni…

Spatially resolved photonic transfer through mesoscopic heterowires

We report spatially resolved observations of light wave propagation along high refraction index dielectric heterowires lying on a transparent substrate. The heterowires are made of linear chains of closely packed mesoscopic particles. The optical excitation of these heterowires is performed through channel waveguides featuring submicrometer transverse cross sections. Both numerical simulations and near-field optical images, recorded with a photon scanning tunneling microscope, agree to show that, at visible frequencies, tuning the periodicity of the heterowires controls the propagation length within a range of several micrometers.

SUBWAVELENGTH OPTICAL DEVICES FOR NANOMETER SCALE APPLICATIONS

Recent progress in near-field optics instrumentation led to a new class of subwavelength optical experiments in which it is intended to use either the optical tunnel effect (OTE) or the lower mode based transmission (LMBT) in order to control the optical transfer between several delocalized detection or injection centers. This paper presents a panel of new theoretical and experimental results computed or observed near various dielectric or metallic patterns, linear, curved, or dashed, integrated in coplanar geometry. In particular, we demonstrate, how an efficient control of light evanescent waves can allow structures of subwavelength cross sections to be addressed.

Optical Near-Field Properties of Lithographically Designed Metallic Nanoparticles

ABSTRACTWe report on the experimental observation of localized surface plasmons sustained by small metallic particles using a photon scanning tunneling microscope (PSTM). The surface plasmons are excited in gold nanostructures tailored by electron beam lithography. The constant height operation of the PSTM allowed a direct comparison with theoretical computations of the distribution of the optical near-field intensity. Plasmon coupling above a chain of Au particles and electromagnetic energy transfer from a resonantly excited nanoparticle to a nanowire are demonstrated. Our experimental results appear to be in good agreement with theoretical computations based on the Green's Dyadic Techniqu…

Plasmonic-assisted Mach-Zehnder Interferometric photonic sensor using aluminum waveguides

We demonstrate a CMOS compatible interferometric plasmo-photonic sensor exploiting SisN4 photonic and aluminum (Al) plasmonic stripe waveguides. Experimental evaluation revealed bulk sensitivity of 4764 nm/RIU, holding promise for ultra-sensitive and low cost sensing devices.

Fluorescence relaxation in the near-field of a mesoscopic metallic particle : distance dependence and role of plasmon modes

International audience; We analytically and numerically analyze the fluorescence decay rate of a quantum emitter placed in the vicinity of a spherical metallic particle of mesoscopic size (i.e with dimensions comparable to the emission wavelength). We discuss the efficiency of the radiative decay rate and non–radiative coupling to the particle as well as their distance dependence. The electromagnetic coupling mechanisms between the emitter and the particle are investigated by analyzing the role of the plasmon modes and their nature (dipole, multipole or interface mode). We demonstrate that near-field coupling can be expressed in a simple form verifying the optical theorem for each particle …

Simultaneous observation of light localization and confinement in near-field optics

We report on the observation, in direct space, of both light localization and confinement effects near lithographically designed structures. The sample is observed in the optical near-field zone with a Photon Scanning Tunneling Microscope (PSTM). Several patterns composed of a few periods of TiO2 dots, arranged as a hexagonal lattice, have been investigated. When the central dot of the pattern is removed, a phenomenon of light localization above the vacancy can be observed in the PSTM image. The occurrence of this phenomenon can be related to the variation of the electromagnetic local density of state.

Momentum-space spectroscopy for advanced analysis of dielectric-loaded surface plasmon polariton coupled and bent waveguides

We perform advanced radiation leakage microscopy of routing dielectric-loaded plasmonic waveguiding structures. By direct plane imaging and momentum-space spectroscopy, we analyze the energy transfer between coupled waveguides as a function of gap distance and reveal the momentum distribution of curved geometries. Specifically, we observed a clear degeneracy lift of the effective indices for strongly interacting waveguides in agreement with coupled-mode theory. We use momentum-space representations to discuss the effect of curvature on dielectric-loaded waveguides. The experimental images are successfully reproduced by a numerical and an analytical model of the mode propagating in a curved …

Plasmonic Waveguides Co-Integrated with Si3N4 Waveguide Platform for Integrated Biosensors

Integration of plasmonic waveguides with low-loss photonic platforms have attracted research efforts as the means to benefit from the extra-ordinary features of plasmonics while enhancing the functional portfolio of Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs). In this work, we review a technology platform that integrates water cladded plasmonic waveguides integrated in a low-loss Si 3 N 4 photonic platform, targeting biosensing applications. Results obtained experimentally and numerically will be presented with respect to propagation losses, interface coupling loss and accumulated phase change per unit length, showing how Surface Plasmon Polariton (SPP) waveguides can be effectively combined with p…

Ge quantum well plasmon-enhanced quantum confined Stark effect modulator

ABSTRACTWe theoretically and experimentally investigate a novel modulation concept on silicon (Si) based on the combination of quantum confinement and plasmon enhancement effects. We experimentally study the suitability of Ge/SiGe quantum wells (QWs) on Si as the active material for a plasmon-enhanced optical modulator. We demonstrate that in QW structures absorption and modulation of light with transverse magnetic (TM) polarization are greatly enhanced due to favorable selection rules. Later, we theoretically study the plasmon propagation at the metal-Ge/SiGe QW interface. We design a novel Ge/SiGe QW structure that allows maximized overlap between the plasmonic mode and the underlying Ge/…

First demonstration of active plasmonic device in true data traffic conditions: On/off thermo-optic modulation using a hybrid silicon-plasmonic asymmetric MZI

We demonstrate the first system-level evaluation of an active plasmonic device in 10Gb/s data traffic conditions. Thermo-optic ON/OFF modulation with 3μs response time and 10mW power consumption is presented using an asymmetric MZI silicon-plasmonic gate.

Purcell factor for a point-like dipolar emitter coupled to a two-dimensional plasmonic waveguide

International audience; We theoretically investigate the spontaneous emission of a point-like dipolar emitter located near a two-dimensional plasmonic waveguide of arbitrary form. We invoke an explicit link with the density of modes of the waveguide describing the electromagnetic channels into which the emitter can couple. We obtain a closed form expression for the coupling to propagative plasmon, extending thus the Purcell factor to plasmonic configurations. Radiative and nonradiative contributions to the spontaneous emission are also discussed in detail.

CMOS plasmonics in WDM data transmission: 200 Gb/s (8 × 25Gb/s) transmission over aluminum plasmonic waveguides

We demonstrate wavelength-division-multiplexed (WDM) 200 Gb/s (8 × 25 Gb/s) data transmission over 100 μm long aluminum (Al) surface-plasmon-polariton (SPP) waveguides on a Si3N4 waveguide platform at telecom wavelengths. The Al SPP waveguide was evaluated in terms of signal integrity by performing bit-error-rate (BER) measurements that revealed error-free operation for all eight 25 Gb/s non-return-to-zero (NRZ) modulated data channels with power penalties not exceeding 0.2 dB at 10−9. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of WDM enabled data transmission over complementary-metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) SPP waveguides fueling future development of CMOS compatible …

Nanosecond thermo-optical dynamics of polymer loaded plasmonic waveguides

The thermo-optical dynamics of polymer loaded surface plasmon waveguide (PLSPPW) based devices photo-thermally excited in the nanosecond regime is investigated. We demonstrate thermo-absorption of PLSPPW modes mediated by the temperature-dependent ohmic losses of the metal and the thermally controlled field distribution of the plasmon mode within the metal. For a PLSPPW excited by sub-nanosecond long pulses, we find that the thermo-absorption process leads to modulation depths up to 50% and features an activation time around 2ns whereas the relaxation time is around 800ns, four-fold smaller than the cooling time of the metal film itself. Next, we observe the photo-thermal activation of PLSP…

Efficient surface plasmon field confinement in one-dimensional crystal line-defect waveguides

International audience; The authors operate a near-field optical microscope to investigate surface plasmon polariton (SPP) propagation along linear waveguides opened into one-dimensional (1D) plasmonic crystals, i.e., crystals featuring a single lattice plane orientation. They show that efficient SPP field confinement can be achieved by this type of waveguide although no band gap exists in the direction perpendicular to the waveguide axis. From computed wave-vector diagrams, they show that 1D plasmonic crystals can open a wide range of prohibited propagation directions preventing from a significant coupling of the waveguide SPP modes with the crystal Bloch modes. Finally, the authors demons…

Study of the angular acceptance of surface plasmon Bragg mirrors

Surface plasmon based photonic devices are promising candidates for highly integrated optics. A surface plasmon (SP) is basically an electromagnetic wave confined in the interface between a metal and a dielectric, and is due to the interaction of the electromagnetic field with the surface bounded electron charges in the metal. A SP can propagate along the interface where it is confined (the propagation length being tens of micrometers in the visible range), but its associated electromagnetic field decreases exponentially in the perpendicular direction, in such a way that this vertical confinement makes SP very attractive for the design of optical devices in coplanar geometry. An important e…

Near-field beam displacement at surface plasmon resonance

International audience; A finite-size beam exciting a surface plasmon polariton (SPP) in a prism coupling configuration experiences an in-plane displacement that can be used for the characterization of plasmonic components by means of near-field optical microscopy. We first demonstrate experimentally the existence of this displacement by taking near-field images of finite-width metal strips. Next, the properties of this shift are analyzed in detail. We investigate the dynamic of the near-field shift for an incident Gaussian beam as a function of illumination conditions. For beams with a narrow spectrum, we propose a straightforward derivation showing that the displacement depends on the ave…

Low-Power consumption Franz-Keldysh effect plasmonic modulator

In this paper we report on a low energy consumption CMOS-compatible plasmonic modulator based on Franz-Keldysh effect in germanium on silicon. We performed integrated electro-optical simulations in order to optimize the main characteristics of the modulator. A 3.3 $dB$ extinction ratio for a 30 ${\mu}m$ long modulator is demonstrated under 3 $V$ bias voltage at an operation wavelength of 1647 $nm$. The estimated energy consumption is as low as 20 $fJ/bit$.

Data Transmission and Thermo-Optic Tuning Performance of Dielectric-Loaded Plasmonic Structures Hetero-Integrated on a Silicon Chip

We demonstrate experimental evidence of the data capture and the low-energy thermo-optic tuning credentials of dielectric-loaded plasmonic structures integrated on a silicon chip. We show 7-nm thermo-optical tuning of a plasmonic racetrack-resonator with less than 3.3 mW required electrical power and verify error-free 10-Gb/s transmission through a 60-mu m-long dielectric-loaded plasmonic waveguide. We demonstrate experimental evidence of the data capture and the low-energy thermo-optic tuning credentials of dielectric-loaded plasmonic structures integrated on a silicon chip. We show 7-nm thermo-optical tuning of a plasmonic racetrack-resonator with less than 3.3 mW required electrical powe…

Near‐field optical addressing of single molecules in coplanar geometry: a theoretical study

Photonic transfer through elongated optical structures of submicrometre section microfabricated at the surface of dielectric or semiconductor samples can be enhanced by an appropriate structuring of the local refraction index. We show from computerized simulations that both the light localization and the spectroscopic properties of such structures can be used to selectively excite, in coplanar geometry, individuals molecules located in the near-field.

Thermo-electric detection of waveguided surface plasmon propagation

International audience; The thermo-electric detection of a waveguided surface plasmon traveling along one electrode of an in-plane integrated thermocouple is demonstrated. By using a particular design of the thermocouple, the thermo-electric signal due to the losses of the plasmon mode can be separated from the non-resonant heating of the waveguide. The thermo-electric signal associated with the plasmon propagation is proportional to the power coupled into the waveguided mode and exhibits a maximum at a distance from the excitation site depending on both the heat transfer coefficient of the system and the plasmon mode damping distance.

Imaging of photonic nanopatterns by scanning near-field optical microscopy

We define photonic nanopatterns of a sample as images recorded by scanning near-field optical microscopy with a locally excited electric dipole as a probe. This photonic nanopattern can be calculated by use of the Green’s dyadic technique. Here, we show that scanning near-field optical microscopy images of well-defined gold triangles taken with the tetrahedral tip as a probe show a close similarity to the photonic nanopattern of this nanostructure with an electric dipole at a distance of 15 nm to the sample and tilted 45° with respect to the scanning plane.

Direct interpretation of near-field optical images.

The interpretation of the detection process in near-field optical microscopy is reviewed on the basis of a discussion about the possibility of establishing direct comparisons between experimental images and the solutions of Maxwell equations or the electromagnetic local density of states. On the basis of simple physical arguments, it is expected that the solutions of Maxwell equations should agree with images obtained by collecting mode near-field microscopes, while the electromagnetic local density of states should be considered to provide a practical interpretation of illumination mode near-field microscopes. We review collecting mode near-field microscope images where the conditions to o…

Tb/s switching fabrics for optical interconnects using heterointegration of plasmonics and silicon photonics: The FP7 PLATON approach

We present recent work that is carried out within the FP7 project PLATON on novel Tb/s switch fabric architectures and technologies for optical interconnect applications, employing heterointegration of plasmonics, silicon photonics and electronics.

Ultra-sensitive refractive index sensor using CMOS plasmonic transducers on silicon photonic interferometric platform

Optical refractive-index sensors exploiting selective co-integration of plasmonics with silicon photonics has emerged as an attractive technology for biosensing applications that can unleash unprecedented performance breakthroughs that reaps the benefits of both technologies. However, towards this direction, a major challenge remains their integration using exclusively CMOS-compatible materials. In this context, herein, we demonstrate, for the first time to our knowledge, a CMOS-compatible plasmo-photonic Mach-Zehnder-interferometer (MZI) based on aluminum and Si3N4 waveguides, exhibiting record-high bulk sensitivity of 4764 nm/RIU with clear potential to scale up the bulk sensitivity value…

Surface plasmon routing along right angle bent metal strips

International audience; An efficient routing of surface plasmon polaritons (SPP) is of fundamental importance in the development of SPP-based photonics. This paper reports that microgratings acting as Bragg mirrors can guide SPP along metal stripes waveguides featuring 90 degrees bents. The measurement of the mirrors efficiency, performed by means of photon scanning tunneling microscopy, shows that bent losses as low as 1.9 dB can be achieved. Finally, we demonstrate operating SPP beamsplitters obtained by an appropriate design of the Bragg mirrors constituting elements. (c) 2005 American Institute of Physics.

Surface plasmon circuitry in opto-electronics

This tutorial reviews the physics of surface plasmon circuitry in order to bring to the fore recently demonstrated applications of surface plasmon in optoelectronics such as on-board optical interconnects or routing in datacom networks.

Far-field imaging of the electromagnetic local density of optical states.

International audience; We introduce a new experimental method to measure the local electromagnetic density of states (LDOS) by integrating the differential scattering cross section. The signal detected essentially reflects the intrinsic scattering response of the photonic structures and renders the partial LDOS dominated by evanescent modes. We give a theoretical understanding of the LDOS image formation and show a qualitative agreement between experimental images and theoretical maps. This approach can be practically applied to the direct measurement of an optical antenna's scattering efficiency and can provide valuable information for designing optimum structures utilized in radiative de…

Gain, detuning, and radiation patterns of nanoparticle optical antennas

International audience; For their capability to localize and redirect electromagnetic field, metal nanoparticles have been recently viewed as efficient nanoantenna operating in the optical regime. In this article, we experimentally investigated the optical responses of coupled gold antenna pairs and measured the critical parameters defining antenna characteristics: resonant frequencies and bandwidths, detuning and gains, and radiation patterns.

WDM switching employing a hybrid silicon-plasmonic A-MZI

We demonstrate a system-level evaluation of an A-MZI with 60μm long DLSPP active branches exhibiting more than 14dB extinction ratio. Error-free switching operation is achieved for a 4×10Gb/s incoming WDM data stream with only 13.1mW power consumption.

Subwavelength mapping of surface photonic states

We show that the spectral tailoring of optical local density of states (LDOS) may be achieved by lithographically designed nanostructures and that the subwavelength mapping of the spectral variation of the optical LDOS is feasible by varying the driving frequency of the effective dipole used in an illumination mode scanning near-field optical microscope.

Photonic nanopatterns of gold nanostructures indicate the excitation of surface plasmon modes of a wavelength of 50-100 nm by scanning near-field optical microscopy

Scanning near-field optical microscopy images of metal nanostructures taken with the tetrahedral tip (T-tip) show a distribution of dark and bright spots at distances in the order of 25-50 nm. The images are interpreted as photonic nanopatterns defined as calculated scanning near-field optical microscopy images using a dipole serving as a light-emitting scanning near-field optical microscopy probe. Changing from a positive to a negative value of the dielectric function of a sample leads to the partition of one spot into several spots in the photonic nanopatterns, indicating the excitation of surface plasmons of a wavelength in the order of 50-100 nm in metal nanostructures.

Gold based plasmonic stripes co-integrated with low loss Si3N4 platform in aqueous environment

We demonstrate a butt-coupled interface between LPCVD Si 3 N 4 and gold based plasmonic waveguides in aqueous environment, exhibiting 2.3dB coupling loss and 75μm propagation length at 1550nm, towards future employment in biosensing applications.

Polymer-metal waveguides characterization by Fourier plane leakage radiation microscopy

International audience; The guiding properties of polymer waveguides on a thin gold film are investigated in the optical regime. The details of propagation in the waveguides are studied simultaneously in the object and Fourier planes, providing direct measurement of both the real and imaginary parts of the effective index of the guided mode. A fair agreement between theoretical analysis provided by the differential method and experimental leakage radiation microscopy data is shown. All these tools bring valuable information for designing and understanding such devices. (C) 2007 American Institute of Physics.

Purcell factor for 3D- dipolar emitter coupling to 2D- plasmonic waveguides

We theoretically investigate spontaneous emission of a quantum (3D) dipolar emitter located near a (2D) plasmonic waveguide of arbitrary form. The channels into which emitter couples (plasmon, scattering, electron-hole pairs creation) are well identified.