Analysis of the angular acceptance of surface plasmon Bragg mirrors
International audience; We analyze an important aspect of the behavior of surface plasmon polariton (SPP) Bragg mirrors: the dependence of the angular acceptance for reflection on the incidence angle. By means of leakage radiation microscopy, both in direct and Fourier space, we observe that the angular acceptance diminishes for increasing incidence angles. This effect, which can considerably affect the design of devices based on these elements, is shown to be the consequence of the decrease of the bandgap width with increasing incidence angle. (c) 2007 Optical Society of America.
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…
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.
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.
Dielectric-loaded surface plasmon polariton waveguides: Figures of merit and mode characterization by image and Fourier plane leakage microscopy
International audience; Waveguiding of surface plasmon polaritons by dielectric-loaded metal structures is studied in detail by combining numerical simulations and leakage radiation microscopy. These types of waveguides are first numerically investigated using the effective index model and the differential method. We analyzed systematically the influence of the ridge width and thickness of the waveguide on the properties of the surface plasmon guided modes. In particular we investigated the confinement factor of the modes and their associated propagation lengths. These two parameters can be optimized by adjusting the thickness of the dielectric layer. Waveguides loaded with thick and thin d…
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.
Performance of electro-optical plasmonic ring resonators at telecom wavelengths
International audience; In this work we report on the characteristics of an electro-optical dielectric-loaded surface plasmon polariton waveguide ring resonator. By doping the dielectric host matrix with an electro-optical material and designing an appropriate set of planar electrodes, we measured a 16% relative change of transmission upon application of a controlled electric field. We have analyzed the temporal response of the device and conclude that electrostriction of the host matrix is playing a dominating role in the transmission response.
Tailoring the transmittance of integrated optical waveguides with short metallic nanoparticle chains
We study the ability of noble metal nanoparticle chains supporting localized surface plasmons to tailor the transmittance of channel waveguides on which they are deposited. The optical interaction between a microwaveguide ~MWG! and various arrangements of nanoparticles is first analyzed by means numerical calculations based on the Green’s tensor formalism. For specific geometries of the particle chains, the transmission spectra of the composite device ~MWG and nanoparticles! exhibits strong modulations in the optical range with the appearance of a neat band gap. The results of an experiment inspired by this theoretical study are also discussed. The photon scanning tunneling microscope image…
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…
Modelling resonant coupling between microring resonators addressed by optical evanescent waves
In this paper we study the properties of microring resonator structures fabricated with high-index-of-refraction dielectric material. These structures concentrate light and can produce very strong optical potential gradients. They are of great interest for the trapping, manipulation and transport of cold atoms near surfaces. The study consists of two parts: in the first part we investigate the symmetry properties of the resonator response for simple models of the microring structures. In the second part we present detailed numerical calculations of the actual spectra for realistic microfabricated structures. We employ the direct space integral equation method (DSIEM). This method, based on …
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.
Imaging the Local Density of States of Optical Corrals
International audience; This paper reports the experimental observation, at optical frequencies, of the electromagnetic local density of states established by nanostructures corresponding to the recently introduced concept of optical corral [G. Colas des Francs et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 4950 (2001)]. The images obtained by a scanning near-field optical microscope under specific operational conditions are found in agreement with the theoretical maps of the optical local density of states. A clear functionality of detection by the scanning near-field optical microscope is thereby identified since the theoretical maps are computed without including any specific tip model.