0000000000981424
AUTHOR
Caijin Huang
Tuning of an Optical Dimer Nanoantenna by Electrically Controlling Its Load Impedance
International audience; Optical antennas are elementary units used to direct optical radiation to the nanoscale. Here we demonstrate an active control over individual antenna performances by an external electrical trigger. We find that by an in-plane command of an anisotropic load medium, the electromagnetic interaction between individual elements constituting an optical antenna can be controlled, resulting in a strong polarization and tuning response. An active command of the antenna is a prerequisite for directing light wave through the utilization of such a device.
Surface plasmon interference excited by tightly focused laser beams
International audience; We show that interfering surface plasmon polaritons can be excited with a focused laser beam at normal incidence to a plane metal film. No protrusions or holes are needed in this excitation scheme. Depending on the axial position of the focus, the intensity distribution on the metal surface is either dominated by interferences between counterpropagating plasmons or by a two-lobe pattern characteristic of localized surface plasmon excitation. Our experiments can be accurately explained by use of the angular spectrum representation and provide a simple means for locally exciting standing surface plasmon polaritons.
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.