Nanofocusing in laterally tapered plasmonic waveguides

doi:10.1364/OE.16.000045

Nanofocusing in laterally tapered plasmonic waveguides

Ewold Verhagen, Albert Polman, and L. (Kobus) Kuipers »View Author Affiliations

Optics Express, Vol. 16, Issue 1, pp. 45-57 (2008)
http://dx.doi.org/10.1364/OE.16.000045

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Abstract

We investigate the focusing of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) excited with 1.5 µm light in a tapered Au waveguide on a planar dielectric substrate by experiments and simulations. We find that nanofocusing can be obtained when the asymmetric bound mode at the substrate side of the metal film is excited. The propagation and concentration of this mode to the tip is demonstrated. No sign of a cutoff waveguide width is observed as the SPPs propagate along the tapered waveguide. Simulations show that such concentrating behavior is not possible for excitation of the mode at the low-index side of the film. The mode that enables the focusing exhibits a strong resemblance to the asymmetric mode responsible for focusing in conical waveguides. This work demonstrates a practical implementation of plasmonic nanofocusing on a planar substrate.

OCIS Codes
(240.6680) Optics at surfaces : Surface plasmons
(310.2790) Thin films : Guided waves
(250.5403) Optoelectronics : Plasmonics
(050.6624) Diffraction and gratings : Subwavelength structures

ToC Category:
Optics at Surfaces

History
Original Manuscript: November 14, 2007
Revised Manuscript: December 19, 2007
Manuscript Accepted: December 19, 2007
Published: January 2, 2008

Citation
Ewold Verhagen, Albert Polman, and L. (Kobus) Kuipers, "Nanofocusing in laterally tapered plasmonic waveguides," Opt. Express 16, 45-57 (2008)
http://www.opticsinfobase.org/oe/abstract.cfm?URI=oe-16-1-45

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References

E. Ozbay, "Plasmonics: Merging photonics and electronics at nanoscale dimensions," Science 311, 189-193 (2006). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
J.-C. Weeber, J. R. Krenn, A. Dereux, B. Lamprecht, Y. Lacroute, J. P. Goudonnet, "Near-field observation of surface plasmon polariton propagation on thin metal stripes," Phys. Rev. B 61, 045411 (2001). [CrossRef]
A. Hohenau, J. R. Krenn, A. L. Stepanov, A. Drezet, H. Ditlbacher, B. Steinberger, A. Leitner, F. R. Aussenegg, "Dielectric optical elements for surface plasmons," Opt. Lett. 30, 893-895 (2005). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
A. Drezet, A. L. Stepanov, H. Ditlbacher, B. Steinberger, F. R. Aussenegg, A. Leitner, J. R. Krenn, "Surface plasmon propagation in an elliptical corral," Appl. Phys. Lett. 86, 074104 (2005). [CrossRef]
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Z. Liu, J. M. Steele, W. Srituravanich, Y. Pikus, C. Sun, X. Zhang, "Focusing surface plasmons with a plasmonics lens," Nano Lett. 5, 1726-1729 (2005). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
H. L. Offerhaus, B. van den Bergen, M. Escalante, F. B. Segerink, J. P. Korterik, N. F. van Hulst, "Creating focused plasmons by noncollinear phasematching on functional gratings," Nano Lett. 5, 2144-2148 (2005). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
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C. Ropers, C. C. Neacsu, T. Elsaesser, M. Albrecht, M. B. Raschke, C. Lienau, "Grating-coupling of surface plasmons onto metallic tips: A nanoconfined light source," Nano Lett. 7, 2784-2788 (2007). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
J. Koglin, U. C. Fischer, H. Fuchs, "Material contrast in scanning near-field optical microscopy at 1-10 nm resolution," Phys. Rev. B 55, 7977-7984 (1997). [CrossRef]
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E. Verhagen, L. Kuipers, A. Polman, "Enhanced nonlinear optical effects with a tapered plasmonic waveguide," Nano Lett. 7, 334-337 (2007). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
E. Verhagen, A. L. Tchebotareva, A. Polman, "Erbium luminescence imaging of infrared surface plasmon polaritons," Appl. Phys. Lett. 88, 121121 (2006). [CrossRef]
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R. Zia, M. D. Selker, M. L. Brongersma, "Leaky and bound modes of surface plasmon waveguides," Phys. Rev. B 71, 165431 (2005). [CrossRef]
Lumerical FDTD Solutions 5.0
P. Berini, "Plasmon-polariton waves guided by thin lossy metal films of finite width: Bound modes of asymmetric structures," Phys. Rev. B 63, 125417 (2001). [CrossRef]
P. B. Johnson and R. W. Christy, "Optical constants of the noble metals," Phys. Rev. B 6, 4370-4379 (1972) [CrossRef]
Z. Zhu and T. G. Brown, "Full-vectorial finite-difference analysis of microstructured optical fibers," Opt. Express 10, 853-864 (2002). [PubMed]
H. Ditlbacher, A. Hohenau, D. Wagner, U. Kreibig, M. Rogers, F. Hofer, F. R. Aussenegg, J. R. Krenn, "Silver nanowires as surface plasmon resonators," Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 257403 (2005). [CrossRef] [PubMed]

Appl. Phys. B

D. K. Gramotnev and K. C. Vernon, "Adiabatic nano-focusing of plasmons by sharp metallic wedges," Appl. Phys. B 86, 7-17 (2007). [CrossRef]

Appl. Phys. Lett.

A. Drezet, A. L. Stepanov, H. Ditlbacher, B. Steinberger, F. R. Aussenegg, A. Leitner, J. R. Krenn, "Surface plasmon propagation in an elliptical corral," Appl. Phys. Lett. 86, 074104 (2005). [CrossRef]
E. Verhagen, A. L. Tchebotareva, A. Polman, "Erbium luminescence imaging of infrared surface plasmon polaritons," Appl. Phys. Lett. 88, 121121 (2006). [CrossRef]
E. Devaux, T. W. Ebbesen, J.-C. Weeber, A. Dereux, "Launching and decoupling surface plasmons via micro-gratings," Appl. Phys. Lett. 83, 4936-4938 (2003). [CrossRef]
G. N. van den Hoven, E. Snoeks, A. Polman, J. W. M. van Uffelen, Y. S. Oei, M. K. Smit, "Photoluminescence characterization of Er-implanted Al2O3 films," Appl. Phys. Lett. 62, 3065-3067 (1993). [CrossRef]

Chem. Rev.

F. Auzel, "Upconversion and anti-Stokes processes with f and d ions in solids," Chem. Rev. 104, 139-173 (2004). [CrossRef] [PubMed]

J. Appl. Phys.

G. N. van den Hoven, E. Snoeks, A. Polman, C. van Dam, J. W. M. van Uffelen, M. K. Smit, "Upconversion in Er-implanted Al2O3 waveguides," J. Appl. Phys. 79, 1258-1266 (1996). [CrossRef]

J. Microsc.

F. Keilmann, "Surface-polariton propagation for scanning near-field optical microscopy application," J. Microsc. 194, 567-570 (1999). [CrossRef]
A. Bouhelier, J. Renger, M. R. Beversluis, L. Novotny, "Plasmon-coupled tip-enhanced near-field optical microscopy," J. Microsc. 210, 220-224 (2003). [CrossRef] [PubMed]

Nano Lett.

C. Ropers, C. C. Neacsu, T. Elsaesser, M. Albrecht, M. B. Raschke, C. Lienau, "Grating-coupling of surface plasmons onto metallic tips: A nanoconfined light source," Nano Lett. 7, 2784-2788 (2007). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
L. Yin, V. K. Vlasko-Vlasov, J. Pearson, J. M. Hiller, J. Hua, U. Welp, D. E. Brown, C. W. Kimball, "Subwavelength focusing and guiding of surface plasmons," Nano Lett. 5, 1399-1402 (2005). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
Z. Liu, J. M. Steele, W. Srituravanich, Y. Pikus, C. Sun, X. Zhang, "Focusing surface plasmons with a plasmonics lens," Nano Lett. 5, 1726-1729 (2005). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
H. L. Offerhaus, B. van den Bergen, M. Escalante, F. B. Segerink, J. P. Korterik, N. F. van Hulst, "Creating focused plasmons by noncollinear phasematching on functional gratings," Nano Lett. 5, 2144-2148 (2005). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
E. Verhagen, L. Kuipers, A. Polman, "Enhanced nonlinear optical effects with a tapered plasmonic waveguide," Nano Lett. 7, 334-337 (2007). [CrossRef] [PubMed]

Opt. Commun.

N. A. Janunts, K. S. Baghdasaryan, Kh. V. Nerkararyan, B. Hecht, "Excitation and superfocusing of surface plasmon polaritons on a silver-coated optical fiber tip," Opt. Commun. 253, 118-124 (2005). [CrossRef]

Opt. Express

Z. Zhu and T. G. Brown, "Full-vectorial finite-difference analysis of microstructured optical fibers," Opt. Express 10, 853-864 (2002). [PubMed]

Opt. Lett.

A. Hohenau, J. R. Krenn, A. L. Stepanov, A. Drezet, H. Ditlbacher, B. Steinberger, A. Leitner, F. R. Aussenegg, "Dielectric optical elements for surface plasmons," Opt. Lett. 30, 893-895 (2005). [CrossRef] [PubMed]

Phys. Rev.

E. N. Economou, "Surface plasmons in thin films," Phys. Rev. 182, 539-554 (1969). [CrossRef]

Phys. Rev. B

J.-C. Weeber, J. R. Krenn, A. Dereux, B. Lamprecht, Y. Lacroute, J. P. Goudonnet, "Near-field observation of surface plasmon polariton propagation on thin metal stripes," Phys. Rev. B 61, 045411 (2001). [CrossRef]
C. A. Pfeiffer, E. N. Economou, K. L. Ngai, "Surface polaritons in a circularly cylindrical interface: surface plasmons," Phys. Rev. B 10, 3038-3051 (1974). [CrossRef]
J. J. Burke and G. I. Stegeman, "Surface-polariton-like waves guided by thin, lossy metal films," Phys. Rev. B 33, 5186-5201 (1986). [CrossRef]
D. K. Gramotnev, D. F. P. Pile, M. W. Vogel, X. Zhang, "Local electric field enhancement during nanofocusing of plasmons by a tapered gap," Phys. Rev. B 75, 035431 (2007). [CrossRef]
J. Koglin, U. C. Fischer, H. Fuchs, "Material contrast in scanning near-field optical microscopy at 1-10 nm resolution," Phys. Rev. B 55, 7977-7984 (1997). [CrossRef]
P. Berini, "Plasmon-polariton waves guided by thin lossy metal films of finite width: Bound modes of asymmetric structures," Phys. Rev. B 63, 125417 (2001). [CrossRef]
P. B. Johnson and R. W. Christy, "Optical constants of the noble metals," Phys. Rev. B 6, 4370-4379 (1972) [CrossRef]
R. Zia, J. A. Schuller, M. L. Brongersma, "Near-field characterization of guided polariton propagation and cutoff in surface plasmon waveguides," Phys. Rev. B 74, 165415 (2006). [CrossRef]
M. Pollnau, D. R. Gamelin, S. R. Lüthi, H. U. Güdel, M. P. Hehlen, "Power dependence of upconversion luminescence in lanthanide and transition-metal-ion systems," Phys. Rev. B 61, 3337-3346 (2000). [CrossRef]
R. Zia, M. D. Selker, M. L. Brongersma, "Leaky and bound modes of surface plasmon waveguides," Phys. Rev. B 71, 165431 (2005). [CrossRef]

Phys. Rev. Lett.

D. S. Kim, S. C. Hohng, V. Malyarchuk, Y. C. Yoon, Y. H. Ahn, K. J. Yee, J. W. Park, J. Kim, Q. H. Park, C. Lienau, "Microscopic origin of surface-plasmon radiation in plasmonic band-gap nanostructures," Phys. Rev. Lett. 91, 143901 (2003). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
H. Ditlbacher, A. Hohenau, D. Wagner, U. Kreibig, M. Rogers, F. Hofer, F. R. Aussenegg, J. R. Krenn, "Silver nanowires as surface plasmon resonators," Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 257403 (2005). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
M. I. Stockman, "Nanofocusing of optical energy in tapered plasmonic waveguides," Phys. Rev. Lett. 93, 137404 (2004). [CrossRef] [PubMed]

Science

E. Ozbay, "Plasmonics: Merging photonics and electronics at nanoscale dimensions," Science 311, 189-193 (2006). [CrossRef] [PubMed]

Other

Lumerical FDTD Solutions 5.0

2007, , Appl. Phys. B
2007, , Phys. Rev. B
2007, , Nano Lett.
2007, , Nano Lett.
2006, , Appl. Phys. Lett.
2006, , Phys. Rev. B
2006, , Science
2005, , Opt. Lett.
2005, , Appl. Phys. Lett.
2005, , Nano Lett.
2005, , Nano Lett.
2005, , Nano Lett.
2005, , Opt. Commun.
2005, , Phys. Rev. B
2005, , Phys. Rev. Lett.
2004, , Chem. Rev.
2004, , Phys. Rev. Lett.
2003, , J. Microsc.
2003, , Phys. Rev. Lett.
2003, , Appl. Phys. Lett.
2002, , Opt. Express
2001, , Phys. Rev. B
2001, , Phys. Rev. B
2000, , Phys. Rev. B
1999, , J. Microsc.
1997, , Phys. Rev. B
1996, , J. Appl. Phys.
1993, , Appl. Phys. Lett.
1986, , Phys. Rev. B
1974, , Phys. Rev. B
1972, , Phys. Rev. B
1969, , Phys. Rev.

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