Near- and far-field properties of plasmonic oligomers under radially and azimuthally polarized light excitation.

We present a comprehensive experimental and theoretical study on the near- and far-field properties of plasmonic oligomers using radially and azimuthally polarized excitation. These unconventional polarization states are perfectly matched to the high spatial symmetry of the oligomers and thus allow for the excitation of some of the highly symmetric eigenmodes of the structures, which cannot be excited by linearly polarized light. In particular, we study hexamer and heptamer structures and strikingly find very similar optical responses, as well as the absence of a Fano resonance. Furthermore, we investigate the near-field distributions of the oligomers using near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM). We observe significantly enhanced near-fields, which arise from efficient excitation of the highly symmetric eigenmodes by the radially and azimuthally polarized light fields. Our study opens up possibilities for tailored light-matter interaction, combining the design freedom of complex plasmonic structures with the remarkable properties of radially and azimuthally polarized light fields.

Enhanced efficiency of thin film solar cells using a shifted dual grating plasmonic structure.

We propose an ultrathin solar cell architecture design which incorporates two periodic layers of metallic and dielectric gratings. Both layers couple the incident light to photonic and plasmonic modes, thus increasing absorption within the cell. The relative position between the two gratings is examined, and is shown to have significant impact on absorption. A lateral shift between the two layers introduces structural asymmetry, and enables coupling of the incident field to optically dark photonic modes. Furthermore, the lateral shift influences mode interactions. Current density enhancement is calculated under AM1.5 G solar illumination, and is found to reach a value of 1.86. The structure proposed is optimized and compared to solar cells with a single layer of metallic or dielectric nanostructures.

Subwavelength plasmonics for graded-index optics on a chip.

Planar plasmonic devices are becoming attractive for myriad applications, owing to their potential compatibility with standard microelectronics technology and the capability for densely integrating a large variety of plasmonic devices on a chip. Mitigating the challenges of using plasmonics in on-chip configurations requires precise control over the properties of plasmonic modes, in particular their shape and size. Here we achieve this goal by demonstrating a planar plasmonic graded-index lens focusing surface plasmons propagating along the device. The plasmonic mode is manipulated by carving subwavelength features into a dielectric layer positioned on top of a uniform metal film, allowing the local effective index of the plasmonic mode to be controlled using a single binary lithographic step. Focusing and divergence of surface plasmons is demonstrated experimentally. The demonstrated approach can be used for manipulating the propagation of surface plasmons, e.g., for beam steering, splitting, cloaking, mode matching, and beam shaping applications.

Radiation of a uniformly moving line charge in a zero-index metamaterial and other periodic media.

Radiation of electromagnetic waves by a uniformly moving charge is the subject of extensive research over the last several decades. Fascinating effects such as Vavilov-Cherenkov radiation, transition radiation and the Smith-Purcell effect were discovered and studied in depth. In this letter we study the radiation of a line charge moving with relativistic constant velocity within an average zero index metamaterial consisting of periodically alternating layers with negative and positive refractive index. We observe a strong radiation enhancement, ~3 orders of magnitude, for specific combinations of velocities and radiation frequencies. This surprising finding is attributed to a gigantic increase in the density of states at the positive/negative index boundary. Furthermore, we shed light on radiation effects of such a line charge propagating within the more "traditional" structure of periodically alternating layers consisting of positive and different refractive index with focus on frequencies satisfying the quarter wave stack and the half wave stack conditions. We show that the quarter-wave-stack case results in emission propagating vertically to the line charge trajectory, while the half-wave-stack results in negligible radiation. All these findings were obtained using a computationally efficient and conceptually intuitive computation method, based on eigenmode expansion of specific frequency components. For validation purposes this method was compared with the finite-difference-time-domain method.

Giant resonance absorption in ultra-thin metamaterial periodic structures.

We study the interaction of an incident plane wave with a metamaterial periodic structure consisting of alternating layers of positive and negative refractive index with average zero refractive index. We show that the existence of very narrow resonance peaks for which giant absorption - 50% at layer thickness of 1% of the incident wavelength - is exhibited. Maximum absorption is obtained at a specific layer thickness satisfying the critical coupling condition. This phenomenon is explained by the Rayleigh anomaly and by the excitation of Fabry Perot modes in the periodic layer. In addition, we investigate the modes supported by the structures for several limiting cases, and show that zero phase accumulation in the periodic metamaterial is obtained at resonance.

Light transmission through a circular metallic grating under broadband radial and azimuthal polarization illumination.

We studied the characteristics of a circular metallic grating illuminated by broadband radial and azimuthal polarizations. We demonstrated that this scenario is the cylindrical analogue of a one-dimensional Cartesian grating illuminated by TM and TE polarizations. We measured the transmission spectra of this structure and observed strong polarization selectivity and, specifically, a resonance for radial polarization excitation, indicating a strong coupling to surface plasmons. The structure may be attractive for applications where pure radial polarization is needed, such as tight focusing, material processing, and particle trapping.

Plasmonic resonance effects for tandem receiving-transmitting nanoantennas.

A nanoplasmonic "transceiver" was assembled to examine the efficiency of coupled plasmonic antennas and their resonance interactions. In particular, plasmonic focusing receiver antenna coupled to transmitting annular antenna having a short central plasmonic wire was measured. The receiver collected incoming radially polarized light and efficiently focused and coupled it to a rear side transmitter comprised of a short resonant plasmonic wire and annular aperture. Transmission spectra exhibited a substantial signature of the wire Fabry-Perot resonances. The wire antenna crossection was improved by nearly 3 orders of magnitude by the focusing antenna system.

Efficient coupling and field enhancement for the nano-scale: plasmonic needle.

Theoretical demonstration of efficient coupling and power concentration of radially-polarized light on a conical tip of plasmonic needle is presented. The metallic needle is grown at the center of radial plasmonic grating, engraved in a metal surface. The electromagnetic field distribution was evaluated by Finite Elements and Finite-Difference-Time-Domain methods. The results show that the field on the tip of the needle is significantly enhanced compared to the field impinging on the grating. The power enhancement exhibited a resonant behavior as a function of needle length and reached values of approximately 10(4). Test samples for few types of characterization schemes were fabricated.

Demonstration of an elliptical plasmonic lens illuminated with radially-like polarized field.

We demonstrate an elliptically symmetric plasmonic lens that is illuminated by a radially-like polarization field. This illumination function is TM polarized with regard to the plasmonic lens, ensuring optimum coupling of the incident light into surface plasmons polaritons. The structure is analyzed theoretically by using the Green function approach, and a finite difference time domain simulation. Both approaches provide similar results. Specifically we calculate and experimentally measure the field distribution on the surface and a few microns above it. The results show strong dependency of the electric field distribution on the eccentricity of the elliptic structure and the illumination wavelength. The interference of surface plasmons generates a structured pattern consisting of distinct peaks distributed inside the ellipse with locations that are wavelength dependent. This pattern can be used in several applications including structured illumination microscopy, particles beam trapping and sensing.

The role of short and long range surface plasmons for plasmonic focusing applications.

We propose and analyze a new plasmonic lens allowing the simultaneous focusing of both short and long range surface plasmons polaritons. The considered geometry is circularly symmetric and the SPP excitation is radially polarized. The long range and the short range modes are compared and found to have very different focusing properties. The trade-offs between the modes are discussed. The interplay between these two modes is used to demonstrate a practical focusing scenario providing a smaller spot size compared with previous version of plasmonic lenses, and a large depth of focus simultaneously.

Demonstration of nanofocusing by the use of plasmonic lens illuminated with radially polarized light.

We experimentally demonstrate the focusing of surface plasmon polaritons by a plasmonic lens illuminated with radially polarized light. The field distribution is characterized by near-field scanning optical microscope. A sharp focal spot corresponding to a zero-order Bessel function is observed. For comparison, the plasmonic lens is also measured with linearly polarized light illumination, resulting in two separated lobes. Finally, we verify that the focal spot maintains its width along the optical axis of the plasmonic lens. The results demonstrate the advantage of using radially polarized light for nanofocusing applications involving surface plasmon polaritons.

Plasmonic focusing with a coaxial structure illuminated by radially polarized light.

We propose and analyze a plasmonic lens that is illuminated by a radially polarized light. The lens is made of a coax-like geometry consisting of an annular dielectric slit surrounded by metal. Focusing efficiency is enhanced by the use of a circular grating assisting the coupling of light into surface plasmons. Further enhancement is obtained by introducing a circular Bragg grating on top of the structure, reflecting the surface plasmon modes that are propagating in the counter-focus direction. Using the Finite-Difference Time-Domain approach we investigate the transmission and the focusing mechanisms, and study the effect of structural parameters on the performance of the plasmonic lens.