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Optical plasmonic antennas allow for localizing and enhancing light at the nanoscale. To enhance the application opportunities of optical antennas, their quality factor needs to be substantially improved. Here, we numerically and experimentally demonstrate that the resonance of a dipolar metallic disc antenna can be enhanced by a circular grating that obeys the Bragg condition. The supporting grating effectively collects energy from an extended spatial domain and guides it spectrally-selected into the central antenna, leading to a significantly enhanced field intensity at resonance. Accordingly, the quality factor of the antenna is enhanced by at least five times. The approach can be applied to other plasmonic systems, hence constituting an important ingredient to a future plasmonic tool box.
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The spontaneous emission rate of dipole emitters close to plasmonic dimers are theoretically studied within a nonlocal hydrodynamic model. A nonlocal model has to be used since quantum emitters in the immediate environment of a metallic nanoparticle probe its electronic structure. Compared to local calculations, the emission rate is significantly reduced. The influence is mostly pronounced if the emitter is located close to sharp edges. We suggest to use quantum emitters to test nonlocal effects in experimentally feasible configurations.
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Within the past several years a tremendous progress regarding optical nano-antennas could be witnessed. It is one purpose of optical nano-antennas to resonantly enhance light-matter interactions at the nanoscale, e.g. the interaction of an external illumination with molecules. In this specific, but in almost all schemes that take advantage of resonantly enhanced electromagnetic fields in the vicinity of nano-antennas, the precise knowledge of the spectral position of resonances is of paramount importance to fully exploit their beneficial effects. Thus far, however, many nano-antennas were only optimized with respect to their far-field characteristics, i.e. in terms of their scattering or extinction cross sections. Although being an emerging feature in many numerical simulations, it was only recently fully appreciated that there exists a subtle but very important difference in the spectral position of resonances in the near-and the far-field. With the purpose to quantify this shift, Zuloaga et al. suggested a Lorentzian model to estimate the resonance shift. Here, we devise on fully analytical grounds a strategy to predict the resonance in the near-field directly from that in the far-field and disclose that the issue is involved and multifaceted, in general. We outline the limitations of our theory if more sophisticated optical nano-antennas are considered where higher order multipolar contributions and higher order antenna resonances become increasingly important. Both aspects are highlighted by numerically studying relevant nano-antennas.
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We report on a novel metamaterial structure that sustains extremely sharp resonances in the terahertz domain. This system involves two conductively coupled split ring resonators that together exhibit a novel resonance, in broad analogy to the antiphase mode of the so-called Huygens coupled pendulum. Even though this resonance is in principle forbidden in each individual symmetric split ring, our experiments show that this new coupled mode can sustain quality factors that are more than one order of magnitude larger than those of conventional split ring arrangements. Because of the universality of the metamaterial response, the design principle we present here can be applied across the entire electromagnetic spectrum and to various metamaterial resonators.
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We propose to use nanoantennas (NAs) coupled to incoherently pumped quantum dots for ultrabright single photon emission. Besides fully quantum calculations, we analyze an analytical expression for the emitted photon rate. From these analytical considerations, it turns out that the Purcell factor and the pumping rate are the main quantities of interest. We also disclose a trade-off between the emitted photon rate and the nonclassical nature of the emitted light. This trade-off has to be considered while designing suitable NAs, which we also discuss in depth.
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Plasmonic nanoantennas permit many functional components for future generations of nanoscale optical devices. They have been intensively studied and means were devised to engineer their optical response. However, as a metal-based resonator, the low quality factor of a plasmonic antenna hinders its further applications. Here, we propose a novel design to improve the quality factor of a dipolar nanoantenna by combining it with plasmonic Bragg gratings. This specific antenna design can support extraordinary sharp resonances and highly directional emissivity. Therefore, it promises to achieve many novel applications, e.g., in the field of cavity quantum electrodynamics where the strong coupling regime for light and matter comes in reach.
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An invisibility cloak has been designed, realized and characterized. The cloak hides free-standing sub-wavelength three-dimensional objects at the short wavelength edge of the visible spectrum. By a bottom-up approach the cloak was self-assembled around the object. Such fabrication approach constitutes a further important step towards real world applications of cloaking; leaving the realm of curiosity. The cloak and the way it was fabricated opens an avenue for many spectacular nanooptical applications such as non-disturbing sensors and photo-detectors, highly efficient solar cells, or optical nanoantenna arrays with strongly suppressed cross-talk to mention only a few. Our results rely on the successful combination of concepts from various disciplines, i.e. chemistry, material science, and plasmonics. Consequently, this work will stimulate these fields by unraveling new paths for future research.
Asunto(s)
Nanopartículas del Metal/química , Modelos Químicos , Refractometría/instrumentación , Refractometría/métodos , Plata/química , Simulación por Computador , Diseño Asistido por Computadora , Diseño de Equipo , Análisis de Falla de Equipo , Luz , Ensayo de Materiales , Dispersión de RadiaciónRESUMEN
A metal-insulator-metal (MIM) waveguide is a canonical structure used in many functional plasmonic devices. Recently, research on nanoresonantors made from finite, that is, truncated, MIM waveguides attracted a considerable deal of interest motivated by the promise for many applications. However, most suggested nanoresonators do not reach a deep-subwavelength domain. With ordinary fabrication techniques the dielectric spacers usually remain fairly thick, that is, in the order of tens of nanometers. This prevents the wavevector of the guided surface plasmon polariton to strongly deviate from the light line. Here, we will show that the exploitation of an extreme coupling regime, which appears for only a few nanometers thick dielectric spacer, can lift this limitation. By taking advantage of atomic layer deposition we fabricated and characterized exemplarily deep-subwavelength perfect absorbers. Our results are fully supported by numerical simulations and analytical considerations. Our work provides impetus on many fields of nanoscience and will foster various applications in high-impact areas such as metamaterials, light harvesting, and sensing or the fabrication of quantum-plasmonic devices.
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Metamaterial-based perfect absorbers promise many applications. Perfect absorption is characterized by the complete suppression of transmission and reflection and complete dissipation of the incident energy by the absorptive meta-atoms. A certain absorption spectrum is usually assigned to a bulk medium and serves as a signature of the respective material. Here we show how to use graphene flakes as building blocks for perfect absorbers. Then, an absorbing meta-atom only consists of a molecular monolayer placed at an appropriate distance from a metallic ground plate. We show that the functionality of such device is intuitively and correctly explained by a Fabry-Perot model.
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Grafito/química , Materiales Manufacturados , Modelos Químicos , Absorción , Simulación por Computador , Luz , Dispersión de RadiaciónRESUMEN
Recently perfect metamaterial absorbers triggered some fascination since they permit the observation of an extreme interaction of light with a nanostructured thin film. For the first time we evaluate here the functionality of such perfect absorbers if they are applied on curved surfaces. We probe their optical response and discuss potential novel applications. Examples are the complete suppression of back-scattered light from the covered objects, rendering it cloaked in reflection, and their action as optical black holes.
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Plasmonic metamaterials exhibit strong and tunable dispersion, as a result of their pronounced resonances. This dispersion is used to construct an ultrathin light-shaping element that produces different waves at two distinct wavelengths in the near IR range. The optical response of the pixelated element is adjusted by variations in the geometry of the metamaterial's unit cell. Applications requiring spatial and spectral control of light become feasible.
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We theoretically demonstrate and experimentally confirm the major influence of gain dynamics on soliton molecules that self-assemble in mode-locked lasers. Both slow gain recovery and depletion play a pivotal role in the formation of chirped soliton molecules characterized by an increasing separation from leading to trailing pulses. These chirped molecules actually consist of many pulses and may be termed macromolecules. They are experimentally observed in a fiber laser and numerically modeled by an approach that properly includes the slow gain dynamics. Furthermore, it is shown that these processes stabilize soliton trains in fiber lasers by inhibiting internal oscillations.
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Most left-handed metamaterials cannot be described by local effective permittivity or permeability tensors in the visible or near-infrared due to the mesoscopic size of the respective unit cells and the related strong spatial dispersion. We lift this problem and propose a metamaterial exhibiting artificial magnetism that does not suffer from this restriction. The artificial magnetism arises from the extreme coupling between both metallic films forming the unit cell. We show that its electromagnetic response can be properly described by biaxial local constitutive relations. A genuine biaxial left-handed fishnet metamaterial is suggested, which can be realized by atomic layer deposition to fabricate the nanoscaled spacing layers required for extreme coupling.
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We introduce a top-down fabricated metamaterial composed of three-dimensional, chiral, plasmonic nanostructures for visible and near-infrared wavelengths. Based on a combined spectroscopic and interferometric characterization, the entire complex transmission response in terms of a Jones matrix is disclosed. Particularly, the polarization output state of light after propagation through the nanostructures can be decoded from the measurements for any excitation configuration. We experimentally found a rotation of the polarization azimuth of linearly polarized light exceeding 50° at wavelengths around 1.08 µm. This corresponds to a specific rotation which is significantly larger than that of any linear, passive, and reciprocal medium reported to date.
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The Lambertian limit for solar cells is a benchmark for evaluating their efficiency. It has been shown that the performance of either extremely thick or extremely thin solar cells can be driven close to this limit by using an appropriate photon management. Here we show that this is likewise possible for realistic, practically relevant thin-film solar cells based on amorphous silicon. Most importantly, we achieve this goal by relying on random textures already incorporated into state-of-the-art superstrates; with the only subtlety that their topology has to be downscaled to typical feature sizes of about 100 nm.
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Luz , Energía Solar , Aluminio/química , Cristalización , Fotones , Silicio/química , Óxido de Zinc/químicaRESUMEN
We derive exact solutions of the Ablowitz-Ladik (A-L) equation using a special ansatz that linearly relates the real and imaginary parts of the complex function. This ansatz allows us to derive a family of first-order solutions of the A-L equation with two independent parameters. This novel technique shows that every exact solution of the A-L equation has a direct analog among first-order solutions of the nonlinear Schrödinger equation (NLSE).
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We theoretically analyze, fabricate, and characterize a three-dimensional plasmonic nanostructure that exhibits a strong and isotropic magnetic response in the visible spectral domain. Using two different bottom-up approaches that rely on self-organization and colloidal nanochemistry, we fabricate clusters consisting of dielectric core spheres, which are smaller than the wavelength of the incident radiation and are decorated by a large number of metallic nanospheres. Hence, despite having a complicated inner geometry, such a core-shell particle is sufficiently small to be perceived as an individual object in the far field. The optical properties of such complex plasmonic core-shell particles are discussed for two different core diameters.
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Fenómenos Magnéticos , Nanotecnología/métodos , Nanosferas/química , Silicio/químicaRESUMEN
Plasmonic systems are known for their distinct nonlinear optical properties when compared to purely dielectric materials. Although it is well accepted that the enhanced nonlinear processes in plasmonic-dielectric compounds are related to the excitation of localized plasmon resonances, their exact origin is concealed by the local field enhancement in the surrounding material and the nonlinearity in the metal. Here, we show that the origin of third-harmonic generation in hybrid plasmonic-dielectric compounds can be unambiguously identified from the shape of the nonlinear spectrum.
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We study the physics of a new type of subwavelength nanocavities. They are based on U-shaped metal-insulator-metal waveguides supporting the excitation of surface plasmon polaritons. The nanocavity arrays are excited by plane waves at either a normal or oblique incidence. Because of their finite length, discrete modes emerge within the nanocavity. We show that the excitation symmetry with respect to the cavity ends permits the observation of even and odd modes. Our investigations include near- and far-field simulations and predict a strong spectral far-field response of the comparably small nanoresonators. The strong near-field enhancement observed in the cavity at resonance might be suitable to increase the efficiency of nonlinear optical effects and quantum analogies and might facilitate the development of optical elements, such as active plasmonic devices.