Dielectric coated conductive rod resonantly coupled with a cut transmission line as a tunable microwave bandstop filter and sensor.

The resonant interaction of a dielectric-coated conductive rod with the X-band microwave field is investigated. The magnetic field distribution of the Goubau standing radial surface waves was experimentally visualized by using a thermo-elastic optical indicator microscope, and the corresponding electric field distribution was determined via numerical simulations. These field distributions are characterized by a certain pattern of antinodes distinctive for standing waves. An analysis of these field distributions allows one to couple a coated rod with a cut Goubau line. A rod placed in the gap region perpendicular to the Goubau line results in a sharp rejection band in the transmission spectrum which is extremely sensitive to the changes in the surrounding media. The shifting rate of the resonance as a function of the dielectric shell thickness is approximately 1.4 GHz/mm. The Q-factor of copper rods depends on their size and dielectric shell thickness. Longer rods with more energy localization areas have higher Q-factors, typically 1.7 times higher (12.7 vs. 7.5). Moreover, incorporating a dielectric shell enhances energy confinement and can elevate the Q-factor by as much as 22 %. When a 25 mm Cu rod is situated inside a cut Goubau line system, the Q-factor values are significantly higher, with a ratio of 275 to 13. With the addition of a dielectric shell, the Q-factor can be elevated by 58 %. The versatility of the proposed controllable system makes it possible to tune the operating spectrum towards higher GHz and THz frequencies.

Tunable ultra-broadband terahertz metamaterial absorber based on vanadium dioxide strips.

A simple design of an ultra-broadband metamaterial absorber (MMA) of terahertz (THz) radiation based on vanadium dioxide (VO2) configurations is proposed. The system is composed of a top pattern representing orderly distributed VO2 strips, a dielectric spacer and an Au reflector. Theoretical analysis based on the electric dipole approximation is performed to characterize the absorption and scattering properties of an individual VO2 strip. The results then are used to design an MMA composed of such configurations. It is shown that the efficient absorption characteristics of the Au-insulator-VO2 metamaterial structure can be ensured in a broad spectrum of 0.66-1.84 THz with an absorption band relative to the center frequency reaching as high as 94.4%. The spectrum of the efficient absorption can be easily tuned via the corresponding choice of strip dimensions. Wide polarization and incidence angle tolerance for both transverse electric (TE) and transverse magnetic (TM) polarizations are ensured by adding an identical parallel layer rotated by 90 degrees in respect to the first one. Interference theory is applied to elucidate the absorption mechanism of the structure. The possibility of modulation of the electromagnetic response of MMA relying on the tunable THz optical properties of VO2 is demonstrated.

Maximizing absorption and scattering by spherical nanoparticles.

The absorption and scattering resonances of metal nanostructures are often assumed to be defined by the same condition of localized surface plasmon resonance. Using an electrostatic approximation, we demonstrate that the absorption and scattering cross sections of spherical nanoparticles reach their maxima at different wavelengths, which in turn differ from that defined by the Fröhlich condition (FC). These deviations from the FC originate from and are proportional to the material absorption. Our results provide the design guidelines for maximizing absorption and scattering of spherical nanoparticles and are thus of special importance for applications where the efficiency of radiation absorption or scattering is crucial.

Core-shell particles as efficient broadband absorbers in infrared optical range.

We demonstrate that efficient broadband absorption of infrared radiation can be obtained with deeply subwavelength spherical dielectric particles covered by a thin metal layer. Considerations based on Mie theory and the quasi-static approximation reveala wide range of configuration parameters, within which the absorption cross section reaches the geometrical one and exceeds more than by order of magnitude the scattering cross section in the infrared spectrum. We show that the absorption is not only efficient but also broadband with the spectral width being close to the resonant wavelength corresponding to the maximum of the absorption cross section. We obtain a simple analytical expression for the absorption resonance that allows one to quickly identify the configuration parameters ensuring strong infrared absorption in a given spectral range. Relation between the absorption resonance and excitation of the short-range surface palsmon modes in the metal shell of particles is demonstrated and discussed. Our results can be used as practical guidelines for realization of efficient broadband infrared absorbers of subwavelength sizes desirable in diverse applications.

Characteristics of light transfer in the connected conical waveguides with the same symmetry axis.

The propagation of the light trough dielectric-metal-dielectric conical waveguide is described by the coupling modes between internal and external waveguides. The energy pumping from internal to the external waveguide has a resonant behavior and is very sensitive to the variations of the system parameters. The simplified model of this process realization is the light flash at the end of the conical metal covered tip of the optical fiber that crosses the liquid-air interface. Here, as an external waveguide serves the liquid meniscus formed at the tip of the optical fiber. In this condition, the shift of liquid surface by 50 nm toward the tip end brings significant changes in the transferred radiation power. Ability to register nanometric displacements (nanovibrations) of the liquid surface opens up new ways to create sensitive sensors for different purposes.

Enhanced nonresonant light transmission through subwavelength slits in metal.

We analytically describe light transmission through a single subwavelength slit in a thin perfect electric conductor screen for the incident polarization being perpendicular to the slit, and derive simple, yet accurate, expressions for the average electric field in the slit and the transmission efficiency. The analytic results are consistent with full-wave numerical calculations and demonstrate that slits of widths ∼100 nm in real metals may feature nonresonant (i.e., broadband) field enhancements of ∼100 and transmission efficiency of ∼10 at infrared or terahertz frequencies, with the associated metasurface-like array of slits becoming transparent to the incident light.

Relaxation dynamics of a quantum emitter resonantly coupled to a coherent state of a localized surface plasmon.

We investigate the relaxation dynamics of a quantum dipole emitter (QDE), e.g., a molecule or quantum dot, located near a metal nanoparticle (MNP) exhibiting a dipolar localized surface plasmon (LSP) resonance at the frequency of the QDE radiative transition. A generic three-level QDE, which is pumped with an external laser pulse and thereby brought into an optically active excited state, is considered to be weakly coupled to the resonant LSP described by a coherent state. It is shown that, under the condition of the QDE-MNP characteristic relaxation time being much shorter than that of the QDE in free space but much longer than the LSP lifetime, the QDE relaxation dynamics can be described analytically and feature, in general, non-exponential decay with complicated transient behaviour. The main physical consequence of this relaxation process is that the emission, being largely determined by the MNP, comes out with a substantial delay. It is also shown that energy dissipation in the QDE-MNP system is relatively weak with the probability of the photon emission being ∼0.75, a number which, rather surprisingly, does not explicitly depend on the metal absorption characteristics. A large number of QDE-MNP system parameters in our analytical description open new possibilities for controlling quantum emitter dynamics.

Scaling in light scattering by sharp conical metal tips.

Using the electrostatic approximation, we analyze electromagnetic fields scattered by sharp conical metal tips, which are illuminated with light polarized along the tip axis. We establish scaling relations for the scattered field amplitude and phase, and verify the validity with numerical simulations. Analytic expressions for the wavelength at which the scattered field near the tip changes its direction and for the field decay near the tip extremity are obtained, relating these characteristics to the cone angle and metal permittivity. The results obtained have important implications for various tip-enhanced phenomena, ranging from Raman and scattering near-field imaging to photoemission spectroscopy and nano-optical trapping.

Relaxation dynamics of a quantum emitter resonantly coupled to a metal nanoparticle.

The presence of a metal nanoparticle (MNP) near a quantum dipole emitter, when a localized surface plasmon mode is excited via the resonant coupling with an excited quantum dipole, dramatically changes the relaxation dynamics: an exponential decay changes to step-like behavior. The main physical consequence of this relaxation process is that the emission, being largely determined by the MNP, comes out with a substantial delay. A large number of system parameters in our analytical description opens new possibilities for controlling quantum emitter dynamics.

Plasmonic black-hole: broadband omnidirectional absorber of gap surface plasmons.

Using the effective-index approximation we show that touching spherical metal surfaces form a broadband omnidirectional absorber of gap surface plasmons (GSP), concentrating all GSP waves travelling within a certain radius at the point of contact (at which the field intensity tends to infinity even in the presence of metal absorption) and representing thereby a two-dimensional analogue of an optical black-hole realized without use of metamaterials. The developed wave analysis is supplemented with the geometrical optics (adiabatic) description providing explicit expressions for the critical radius (radius of the event horizon) and buildup of field enhancement along ray trajectories.

Adiabatic nanofocusing of channel plasmon polaritons.

Using the analytical description of channel plasmon polaritons (CPPs) developed recently [Opt. Lett.34, 2039 (2009)], we consider the adiabatic CPP nanofocusing in V grooves with linearly decreasing groove angles, deriving closed-form expressions for local field enhancements. Calculations at telecom wavelengths predict the possibility of reaching the intensity enhancements exceeding approximately 1200 for realistic groove tapers cut into gold. Our conclusions are in good agreement with the results of previous investigations.

Analytic description of channel plasmon polaritons.

Using the effective-index approximation along with the explicit expression for the propagation constant of gap surface plasmons established recently [Opt. Express16, 2676 (2008)], we derive closed-form expressions for channel plasmon polariton (CPP) modes supported by V grooves cut into metal. The CPP field distributions and mode characteristics are calculated for the air-gold configuration. The results obtained are found to be in good agreement with the results of previous numerical simulations.

Channel plasmon polaritons guided by graded gaps: closed-form solutions.

Using the effective-index approximation along with the explicit expression for the propagation constant of gap surface plasmons established recently [Opt. Express 16, 2676-2684 (2008)], we develop an analytic description of channel plasmon polariton (CPP) modes guided along V-grooves and gaps between two metal cylindrical surfaces. The results obtained for V-grooves are compared with those reported previously. Dispersion of the main CPP characteristics is calculated for air-gold configurations, allowing one to design graded-gap waveguides for the single-mode operation supporting well-confined fundamental CPP modes in a broad wavelength range.