Thresholdless nanoscale coaxial lasers

High-Throughput Fabrication of Resonant Metamaterials with Ultrasmall Coaxial Apertures via Atomic Layer Lithography

We combine atomic layer lithography and glancing-angle ion polishing to create wafer-scale metamaterials composed of dense arrays of ultrasmall coaxial nanocavities in gold films. This new fabrication scheme makes it possible to shrink the diameter and increase the packing density of 2 nm-gap coaxial resonators, an extreme subwavelength structure first manufactured via atomic layer lithography, both by a factor of 100 with respect to previous studies. We demonstrate that the nonpropagating zeroth-order Fabry-Pérot mode, which possesses slow light-like properties at the cutoff resonance, traps infrared light inside 2 nm gaps (gap volume ∼ λ(3)/10(6)). Notably, the annular gaps cover only 3% or less of the metal surface, while open-area normalized transmission is as high as 1700% at the epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) condition. The resulting energy accumulation alongside extraordinary optical transmission can benefit applications in nonlinear optics, optical trapping, and surface-enhanced spectroscopies. Furthermore, because the resonance wavelength is independent of the cavity length and dramatically red shifts as the gap size is reduced, large-area arrays can be constructed with λresonance ≫ period, making this fabrication method ideal for manufacturing resonant metamaterials.

Systematic study of thresholdless oscillation in high-β buried multiple-quantum-well photonic crystal nanocavity lasers

Buried multiple-quantum-well (MQW) 2D photonic crystal cavities (PhC) achieve low non-radiative recombination and high carrier confinement thus making them highly efficient emitters. In this study, we have investigated the lasing characteristics of high-β(spontaneous emission coupling factor) buried MQW photonic crystal nanocavity lasers to clarify the theoretically-predicted thresholdless operation in high-β nanolasers. The strong light and carrier confinement and low non-radiative recombination in our nanolasers have enabled us to clearly demonstrate very smooth lasing transition in terms of the light-in vs light-out curve and cavity linewidth. To clarify the thresholdless lasing behavior, we carried out a lifetime measurement and a photon correlation measurement, which also confirmed the predicted behavior. In addition, we systematically investigated the dependence of β on the detuning frequency, which was in good agreement with a numerical simulation based on the finite-difference time-domain method. This is the first convincing systematic study of nanolasers based on an MQW close to the thresholdless regime.

Photonic Applications of Metal-Dielectric Heterostructured Nanomaterials

Metal materials, supporting plasmon modes on their surface, can confine the optical field at deep subwavelength scale, which is desired for photonic integration. However, their intrinsic high Ohmic losses make it impossible to construct the whole circuit solely with the metal materials. Integrating the plasmonic components with dielectric materials may offer a solution to this dilemma. With outstanding active optical performance, these dielectric components not only can greatly reduce the optical losses of the entire circuits but also offer an efficient way to launch the surface plasmon polaritons through the evanescent field coupling or the direct exciton-plasmon conversion. Furthermore, the cooperative interaction between metal and dielectric materials would bring vast novel optical phenomena and functional photonic devices. In this review, the synergistic effects among metal and dielectric materials in various heterostructures as well as their related applications are highlighted. Comprehensive understanding on their synergistic interactions would offer useful guidance for the design and fabrication of the ultracompact novel optical devices.

Light emission in nanogaps: overcoming quenching

Very large spontaneous-emission-rate enhancements (∼1000) are obtained for quantum emitters coupled with tiny plasmonic resonance, especially when emitters are placed in the mouth of nanogaps formed by metal nanoparticles that are nearly in contact. This fundamental effect of light emission at subwavelength scales is well documented and understood as resulting from the smallness of nanogap modes. In contrasts, it is much less obvious to figure out whether the radiation efficiency is high in these gaps, or if the emission is quenched by metal absorption especially for tiny gaps a few nanometers wide; the whole literature only contains scattered electromagnetic calculations on the subject, which suggest that absorption and quenching can be kept at a small level despite the emitter proximity to metal. Thus through analytical derivations in the limit of small gap thickness, it is our objective to clarify why quantum emitters in nanogap antennas offer good efficiencies, what are the circumstances in which high efficiency is obtained, and whether there exists an upper bound for the maximum efficiency achievable.

Ultrahigh quality factor in a metal-embedded semiconductor microdisk cavity

We numerically and theoretically investigate electrodynamics of a metal-embedded semiconductor microdisk cavity. The electrodynamics of a cavity mode is discussed from the viewpoint of quantum mechanics, which clarifies the condition for high Q factor. Using numerical calculations, we optimize the cavity structure and show that the Q factor can be increased up to 1,700,000. Our study suggests that the metal-embedded cavity is a promising candidate for cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED) devices.

3D vertical nanostructures for enhanced infrared plasmonics

The exploitation of surface plasmon polaritons has been mostly limited to the visible and near infrared range, due to the low frequency limit for coherent plasmon excitation and the reduction of confinement on the metal surface for lower energies. In this work we show that 3D--out of plane--nanostructures can considerably increase the intrinsic quality of the optical output, light confinement and electric field enhancement factors, also in the near and mid-infrared. We suggest that the physical principle relies on the combination of far field and near field interactions between neighboring antennas, promoted by the 3D out-of-plane geometry. We first analyze the changes in the optical behavior, which occur when passing from a single on-plane nanostructure to a 3D out-of-plane configuration. Then we show that by arranging the nanostructures in periodic arrays, 3D architectures can provide, in the mid-IR, a much stronger plasmonic response, compared to that achievable with the use of 2D configurations, leading to higher energy harvesting properties and improved Q-factors, with bright perspective up to the terahertz range.

Parity-time-symmetric coupled microring lasers operating around an exceptional point

The behavior of a parity-time-symmetric coupled microring system is studied when operating in the vicinity of an exceptional point. Using the abrupt phase transition around this point, stable single-mode lasing is demonstrated in spectrally multimoded microring arrangements.

Tunable plasmonic resonances based on elliptical annular aperture arrays on conducting substrates for advanced biosensing

Introducing a conducting metal layer and the structural asymmetry to elliptical annular aperture arrays, multiple plasmonic coupled-resonant modes are generated under normal incidence in the visible light range. The electromagnetic fields can be strongly enhanced at resonant modes in this device, which increases the interaction volume of the detected analyte and optical fields; therefore, multiple plamonic coupled modes exhibit higher refractive index sensitivity than as large as 610 nm/RIU. The distinct Fano-like resonance around a wavelength of 681 nm originates from the interference between bonding dipolar and the quadrupolar modes. Due to the excitation of sharp spectral features as narrow as 7 nm, high figure of merits of 94 at the Fano-like dip is obtained in a wide refractive index range of 1.33-1.40. Furthermore, to generate strong Fano-like resonance, the geometric shape of ellipse is selected, which is a good geometric shape candidate compared to the circle shape. This device is promising for biosensing applications with high sensitivity and low limit of detection.

Noisy metamolecule: strong narrowing of fluorescence line

We consider a metamolecule consisting of a bosonic mode correlated with a two-level system (TLS): it can be, for example, a plasmonic mode interacting with a quantum dot. We focus on the parameter range where all the correlations are strong and of the same order. The interaction between the bosonic mode is correlated with the TLS, external coherent drive, and dissipation. Quantum Monte Carlo simulations show that the fluorescence of this system at dissipation is larger than the driving amplitude and shows a strong (by the order of magnitude) narrowing of its spectral line. This effect may be related to kind of a quantum stochastic resonance. We show that the fluorescence corresponds to the finite domain over the coherent drive with sharp, low threshold, and that the Wigner function splits.

Squeezing Photons into a Point-Like Space

Confining photons in the smallest possible volume has long been an objective of the nanophotonics community. In this Letter, we propose and demonstrate a three-dimensional (3D) gap-plasmon antenna that enables extreme photon squeezing in a 3D fashion with a modal volume of 1.3 × 10(-7) λ(3) (∼4 × 10 × 10 nm(3)) and an intensity enhancement of 400 000. A three-dimensionally tapered 4 nm air-gap is formed at the center of a complementary nanodiabolo structure by ion-milling 100 nm-thick gold film along all three dimensions using proximal milling techniques. From a 4 nm-gap antenna, a nonlinear second-harmonic signal more than 27 000-times stronger than that from a 100 nm-gap antenna is observed. In addition, scanning cathodoluminescence images confirm unambiguous photon confinement in a resolution-limited area 20 × 20 nm(2) on top of the nano gap.

Gap and channeled plasmons in tapered grooves: a review

Tapered metallic grooves have been shown to support plasmons - electromagnetically coupled oscillations of free electrons at metal-dielectric interfaces - across a variety of configurations and V-like profiles. Such plasmons may be divided into two categories: gap-surface plasmons (GSPs) that are confined laterally between the tapered groove sidewalls and propagate either along the groove axis or normal to the planar surface, and channeled plasmon polaritons (CPPs) that occupy the tapered groove profile and propagate exclusively along the groove axis. Both GSPs and CPPs exhibit an assortment of unique properties that are highly suited to a broad range of cutting-edge nanoplasmonic technologies, including ultracompact photonic circuits, quantum-optics components, enhanced lab-on-a-chip devices, efficient light-absorbing surfaces and advanced optical filters, while additionally affording a niche platform to explore the fundamental science of plasmon excitations and their interactions. In this Review, we provide a research status update of plasmons in tapered grooves, starting with a presentation of the theory and important features of GSPs and CPPs, and follow with an overview of the broad range of applications they enable or improve. We cover the techniques that can fabricate tapered groove structures, in particular highlighting wafer-scale production methods, and outline the various photon- and electron-based approaches that can be used to launch and study GSPs and CPPs. We conclude with a discussion of the challenges that remain for further developing plasmonic tapered-groove devices, and consider the future directions offered by this select yet potentially far-reaching topic area.

Efficient Coupling of an Antenna-Enhanced nanoLED into an Integrated InP Waveguide

Increasing power consumption in traditional on-chip metal interconnects has made optical links an attractive alternative. However, such a link is currently missing a fast, efficient, nanoscale light-source. Coupling nanoscale optical emitters to optical antennas has been shown to greatly increase their spontaneous emission rate and efficiency. Such a structure would be an ideal emitter for an on-chip optical link. However, there has never been a demonstration of an antenna-enhanced emitter coupled to a low-loss integrated waveguide. In this Letter we demonstrate an optical antenna-enhanced nanoLED coupled to an integrated InP waveguide. The nanoLEDs are comprised of a nanoridge of InGaAsP coupled to a gold antenna that exhibits a 36× enhanced rate of spontaneous emission. Coupling efficiencies as large as 70% are demonstrated into an integrated waveguide. Directional antennas also demonstrate direction emission down one direction of a waveguide with observed front-to-back ratios as high as 3:1.

Ultrastrong Mode Confinement in ZnO Surface Plasmon Nanolasers

Nanolasers with an ultracompact footprint can provide high-intensity coherent light, which can be potentially applied to high-capacity signal processing, biosensing, and subwavelength imaging. Among various nanolasers, those with cavities surrounded by metals have been shown to have superior light emission properties because of the surface plasmon effect that provides enhanced field confinement capability and enables exotic light-matter interaction. In this study, we demonstrated a robust ultraviolet ZnO nanolaser that can operate at room temperature by using silver to dramatically shrink the mode volume. The nanolaser shows several distinct features including an extremely small mode volume, a large Purcell factor, and a slow group velocity, which ensures strong interaction with the exciton in the nanowire.

Subwavelength metallic cavities with high-Q resonance modes

Metallic cavities have been extensively studied to realize small-volume nanocavities and nanolasers. However cavity-resonance quality (Q) factors of nanolasers observed up to now remain low (up to ∼500) due to metal optical absorption. In this paper, we report the observation of highest Q factors of 9000 at low temperature and ∼6000 near room temperature in a metallic cavity with a probe of sub-bandgap emission of Si-doped GaAs. We analyze the temperature dependence of cavity-mode resonance wavelengths and show that the refractive-index term dominates the measured temperature dependence. We also show that this refractive-index term is cavity-mode dependent and the fitting procedure offers a new method to identify cavity modes. We simulate the metallic cavity with finite-element method and attribute the high-Q cavity mode to a whispering gallery optical mode. This mode is shown to have isotropic polarization dependence of the output emission, which is preferable for quantum information applications.

Self-assembled large-area annular cavity arrays with tunable cylindrical surface plasmons for sensing

Surface plasmons that propagate along cylindrical metal/dielectric interfaces in annular apertures in metal films, called cylindrical surface plasmons (CSPs), exhibit attractive optical characteristics. However, it is challenging to fabricate these nanocoaxial structures. Here, we demonstrate a practical low-cost route to manufacture highly ordered, large-area annular cavity arrays (ACAs) that can support CSPs with great tunability. By employing a sol-gel coassembly method, reactive ion etching and metal sputtering techniques, regular, highly ordered ACAs in square-centimeter-scale with a gap width tunable in the range of several to hundreds of nanometers have been produced with good reproducibility. Ag ACAs with a gap width of 12 nm and a gap height of 635 nm are demonstrated. By finite-difference time-domain simulation, we confirm that the pronounced dips in the reflectance spectra of ACAs are attributable to CSP resonances excited in the annular gaps. By adjusting etching time and Ag film thickness, the CSP dips can be tuned to sweep the entire optical range of 360 to 1800 nm without changing sphere size, which makes them a promising candidate for forming integrated plasmonic sensing arrays. The high tunability of the CSP resonant frequencies together with strong electric field enhancement in the cavities make the ACAs promising candidates for surface plasmon sensors and SERS substrates, as, for example, they have been used in liquid refractive index (RI) sensing, demonstrating a sensitivity of 1505 nm/RIU and a figure of merit of 9. One of the CSP dips of ACAs with a certain geometry size is angle- (0-70 degrees) and polarization-independent and can be used as a narrow-band absorber. Furthermore, the nano annular cavity arrays can be used to construct solar cells, nanolasers and nanoparticle plasmonic tweezers.

Prospects and merits of metal-clad semiconductor lasers from nearly UV to far IR

Using metal-clad (or plasmonic) waveguide structures in semiconductor lasers carries a promise of reduced size, threshold, and power consumption. This promise is put to a rigorous theoretical test, that takes into account increased waveguide loss, Auger recombination, and Purcell enhancement of spontaneous recombination. The conclusion is that purported benefits of metal waveguides are small to nonexistent for all the band-to-band and intersubband lasers operating from UV to Mid-IR range, with a prominent exception of far-IR and THz quantum cascade lasers. For these devices, however, metal waveguides already represent the state of the art, and the guiding mechanism in them has far more in common with a ubiquitous transmission line than with plasmonics.

Efficient coupling of a sub-5-nm-gap plasmonic crystal cavity with an integrated waveguide

An effective engineering method for efficient coupling between a tightly focused sub-5-nm-gap plasmonic crystal cavity and an integrated waveguide is proposed. A three-dimensionally tapered 2-nm-gap plasmonic crystal cavity exhibiting a mode volume of 6x10(-6) (λ/n)(3) can efficiently couple to an integrated waveguide with over 90% efficiency by optimally selecting the number of air-holes in the plasmonic crystal. The field intensity is accordingly maximized, and its enhancement reaches to 205,000 for the light incident from the waveguide. Here, the optimal coupling is achieved by matching the radiation rate of the cavity mode to its absorption rate. In addition, the strongly enhanced field intensity boosts the spontaneous emission rate of the dipole emitter embedded in the cavity. The maximum radiative Purcell enhancement is calculated to be 362,000 where the quantum efficiency exceeds 50%.

Extremely compact hybrid III-V/SOI lasers: design and fabrication approaches

In this manuscript we discuss state of the art hybrid integration techniques and III-V/Si active components with an emphasis on hybrid distributed feedback (DFB) lasers for telecom applications. We review our work on ultra-compact III-V/Si DFB lasers and further describe design considerations and challenges associated with electrically pumped hybrid lasers. We conclude with a perspective on DFB lasers with extremely small footprint, a direction for future research with potential applications to densely-packed optical interconnects.

Optical antenna enhanced spontaneous emission

Atoms and molecules are too small to act as efficient antennas for their own emission wavelengths. By providing an external optical antenna, the balance can be shifted; spontaneous emission could become faster than stimulated emission, which is handicapped by practically achievable pump intensities. In our experiments, InGaAsP nanorods emitting at ∼ 200 THz optical frequency show a spontaneous emission intensity enhancement of 35 × corresponding to a spontaneous emission rate speedup ∼ 115 ×, for antenna gap spacing, d = 40 nm. Classical antenna theory predicts ∼ 2,500 × spontaneous emission speedup at d ∼ 10 nm, proportional to 1/d(2). Unfortunately, at d < 10 nm, antenna efficiency drops below 50%, owing to optical spreading resistance, exacerbated by the anomalous skin effect (electron surface collisions). Quantum dipole oscillations in the emitter excited state produce an optical ac equivalent circuit current, I(o) = qω|x(o)|/d, feeding the antenna-enhanced spontaneous emission, where q|x(o)| is the dipole matrix element. Despite the quantum-mechanical origin of the drive current, antenna theory makes no reference to the Purcell effect nor to local density of states models. Moreover, plasmonic effects are minor at 200 THz, producing only a small shift of antenna resonance frequency.

An order of magnitude increase in the quantum efficiency of (Al)GaAs nanowires using hybrid photonic-plasmonic modes

We demonstrate 900% relative enhancement in the quantum efficiency (QE) of surface passivated GaAs nanowires by coupling them to resonant nanocavities that support hybrid photonic-plasmonic modes. This nonconventional approach to increase the QE of GaAs nanowires results in QE enhancement over the entire nanowire volume and is not limited to the near-field of the plasmonic structure. Our cavity design enables spatially and spectrally tunable resonant modes and efficient in- and out-coupling of light from the nanowires. Furthermore, this approach is not fabrication intensive; it is scalable and can be adapted to enhance the QE of a wide range of low QE semiconductor nanostructures.

Ultrafast dynamics of nanoplasmonic stopped-light lasing

We study the spatio-temporal dynamics of coherent amplification and lasing in planar gain-enhanced nanoplasmonic structures and show that a singularity in the density of optical states leads to a stopped-light feedback mechanism that allows for cavity-free photonic and surface-plasmon polariton nanolasing. We reveal that in the absence of cavity-induced feedback a phase-locked superposition of a quasi dispersion-free waveguide mode promotes the dynamic formation of a subwavelength lasing mode. Simulations on the basis of a full-time domain Maxwell–Bloch Langevin approach uncover a high spontaneous emission factorβ≈ 0.9 and demonstrate that the stopped-light lasing/spasing mechanism is remarkably robust against interface roughness. Stopped-light surface-plasmon polariton lasing is shown to be stable for gain sections of a width of down to 200 nm but in wider gain structures of the order of 1 μm the dynamics is characterised by spatio-temporally oscillating lasing surface-plasmon polaritons with typical temporal and spatial periods of smaller than 5 fs and smaller than 100 nm. Stopped-light lasing thus provides opportunities for ultrafast nanolasing and the realization of ultra-thin lasing surfaces and offers a new route to ultrafast spasing and cavity-free active quantum plasmonics.

Plasmonic circular resonators for refractive index sensors and filters

A plasmonic refractive index sensor based on a circular resonator is proposed. With all three dimensions below 1 μm, the sensor has a compact and simple structure granting it ease-of-fabrication and ease-of-use. It is capable of sensing trace amounts of liquid or gas samples. The sensing properties are investigated using finite elements method. The results demonstrate that the plasmonic sensor has a relatively high sensitivity of 1,010 nm/RIU, and the corresponding sensing resolution is 9.9 × 10(-5) RIU. The sensor has a relatively high quality factor of 35, which is beneficial for identifying each transmission spectrum. More importantly, the sensitivity is not sensitive to changes of structure parameters, which means that the sensitivity of the sensor is immune to the fabrication deviation. In addition, with a transmittance of 5% at the resonant wavelength, this plasmonic structure can also be employed as a filter. In addition, by filling material like LiNbO3 or liquid crystal in the circular resonator, this filter can realize an adjustable wavelength-selective characteristic in a wide band.

Optical properties of plasmonic light-emitting diodes based on flip-chip III-nitride core-shell nanowires

In this work, we utilize the finite difference time domain (FDTD) method to investigate the Purcell factor, light extraction efficiency (EXE), and cavity quality parameter (Q), and to predict the modulation response of Ag-clad flip-chip GaN/InGaN core-shell nanowire light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with the potential for electrical injection. We consider the need for a pn-junction, the effects of the substrate, and the limitations of nanoscale fabrication techniques in the evaluation. The investigated core-shell nanowire consists of an n-GaN core, surrounded by nonpolar m-plane quantum wells, p-GaN, and silver cladding layers. The core-shell nanowire geometry exhibits a Purcell factor of 57, resulting in a predicted limit of 30 GHz for the 3dB modulation bandwidth.

Broadband metacoaxial nanoantenna for metasurface and sensing applications

We introduce a metacoaxial nanoantenna (MN) that super-localizes the incident electromagnetic field to "hotspots" with a top-down area of 2 nm(2), a local field enhancement of ~200-400, and a field localization with a very large spectral range from the visible to the infrared range that has a spectral bandwidth ≥ 900 nm. Not only is this nanoantenna extremely broadband with ultra-high localization, it also shows significant improvements over traditional nanoantenna designs, as the hotspots are re-configurable by breaking the circular symmetry which enables the ability to tailor the polarization response. These attributes offer significant improvements over traditional nanoantennas as building blocks for metasurfaces and enhanced biodetection that we demonstrate in this work.

Cavity-free plasmonic nanolasing enabled by dispersionless stopped light

When light is brought to a standstill, its interaction with gain media increases dramatically due to a singularity in the density of optical states. Concurrently, stopped light engenders an inherent and cavity-free feedback mechanism, similar in effect to the feedback that has been demonstrated and exploited in large-scale disordered media and random lasers. Here we study the spatial, temporal and spectral signatures of lasing in planar gain-enhanced nanoplasmonic structures at near-infrared frequencies and show that the stopped-light feedback mechanism allows for nanolasing without a cavity. We reveal that in the absence of cavity-induced feedback, the subwavelength lasing mode forms dynamically as a phase-locked superposition of quasi dispersion-free waveguide modes. This mechanism proves remarkably robust against interface roughness and offers a new route towards nanolasing, the experimental realization of ultra-thin surface emitting lasers, and cavity-free active quantum plasmonics.

All-color plasmonic nanolasers with ultralow thresholds: autotuning mechanism for single-mode lasing

We report on the first demonstration of broadband tunable, single-mode plasmonic nanolasers (spasers) emitting in the full visible spectrum. These nanolasers are based on a single metal-oxide-semiconductor nanostructure platform comprising of InGaN/GaN semiconductor nanorods supported on an Al2O3-capped epitaxial Ag film. In particular, all-color lasing in subdiffraction plasmonic resonators is achieved via a novel mechanism based on a property of weak size dependence inherent in spasers. Moreover, we have successfully reduced the continuous-wave (CW) lasing thresholds to ultrasmall values for all three primary colors and have clearly demonstrated the possibility of "thresholdless" lasing for the blue plasmonic nanolaser.

Explosives detection in a lasing plasmon nanocavity

Perhaps the most successful application of plasmonics to date has been in sensing, where the interaction of a nanoscale localized field with analytes leads to high-sensitivity detection in real time and in a label-free fashion. However, all previous designs have been based on passively excited surface plasmons, in which sensitivity is intrinsically limited by the low quality factors induced by metal losses. It has recently been proposed theoretically that surface plasmon sensors with active excitation (gain-enhanced) can achieve much higher sensitivities due to the amplification of the surface plasmons. Here, we experimentally demonstrate an active plasmon sensor that is free of metal losses and operating deep below the diffraction limit for visible light. Loss compensation leads to an intense and sharp lasing emission that is ultrasensitive to adsorbed molecules. We validated the efficacy of our sensor to detect explosives in air under normal conditions and have achieved a sub-part-per-billion detection limit, the lowest reported to date for plasmonic sensors with 2,4-dinitrotoluene and ammonium nitrate. The selectivity between 2,4-dinitrotoluene, ammonium nitrate and nitrobenzene is on a par with other state-of-the-art explosives detectors. Our results show that monitoring the change of the lasing intensity is a superior method than monitoring the wavelength shift, as is widely used in passive surface plasmon sensors. We therefore envisage that nanoscopic sensors that make use of plasmonic lasing could become an important tool in security screening and biomolecular diagnostics.

Nonparaxial propagation and focusing properties of azimuthal-variant vector fields diffracted by an annular aperture

Based on the vectorial Rayleigh-Sommerfeld integrals, the analytical expressions for azimuthal-variant vector fields diffracted by an annular aperture are presented. This helps us to investigate the propagation behaviors and the focusing properties of apertured azimuthal-variant vector fields under nonparaxial and paraxial approximations. The diffraction by a circular aperture, a circular disk, or propagation in free space can be treated as special cases of this general result. Simulation results show that the transverse intensity, longitudinal intensity, and far-field divergence angle of nonparaxially apertured azimuthal-variant vector fields depend strongly on the azimuthal index, the outer truncation parameter and the inner truncation parameter of the annular aperture, as well as the ratio of the waist width to the wavelength. Moreover, the multiple-ring-structured intensity pattern of the focused azimuthal-variant vector field, which originates from the diffraction effect caused by an annular aperture, is experimentally demonstrated.

Near-field observation of light propagation in nanocoax waveguides

We report the observation of propagating modes of visible and near infrared light in nanoscale coaxial (metal-dielectric-metal) structures, using near-field scanning optical microscopy. Together with numerical calculations, we show that the propagated modes have different nature depending on the excitation wavelength, i.e., plasmonic TE11 and TE21 modes in the near infrared and photonic TE31, TE41 and TM11 modes in the visible. Far field transmission out of the nanocoaxes is dominated by the superposition of Fabry-Perot cavity modes resonating in the structures, consistent with theory. Such coaxial optical waveguides may be useful for future nanoscale photonic systems.

Room temperature plasmonic lasing in a continuous wave operation mode from an InGaN/GaN single nanorod with a low threshold

It is crucial to fabricate nano photonic devices such as nanolasers in order to meet the requirements for the integration of photonic and electronic circuits on the nanometre scale. The great difficulty is to break down a bottleneck as a result of the diffraction limit of light. Nanolasers on a subwavelength scale could potentially be fabricated based on the principle of surface plasmon amplification by stimulated emission of radiation (SPASER). However, a number of technological challenges will have to be overcome in order to achieve a SPASER with a low threshold, allowing for a continuous wave (cw) operation at room temperature. We report a nano-SPASER with a record low threshold at room temperature, optically pumped by using a cw diode laser. Our nano-SPASER consists of a single InGaN/GaN nanorod on a thin SiO₂ spacer layer on a silver film. The nanorod containing InGaN/GaN multi-quantum-wells is fabricated by means of a cost-effective post-growth fabrication approach. The geometry of the nanorod/dielectric spacer/plasmonic metal composite allows us to have accurate control of the surface plasmon coupling, offering an opportunity to determine the optimal thickness of the dielectric spacer. This approach will open up a route for further fabrication of electrically injected plasmonic lasers.

Whispering gallery mode nanodisk resonator based on layered metal-dielectric waveguide

This paper proposes a layered metal-dielectric waveguide consisting of a stack of alternating metal and dielectric films which enables an ultracompact mode confinement. The properties of whispering gallery modes supported by disk resonators based on such waveguides are investigated for achieving a large Purcell factor. We show that by stacking three layers of 10 nm thick silver with two layers of 50 nm dielectric layers (of refractive index n) in sequence, the disk radius can be as small as 61 nm ∼λ(0)/(7n) and the mode volume is only 0.0175(λ(0)/(2n))(3). When operating at 40 K, the cavity's Q-factor can be ~670; Purcell factor can be as large as 2.3×10(4), which is more than five times larger than that achievable in a metal-dielectric-metal disk cavity in the same condition. When more dielectric layers with smaller thicknesses are used, even more compact confinement can be achieved. For example, the radius of a cavity consisting of seven dielectric-layer waveguide can be shrunk down to λ(0)/(13.5n), corresponding to a mode volume of 0.005λ(0)/(2n))(3), and Purcell factor can be enhanced to 7.3×10(4) at 40 K. The influence of parameters like thicknesses of dielectric and metal films, cavity size, and number of dielectric layers is also comprehensively studied. The proposed waveguide and nanodisk cavity provide an alternative for ultracompact light confinement, and can find applications where a strong light-matter interaction is necessary.

Subterahertz chaos generation by coupling a superlattice to a linear resonator

We investigate the effects of a linear resonator on the high-frequency dynamics of electrons in devices exhibiting negative differential conductance. We show that the resonator strongly affects both the dc and ac transport characteristics of the device, inducing quasiperiodic and high-frequency chaotic current oscillations. The theoretical findings are confirmed by experimental measurements of a GaAs/AlAs miniband semiconductor superlattice coupled to a linear microstrip resonator. Our results are applicable to other active solid state devices and provide a generic approach for developing modern chaos-based high-frequency technologies including broadband chaotic wireless communication and superfast random-number generation.

Efficient coupling between dielectric waveguide modes and exterior plasmon whispering gallery modes

Inefficient coupling between dielectric guided mode and plasmon mode has been overlooked in the past. The coupling mechanism is essentially different from the conventional coupling between dielectric modes. Based on qualitative theoretical analysis, we proposed two methods to strengthen the coupling between dielectric waveguide modes and exterior plasmon whispering gallery modes. One is using a U-shaped bent waveguide to break the adiabatic mode conversion process, and the other is to utilize higher-order dielectric mode to reach phase matching with plasmon mode. Both the transmission spectrum of waveguide and the energy spectrum of cavity demonstrate that the coupling efficiency can be greatly improved. These simple configurations are potential for wide applications, for example, tunable integrated optical devices and sensors.

Dielectric bow-tie nanocavity

We propose a novel dielectric bow-tie (DBT) nanocavity consisting of two opposing tip-to-tip triangle semiconductor nanowires, whose end faces are coated by silver nanofilms. Based on the advantages of the dielectric slot and tip structures, and the high reflectivity of the silver mirror, light can be confined in this nanocavity with low loss. We demonstrate that at 4.5 K (300 K) around the resonance wavelength of 1550 nm, the mode excited in this nanocavity has a deep subwavelength mode volume of 2.8×10(-4) μm³ and a high quality factor of 4.9×10(4) (401.3), corresponding to an ultrahigh Purcell factor of 1.6×10(7) (1.36×10(5)). This DBT nanocavity may find applications for integrated nanophotonic circuits, such as high-efficiency single photon sources, thresholdless nanolasers, and strong coupling in cavity quantum electrodynamics experiments.

Invariance of optimal composite waveguide geometries with respect to permittivity of the metal cladding

We optimize the threshold gain for cylindrical composite (semiconductor-dielectric-metal) waveguides (WGs) with various metal claddings. We show that the optimal dielectric width is invariant with respect to the imaginary part of the permittivity of the metal, εM'', and weakly dependent on the real part, εM'. To explain this behavior, we compare optimal geometries of WGs with different semiconductor permittivities, εG'. Results from these comparisons indicate that the optimal effective index parallels the optimal threshold gain in its relation to εM. We use our results to heuristically propose an analytical expression for the optimal threshold gain that approximates the numerical solution to within a factor of two over the range of explored εG'. Finally, we use data from our optimizations to obtain approximate analytical expressions for the optimal dielectric width and threshold gain as functions of the total WG radius.

Light extraction--a practical consideration for a plasmonic nano-ring laser

An integrated semiconductor plasmonic nano-ring laser with a connecting output plasmonic waveguide for light extraction is proposed, designed and demonstrated numerically. The maximum light extraction efficiency can be up to 56%. The design was optimized with 2D FDTD and verified with 3D FDTD methods, where close agreement is shown between the two.

Carrier saturation in multiple quantum well metallo-dielectric semiconductor nanolaser: is bulk material a better choice for gain media?

Although multi quantum well (MQW) structure is frequently suggested as the appropriate medium for providing optical gain in nanolasers with low threshold current, we demonstrate that in general bulk gain medium can be a better choice. We show that the high threshold gain required for nanolasers demands high threshold carrier concentrations and therefore a highly degenerate condition in which the barriers between the quantum wells are heavily pumped. As a result, there occurs spontaneous emission from the barrier in very dissipative low Q modes or undesired confined higher Q modes with resonance wavelengths close to the barrier bandgap. This results in a competition between wells and barriers that suppresses lasing. A complete model involving the optical properties of the resonant cavity combined with the carrier injection in the multilayer structure is presented to support our argument. With this theoretical model we show that while lasing is achieved in the nanolaser with bulk gain media, the nanolaser with MQW gain structure exhibits well emission saturation due to the onset of barrier emission.

Broadband sharp 90-degree bends and T-splitters in plasmonic coaxial waveguides

We demonstrate numerically that sharp 90° bends and T-splitters can be designed in plasmonic coaxial waveguides at deep-subwavelength scale to operate without reflection and radiation over a broad range of wavelengths, including the telecommunication wavelength of 1.55 μm. We explain the principles of the operation using a transmission line model of the waveguide in the quasi-static limit. The compact bends and T-splitters open up a new avenue for the design of densely integrated optical circuits with minimal crosstalk.

Four-wavelength microdisk laser array laterally coupled with a bus waveguide

A four-wavelength microdisk laser array laterally coupled with a bus waveguide is demonstrated numerically and experimentally. The coupled-mode characteristics as well as scattering loss in the bus waveguide caused by the connected microdisks are simulated by a 2D finite-difference time-domain technique. An AlGaInAs/InP microdisk laser array with circular radii of 10.1, 10.2, 10.3, and 10.4 μm is designed and fabricated by common photolithography and an inductively coupled-plasma etching technique. Continuous-wave electrically injected operation is realized at room temperature with the lowest threshold current of 3 mA. Four-wavelength lasing operation is realized with wavelength intervals of 3-4 nm and side mode suppression ratios larger than 25 dB. Finally, the influences of heating effect and thermal cross talk on lasing mode wavelength tuning are investigated experimentally.

Wavelength-tunable spasing in the visible

A SPASER, short for surface plasmon amplification by stimulated emission of radiation, is key to accessing coherent optical fields at the nanoscale. Nevertheless, the realization of a SPASER in the visible range still remains a great challenge because of strong dissipative losses. Here, we demonstrate that room-temperature SPASER emission can be achieved by amplifying longitudinal surface plasmon modes supported in gold nanorods as plasmon nanocavities and utilizing laser dyes to supply optical gain for compensation of plasmon losses. By choosing a particular organic dye and adjusting the doping level, the resonant wavelength of the SPASER emission can be tuned from 562 to 627 nm with a spectral line width narrowed down to 5-11 nm. This work provides a versatile route toward SPASERs at extended wavelength regimes.

Lasing in plasmon-induced transparency nanocavity

We propose a plasmon-induced transparency (PIT) nanocavity for achieving nanoscopic coherent light source. The compact cavity is constructed by a pair of detuned nano-stubs incorporated with four-level gain medium. The PIT response enables the reduction of the coupling loss from cavity to waveguide while keeping the cavity size unchanged, different from the end-facet Fabry-Pérot cavity in which the radiation loss decreases at the cost of size increment. In order to study the lasing behavior of surface plasmon wave in the PIT cavity, the self-consistent finite element method is employed to model the interactions between gain and propagating surface plasmons. The dynamics of the whole lasing process is observed, and the linear output-input relation is obtained for the single mode plasmon lasing. It is demonstrated that smaller stub-pair detuning provides stronger feedback inside the cavity. Consequently, the lasing threshold of pumping rate decreases quadratically with the decreasing of detuning. However, the output-input extraction efficiency will improve when the detuning is not so small. One of the advantages for the proposal is that the lasing output power from the cavity can directly couple towards the metal-dielectric-metal waveguide platform, facilitating the field of integrated plasmonic circuits and molecular-scale coherent light source.

3D hollow nanostructures as building blocks for multifunctional plasmonics

We present an advanced and robust technology to realize 3D hollow plasmonic nanostructures which are tunable in size, shape, and layout. The presented architectures offer new and unconventional properties such as the realization of 3D plasmonic hollow nanocavities with high electric field confinement and enhancement, finely structured extinction profiles, and broad band optical absorption. The 3D nature of the devices can overcome intrinsic difficulties related to conventional architectures in a wide range of multidisciplinary applications.

Radiation rate enhancement in subwavelength plasmonic ring nanocavities

We demonstrate 25 times radiation rate and 2 times quantum efficiency enhancement of Er ions in metal-insulator-metal (MIM) ring nanocavities at room temperature. In particular, using time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy in partnership with full-vector numerical simulations based on the finite difference time domain (FDTD) method, we design, fabricate, and systematically investigate the photonic density of states, the quantum efficiency, and the 1.55 μm radiation dynamics of cavities with varying nanoscale active regions. Our experimental findings demonstrate that the engineering of deep subwavelength gap plasmon modes leads to dramatic Purcell enhancement even at modest cavity Q factors. Finally, we discuss the possibility of achieving lasing due to the enhancement of stimulated emission rate achievable in ring nanocavities, and we provide a perspective for Si-compatible plasmon-enhanced nanolasers.

Circular hybrid plasmonic waveguide with ultra-long propagation distance

We propose a novel plasmonic waveguide structure, which is referred to as a circular hybrid plasmonic waveguide (HPW) and consists of a metal wire covered with low- and high-index dielectric layers. The circular HPW exhibits two distinctly different modes, namely, the strongly localized mode and the extremely low-loss mode. Our numerical calculation demonstrates that the strongly localized mode exhibits 10^-4 order scale in normalized mode area and can be performed even in tens of nanometer sizes of waveguide geometry. In the extremely low-loss mode, the HPW exhibits ultra-long propagation distance of more than 10³μm that can be achieved by forming the dipole-like hybrid mode and properly adjusting the radius of the metal wire. It is also shown that, even with this long-range propagation, the mode area of the dipole-like hybrid mode can be maintained at subwavelength scale. The simultaneous achievement of a small mode area and ultra-long propagation distance contributes to the ultra-high propagation distance to mode size ratio of the waveguide. The HPW results are very helpful for plasmonic device applications in the fields of low-threshold nanolasers, ultrafast modulators, and optical switches.

Confined Tamm plasmon lasers

We demonstrate that confined Tamm plasmon modes can be advantageously exploited for the realization of new kind of metal/semiconductor lasers. Laser emission is demonstrated for Tamm structures with various diameters of the metallic disks which provide the confinement. A reduction of the threshold with the size is observed. The competition between the acceleration of the spontaneous emission and the increase of the losses leads to an optimal size, which is in good agreement with calculations.