Compound resonance-induced coupling effects in composite plasmonic metamaterials

Ultra-narrow Band Perfect Absorber and Its Application as Plasmonic Sensor in the Visible Region

We propose and numerically investigate a perfect ultra-narrowband absorber with an absorption bandwidth of only 1.82 nm and an absorption efficiency exceeding 95% in the visible region. We demonstrate that the perfect ultra-narrowband absorption is ascribed to the coupling effect induced by localized surface plasmon resonance. The influence of structural dimensions on the optical performance is also investigated, and the optimal structure is obtained with the extremely low reflectivity (0.001) of the resonance dip. The perfect absorber can be operated as a refractive index sensor with a sensitivity of around 425 nm/RIU and the figure of merit (FOM) reaching 233.5, which greatly improves the accuracy of the plasmonic sensors in visible region. Moreover, the corresponding figure of merit (FOM*) for this sensor is also calculated to describe the performance of the intensity change detection at a fixed frequency, which can be up to 1.4 × 10⁵. Due to the high sensing performance, the metamaterial structure has great potential in the biological binding, integrated photodetectors, chemical applications and so on.

Elliptically polarized modes for the unidirectional excitation of surface plasmon polaritons

We propose a new method for the directional excitation of surface plasmon polaritons by a metal nanoparticle antenna, based on the elliptical polarization of the normal modes of the antenna when it is in close proximity to a metallic substrate. The proposed theoretical model allows for the full characterization of the modes, giving the dipole configuration, frequency and lifetime. As a proof of principle, we have performed calculations for a dimer antenna and we report that surface plasmon polaritons can be excited in a given direction with an intensity of more than two orders of magnitude larger than in the opposite direction. Furthermore, using the fact that the response to any excitation can be written as a superposition of the normal modes, we show that this directionality can easily be accessed by exciting the system with a local source or a plane wave. Lastly, exploiting the interference between the normal modes, the directionality can be switched for a specific excitation. We envision the proposed mechanism to be a very useful tool for the design of antennas in layered media.

Cavity-Coupled Plasmonic Device with Enhanced Sensitivity and Figure-of-Merit

Using full-wafer processing, we demonstrate a sophisticated nanotechnology for the realization of an ultrahigh sensitive cavity-coupled plasmonic device that combines the advantages of Fabry-Perot microcavities with those of metallic nanostructures. Coupling the plasmonic nanostructures to a Fabry-Perot microcavity creates compound modes, which have the characteristics of both Fabry-Perot and localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) modes, boosting the sensitivity and figure-of-merit of the structure. The significant trait of the proposed device is that the sample to be measured is located in the substrate region and is probed by the compound modes. It is demonstrated that the sensitivity of the compound modes is much higher than that of LSPR of plasmonic nanostructures or the pure Fabry-Perot modes of the optical microcavity. The response of the device is also investigated numerically and the agreement between measurements and calculations is excellent. The key features of the device introduced in this work are applicable for the realization of ultrahigh sensitive plasmonic devices for biosensing, optoelectronics, and related technologies.

Engineering plasmon dispersion relations: hybrid nanoparticle chain-substrate plasmon polaritons

We consider the dispersion relations of the optical excitations in a chain of silver nanoparticles situated above a metal substrate and show that they are hybrid plasmon polaritons, composed of localized surface plasmons and surface plasmon polaritons. We demonstrate a strong dependence of the system's optical properties on the plasma frequency of the substrate and that choosing the appropriate plasma frequency allows one to engineer the modes to have a very high, very low or even negative group velocity. For the latter, Poynting vector calculations reveal opposite phase and energy propagation. We expect that our results will contribute to the design of nano-optical devices with specific transport properties.

Plasmonic surface lattice resonances at the strong coupling regime

We show strong coupling involving three different types of resonances in plasmonic nanoarrays: surface lattice resonances (SLRs), localized surface plasmon resonances on single nanoparticles, and excitations of organic dye molecules. The measured transmission spectra show splittings that depend on the molecule concentration. The results are analyzed using finite-difference time-domain simulations, a coupled-dipole approximation, coupled-modes models, and Fano theory. The delocalized nature of the collective SLR modes suggests that in the strong coupling regime molecules near distant nanoparticles are coherently coupled.