Directional out-coupling of light from a plasmonic nanowire-nanoparticle junction

Modal and wavelength conversions in plasmonic nanowires

We show that plasmonic nanowire-nanoparticle systems can perform nonlinear wavelength and modal conversions and potentially serve as building blocks for signal multiplexing and novel trafficking modalities. When a surface plasmon excited by a pulsed laser beam propagates in a nanowire, it generates a localized broadband nonlinear continuum at the nanowire surface as well as at active locations defined by sites where nanoparticles are absorbed (enhancement sites). The local response may couple to new sets of propagating modes enabling a complex routing of optical signals through modal and spectral conversions. Different aspects influencing the optical signal conversions are presented, including the parameters defining the local formation of the continuum and the subsequent modal routing in the nanowire.

Accumulation and directionality of large spontaneous emission enabled by epsilon-near-zero film

We demonstrate the spectral accumulation of large spontaneous emission (SE) for nanocavities with different sizes in the coupled Ag nanorod and epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) film system. This effect originates from the slowing down of the spectral shift of resonant nanocavities at the wavelength where the permittivity of the substrate vanishes, i.e., the resonance "pinning" near the ENZ frequency. In addition, most far field radiation of the emitter is concentrated in the forward field with small solid angle due to the impedance mismatch between the ENZ film and the free space. This kind of size-relaxed nanocavity for directional SE has potential applications in the bright single photon sources, plasmon-based nanolasers, and on-chip nanodevices.

Remote activation and detection of up-converted luminescence via surface plasmon polaritons propagating in a silver nanowire

In this paper, we demonstrate remote activation and detection of the 2-photon up-conversion luminescence via surface plasmon polaritons propagating in a long silver nanowire. The hybrid nanostructure was assembled by locally depositing a submicron droplet of nanocrystal-containing colloidal solution on one of the ends of the metallic nanowire. When - using a classic confocal microscope - the second end of the nanowire, without the nanocrystals, is illuminated with infrared laser light, we observe strong emission from the same end. Therefore, it indicates that surface plasmon polaritons activated with infrared light at the second end of the nanowire propagate along it and can excite nanocrystals in the droplet at the opposite end. Subsequently, the excited nanocrystals up-convert the energy and by launching surface plasmon polaritons can guide the up-converted luminescence back to the starting point. The emergence of this effect is much more pronounced for a laser polarized along the nanowire. The spectral and temporal character of this emission reveals strong interactions between surface plasmon polaritons and electronic states of the nanocrystals. The details of local and non-local aspects of the effects of remote excitation and guiding of energy in a silver nanowire are elucidated using a unique experimental setup, based on two microscope objectives for spatial separation and control of both excitation and emission beams.

Remote excitation and detection of surface-enhanced Raman scattering from graphene

We demonstrate the remote excitation and detection of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) from graphene using a silver nanowire as a plasmonic waveguide. By investigating a nanowire touching a graphene sheet at only one terminal, we first show the remote excitation of SERS from graphene by propagating surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) launched by a focused laser over distances on the order of 10 μm. Remote detection of SERS is then demonstrated for the same nanowire by detecting light emission at the distal end of the nanowire that was launched by graphene Raman scattering and carried to the end of the nanowire by SPPs. We then show that the transfer of the excitation and Raman scattered light along the nanowire can also be visualized through spectrally selective back focal plane imaging. Back focal plane images detected upon focused laser excitation at one of the nanowire's tips reveal propagating surface plasmon polaritons at the laser energy and at the energies of the most prominent Raman bands of graphene. With this approach the identification of remote excitation and detection of SERS for nanowires completely covering the Raman scatterer is achieved, which is typically not possible by direct imaging.

Large Purcell enhancement with efficient one-dimensional collection via coupled nanowire-nanorod system

Combining the advantages of both gap surface plasmons (GSPs) and evanescent waves, we demonstrate simultaneously large Purcell enhancement and efficient one-dimensional collection of photons at subwavelength scale in the coupled nanowire-nanorod system. The spontaneous emission (SE) can be enhanced thousands of times based on the excitation of GSPs with strongly localized electromagnetic field. Emitted photons are directly collected by subwavelength-confined evanescent modes and guided along the nanowire. By optimizing geometry and material parameters, 14 208 times of Purcell enhancement with collection efficiency up to 39.3% can be achieved in the Ag nanowire-Ag nanorod system where the emitted photons can spread more than 25 μm, or SE is enhanced by 3142 times and up to 53% of emitted photons propagate with low loss in the dielectric nanowire-Ag nanorod system. This proposal that incorporates large Purcell enhancement, efficient nanoscale collection and one-dimensional propagation of photons, promises to have an important impact on bright single photon sources, plasmon-based nanolasers and on-chip nanodevices.

Selective excitation of surface plasmon modes propagating in Ag nanowires

Surface plasmon modes propagating in metal nanowires are conveniently excited by focusing a laser beam on one extremity of the nanowire. We find that the precise positioning of the nanowire inside the focal region drastically influences the excitation efficiency of the different SPP modes sustained by the plasmonic waveguide. We demonstrate a spatially selective excitation of bound and leaky surface plasmon modes with excitation maps that strongly depend on the orientation of the incident linear polarization. We discuss this modal selection by considering the inhomogeneous distribution of the field components inside the focus. Our finding provides a way to discriminate the effective indices of the modes offering thus an increased coupling agility for future nanowire-based plasmonic architectures.

Control on Surface Plasmon Polaritons Propagation Properties by Continuously Moving a Nanoparticle along a Silver Nanowire Waveguide

Surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs)-based nanowire waveguides possess potential applications for nanophotonic circuits. Precise control on the propagation of SPPs in metal nanowires is thus of significant importance. In this work, we report the control on SPPs propagation properties by moving a silver nanoparticle (Ag NP) along a silver nanowire (Ag NW). The emission intensity at NP can be attenuated to about 25% of the maximum emission value with increasing the distance between excitation end and NP. When NP is gradually moved away from excitation end, the intensity of emission light at Ag NP shows an exponential decay with a superposition of wavy appearance, while the emission at NW end is almost a constant value. It is found that the former is related to the local SPPs field distribution in NW, and the latter is dependent on the distance between excitation end and NW terminal. Moreover, the propagation loss in Ag NP-NW structure has been investigated. Our experiments demonstrate the important role of NP location in NW-based waveguides and provide an effective method of tuning scattering light in NW, which is instructive to design the future specialized function of SPPs-based nanophotonic circuits and devices.

Influence of symmetry breaking degrees on surface plasmon polaritons propagation in branched silver nanowire waveguides

Surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs)-based nanowire (NW) waveguides demonstrate promising potentials in the integrated nanophotonic circuits and devices. The realization of controlling SPPs propagation in NWs is significant for the performance of nanophotonic devices when employed for special function. In this work, we report the effect of symmetry breaking degrees on SPPs propagation behavior in manually fabricated branched silver NW structures. The symmetry breaking degree can be tuned by the angle between main NW and branch NW, which influences the emissions at the junction and the main NW terminal in a large extent. Our results illustrate the significance of symmetry breaking degree on SPPs propagation in NW-based waveguides which is crucial for designing the future nanophotonic circuits.