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SPP7 Conference Poster Presentations Part II June 4, 2015 1 Linearly Dichroic Plasmonic Lens and Hetero-Chiral Structures Grisha Spektor, Asaf David, Bergin Gjonaj, Guy Bartal, Lior Gal, Meir Orenstein Electrical Engineering, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel It is well known that chiral structures, lacking in-plane mirror symmetry, exhibit circular dichroism. Namely, they can discriminate the handedness of circularly polarized light. The field of Plasmonic Lenses is concerned with structures on metal layers that can couple impinging light into surface plasmons-polaritons (SPPs) and combine them into a focal spot. With the main goal being the focusing of the out-of-plane SPP field components. Archimedes‟ spiral Plasmonic Lenses (ASPLs), which are chiral by definition, are used as circularly dichroic lenses – focusing circular polarization with proper handedness and resulting in a dark focal spot for the opposite handedness. In contrast, much lesser emphasis had been made on linearly dichroic devices – namely devices focusing electromagnetic waves with a specific linear polarization – while blocking (not focusing) the orthogonally polarized wave. We demonstrate that a combination of two ASPLs with opposite handedness (chirality) and unity geometrical charge results in a Hetero-Chiral plasmonic lens (HC lens) with a linearly dichroic focal spot. In the process of their merging, the chiral symmetry of the constituents is broken, however the mirror symmetry is not completely restored implying that the combined structure should distinguish between horizontal and vertical excitations leading to linear dichroism. Fig. 1a. gives the schematics and Fig. 1d,e the experimental results of the actual HC lens. A further simplification of the 2 engaged spirals can be gained by removing the central part of the structure (Fig. 1b) obtaining a structure resembling a distorted circle. Intriguingly, this slight deformation results in a rather strong linear dichroism of the focal spot (Fig. 1f,g). Different selective erasure procedure can be also applied to result in the Half-circles structure (Fig. 1c,h-i). We study, experimentally verify and quantitatively compare several members of the HC family, deriving necessary conditions for linear dichroism and several comparative engineering parameters. The HC structures were fabricated by FIB in gold. The samples were illuminated by relevant polarizations and the transmitted near field pattern was collected using aperture-less NSOM exhibiting excellent match to the simulation results. [email protected] 2 Theoretical Designation of All-Optical Modulator Consisting of Subwavelength Metal Slits Huai-Yu Wang, Yu Liu Department of Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China We have designed by simulation computation an all-optical modulator with simple structure. It consists of subwavelength metal slits, and its structure mimics that of an electronic transistor, having one input (Port 1), one base (Port 2) and one output (Port 3), see Fig. 1. The parameters of the structure in Fig. 1 are h1 = 0.5 μm, h2 = 0.51 μm, l = 1.18 μm, w = 0.1 μm. The light wavelength in vacuum is l0 = 0.8 mm and correspondingly the wavelength of in-slit SPP mode lS = 0.653 mm. The mechanism of the in-slits SPP interference is utilized. The light entering the Port 2 is invariant, and the input signal interferes with it, which determines the output. As a primary study, the static response is simulated. That is to say, the input signal is a plane wave continuously emitted from the launch field 1 without the variation of its profile. When the phases of the input and base are the same, the output shows a function of amplification, while when their phases are contrary, the output shows a diminishing function. Figure 2 shows the results. Therefore, the device acts as either an amplifier or a diminishing one. This all-optical modulator does not require any auxiliary equipment, and its response time is of the order of magnitude of 0.1 picoseconds. (a) Dj = 0, (b) Dj = π. The inset in (b) shows the When the widths of the slits are in sub-micrometers, results around Iin=1. The lines are to guide eyes. The device is of nanoscaled structure. Fig. 1. Model structure of the optical modulator. This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 61275028). [email protected] 3 Non-Invasive Near-Field Photocurrent Nanoscopy Enables Graphene Device Quality Control Achim Woessner1, Pablo Alonso-González2, Mark B. Lundeberg1, Gabriele Navickaite1, Yuanda Gao3, Qiong Ma4, Davide Janner1, Kenji Watanabe5, Takashi Taniguchi5, Valerio Pruneri1, Pablo Jarillo-Herrero4, James Hone3, Rainer Hillenbrand6,7, Frank Koppens1 1 ., ICFO - Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques, Barcelona, Spain 2 ., CIC nanoGUNE, San Sebastian, Spain 3 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA 4 Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA 5 National Institute for Materials Science, Tsukuba, Japan 6 CIC nanoGUNE and UPV/EHU, San Sebastian, Spain 7 IKERBASQUE, Basque Foundation for Science, Bilbao, Spain Graphene is a promising material for optoelectronic applications as its lack of a bandgap leads to a broad band absorption that spans the visible, near-infrared, mid-infrared and THz regime.[1,2] For applications it is of great importance to know the exact optoelectronic properties of the devices used. With common far-field methods the large size of the laser spot after focusing prevents a spatial resolution below the diffraction limit. This leads to smearing of the spatial photocurrent maps, which can mask important details. Here we introduce a photocurrent measurement technique which is not limited by the diffraction limit. Using a scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscope (s-SNOM) [3,4] with a mid-infared laser source we excite a strong near-field at the apex of a metallized atomic force microscope probe tip, which acts as a local heat source, generating a temperature gradient in the graphene. This temperature gradient together with a change in Seebeck coefficient leads to a photothermoelectric photocurrent that can be measured spatially. [5] Here we show how near-field photocurrent measurements with extremely high spatial resolution can be used for characterizing optoelectronic devices made of graphene and graphene heterostructures.[6] We show photocurrent measurements at grain boundaries intrinsic to graphene grown by chemical vapor deposition [7] and extract their polarity. Furthermore we use this unique tool to measure photocurrent from charge puddles [8] of exfoliated graphene on silicon dioxide and show a photocurrent resolution of sub-30 nm. This proofs the extremely high spatial resolution which can be obtained, which ultimately is only limited by the radius of the tip apex. Finally we use the near-field photocurrent technique to confirm the spatial uniformity of the charge neutrality point of graphene encapsulated in hexagon boron nitride.[9] In summary, in this talk we introduce the novel near-field photocurrent mapping technique and show its potential applications in device characterization and quality control. References [1] F.H.L. Koppens et al., Nature Nanotechnology, 9 (2014) 780-793. [2] M. Badioli et al., Nano Letters, 14 (2014) 6374-6381. [3] J. Chen et al., Nature, 487 (2012) 77–81. [4] Z. Fei et al., Nature, 487 (2012) 82-85. [5] N. Gabor et al., Science, 334 (2011) 648-652. [6] A.K. Geim et al., Nature, 499 (2013) 419-425. [7] A.W. Cummings et al., Advanced Materials, 30 (2014) 5079-5094. [8] J. Martin et al., Nature Physics, 4 (2008) 144-148. [9] L. Wang et al., Science, 342 (2013) 614-617. [email protected] 4 Collective Light Scattering on Gold Nano-Spheres in Micro-Droplets of Suspension Maciej Kolwas, Maciej Kolwas, Krystyna Kolwas, Daniel Jakubczyk, Genadij Derkachow Optics & Spectroscopy, Institute of Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warszawa, Poland We study scattering of light on evaporating single microdroplet of suspension of gold inclusions (125nm radius) in glycol (DEG). The optical diagnostics of a single droplet levitating in the electrodynamic trap was based on the analysis of the spatial interference pattern and temporal distributions of the scattered light intensity Fig.1 Outline of experimental set-up (let) and (right)the evolution of intensities IVV (red), IHH (green), IVH (blue) and IHV (dark yellow). Cross polarized intensities IVH, and IHV are small but substantial. Fast oscillations of intensities IVV and IHH are due to the droplet WGM, magnified in the inset. The intensity of scattered depolarized light was used to determine effective index of refrac-ion of the medium surrounding inclusions. The resonant increase of scattered light intensity was observed in the region of overlap inclusions mean distance and light wavelength (on Fig 1 near t=500s). Observed resonances were interpreted as collective scattering (CS) of plasmons induced in different inclusions showing importance of influence of nonlocal fields on local field scattered by given inclusion. More than double increase of scattered light intensity was observed for “high” preliminary density of inclusions (ca.1500 inclusions) at resonance. The oscillatory shape of CS resonances showed constructive (in phase) and partly destructive interference of plasmons in separate inclusions on collective oscillations . Observed CS resonances were modulated by whispering gallery modes (cavity modes of droplet acting as a spherical resonator[1]) showing ultra narrow structure of CS resonance connected with droplet cavity modes (WGM). The property of very narrow and relatively strong resonances giving possibility to tune scattering in very precise manner seems to be extremely interesting feature for future studies and possible applications. [1] Kolwas, M.; Jakubczyk, D.; Derkachov, G. and Kolwas, K. J.Q.S.R.T. 2013, 131(0), 138 – 145 [email protected] 5 Sub-Diffraction Limitted Imaging with a Spatially Dispersive Slab Avner Yanai, Uriel Levy Applied Physics, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel In 2000, it was suggested that a thin planar metallic slab can perform as a lens capable of producing an image with sub-diffraction limited (SDL) resolution [1]. In this seminal paper, Pendry showed that by using a thin metallic slab, only few tens of nanometers thick, which is excited with light near its surface plasmon (SP) resonance frequency, an image with SDL size can be obtained, due to the high momentum frequency components of the SP modes that are supported by the interfaces between the metallic slab and the dielectric medium surrounding it. This imaging concept was coined as the “poor man‟s lens” and was the subject of debate in the scientific community over the years. Here, we propose a different physical concept for achieving SDL imaging, taking advantage of the longitudinal modes within a thin metallic slab that is described by the hydrodynamic model. The SDL imaging occurs for discrete frequencies satisfying ωωp. This frequency regime is different from the original proposal of the “poor man‟s lens”, in which the incident illumination frequency is in the vicinity of the SP resonance frequency ωp/√2. Furthermore, the underlying physical mechanism of the two approaches is different. In the original proposal, the high-k components of the source are reconstructed at the image plane due to that the SP resonance surface modes which support high spatial frequency components. In contrast, our approach is not based on surface modes. Instead, the high-k components are transferred to the image plane by the longitudinal modes, which typically have propagation constants more than an order of magnitude larger than the vacuum propagation constant k0=2π/λ0. The permittivity of the slab is described by the hydrodynamic model [2,3]. [1] J. B. Pendry, Phys. Rev. Lett. 85, 3966 (2000). [2] C. David, N.A. Mortensen, and J. Christensen, Sci. Rep. 3, 2526 (2013). [3] P. J. Feibelman, Prog. Surf. Sci. 12, 287–408 (1982). [email protected] 6 Magnetic Field Enhancement in Graphene Diabolo Nanoantenna with and without Nonlocal Effect Zenghong Ma, Wei Cai, Lei Wang, Weiwei Luo, Xinzheng Zhang, Jingjun Xu The Key Laboratory of Weak-Light Nonlinear Photonics, Ministry of Education, School of Physics and TEDA Applied Physics School, Nankai University, Tianjin, China Graphene is made of carbon atoms arranged on a hexagons honeycomb structure [1], whose pristine form is a semimetal, but with appropriate doping it is emerging as a promising plasmonic material as well. Compared with surface plasmons in metal, graphene plasmons provide a conveniently tunable platform for strong light-matter interactions, much due to their enormous confinement and relatively long propagation length [2]. In this work, we study the plasmonic properties of graphene diabolo nanoantennas (GDAs) [3], the complemental structures of bowtie aperture antenna according to Babinet‟s principle. We discuss the enhancement and localization of magnetic field of GDA in mid-infrared frequency range by using the finite element method. Simulation results indicate that a smaller gap induces larger magnetic field enhancement. Specifically, a positive correlation between the polarization current density of the electric field and magnetic field intensity is obtained in local approximation, which agrees well with Ampere‟s rule. In further, the magnetic field enhancement effect is calculated and compared with the nonlocal effect of graphene. What is worth mentioning is that our results present another efficient way, compare to using traditional ferromagnetic materials, to concentrate and enhance magnetic fields. [1] Novoselov, K. S. et al. Science306,666–-669(2004). [2] Koppens, F. H. L. et al. Nano Lett. 11, 3370 (2011) [3] Grosjean, T. et al. Nano Lett. 11, 1009 (2011) [email protected] 7 Nanoplasmonic Directional Light Sensor and Color Filter Matthew Davis, Henri Lezec, Amit Agrawal National Institute of Standards and Technology, Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA Surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) are surface waves that exist at the interface between a metal and a dielectric resulting from coupling of electromagnetic radiation to surface charge oscillations. The study of SPPs, though easily understood with classical electromagnetics, offers a richness of phenomena that have led to a diverse range of applications in sensing, imaging, and nonlinear optics. Advances in theoretical understanding and fabrication methods have resulted in an unprecedented ability to control light through plasmonic nanostructures. For instance, enhanced transmission of light through subwavelength apertures is achieved by surrounding the aperture with nanopatterned grooves. Furthermore, periodic arrangements of the grooves results in a highly wavelength sensitive device response. Such spectral response has proven to be a useful property for color filtering in sensing, display, and imaging devices. More recently, we have demonstrated that an aperiodic slit-grooved-array (SGA) can act as a wavelength-dependent plasmonic directional light filter. This behavior is achieved through careful selection of individual groove widths, depths, and placements between the slit and the grooves. Typically, selection of groove parameters for the SGA device is achieved through time-consuming FDTD calculations. This is feasible on current desktop computers for 1D devices such as the SGA, however extending this approach to 3D plasmonic filters would benefit from a less computationally-intensive design method. In this talk, we will first present the design methodology using a 1st-order SPP interference model that is used for the filter design, a process that is free of FDTD calculations. This model is based on optimizing the phase-shift accrued by light coupling/scattering from multiple grooves surrounding a single deep-subwavelength slit. Finally, we will discuss the nanofabrication and experimental characterization of the designed nanoplasmonic filter; and demonstrate the immense time saving factor of this approach. It is expected that a passive plasmonic device sensitive to the direction of incident white light may represent a simpler approach over existing light trackers. [email protected] 8 Enhanced Magneto-Optical Activity in Photonic Crystals with Plasmonic Patterns Olga Borovkova1, Nikolai Khokhlov1, Mikhail Kozhaev1,2, Anatoliy Prokopov3, Alexander Shaposhnikov3, Vladimir Berzhansky3, Ajith Ravishankar4, Venu Gopal Achanta4, Anatoly Zvezdin2, Vladimir Belotelov1,2,5 1 Magneto-Optics, Plasmonics and Nanophotonics Group, Russian Quantum Center, Moscow, Russia 2 Department of Theoretical physics, Prokhorov General Physics Institute Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia 3 Faculty of Physics and Computer Science, Crimean Federal University, Simpheropol, Russia 4 Department of Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, India 5 Faculty of Physics, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia Multilayer structure consisting of a magnetophotonic crystal with rare-earth iron garnet microresonator layer and plasmonic grating deposited on it was fabricated and studied in order to combine functionalities of photonic and plasmonic crystals. The plasmonic pattern allows excitation of the hybrid plasmonic-waveguide modes localized in dielectric Bragg mirrors of the magnetophotonic crystal or waveguide modes inside its microresonator layer. These modes give rise to the additional resonances in the optical spectra and optical field localization within the structure. It leads to the higher light – magnetic materials interaction and results in the enhancement of the magneto-optical effects. The Faraday effect increases by about 50% at the microresonator modes while the transverse magneto-optical Kerr effect demonstrates pronounced peculiarities at both hybrid waveguide modes and microresonator modes and increases by several times with respect to the case of the bare magnetophotonic crystal without the metal grating. The shape of the TMOKE resonance depends on the type of the waveguide mode that gives rise to the resonance. In some cases, the magnetization mostly influences on the reflectance minima related to the resonances. However, in some other cases the magnetization mostly shifts the spectral position of the waveguide mode resonance. The studied novel type of heterostructures may find applications in optical signal modulators via external magnetic field or high-sensitive biosensors and magnetic field detectors. Here the advantages of the magnetophotonic crystals with plasmonic gratings are spectral narrowness of optical and magneto-optical resonances and the possibility for their observation in transmission. The work is supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (projects No 13-0291334, 1402-01012) and the Russian Presidential Grant MD-5763.2015.2. [email protected] 9 Pari-Time Symmetry Breaking in Ddouble-Slab Surface-Plasmon Waveguides Seok Ho Song1, Youngsun Choi1, Seok Song1, Choloong Han1, Jong-Kyun Hong2 1 Physics, Hanyang University, Seoul, South Korea 2 Electrical Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul, South Korea Asymmetric propagation behaviors of light in Parity-Time (PT) symmetric complex-index media are evaluated.[1] Dould-slab surface-plasmon polariton (DS-SPP) waveguide couplers,[2] consisting of metal slabs with loss and gain, are considered as the PT-symmeric media. So far, in demonstrations of the symmetry breaking in optical systems, the main difficulty has been to control gain and loss with a high reliability. The coupled DS-SPP waveguides proposed here allow us to separately and systematically control the parity and time symmetries, appealing that they would be an useful tool for investigating underlying physics on PT-symmetry breaking phenomena in nonHermitian Hamiltonian systems. (Double-slab SPP coulers) (Mode propagation behaviors before and after PR-symmetry breaking) [1] C. M. Bender and S. Boettcher, Physical Review Letters 80, 5243 (1998). [2] Jaewoong Yoon, Seok Ho Song, and Suntak Park, Optics express, 15, 17151-17162. (2007). [email protected] 10 Narrow Bandwidth Metal-Insulator-Metal-Insulator-Metal Filters for Hyperspectral Imaging Applications Dagny Fleischman1, Luke Sweatlock1,2, Hirotaka Murakami1,3, Sozo Yokogawa1,3, Harry A. Atwater1 1 Materials Science, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA 2 N/A, Northrop Grumman, Redondo Beach, California, USA 3 N/A, Sony Corporation, Tokyo, Japan Plasmonic structures have shown promise for applications as color filters in the visible and near IR parts of the spectrum. Due to their subwavelength mode volumes, plasmonic filters are well matched to the small size of state-of-the-art active pixels for dense integration in CMOS image sensor arrays. However, typical plasmonic filters possess a tradeoff between relatively broad transmission bandwidths and multiple resonances. If it were possible to dramatically reduce the FWHM of the transmission spectra while retaining a single peak, CMOS hyperspectral imaging arrays could be realized. We have designed and optimized metal-insulator-metal-insulator-metal (MIMIM) structures that possess a single transmission peak with FWHM as small as 17 nm. Using finite difference time domain calculations and a boundary value solution method for multilayer plasmonic structures, we have calculated MIMIM dispersion relations to identify the nanophotonic parameters responsible for narrowband filter transmittance. The transmission element of MIMIM filters is an array of parallel sub-wavelength slits perforating the MIMIM stack, which acts as a narrowband transmission resonator. The in-plane periodicity of the slit array dictates the filter transmission wavelength, so the same MIMIM architecture can be densely integrated in adjacent filter elements for multiple wavelength intervals by simply adjusting the spacing between the slits. Additionally, the MIMIM structure itself is highly tunable. Along with changing the periodicity of the slits in the filter, the active plasmon mode can be manipulated by controlling the thickness of the insulating layers, by changing the indices of the constituent materials or by adjusting the thickness of the middle metal layer that couples together the two individual MIM structures of the device. We have developed an amorphous silicon facilitated lift-off process to fabricate the MIMIM filter structures, because transmission behavior is highly dependent on the straightness of the sidewalls of the slits that perforate the stacked films. The results of the transmission measurements of these filters and prospective ways for integration with CMOS image sensors will also be discussed. [email protected] 11 Active THz Plasmonic Structures and Circuits on Flat Semiconductor Layers Giorgos Georgiou1, Arkabrata Bhattacharya1, Jaime Gomez-Rivas1,2 Center for Nanophotonics, FOM Institute AMOLF, Amsterdam, Netherlands 2 COBRA Research Institute, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, Netherlands 1 Optical illumination of semiconductors leads to photoinduced doping. When the illumination is local and intense, the semiconductor transits from a dielectric to a metallic behavior at THz frequencies only at the illuminated area. We have used this concept to demonstrate experimentally the photo-excitation of THz localized surface plasmon polaritons (LSPPs) in flat semiconductor layers [1]. This is realized by a patterned optical excitation of free charge carriers in thin films of GaAs using a spatial light modulator, which enables full spatial and temporal control of resonances without the need of physically structuring the sample. This approach is also used to excite capacitively and inductively coupled LSPPs in loaded plasmonic antennas. We also propose the spatially structured photoinduced doping of semiconductors to dynamically generate plasmonic waveguides and circuits [2]. [1] G. Georgiou, H.K. Tyagi, P. Mulder, G. Bauhuis, J. Schermer and J. Gómez Rivas, Photo-generated THz antennas, Sci. Rep. 4, 3584 1-5 (2014) [2] H.K. Tyagi and J. Gómez Rivas, Photo-generated THz plasmonic waveguides, J. Opt. 16, 094011 1-7 (2014) [email protected] 12 Fabrication of Scanning Probe Tips made of Epitaxial Germanium with Plasma Frequency in the Mid-Infrared Valeria Giliberti1, Emilie Sakat2, Leonetta Baldassarre3, Jacopo Frigerio4, Giovanni Isella4, Mauro Melli5, Alexander Weber-Bargioni5, Stefano Cabrini5, Marco Finazzi2, Michele Celebrano2, Paolo Biagioni2, Michele Ortolani1, Monica Bollani4,6 1 Department of Physics, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy 2 Department of Physics, Politecnico di Milano, Italy, Milano, Italy 3 Center for Life and Nano Sciences, Italian Institute of Technology, Rome, Italy 4 LNESS, Laboratory for Nanostructure Epitaxy and Spintronics on Silicon, Como, Italy 5 Lawrence Berkeley National Labs, Molecular Foundry, Berkeley, USA 6 Institute for Photonics and Nanotechnologies, National Research Council of Italy, Milano, Italy We target the nanofabrication of scanning probe tips made of high-crystal-quality epitaxial semiconductor material layers with high heterostructure complexity for optical applications at the nanoscale. Here the fabrication method for epitaxial germanium grown on a silicon substrate is demonstrated but the same approach can be extended to any heterostructure material. The first step of the process is the fabrication of nanostructures out of planar epitaxial wafers in the form of pillars with arbitrary section and high aspect ratio by electron-beam lithography and deep reactive-ion etching. Electron-beam induced deposition is used to weld the cut tip of an Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) cantilever to the top of one pillar, whose base is then cut by focused ionbeam (FIB) milling (figure 1a). Finally, the epitaxial germanium nanostructure is shaped into a pyramid tip by FIB milling (figure 1b and 1c). Micro-photoluminescence and transmission electron microscopy analysis performed on the germanium scanning probe tips confirm that the high crystal quality typical of epitaxial layers grown on a large-area substrate is preserved throughout the different fabrication steps. First prototypes of the tips obtained from heavily-electron-doped germanium with plasma frequency in the mid-infrared have been successfully applied to perform scattering scanning near-field infrared microscopy on nanostructured samples. Work at the Molecular Foundry was performed under User Proposal # 1773. The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union‟s Seventh Framework Programme under grant agreement n°613055. [email protected] 13 Second Harmonic Generation from Uniaxial Plasmonic Metamaterials: from Elliptical to Hyperbolic Dispersion Regimes Giuseppe Marino, Paulina Segovia, Alexey V. Krasavin, Pavel Ginzburg, Mahzar E. Nasir, Wayne Dickson, Nicolas Olivier, Grégory Wurtz, Anatoly Zayats Department of Physics, King's College London, London, UK Second Harmonic Generation (SHG) was the first nonlinear optical effect to be observed once lasers became available [1]. Since, SHG has been studied in various materials and geometries including noble metal surfaces and films. In the latter surface plasmon polaritons have primarily been used to enhance SHG. Recently, SHG in noble metal nanostructures has seen increased scrutiny [2,3] due to the unique optical properties offered by both localized surface plasmons and their hybridization in complex nanostructured systems. However, the rational study of complex structures requires the development of suitable theoretical approaches and numerical tools [4]. We have developed a numerical model to study SHG at the nanoscale and applied it to study gold nanorod-based plasmonic metamaterials. The metamaterial shows an Epsilon Near Zero (ENZ) frequency tunable across the visible and near-IR frequency range, responsible for the emergence of a set of resonances in its vicinity, enabling a multi-resonant coherent response both at the fundamental (FF) and harmonic frequencies (HF). This property allow the achievement of high SHG conversion efficiency and tailored SHG emission. The SHG response of the metamaterial is investigated and discussed based on the modal properties with a particular focus made on the relationship between their near and far-field response, spatial field overlap between FF and HF, and geometry-allowed SH emission. [1] P.A. Franken, A.E. Hill, C.W. Peters, and G. Weinreich, Phys Rev. Lett. 7, 118 (1961) [2] G. A. Wurtz, R. Pollard, W. Hendren, G.P. Wiederrecht, D.J. Gosztola, V.A. Podolskiy, and A.V. Zayats, Nature Nanotech. 6, 107-111 (2011) [3] P. Gingzburg, A. Krasavin, Y. Sonnefraud, A. Murphy, R.J. Pollard, S.A. Maier, and A.V.Zayats, Phys Rev. B, 86, 085422 (2012) [4] P. Ginzburg, A. V. Krasavin, Gregory A.Wurtz, and A.V. Zayats, arXiv preprint arXiv:1405.4903 (2014). [email protected] 14 Alloy Nanoplasmonics: PdAu Alloy Nanoparticles for Hysteresis-Free Plasmonic Hydrogen Sensing Ferry Anggoro Ardy Nugroho, Carl Wadell, Emil Lidström, Christoph Langhammer Department of Applied Physics, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden The notion of a hydrogen economy has catalyzed the development of various fields, like the use of nanostructured metal-hydride systems as signal transducer in plasmonic hydrogen sensors. [1] For this application, to date, Pd has been the transducer material of choice since it readily absorbs and releases hydrogen at room temperature and, more importantly, also exhibits localized surface plasmon resonance. However, the usage of pure Pd for hydrogen sensing purpose in real devices is not ideal. It exhibits wide hysteresis upon hydrogen sorption, which creates the problem of ambiguous readout depending on the sensor‟s history. Alloying Pd with another metal (e.g. Au, Ag) is one possible solution to reduce the hysteresis and thus eliminate this problem. [2] In this work we present a generic means to fabricate arrays of well-defined alloy plasmonic nanoparticles. Specifically, we fabricate quasi-random PdAu alloy nanodisks using Hole-mask Colloidal Lithography[3], in combination with alternating deposition of layers of Pd and Au followed by annealing at 500oC to promote alloy formation. For the application as hysteresis-free signal transducer in hydrogen sensors we find that increasing the Au content in the alloy nanoparticles significantly lowers the width of the hysteresis. Moreover, the sensitivity towards hydrogen at low H2 concentrations in the sensor environment increases up to eight times compared to pure Pd. Notably, this improved performance is obtained without compromising the signal-tonoise ratio of the sensor. As we have shown before, plasmonic hydrogen sensing is also very useful to scrutinize more fundamental aspects of metal-hydrogen interactions at the nanoscale. Therefore we also utilize our PdAu nanoparticle arrays to shed light on the thermodynamics and kinetics of metal hydride formation as a function of alloy composition, and report on the most important findings. References [1] C. Wadell, et al., ACS Nano, Article ASAP DOI: 10.1021/nn505804f [2] R. C. Hughes, et al. J. Appl Phys. 62, 1074 (1987). [3] H. Fredriksson, et al., Adv. Mater. 19 4297 (2007). [email protected] 15 Optical and Electrical Properties of Silver-Titanium Dioxide Layered Nanocomposites Piotr Nyga1, Sylwester Chmiel1, Marzena Szczurek1, Malwina Liszewska1, Marek Stefaniak1, Jozef Firak1, Bartłomiej Jankiewicz1, Malgorzata Norek2, Jadwiga Mierczyk1 1 Institute of Optoelectronics, Military University of Technology, Warsaw, Poland 2 Department of Advanced Materials and Technologies, Military University of Technology, Warsaw, Poland There is great interest in nanoscale metal-dielectric and metal-semiconductor structures and composites for their potential in many science and engineering fields. Various types of such nanostructures are studied for applications in sunlight harvesting processes like photovoltaics, photocatalysis, heat generation, but also for substrates for surface enhanced Raman and Infrared spectroscopies and many more. Most of the fabrication methods of nanostructures are relatively expensive considering cost per area, for example electron beam lithography. Physical vapor deposition (PVD) is one of the inexpensive methods of production of plasmonic metal nanostructures on surface or embedded in dielectric or semiconductor. When thin metal layer is deposited using PVD technique randomly arranged nanostructured semicontinuous metal film can be obtained. Size, shape and optical properties of these nanostructures can be controlled by choosing specific deposition process conditions. [1,2] Here we present the details of optical and electrical properties of silver-titanium dioxide (Ag-TiO2) layered nanocomposites fabricated using electron beam (EB) PVD technique. We varied several parameters of the fabricated structures and EB PVD process including silver and TiO2 layer thickness, number of layers, deposition temperature, oxygen dosage and post fabrication annealing. Utilizing the semicontinuous nature of silver films we achieved structures with broadband absorption. The level and spectral width of absorption can be tuned by design. Through number of silver layers and their thickness the absorption level of composite can be adjusted from about 10% to above 90% in the visible and/or infrared range. We have also achieved control over composite sheet resistance, which will be reported along with its thermo-electric properties. [1] P. Nyga, V.P. Drachev, M.D. Thoreson and V.M. Shalaev, “Mid-IR plasmonics and photomodification with Ag films,” Applied Physics B 93, 59-68 (2008). [2] M.D. Thoreson, J. Fang, A.V. Kildishev, L.J. Prokopeva, P. Nyga, U.K. Chettiar, V.M. Shalaev and V.P. Drachev,” Fabrication and Realistic Modeling of 3D Metal-Dielectric Composites”, Journal of Nanophotonics 5, 051513-051513-17 (2011). The research was financed by the Polish National Centre for Research and Development grant no LIDER/23/22/L-3/11/NCBR/2012. [email protected] 16 Linear and Non-linear Optical Properties of Plasmonic Quasi Crystals Ajith Padyana Ravishankar1, Venkata Jayasurya Yallapragada1, Sachin Kasture2, Arvind Nagarajan1, Gajendra Mulay1, Venu Gopal Achanta1 1 Department of Condensed Matter Physics and Material Science, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India 2 Centre for Quantum Dynamics, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia Plasmonic quasicrystals (PlQCs) offer several advantages over plasmonic crystals [1]. Some of the properties like broadband transmission enhancement and designable spectral response are recently demonstrated showing their potential for light harvesting applications [2]. Here we report linear and nonlinear optical properties of plasmonic quasicrystals. Especially, we demonstrate two orders of magnitude enhancement in the transmission through surface roughened pattern compared to unpatterned metal. We also show that, though the gold second order nonlinear susceptibility is weak, second harmonic generation (SHG) is possible over a broadband and is directly related to the transmission enhancement of the fundamental. Another interesting question to address is the role of the metal thickness on the observed properties. We have realized PlQCs over 1mm2 area in the form of air holes in gold film by electron beam lithography. We prepared and studied samples with peak responses at about 600nm and 800nm. By combining quasicrystal hole array pattern with surface roughness, two orders of magnitude enhancement in broadband transmission through sample was observed compared to unpatterned metal of 100nm thickness. Plasmon mediated local field is strong and was shown to result in SHG from metal patterned with hole arrays [3]. We studied SHG from PlQCs and find it to be over broadband. Also we studied SHG for different angle and launch polarization. From the measured fundamental and SHG, we estimate the second order susceptibility of gold film in the 740nm to 840nm wavelength range. Though, PlQC with roughness showed large linear transmission enhancement, it did not show correspondingly high SHG indicating that the increased linear transmission due to roughness is not related to plasmon excitation. 17 Fig: Broad band response of SHG output at normal incidence of Fundamental for different wavelengths. (Inset) Quadratic Dependence of SHG output power with Fundamental at 800nm. References: [1] V. G. Achanta, Prog. Quant. Electron. 39, 1-23 (2015) [2] Sachin Kasture et al., Scientific Reports, 4, 5257, (2014) [3] M Airola et al., J. Opt. A: Pure Appl. Opt. 7, S118–S123 (2005) [email protected] 18 Gate-Tunable Conducting Oxide Metasurfaces Yao-Wei Huang1,2,3, Ho Wai Lee2,3, Ruzan Sokhoyan2, Krishnan Thyagarajan2,3, Georgia Papadakis2, Seunghoon Han2,4, Din Ping Tsai1,5, Harry A. Atwater2,3 1 Department of Physics, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan 2 Thomas J. Watson Laboratories of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA 3 Kavli Nanoscience Institute, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA 4 Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, Samsung, Suwon, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea 5 Research Center for Applied Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan In the past decade, metasurfaces composed of sub-wavelength artificial ultrathin structures show the promises to exhibit extraordinary light-manipulation and to overcome the limitations of conventional optical components such as lens, wave plates, orbital angular detection, and holograms in any electromagnetic wavelength region. Recent developments in metasurface employs the flexible and reconfigurable optical responses in light manipulation that promises to achieve tunable metasurface devices. Electrical tuning methods based on carrier-induced index changes in transparent conducting oxide provide a capability for potential technology in dynamic response and compatibility with silicon technology to mass-produce. We report an original approach to create electrically tunable metasurfaces with amplitude and phase modulation based on the voltage applied on conducting oxide active region. The electrically tunable metasurface consists of connected gold nanoantenna array patterned on a 5 nm thin Al 2O3 and indium tin oxide (ITO) layers on a gold mirror. By increasing the bias voltage on the nanoantenna, the carrier concentration of the conducting oxide material increases and forms an accumulation layer at the Al2O3-ITO interface, resulting in the higher plasma frequency of active ITO and the modification of its complex permittivity. The real part of permittivity of active ITO approaches near zero region (epsilon-near-zero, ENZ) at wavelength 0.5 – 3 μm corresponding to carrier concentration about 1×1022 – 2×1020 cm-3, which occurs a large electric field enhancement in this region. Using the electrical modulation on the active ITO layer, we show that coupling ENZ region of ITO with plasmonic resonance of gold nanoantenna can generate two resonances, which can be used in amplitude-modulated metasurface. In contrast, the wavelength region between these two resonances shows capable of obtaining large phase modulation of 2π versus carrier concentration in active ITO, leading to a phase-modulated metasurface. These results have potential applications in performing dynamic beam shaping, reconfigurable imaging, and high capacity data storage based on electrically tunable metasurfaces. [1] N. Yu et al., Science 334, 333-337 (2011). [2] S. Sun et al., Nano Lett. 12, 6223-6229 (2012). [3] H. W. Lee et al., Nano Lett. 14, 6463-6468 (2014). [email protected] 19 Optical Properties and Applications of Multilayer Systems of Thin Metal Films with Nanometer Hole Arrays on Porous Alumina - Aluminum Substrate Juris Prikulis, Tomas Tamulevičius, Raimonds Poplausks, Gatis Bergs, Indra Apsite, Uldis Malinovskis, Donats Erts Institute of Chemical Physics, University of Latvia, Riga, Latvia Recently metal coated porous anodized aluminum oxide (AAO) layers have attracted interest for potential optical filtering or sensor applications. The colorful appearance of these coatings is mainly governed by interference effects between the semitransparent thin metal film and reflection from aluminum surface. This simplified interference model largely neglects the role of holes in metal layers, which however, can significantly change the spectral properties [1] and are of great importance e.g. for surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy [2]. We addresses the optical properties of 10-35 nm thin metal films with 18-25 nm diameter holes obtained by deposition of gold or silver on 75-280 nm layers of AAO supported by bulk aluminum substrate. We show a comprehensive study of these multilayer systems including spectroscopic ellipsometry measurements and demonstrate how various system parameters influence the optical response. Apart from interference related minima and maxima, which shift with change of AAO thickness we observe optical attenuation components which fall out of regular pattern and are metal material dependent. We also demonstrate several applications of these multilayer systems where simple optical measurements can be used to extract e.g. information about metallurgical structure of aluminum or refractive index sensing. Support from the ESF project 1DP/1.1.1.2.0/13/APIA/VIAA/054 is gratefully acknowledged. References [1] Masuda, H., & Fukuda, K. (1995). Ordered metal nanohole arrays made by a two-step replication of honeycomb structures of anodic alumina. Science, 268(5216), 1466–8. doi:10.1126/science.268.5216.1466 [2] Choi, D., Choi, Y., Hong, S., Kang, T., & Lee, L. P. (2010). Self-organized hexagonal-nanopore SERS array. Small, 6(16), 1741–4. doi:10.1002/smll.200901937 [email protected] 20 Coupling in Plasmonic Systems and their Interaction with Moleucles Adam Weissman, Elad Segal, Lihi Efremushkin, Hannah Aharon, Adi Salomon Chemistry, BINA, Nano Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel Herein we demonstrate long range interaction between plasmonic modes of metallic nanocavities (holes). Upon coupling a strong nonlinearly response of the medium is observed and the signal is enhanced or suppressed and is dependent on the polarization of the incoming beam. We further study the optical properties of molecules deposited on such metallic nanostructures with respect to the free molecules. We show experimentally and theorticallicy that molecular excited states can be strongly coupled to plasmonic modes. By tuning the plasmonic modes to be on/off resonance with respect to molecular excited state, one can modify the photophysical and even the chemical properties of these molecules. Fig1. Polarization properties of triangular nano cavities upon coupling. Left: SEM image of the structures right: Scanning of the nonlinear response (SHG) of the structures when the polarization of the incoming beam is along the x-axis. Salomon, A. Genet, C. and Ebbesen, TW. Angewandte-Chemie, 48, 8749-8751,2009 Salomon, A.; Gordon R.J.; Prior, Y.; Seideman, T.; Sukharev, PRL 109, 073002, 2012 Salomon A.Wang, S. Hutchison, J.A., Genet, C. Ebbesen, T.W. Vol 14, pp. 1882-1886, ChemPhysChem 2013 Salomon, A.;Zielinski, M.; Kolkowski, R.; Zyss,J. and Prior, Y.; J. Phys.Chem C. 10.1021/jp403010q 2013 Salomon, A. et al. 2014 J. Opt. 16 114012 [email protected] 21 Tunable Plasmonic Properties of Rounded Object-Arrays Achievable Via Interferometric Illumination of Colloid Sphere Monolayers Áron Sipos, Anikó Somogyi, Gábor Szabó, Mária Csete Department of Optics and Quantum Electronics, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary Interferometric illumination of colloid sphere monolayers (IICSM) by circularly polarized beams makes possible to fabricate complex patterns consisting of wavelength-scaled arrays of rounded nano-objects. By applying the IICSM method to illuminate metal colloid sphere monolayers rectangular patterns of mini-arrays consisting of various rounded nano-objects can be generated. The IICSM method requires the perfect synchronization of a desired intensity modulation with respect to preselected colloid sphere arrays inside hexagonally close packed monolayers [1]. It was demonstrated that via IICSM method complex patterns with six independently tunable geometrical parameters can be fabricated. The spectral and near-field effects of three complex patterns, which can be generated via illumination (i) by perpendicularly and (ii) oblique incident homogeneous beam and (iii) in IICSM-configuration were studied by finite element method. The azimuthal orientation dependent spectra of hexagonal arrays of (i) nano-rings and (ii) nano-crescents, as well as of (iii) rectangular pattern of mini-arrays is presented. It is demonstrated that the (iii) rectangular pattern of mini-arrays consisting of a central nano-ring and satellite nano-crescents have unique capabilities in spectral tunability, and in tight near-field confinement. The near-field and charge distribution on these structures were inspected at several azimuthal orientations, and were compared to calculations made previously on hole-doublets achievable via illumination by linearly polarized light [2, 3]. (a) Presentation of the IICSM method and of the six independently tunable geometric parameters; (b) hexagonal arrays of (i) nano-rings and (ii) nano-crescents, and (iii) rectangular pattern of miniarrays. (c) Azimuthal angle (γ) and wavelength (λ) dependent transmittance spectra with each unit cell used for calculation, (d) 3D near-field and charge distribution on rounded objects achievable via homogeneous illumination and IICSM at transmittance maxima arising at γ=90° azimuthal orientation of rectangular patterns of mini-arrays in a gold film. [1] Á. Sipos, A. Szalai, M. Csete, Proc. SPIE 8323, 83232E (2012) [2] M. Csete, Á. Sipos, A. Szalai, G. Szabó, IEEE Photonics Journal 4, 1909 (2012) [3] Á. Sipos, A. Somogyi, G. Szabó, M. Csete, Plasmonics 9, 1207 (2014) [email protected] 22 Nanoantenna-Enhanced Light-Matter Interaction in Atomically thin WS2 Andreas Trügler1, Johannes Kern2, Iris Niehues2, Johannes Ewering2, Robert Schmidt2, Robert Schneider2, Sina Najmaei3, Antony George3, Jing Zhang3, Jun Lou3, Ulrich Hohenester1, Steffen Michaelis de Vasconcellos2, Rudolf Bratschitsch2 1 Institute of Physics, Karl-Franzens-University, Graz, Austria 2 Institute of Physics and Center for Nanotechnology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany 3 Department of Mechanical Engineering and Material Science, Rice University, Houston, USA Atomically thin transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) are promising two-dimensional materials for optical and opto-electronic devices [1], because they exhibit an optical band gap in the visible regime. Monolayers absorb more than 10% of the light at their excitonic resonance and show photoluminescence [2]. However, the absorption length of TMDC monolayers is extremely short and the photoluminescence quantum yield is low. Therefore, strategies are needed to optimize lightmatter interaction. In this paper we present a combined experimental and theoretical study of a novel hybrid system, consisting of a plasmonic nanoantenna and an atomically thin tungsten disulphide (WS 2) layer. We use gold nanorods as antennas, which are dropcast onto the WS2 monolayer. Due to the plasmon resonance of the nanoparticles, strongly enhanced optical near-fields are generated within the WS2. We observe an increase in photoluminescence intensity by more than one order of magnitude, resulting from a combined absorption and emission enhancement of the WS2 exciton. We further investigate the antenna-monolayer coupling with respect to the spectral position of the plasmon resonance, which is tuned across the exciton resonance at 618 nm wavelength by varying the lengths of the nanorods. The plasmon resonance shifts to longer wavelengths with increasing antenna length and a prominent, narrow minimum is present in the broad plasmon spectrum. Additional simulations performed with the MNPBEM toolbox [3] allow us to attribute this minimum to the coupling of exciton and plasmon and are in excellent agreement with the experimental findings. Fig. 1: (a) Calculated near-field intensity of the hybrid system. (b) Emission-polarization resolved photoluminescence spectra (coloured lines) compared to scattering spectra (black lines) for different rod lengths. The tailored hybrid nanoantenna-monolayer system lights the way to efficient photodetectors, solar cells, light emitting and conceptually new valleytronic devices based on two-dimensional materials. [1] Q. H. Wang et al., Nat. Nanotechnol. 7, 699–712 (2012). [2] P. Tonndorf et al., Opt. Express 21, 4908–4916 (2013). [3] U. Hohenester and A. Trügler, Comp. Phys. Commun. 183, 370 (2012). [email protected] 23 Low-Loss Polycrystalline Copper Films for CMOS Plasmonic Applications Dmitry Yakubovsky, Aleksey Arsenin, Dmitry Fedyanin Laboratory of Nanooptics and Plasmonics, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (State University), Dolgoprudny, Russia The size of photonic components is fundamentally limited by diffraction and it is a great challenge to design sub-wavelength devices using only dielectric materials. On the other hand, at optical frequencies, noble metals demonstrate a highly negative dielectric constant and the penetration depth of the electromagnetic field into them does not exceed a few tens of nanometers. Furthermore, plasmonic modes can be excited at metal-dielectric interfaces, which allows to break down the conventional diffraction limit. However, reducing the mode size in the metal structure, one increases the portion of the electromagnetic field in the metal, which results in high ohmic losses and consequently low quality factors and short propagation lengths. This process is governed by the imaginary part of the dielectric function, which can be represented through the Drude damping rate Γ given by the sum of three different processes: electron-phonon scattering, electronelectron scattering and electron scattering on structural defects. Gold and silver are known to have small Γ, but, being inert metals, they are hardly compatible with conventional microelectronic fabrication techniques, such as CMOS processes. Here we present low loss polycrystalline copper films and a theoretical model, which brings together their optical, electrical and structural properties. Thin Cu layers were deposited on the silicon substrate by an electron-beam evaporator and their optical properties were obtained with a spectroscopic ellipsometer. At the same time, we used an atomic force microscope and a four-point probe system to measure structural and electrical properties, respectively. Fig. 1 shows that the imaginary part of the dielectric function of Cu is as low as 1.5 for thick films at λ=800 nm, which is in a good agreement with the theory. Moreover, the theory predicts that absorption losses can be further reduced by controlling the structural parameters of copper films. Figure 1. (a) Imaginary part of the dielectric function of Cu measured by ellipsometry and calculated theoretically. (b-c) AFM images of 30 nm (b) and 170 nm (c) thick copper films. [email protected] 24 Enhancement of Goos-Hänchen Shifts in Dielectric Gratings on a Metal Surface Venkata Jayasurya Yallapragada, Arvind Nagarajan, Ajith Padyana Ravishankar, Gajendra Mulay, Venu Gopal Achanta Department of Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, India The Goos-Hänchen (GH) shift is a displacement of the centroid of a beam of finite spatial extent, when reflected at the surface of an absorbing medium, or during total internal reflection. This displacement lies in the plane of incidence, and is known to be amplified by excitation of surface modes at the reflecting interface, for example, at Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) [1,2]. The sensitivity of this enhanced GH shift, makes it a good candidate for sensor applications, as has been demonstrated using the Kretschmann - Raether configuration [2]. Plasmonic gratings, offer improved portability and scope for miniaturization of such sensors. Dielectric gratings on metal [3], have SPR conditions, and therefore reflection spectra which can be conveniently tailored. Here, we present a method to design such gratings and calculate the GH shift, and proceed to determine the shift experimentally. We have simulated the reflected field amplitudes using Rigourous Coupled Wave Analysis, from which GH shift is computed using a calculation scheme outlined previously [4]. The grating resonances, can be tailored by optimizing grating parameters, for example, to obtain the resonance at a certain angle of incidence, depending on the requirement for a particular application. We have designed a grating consisting of stripes of 120 nm thick Poly Methyl Methacrylate (PMMA) on an opticaly thick Gold film on Silicon, which exhibits SPR at an angle of incidence of about 11.5 degrees, using p-polarized light of wavelength 785 nm. Close to this point, a large GH shift is expected. Experiments have been performed using light from a 785 nm diode laser, and a quadrant photodiode for position measurements. These measurements show the presence of a large relative GH shift difference between s and p polarization of 45 micrometres, as is expected from calculations. Such gratings can be used for sensors based on the GH shift. [1] X. Yin, and L. Hesselink, Applied Physics Letters 89, 261108 (2006). [2] C. Bonnet et al., Optics Letters 26, 666 (2001). [3] J. Yoon, et al., Journal of Applied Physics 94, 123 (2003). [4] VJ Yallapragada, AV Gopal, and GS Agarwal, Optics Express 21, 10878 (2013). [email protected] 25 Plasmonic Metasurfaces Based on Phase Bifurcation Chen Yan, Thottungal Valapu Raziman, Kuang-Yu Yang, Olivier J.F. Martin Nanophotonics and Metrology Laboratory, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland The field of plasmonics has been largely concerned about controlling both the near-field and farfield responses of plasmonic nanostructures that enables various practical applications in wave-front engineering with metasurfaces [1]. It is well known that harmonic oscillators can model the related physical quantities, including scattering, absorption and extinction, to describe not only the individual plasmonic resonances but also coupled responses such as the plasmonic analogue of electromagnetically induced transparency [2]. Although the intensity extracted from these models explains very well the experimental results, we discuss in this work the advantages of using phase information to provide deeper insights into the physics of the system. We experimentally design and demonstrate a phase gradient metasurface for shaping the wave-front at a specific wavelength. Sufficient phase variation is achieved by tuning the geometric parameters of a Fano-resonant structure on a metallic backplane. A dual-color routing metasurface with high directionality is realized as a proof-of-concept. In order to explain the design rule, we construct a simple model for extracting the phase information from plasmonic resonances including the effect of substrates utilizing the classical oscillator model and the transfer matrix method. Analyzing the time-independent complex field on an Argand diagram allows a more comprehensive understanding and effective design of the structures. Based on the same principle, we show that the asymmetric spectral feature of reflected field from a Fano-resonant metasurface is more pronounced with incidence from a high index glass substrate. Furthermore, the spectrum can contain phase dislocation and bifurcation in the frequency domain with properly tuned coupling strength. The resulting 2π phase jump at this range of frequencies will be instrumental for increasing the sensitivity of phase-based measurements such as ellipsometric detection [3]. [1] N. Yu and F. Capasso, “Flat Optics with Designer Metasurfaces”, Nat. Mater. 13 (2014) 139150 [2] Y. S Joe et al., “Classical Analogy of Fano Resonances”, Phys. Scr. 74 (2006) 259-266 [3] F. Abelès, “Surface Electromagnetic Waves Ellipsometry”, Surf. Sci. 56 (1976) 237-251 [email protected] 26 Light Driven Nonlinear Plasmonic Optomechanical Metamaterials Jun-Yu Ou1, Eric Plum1, Nikolay Zheludev1,2 Optoelectronics Research Centre and Centre for Photonic Metamaterials, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK 2 Centre for Disruptive Photonic Technologies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore 1 The realization of integrated optical system on a chip requires extreme miniaturization functional elements. To reach this objective, novel approach must be developed to manipulate light with light in small areas and interaction lengths. Here we experimentally demonstrate optically driven mechanically reconfigurable photonic metamaterial exhibiting an extraordinarily large optical nonlinarity(β~0.8 cm/W) which is 7 orders of magnitude larger than nonlinearity of a conventional nonlinear material, GaAs at optical frequencies. Fig. 1(a) shows a nonlinear reconfigurable array of Π-shaped plasmonic resonators sitting on double clamped silicon nitride bridges fabricated by focused ion beam milling from a 50 nm thick gold layer covering a 50 nm thick silicon nitride membrane. In order to manipulate the metamaterial`s optical properties by light, a modulated laser beam was pumped at 1550 nm, where simulations predict significant relative optical forces on the bridges. The modulation of the metamaterial`s transmission was probed at 1310 nm and detected using a photoreciver and a lock-in amplifier. At modulation frequencies of 10s of kHz, the optical pump leads to pronounced modulation of the structure‟s transmission characteristics at the probe wavelength, see Fig. 1(b). For a pump power of 2 mW (peak intensity I =206 W/cm2) a modulation amplitude on the order of 1% is detected at 25 kHz modulation. As the modulation frequency increases, the out-of-plane and in-plane mechanical resonances are observed optically. While optically induced differential thermal expansion contributes to the mechanical nonlinearity at low frequencies, the in-plane mechanical modes (1.2 MHz and 1.4 MHz) cannot be directly excited by thermal effects but can be explained by near field optical forces. In summary, optically actuated plasmonic optomechanical metamaterials offer an opportunity to achieve precise control of metamaterial properties through optically induced mechanical deformation of nanoscale metamaterial structures by electromagnetic near-field interaction and thermo-optical effects. With light intensity of few μW/μm2, metamaterial arrays can be sufficiently actuated leading to light-by-light modulation with MHz bandwidth. [email protected] 27 Quantum Levitation in Metamaterial Plate Configurations Dentcho Genov, Caylin VanHook, Venkatesh Pappakrishnan Center for Applied Physics Studies, Louisiana Tech University, Ruston, Louisiana, USA The Casimir force repulsion between a dielectric and magneto-dielectric thick parallel plates separated by air or vacuum is investigated for arbitrary temperatures. The Casimir force between purely dielectric materials is generally attractive that can lead to increased friction and stiction effects in nanoscale devices. Here, we consider a parallel plates design based on artificial electromagnetic metamaterials. A simple analytical treatment of the problem is provided through the introduction of an upper bound of the force. Explicit necessary and sufficient conditions for the manifestation of Casimir force repulsion are derived in terms of the plate`s material parameters and temperature. The sufficient condition can be used as a tool in designing levitating systems with air as the intermediate medium, which is the natural environment for practical microscopic devices. [email protected] 28 Controlling Quantum Dot Emission by Plasmonic Nanoarrays Rui Guo1, Stéphane Derom1, Relinde J.A. van Dijk-Moes2, Tommi Hakala1, Peter Liljeroth3, Daniël Vanmaekelbergh2, Päivi Törmä1 1 COMP Centre of Excellence, Department of Applied Physics, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland 2 Condensed Matter and Interfaces, Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science, Utrecht, Netherlands 3 Department of Applied Physics, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland We investigate control of the emission of quantum dots (QDs) coupled with silver nanoparticle arrays. Plasmonic nanoparticle arrays support collective Surface Lattice Resonances (SLRs) which are an ideal platform for tailoring the emission profiles of nanoscale emitters [1]. Furthermore, the coupling between excitons and the collective modes of nanoarrays also offers an approach to exploring quantum and coherence phenomena if the strong coupling regime is achieved [2-4]. In this work we fabricate silver nanoparticle arrays supporting SLRs modes. Colloidal QDs are then positioned on top of nanoparticles, ensuring a deterministic coupling between the emitters and plasmonic particles. Using a Fourier-space (k-space) measurement setup [3], we excite the sample with a laser and then collect the emitted light. We observe that the emission remarkably well follows the dispersion of the SLR modes (see Fig. 1). Thus by placing QDs in the near-field regions of nanoparticles, the collective modes of nanoarrays are coupled efficiently with the emission of QDs; the emitted light becomes directional, with an increased level of coherence. We will present a detailed analysis of the emission properties and decay rate measurements of the hybrid structures. Fig 1. Observed emission of QDs coupled with plasmonic nanoarrays follows closely the SLR dispersions. The lattice periods are 400nm (left) and 365nm (right). References: [1] S. R. K. Rodriguez, G. Lozano, M. A. Verschuuren, R. Gomes, K. Lambert, B. De Geyter, A. Hassinen, D. Van Thourhout, Z. Hens, and J. Gómez Rivas, Appl. Phys. Lett. 100, 111103 (2012). [2] A. I. Väkeväinen, R. J. Moerland, H. T. Rekola, A.-P. Eskelinen, J.-P. Martikainen, D.-H. Kim, and P. Törmä, NanoLett., 14, 1721 (2014). [3] L. Shi, T. K. Hakala, H. T. Rekola, J.-P. Martikainen, R. J. Moerland, and P. Törmä, Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 153002 (2014). [4] T. Schwartz, J. A. Hutchison, C. Genet, and T. W. Ebbesen, Phys. Rev. Lett. 106, 196405 (2011). [email protected] 29 Spatial Coherence Properties of Organic Molecules Coupled to Plasmonic Surface Lattice Resonances in the Weak and Strong Coupling Regimes Tommi Hakala1, Rekola Heikki Tapani1, Lei Shi1, Jani-Petri Martikainen1, Robert Jan Moerland1,2, Päivi Törmä1 1 COMP Centre of Excellence, Department of Applied Physics, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland 2 Department of Imaging Physics, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Delft University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands We study the spatial coherence properties of a system composed of periodic silver nanoparticle arrays covered with fluorescent organic molecule film [1]. The evolution of spatial coherence of this composite structure is investigated both in weak and strong coupling regimes by systematically varying the coupling strength between the localized molecular excitons and the collective, delocalized modes of the nanoparticle array known as surface lattice resonances (SLRs). We show that the high degree of spatial coherence is maintained in the strong coupling regime, even when the mode is very exciton-like (80 %). This is in stark contrast to pure localized excitons, which do not display long range coherence. By appropriately tuning the nanoparticle size, their spacing and the dye molecule concentration, we demonstrate that the hybrid mode properties, such as the dispersion, spatial coherence length and the relative weights of the exciton-SLR superposition, can be tailored with high precision. [1] Spatial Coherence Properties of Organic Molecules Coupled to Plasmonic Surface Lattice Resonances in the Weak and Strong Coupling Regimes, L. Shi, T. K. Hakala, H. T. Rekola, J.-P. Martikainen, R. J. Moerland, and P. Törmä, Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 153002, 2014. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.112.153002 [email protected] 30 Quantum Conductance Effects in Charge Transfer Plasmons Alejandro Manjavacas, Vikram Kulkarni, Peter Nordlander Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rice University, Houston, Texas, USA Localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPR) are a subject of intense experimental and theoretical research interest. Thanks to their exceptional light capturing and focusing capabilities, LSPR have found applications in catalysis, solar energy, cancer therapy, or surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). An LSPR of particular interest is the charge transfer plasmon (CTP). This mode appears when two plasmonic nanoparticles are bridged by a conductive junction. Due its origin, the CTP is extraordinarily sensitive to the conductive properties of the junction. Here [1] we perform a first-principles investigation of the properties of the CTP of a system composed of two gold nanospheres bridged by a quantum dot, using the time dependent density functional theory (TDDFT). By modulating the electronic structure of the quantum dot we are able to effectively turn the CTP on and off. Specifically, the CTP emerges only when a quantum dot energy level is resonant with the Fermi energy of the plasmonic nanoparticles. This behavior is analogous to DC transport theory, where the conductance through the junction is given by the number of conducting channels multiplied by the quantum unit of conductance. Interestingly, we find that the conductance through the junction is on the order of the quantum unit of conductance. This work is of great interest to the future design of plasmonic and molecular electronic systems. [1] V. Kulkarni, A. Manjavacas, and P. Nordlander, in preparation (2015). [email protected] 31 On the Rabi Model and its Generalizations Alexander Moroz Wavescattering, Wavescattering, Berlin, Germany The Rabi model is shown to be only a particular case of a generic class R of models characterized by the following properties: (i) wave function Ψ(E,x) is the generating function for orthogonal polynomials φn(E) of a discrete energy variable E; (ii) any model of R has nondegenerate purely point spectrum that corresponds to infinite discrete support of measure dν in the orthogonality relation of the polynomials φn; (iii) the support is determined exclusively by the points of discontinuity of dν(E); (iv) the spectrum can be numerically determined as fixed points of monotonic flows of the zeros of orthogonal polynomials φn(E); (v) one can compute practically an unlimited number of energy levels; (vi) the spectrum of exactly solvable models from R can only assume one of four qualitatively different types. [1] A. Moroz, Europhys. Lett.100, 60010 (2012); Ann. Phys. (N.Y.) 338, 319 (2013); ibid. 340, 252 (2014); ibid. 351, 960 (2014); J. Phys. A: Math. Theor. 47, 495204 (2014). [email protected] 32 Probing of Propagating Plasmons wth Two Near-Field Tips Roy Kaner1, Yaara Bondy1, Guy Shalem2, Yehiam Prior1 Chemical Physics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel 2 Mechanical Engineering, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel 1 Unlike the case of coupled nanoparticles, surface propagating plasmons in thin metal films give rise to a much longer-range coupling between metallic nanocavities[1]. Localized surface plasmons from a cavity couple to propagating surface plasmons polaritons (SPP), which in turn excite localized plasmons in a neighboring cavity. Here we characterize this coupling by measurements and calculations of electric field distribution near the cavities. We study circular nanocavities pairs (~200nm) in thin gold films at distances of 40-2000 nm. First, the sample is far-field illuminated (632.8nm, polarized along or perpendicular to the cavities axis) from below, and the electric field above is near-field mapped with spatial resolution of ~100nm by a gold coated NSOM tip (Nanonics MV4000). At large distances (part a, bottom) we observe patterns of interfering propagating SPPs which is modelled very well (a, top) by classical dipoles located at the cavities center. For small gaps (b), the „capacitor‟ effect between the two dipoles occurs for parallel polariza---tion. Next, we used two tips, one illuminating and scanning above one cavity, while the collecting tip is located up to a few microns away. The propagating field is measured as a function of height above the surface. Fig c depicts a typical rapid decay when the tip is raised above the surface. Last, we observed the transmission spectrum for a range of cavity separation (d). The spectra were calculated by solving FDTD equations, and measured (not shown here). A discrete set of modes of plasmon propagation between the coup---led cavities is clearly visible, and its origin and potential applications will be discussed. [1] Adi Salomon et al. Plasmonic coupling between metallic nanocavities, Journal of Optics, 16, 114012 (2014) [email protected] 33 Near Infra-Red Spectrum Regional Color Filter Development using a Single Metal Layer of Nanohole Arrays Se Min Kim1,5, Sang Hyun Jung2, Keun Woo Lee2, Woong Sun Lim2, Hong Min Yoon2, Hee Jung Hong3, Hyoung Koo Lee3, Jae Hong Noh4, Min Soo Lee5, Sung Moon5 1 Department of physics, Inha University, Incheon, South Korea 2 Convergence Technology Division, Korea Advanced Nano Fab Center, Suwon, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea 3 Deparment of research & development, Clairpixel Co.,Ltd, Sungnam, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea 4 Advanced Analysis Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Seoul, South Korea 5 Nano & Quantum Information Research Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Suwon, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea Many research about nano hole array typed color filter using extraordinary optical transmission(EOT) phenomenon has been performed for the recent years. We introduce three channels filter for the near infra-red spectrum region. Each center peak of the filter specturm is 950nm, 850nm, and 750nm respectively, These regional filter also can be applied to CMOS image sensor for the night vision. Numerous Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) calculations were performed by automated performance to search proper structural dimension conditions (i.e a layer material, hole shape, depth, diameter, period, existence of the adhesion & cover layer) which are satisfied with not only the best filter property but also easiness of the fabrication process. Through these FDTD simulation results, we choosed cylinderical nanohole arrays in a single silver metal layer. Designed arrays were fabricated by Electron Beam Lithography (EBL) mainly, also etching and descum process. One of the distinguished differences from the conventional fabrication methods is not to use the adhesion layer between substrate and silver metal layer, because existence of adhesion layer has negative effect on the filter property. In conclusion, this result shows that evaluated transmission properties of this fabricated filter are well-matched to expected FDTD simulation results. We present how to find successful fabrication variables (i.e. E-beam dose current, kind of resist etching gas, gas, etcing time, pressure, temperature, descum methods and so on) through numerous attempts and failures, especially mension removing Electron beam Resist(ER). And also present how to evaluate the transmissition property of fabricated filter samples using CMOS image sensor and monochromator. Fig1. The silver metal surface of cylinderical nano hole array structure after etching process, prior to the deposition of SiO2 cover layer (Designed for NIR filter whose resonance wavelengh is 850nm) [email protected] 34 Floating Thin Plasmonic Graded-Index Lens Sun-Je Kim, Kyookeun Lee, Seung-Yeol Lee, Byoungho Lee Electrical Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea Manipulation of optical information using surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) has been rigorously studied by utilizing subwavelength nature of SPPs. Specifically, the intensity and launching direction of SPPs can be efficiently controlled when the geometry of metallic structure and the shape of dielectric material are designed [1]. There exist many types of in-plane plasmonic lenses based on principles of Fourier optics [2]. But thickness of the floating lens in previous study is about 5 µm and it is quite long for applying in plasmonic devices. Therefore, we propose a novel floating thin lens based on the graded-index method. Figures 1(a) and 1(b) show the top and front view of the lens structure. By changing the gap between floating silicon-dioxide and silver substrate, it is possible to make gradual variation of effective index of SPPs. Planar SPP waves, after passing through the thin flat lens region, are focused to the focal point on the central axis. Figure 1(c) shows simulation result of transverse H-field distribution at the boundary of silver substrate and air. The lens is designed to impose parabolic phase and numerically analyzed by fullwave simulation based on finite difference time domain method (FDTD) while the operating wavelength is designed to 633 nm. Lateral width and thickness of the lens is 1.1 µm and 100 nm, respectively. The floating gap thickness varies from 20 nm to 500 nm in 11 symmetrically separated lens sectors in order to form a discrete parabolic phase. We expect that the proposed method can be used to design various compact plasmonic devices that may help avoid loss problem by reduction of device size. [1] S.-Y. Lee et al., "Role of magnetic induction currents in nanoslit excitation of surface plasmon polaritons," Physical Review Letters, 108, 213907 (2012). [2] H. Kim, J. Hahn, and B. Lee, "Focusing properties of surface plasmon polariton floating dielectric lenses," Optics Express, 16, 3049-3057 (2008). [email protected] 35 Characteristics of Local Electric Field Excitation in the Asymmetric Nanostructure Illuminated by Ultrafast Laser Pulse Boyu Ji, Zuoqiang Hao, Jingquan Lin Department of Physics, Changchun University of Science and Technology, Changchun, China Localized surface plasmon resonances has been widely used in the field of chemosensing,surface enhanced Raman scattering, biomedicine and near-field control[[1]]. Nanoscale symmetric structure is an ideal for obtaining local surface plasmon resonance while illuminated with ultrafast linear polarization laser pulse. In many applications, especially for the cases of illumination source are white light, or femtosecond laser that has a wide spectral bandwidth, a significant drawback of the symmetric geometric nanostructure is their narrowband response, the narrow structure with dual or multiple bands are desirable for a number of promising applications[2]. Adoption of the asymmetric nanostructure can result in multiple resonant peaks and greatly enhance the spectral absorption, which may find applications in such as selective optical fibers, multiple detector array. In this paper, to the best of our knowledge, systematical research of excitation and dynamic response of the plamon resonance of asymmetric structure under ultrafast laser excitation will be firstly presented. Extinction spectrum, local electric field intensity, current density distribution and temporal response of the local electric field for the asymmetric nanocross are simulated using FDTD method. It is found that, in addition to arms that are parallel with the laser polarization occur strong local plasmonic resonance, perpendicular arms (vertical to laser polarization) can get large local electric field enhancement as symmetry of the nanocross is broken. For the asymmetric nanocross extinction spectra show red-shift as arm length increases and simultaneous multiple resonant wavelength peaks appear. Current density distribution of the nanocross further supports the result of the local electric field enhancement. Temporal response of electric field in arms of the asymmetric nanocross shows that the parallel arms start to oscillation under the ultrafast laser illumination, followed by oscillation of local electric field of the perpendicular arms. Underneath physics of the perpendicular arm excitation is given. The results obtained in this paper are important to the field that using plasmon effect as perfect absorber and also to the field of optical near-field coherent control. F. J. Rodriguez-Fortuno, M. Martínez-Marco, B. Tomas-Navarro, et al., Applied Physics Letters 98(13), 133118-133118-3 (2011) J. Homola, Chemical reviews, 2008, 108(2): 462-493 [email protected] 36 Design and Integration of Plasmonic Lenses Dedicated to Near Infrared Detection (1.064 μm) for CMOS Image Sensors Thomas Lopez1, Sébastien Massenot1, Magali Estribeau1, Pierre Magnan1, Jean-Luc Pelouard2 1 DEOS, ISAE-SUPAERO Université de Toulouse, Toulouse, France 2 MiNaO, LPN-CNRS, Marcoussis, France The interest of the near infrared spectral band in imaging applications is well established, the fact that these waves are less scattered than visible light provide them a great potential of applications in the field of security and defense (vision through fog, for example). Image sensors for laser active imaging in this spectral band are mostly based on III-V materials [1]. However, there is a strong interest in using silicon-based detectors to reduce manufacturing cost. Unfortunately, silicon absorptivity and quantum efficiency are not high enough at this wavelength to compete with conventional NIR detection technology. One potential solution is to integrate light collection functions at the level of each pixel. Due to their exceptional confinement properties, plasmonic structures will be involved. They have already been studied to enhance silicon based photodetetectors performances. For instance, plasmonic color filters for CMOS image sensor applications and improving light absorption in solar cells using metal nanoparticules have been investigated. This contribution deals with the design of plasmonic lenses in order to enhance the collection of near-infrared photons in the photosensitive area for a standard CMOS imager. In order to cause the least possible disruption to the CMOS fabrication process, such structures will be deposited at the top of passivation layers (post-process integration). The first design explored is the Plasmonic Lens [2]. Nevertheless, the complex combination of nanoscale high aspect ratio slits is hardly achievable. This design can be greatly simplified releasing technological constraints: the simplified system is called Huygens Lens [3]. Numerical simulations have been performed through finite-difference time domain to optimize the structures both integrated into a pixel. Performances of both lenses are compared. [1] J. Bentell et al., “Flip chipped INGaAs photodiode arrays for gated imaging with eye-safe lasers", Solid-State Sensors, Actuators and Microsystems Conference, 2007. [2] P. B. Catrysse et al., “Nanoscale slit arrays as planar far-field lenses", SPIE NanoScience Engineering, International Society for Optics and Photonics, 2009. [3] Q. Levesque et al., “Compact planar lenses based on a pinhole and an array of single mode metallic slits", Journal of the European Optical Society - Rapid publications;Oct. 2013. [email protected] 37 Evidence of Random Surface Plasmon Modes in Fractal Metal Films Arthur Losquin1,2, Sophie Camelio3, David Rossouw4, Mondher Besbes5, Frédéric Pailloux3, David Babonneau3, Gianluigi A. Botton4, Jean-Jacques Greffet5, Odile Stéphan1, Mathieu Kociak1 1 Laboratoire de Physique des Solides, CNRS - Université Paris Sud, Orsay, France 2 Department of Physics, Lund University, Lund, Sweden 3 Institut P’, Département Physique et Mécanique des Matériaux, CNRS - Université de Poitiers, Futuroscope Chasseneuil, France 4 Department of Materials Science and Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada 5 Laboratoire Charles Fabry, Institut d'Optique - Université Paris-Sud - CNRS, Palaiseau, France Surface Plasmon (SP) modes dictate the optical properties of metal nanoparticles. In simple nanoobjects, they depend on both the size and shape through simple trends. However, the situation becomes complex in disordered systems. Strong broadband absorption properties have been measured in percolating metal films [1], and are commonly attributed to a strong localization of light at the nanoscale [2]. This strong localization suggests an extraordinary character of the SP modes of percolating films [3]. However, despite the great deal of work in the past 15 years, a comprehensive experimental evidence of the unusual features of these SP modes was missing until recently, due to a lack of studies combining high spatial resolution, broad spectral range of excitation and simultaneous access to the local sample morphology. On the other hand, Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy (EELS) in Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopes (STEM) has emerged as an essential tool to map the SP modes of simple nanoobjects with nanometer spatial resolution. We have recently performed STEM EELS measurements on different samples to investigate the SP modes of disordered metallic systems [4]. This work demonstrates that percolating metal films sustain numerous strongly confined random SP modes induced by the fractal geometry of the medium. a. STEM image of a percolating silver film. b. Local (colored) and mean (gray) EELS spectra recorded in the area shown in a. The large spectral variations imply a complex set of SP modes. c. Spatial variations of the EELS signal at constant energies (1.0 and 1.4 eV). The numerous local intensity maxima are due to strongly confined random modes showing no obvious correlation with the substrate local geometry. [1] P. Gadenne et al., J. Appl. Phys. 66, 3019 (1989) [2] S. Grésillon et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 82, 4520 (1999) [3] M. I. Stockman et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 87,167401 (2001) [4] A. Losquin et al., Phys. Rev. B 88, 115427 (2013) [email protected] 38 Realization of Fano Resonance in Graphene Ribbons on a Hetergeneous Substrate Weiwei Luo, Wei Cai, Lei Wang, Zenghong Ma, Xinzheng Zhang, Jingjun Xu The Key Laboratory of Weak Light Nonlinear Photonics, Ministry of Education, TEDA Applied Physics Institute and School of Physics, Nankai University, Tianjin, China The excitation of collective electron oscillations in plasmonic nanostructures have been realized in different structures[1]. The creation of sharp spectral features such as Fano resonances[2] presents important potential applications such as biosensing and plasmonic nanolasing. Fano resonances arise from the coherent interference of a narrow discrete resonance with a broad spectral line or continuum. Here we show that for graphene ribbons where plasmons can be excited by a perpendicular incident light beam[3], if the substrate is heterogeneous and configured properly, apparent Fano resonances could arise. In further, the Fano resonance can be explained by the interference between plasmons in graphene ribbons and substrate cavity modes. Our structure is very simple and easily achievable, which is very promising for sensing application. In fig. 1, we analyze a simple situation where graphene ribbons are separated from a semi-infinite substrate with a layer of dielectric. The plasmon resonance of graphene ribbons is at 18.3 THz, which has a Lorentz shape. However, multi-reflection will occur when the incident light passes through the heterogeneous substrate. Therefore a series of peaks and valleys in the reflection spectrum will appear, whose frequencies and periods are determined by the dielectric constant and the thickness of the dielectric layer. As the modes of the dielectric layer are spectrally broad and the plasmon mode is much narrower, their coherent interferences result in the asymmetric resonance shape. As shown in fig.1(c) and (d), by changing the thickness of the layer and the Femi energy of graphene, the asymmetry line shape can be tuned effectively. References [1] Anker, J. N. et al. Nat Mater. 7, 442–453(2008) [2] Verellen, N. et al. Nano Lett. 9, 1663–1667 (2009) [3] Ju, L. et al Nat Nanotechnol. 6, 630-634(2010) [email protected] 39 Light-Tunable Plasmonic Nanoarchitectures Using Photosensitive Gold-Surfactant Complexes Liudmila Lysyakova1,2, Nino Lomadze1, Alexey Kopyshev1, Ksenia Maximova3, Andrei Kabashin3, Dieter Neher2, Svetlana Santer1 1 Department of Experimental Physics, Institute of Physics and Astronomy, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany 2 Department of Soft Matter Physics, Institute of Physics and Astronomy, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany 3 LP3 UMR 7341, Aix Marseille University, CNRS, Marseille, France Surfactant molecules carrying photosensitive azobenzene units have attracted considerable interest due to their versatile applications in the field of light controlled shape and functionality of soft nano-objects.1,2 Azobenzenes are known to undergo trans-cis isomerization under irradiation with light, serving therefore a photo-trigger for the hydrophobicity of the surfactant. In this work we demonstrate how azobenzenes offer controllable plasmonic response in "hard" nano-objects. Here, we present the results of a comprehensive study of the optical and structural properties of complexes formed between gold nanoparticles (10 nm average diameter) and azobenzenecontaining cationic surfactant molecules, employing UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering and electron microscopy. Depending on gold-surfactant molar ratios, three different constitutions of the nanoparticle-surfactant complexes were identified, where nanoparticles are represented either by negatively (region I) or positively (region III) charged single specimens, or by clusters in the intermittent region II. We show that UV light illumination enables nanoaggregation into spherical gold nanoclusters of around 100nm in diameter, exhibiting visible change in solution color from red to blue. We also find that the presence of gold nanoparticles accelerates the cis-trans isomerization rate of the adsorbed azobenzenes, probably due to electron transfer. Finally, decorated with azobenzenecontaining molecules gold nanoparticles from region III are applied to form plasmonic nanowires. [1] Zakrevskyy, Y.; Cywinski, P.; Cywinska, M.; Paasche, J.; Lomadze, N.; Reich, O.; Löhmannsröben, H.-G.; Santer, S. The Journal of Chemical Physics, 140 (2014), 044907. [2] Zakrevskyy, Y.; Kopyshev, A.; Lomadze, N.; Morozova, E.; Lysyakova, L.; Kasyanenko, N.; Santer, S. Phys Rev E, 84 (2011), 021909. [email protected] 40 On-Demand Positioning of Various Active Nanoparticles in Plasmonic Antennae Structures will be Discussed and Complemented by Thorough Numerical Modelling Niko Nikolay, Oliver Benson Department of Physics, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany The concentration of the electromagnetic field in plasmonic antennae allows for significant improvement of nanophotonic devices. The Purcell effect increases the emission rate of single photon sources [1], and the large field enhancement supports non-linear effects such as frequency up-conversion [2]. The advantage of plasmonic compared to resonant dielectric structures is a smaller size and larger bandwidth. Furthermore, the electrical conductivity of plasmonic materials automatically provides electrodes or electric wires, which are essential parts of almost any integrated electro-optic device. Nanoemitters like molecules [3], quantum dots [4] or defect centers in diamond [1] have been used as active material at the fundamental limit of active plasmonic antennae. In this contribution we will introduce our approach of local functionalization of an antenna using atomic force microscope (AFM) manipulation [5]. On-demand positioning of various nanoparticles, such as single nanodiamonds, colloidal quantum dots, organic molecules and rare-earth-doped particles will be discussed. The experimental results will be complemented by full numerical calculations. [1] Schietinger, S., Barth, M., Aichele, T., & Benson, O. (2009). Plasmon-enhanced single photon emission from a nanoassembled metal− diamond hybrid structure at room temperature. Nano letters, 9(4), 1694-1698. [2] Schietinger, S., Aichele, T., Wang, H. Q., Nann, T., & Benson, O. (2009). Plasmon-enhanced upconversion in single NaYF4: Yb3+/Er3+ codoped nanocrystals. Nano letters, 10(1), 134-138. [3] Kinkhabwala, A., Yu, Z., Fan, S., Avlasevich, Y., Müllen, K., & Moerner, W. E. (2009). Large single-molecule fluorescence enhancements produced by a bowtie nanoantenna. Nature Photonics, 3(11), 654-657. [4] Harats, M. G., Livneh, N., Zaiats, G., Yochelis, S., Paltiel, Y., Lifshitz, E., & Rapaport, R. (2014). Full spectral and angular characterization of highly directional emission from nanocrystal quantum dots positioned on circular plasmonic lenses. Nano letters, 14(10), 5766-5771. [5] Schell, A. W., Kewes, G., Schröder, T., Wolters, J., Aichele, T., & Benson, O. (2011). A scanning probe-based pick-and-place procedure for assembly of integrated quantum optical hybrid devices. Review of Scientific Instruments, 82(7), 073709. [email protected] 41 Room Temperature GaN Film Growth by UV Surface Plasmon-Mediated N2H4 Decomposition Siying Peng1, Matthew Sheldon1, Wei-Guang Liu2, Andres Jaramillo-Botero2, William Goddard III2, Harry A. Atwater1 1 Thomas J. Watson Laboratories of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA 2 Materials and Process Simulation Center, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA We report growth of GaN films at room temperature facilitated by UV surface plasmon-mediated N2H4 decomposition to generate reactive nitride growth precursors. Conventional growth methods for GaN include CVD and MBE, which both require high temperatures ( 500 K) to create atomic nitrogen by thermally decomposing nitride precursor molecules. Alternatively, magnetron sputtering can be used to grow GaN at room temperature but the high ion kinetic energy limits the crystalline quality of the growing film. Our study is motivated by the fact that UV radiation can resonantly dissociate nitrogen bonds, through a pathway that neither produces species with high kinetic energy nor requires high temperatures. Ultraviolet surface plasmons are generated at a nanostructured aluminum surface where nitrogen precursors are adsorbed, and the resonantly excited surface plasmons generate dissociated nitrogen species that lead to GaN film growth. Additionally, because film growth can occur at lower temperatures, our method may open doors for new semiconductor materials such as indium-rich InGaN, which is normally hindered due to phase separation into InN and GaN at elevated growth temperatures. For UV surface plasmon-mediated GaN growth, we identified N2H4 as a promising nitrogen precursor molecule. We have performed full wave simulation to design periodic aluminum nanostructure arrays, yielding a surface field enhancement of 25x at 248 nm which corresponds to the maximum absorption cross section for hydrogen abstraction from N2H4. We fabricated large area (3 mm x 9 mm) Al UV plasmonic nanostructures using nanoimprint lithography printing from a master stamp generated by e-beam lithography. Reflection spectroscopy characterization of these aluminum nanostructures showed enhanced absorption at 248 nm. In high vacuum ambient conditions at cryogenic temperatures, mass spectrometry indicated that UV surface plasmons enhance N2H4 dissociation by an overall factor of 6.2x. The calibrated gallium flux and surface plasmon generated nitrogen flux were introduced sequentially to enable layer by layer growth of GaN on gold. XPS of nitrogen 1s electrons confirms the Ga-N bond formation based similar binding energy distribution compared to that of a bulk GaN crystal. XRD characterization confirms nanocrystalline quality of the GaN film. EDS indicates partial oxidation of the Ga-N bond during film growth. Strategies to improve crystalline quality of the film as well as suppressing oxidation will be discussed. [email protected] 42 Tunable Gold-Graphene Metasurface for Beamsteering Michelle Sherrott1, Victor Brar1, Philip Hon2, Luke Sweatlock1,2, Harry A. Atwater1 1 Materials Science and Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA 2 Metamaterials and Nanophotonics Lab, Northrop Grumman Aerospace Corportation, Los Angeles, California, USA Reconfigurable flat optical components in the mid-infrared (mid-IR) have been a longstanding goal for civil and military applications including holographic displays, beam shaping, and spatial light modulation. However, despite progress in the field, existing approaches are typically limited in speed, efficiency, and size. Graphene-modulated metasurfaces offer the opportunity to overcome these limitations. Here we will experimentally demonstrate an actively modulated beamsteering device using a metasurface comprised of 2um long gold bowtie antennas on a continuous graphene sheet with a gold back-reflector separated by a 170nm thick SiO2 layer (see schematic below). We treat the graphene as a controllable dielectric environment which we can actively modulate via electrostatic gating. By electrostatically doping the graphene from its charge neutral point (CNP, EF=0eV) to EF=0.55eV, a tunability of reflection phase over 240° is demonstrated at a wavelength of 8um. This allows us a calculated range of beamsteering over an angular range of +/-50° from the normal with a signal:noise exceeding 2:1. We explain this large range of tunability by the widely variable optical conductivity of graphene with charge carrier concentration. In addition, our design exploits the gap between the gold antennas to serve as a Fabry-Perot cavity, confining a graphene plasmon and increasing the local field intensity, resulting in a stronger interaction with the antennae. By individually gating each element in an array of these gold antennas, we create a tunable reflectarray and show that the reflection angle of an incident beam can be modified in real time, with the potential for ultrafast switching times. Schematic illustration of tunable gold/graphene element [email protected] 43 Mid-IR Plasmonic Antennas Fabricated by FIB and EBL: Does an Ultrathin Silicon Oxide Layer Matter? Lukáš Břínek1,2, Tomáš Šamořil1,2, Ondřej Tomanec1,2, Michal Kvapil1,2, Radek Kalousek1,2, Martin Hrtoň1,2, Jan Čechal1,2, Petr Dub1,2, Jiří Spousta1,2, Peter Varga1,2, Tomáš Šikola1,2 1 Institute of Physical Engineering, Brno University of Technology, Brno, Czech Republic 2 CEITEC BUT, Brno University of Technology, Brno, Czech Republic One of the most straightforward applications of FIB technology is fabrication of plasmonic nanoantennas by milling their shapes out of metallic thin films. However, we have found that the Mid-IR Au rectangular antennas show different behaviour according to their fabrication origin. These antennas prepared by EBL on transparent samples (e.g. Si) possessed linear scaling of resonance frequency with their arm length. Contrary to that, those prepared by Ga (Xe) FIB milling of the Au layer (60 nm) revealed more complex behaviour. In principle, the resonant peak of relative reflectance of antennas (measured by FTIR) was split into two sub-peaks separated by a dip at λ ≈ 8.2 μm. The short-wavelength sub-peak was moving with the antenna arm length towards higher wavelengths until its motion almost stopped at higher arm lengths. However, the longwavelength sub-peak almost did not move with the antenna arm length for shorter arm lengths and then started to move towards higher wavelengths. In the presentation such an unexpected effect will be explained and the proofs for it given. Our previous work [1] indicated that this complex behaviour can be related to a strong coupling of antenna plasmons to the absorbing substrate modified by ions. X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy revealed the presence of a silicon-oxide layer having an enhanced thickness (6 nm) with respect to the native oxide (≈ 2 nm) at the silicon surface in the vicinity of antennas fabricated by Ga or Xe ions. FDTD simulations (Lumerical) proved that such an ultrathin oxide layer absorbing in Mid-IR was able to cause the splitting of the resonant peak. Finally, removing the oxide layer by HF etching the dip in the MID-IR resonant peaks disappeared and the antennas started permanently to show up the same spectra like in case of the EBL antennas. The mechanism of the formation of such an oxide layer will be explained as well. [1] T. Šikola, R. D. Kekatpure, E. S. Barnard, J. S. White, P. Van Dorpe , L. Břínek, O. Tomanec, J. Zlámal, D. Lei, Y. Sonnefraud, S. A. Maier, J. Humlíček, M. L. Brongersma: Appl. Phys. Lett. 95 (2009), 253109. [email protected] 44 Multifunctional Snoptical Gradient Metasurfaces Dekel Veksler, Elhanan Maguid, Dror Ozeri, Nir Shitrit, Vladimir Kleiner, Erez Hasman Nanotechnology and Nanoscience, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel Photonic gradient metasurfaces are ultrathin electromagnetic wave-molding metamaterials that provide a route for realizing flat optics. However, the up-to-date metasurface design, manifested by imprinting the required phase profile for a single, on-demand light manipulation functionality, is not compatible with the desired goal of multifunctional flat optics. We present a generic concept to control multifunctional optics by disordered (random) gradient metasurfaces with a custom-tailored geometric phase. This approach combines the peculiar ability of random patterns to support extraordinary information capacity, and the polarization helicity control in the geometric phase mechanism, simply implemented in a two-dimensional structured matter by imprinting optical antenna patterns. By manipulating the local orientations of the nanoantennas, we generate multiple wavefronts with different functionalities via mixed random antenna groups, where each group controls a different phase function. [email protected] 45 Proposal for Plasmonically-Enhanced Optical Spin Readout of Nitrogen-Vacancy Centers in Diamond Sigal Wolf1, Itamar Rosenberg1, Ronen Rapaport1, Nir Bar-Gill1,2 1 The Racah Institute of Physics, The Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel 2 Dept. of Applied Physics, Rachel and Selim School of Engineering, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel Nitrogen-Vacancy (NV) color centers in diamond have emerged as promising quantum solid-state systems, with applications ranging from quantum information processing to magnetic sensing. One of the most useful properties of NVs is the ability to read their ground-state spin projection optically at room temperature. In our work we study theoretically plasmonic enhancement of the NV optical coupling, and find parameters for optimal Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) of optical spin-state readout. We find that a combined increase in spontaneous emission (through plasmon-induced Purcell enhancement) and in optical excitation could significantly increase the readout SNR. Based on the dynamics of the system‟s rate equations we find that there is an optimal radiative decay rate which maximizes the SNR for given excitation rate and measuring-pulse duration, as well as an optimal pulse duration for given excitation and radiative decay rates (as expected from experimental results). However, by increasing the radiative decay rate and excitation rate simultaneously, the SNR can be increased indefinitely. For example, by reaching a Purcell factor (PF) of only 10 and adjusting the excitation rate and pulse duration respectively, the SNR can be increased by a factor of 5. These results can improve significantly the ability to read out the spin state of NV centers, which is essential for many NV applications. The figure shows the saturated readout SNR as a function of the Purcell factor. The red star shows the saturated SNR with PF = 1. By increasing the PF and the excitation rate and adjusting the pulse duration to its optimal value can increase the SNR significantly. [email protected] 46 Optical Mode Control of Anisotropic Quasicrystal Metasurface Igor Yulevich, Elhanan Maguid, Nir Shitrit, Dekel Veksler, Vladimir Kleiner, Erez Hasman Mechanical Enginnering, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel The excitation of unique thermal radiative collective modes from a quasicrystalline metasurface consisting of anisotropic nanoantennas is presented. These discrete states appear as a result of the geometric phase induced by aperiodic orientations of the antennas. The observed modes manifest significantly different dispersion in comparison to a similar metasurface composed of isotropic nanoantennas, where only their positions determine the reciprocal space. Consideration of the geometric phase may be implemented in crystallographic analysis of complex systems as it provides extra information about the local anisotropy of material building-blocks. [email protected] 47 Chiral Liquid Crystal Assisted SPR Sensor of Physical Fields Katerina Zhelyazkova1, Minko Petrov2, Boyko Katranchev2, Georgi Dyankov1 1 Faculty of Physics, Plovdiv University "Paisii Hilendarski", Plovdiv, Bulgaria 2 Institute of Solid State Physics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) – based sensors are one of the most advanced real time detection technologies. Usually Kretschmann configuration is used for effective plasmon excitation. In this paper we consider the influence of chiral liquid crystal layer, adjacent to the metal, on SPR. Bearing in mind that the alignment of liquid crystal is easily controlled by different physical fields, such as electric field or temperature, we have studied how helical pitch, tilt angle and number of periods influence SPR. The pitch length considerably changes resonance position with more than 30 nm, shifting the resonance towards red wavelengths. So, factors causing self-assembling helical structures can be sharply detected. Moreover, we have found that waveguide modes strongly depend on the parameters of chiral liquid crystal layer. At optimal conditions for pitch length/ liquid crystal thickness/ tilt angle the waveguide mode appears exactly at the plasmon resonance, causing its splitting as shown in the figure. This effect, together with SPR shift, increases considerably the accuracy of measurement. The influence of large birefringence of liquid crystal on the sensitivity has been studied as well. Our theoretical study is performed by Maxwell equations solver based on 4x4 method. [email protected] 48 Plasmonic Graded Gratings for Hyperspectral Near-field Infrared Sensing and Imaging Arthur O. Montazeri1,2, Michael Fang1,4, Hoi-Ying Holman3, Roya Maboudian1, Carlo Carraro1, Nazir Kherani2 1 Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of California - Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA 2 Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada 3 Berkeley Synchrotron Infrared Structural Biology, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Toronto, California, USA 4 Physics, University of California - Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA Patterning a metal-dielectric surface with properly arranged subwavelength features provides the means for light to excite surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) [1]. However, these creases, or other indentations of the surface can become more than just a means for SPP excitation. Indeed, these features could become resonant cavities, waveguides, or a combination thereof, extending in one, two or three dimensions. They can be functionally graded through spatial tapering of their pertinent geometrical parameters. (See Fig. 1 (a)) E.g. these subwavelength grooves can act as resonant waveguides with no cut-off for certain cavity modes and polarizations [2]. As a result, even in the spectral ranges where SPPs do not form on flat metallo-dielectric boundaries (λ mid-IR), these subwavelength features can give rise to SPP-like behavior, known as “spoof SPPs” [3]. One aspect of these subwavelength grooves (See Fig. 1 (b) or (c)), is that when the groove-width is comparable to the evanescent tail of the SPP, it can result in SPP-coupling. The narrower the groove becomes, the stronger this coupling. We show that a far more practical approach is to use this property alone to create frequency selective surfaces without changing the groove-depth. 49 Fig. 1: (a.) Illustrates the emergent “rainbow-trapping” on a system of weakly-coupled grooves each housing strongly-coupled SPPs (b.) The E-field simulation of a graded-grating trapping localized infrared wavelength at λ = 6 µm (c.) An application example: utilizing this substrate as a platform for low-phototoxicity infrared spectroscopy in biological tissue. This approach is a powerful tool for facile design of hyperspectral surfaces without the need for full wave simulation. References: [1] J. B. Pendry, et al., Science, vol. 305, no. 5685, pp. 847–848 (2004). [2] J. Le Perchec, et al., Physical Review Letters 100, (2008). [3] A.O. Montazeri, M. Fang, P. Sarrafi, and N.P. Kherani, arXiv 1406.3083v2 (2015) [email protected] 50 Molecular Sensing with Tunable Graphene Plasmons 1 Andrea Marini1, Iván Silveiro1, Javier Garcia de Abajo1,2 Nanophotonics Theory Group, ICFO-Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques, Barcelona, Spain 2 ., ICREA-Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats, Barcelona, Spain Infrared spectroscopy is an important field of research as it enables sensing of molecules through the measurement of their resonances, acting as molecular fingerprints. Nanophotonics is tightly bound to this field of research as the engineering of nano-scaled plasmonic structures is crucial for enhancing the local electromagnetic field. The high local field is mainly responsible for the giant surface-induced enhancement of infrared absorption (SEIRA) and Raman scattering (SERS) by molecules in close proximity of metallic nanoparticles. These techniques have brought a number of viable, cheap and efficient commercial applications, e.g., pregnancy tests based on metal colloids [1], and promise further revolutionary applications in plasmonic sensing, although they suffer from some drawbacks. Indeed, plasmon resonances in metal-based nanoparticles are fixed by the underpinning geometric details of the plasmonic structure and lack of efficient external tunability. Besides, their spectral width can not cover the whole broad spectrum of roto-vibrational infrared transitions, and thus they enhance only few molecular resonances. Multi-frequency sensors based on subwavelength hole arrays and optical antennas have been proposed for overcoming this limitation and for achieving broadband surface-enhanced spectroscopy [2, 3]. In the last years, doped graphene has emerged as an attractive alternative to noble metals for the exploitation of surface plasmons at infrared (IR) and terahertz (THz) frequencies. Here, we develop a theoretical framework accounting for SEIRA and SERS by molecules adsorbed on graphene nano-disks. We evaluate the efficiency of these graphene-based infrared sensors finding that, thanks to the outstanding tunability of graphene through externally applied gate voltage, broadband SEIRA and SERS can be achieved. The calculated enhancement factors with respect to molecular cross-sections in the gas-phase (in the absence of graphene), are of the order of 103 for SEIRA and 104 for SERS, thus making these techniques highly appealing for sensing devices. [1] M. I. Stockman, Phys. Today 64, 39 (2011). [2] O. Limaj et al., J. Phys. Chem. C 117, 19119 (2013). [3] H. Aouani et al., ACS Nano 7, 669 (2013). [email protected] 51 The Broadband Surface Plasmon Michael Chasnitsky, Michael Golosovsky, Dan Davidov Racah Institute of Physics, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel A very high sensitivity of the surface-plasmon based sensors stems from the fact that the surface plasmon is a resonance phenomenon. In the Kretchmann‟s geometry, optical reflectivity as a function of incident angle exhibits a very sharp dip associated with the excitation of the surface plasmon wave at the metal-dielectric interface. The position and depth of this dip is very sensitive to the properties of dielectric in contact with metal (analyte). In this work we explore a rare scheme of the excitation of the surface plasmon resonance- a wavelength scanning. We demonstrate that the reflectivity may be close to zero in a broad wavelength range while the high sensitivity to the properties of the analyte is retained through the whole wavelength range. The reason behind this is the resonance condition of phase- matching: the phase velocity of the surface plasmon wave VSP shall be equal to the lateral component of the phase velocity of the incident light,. Here, Θ is the incident angle and n is the refractive index of the incident medium. This condition does not involve wavelength (explicitly) and can be satisfied in a wide range of wavelengths. The broadband surface plasmon can be achieved by dispersion engineering, namely, by the modification of the interface where surface plasmon propagates, or by broadband coupling through dispersion compensation. We explore these two methods using computer simulation and show how the broadband surface plasmon may be achieved at the Au-water or Au-air interface across the near-infrared range λ=1-3 µm. We demonstrate experimentally the broadband surface plasmon in the Kretschmann configuration at the Au-air interface using a 900 sapphire prism coated with 18 nm thick Au layer and test samples: 5-100 nm thick water and ethanol films. We show the advantages of the broadband plasmon for thin films sensing: spectroscopic measurements in the regime of the surface plasmon resonance and discrimination between continuous and island films. The broadband surface plasmon can be also useful for creation of surface plasmon pulses and for broadband absorbers. [email protected] 52 Gain-Enhanced Propagation of Surface Plasmons in V-Groove Metallic Waveguides Oren Lotan1, Cameron Smith2, Jonathan Bar-David1, Anders Kristensen2, Uriel Levy1 1 Department of Applied Physics, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel 2 Department of Micro- and Nanotechnology, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark Surface Plasmon Polaritons (SPP‟s) are electromagnetic waves coupled to surface charge density oscillations which propagate on metallic interfaces. Due to their unique dispersive relation and strong light confinement, Plasmonic based devices are showing promise in the attempt to manipulate light at the nano-scale. This can be of importance in the fields of optical communications, optical computing, sensing and more [1]. However, Plasmonic devices suffer from high losses which limit the propagation length and therefore present an obstacle for integrating plasmonic devices into photonic circuits or lab-on-Chip devices. A proposed solution to this problem is introducing a gain medium into plasmonic devices, thus amplifying the plasmonic signal and compensating for the high losses [2]. In this work, we shall examine a plasmonic waveguide, which is a V-shaped groove made of gold (Au) layer deposited on a Silicon substrate [3]. Above the gold layer we fabricate a flow cell and stream through a dye solution which will act as the gain medium, interacting evanescently with the plasmonic mode. Our device is designed to support a probe beam around the wavelength of . This beam is coupled into the waveguide through a nano-mirror on one end of the device and coupled out of the waveguide in a similar fashion. At the same time, a second beam ( is directed to the center of the waveguide serving as a pump for the gain medium excitation. By measuring the output signal versus the input signal for waveguides of various lengths, with different types of gain media and varying pump beam intensities, we should be able to obtain the gain efficiency and the propagation loss in these structures. [1] “Ozbay, Ekmel. 2006. “Plasmonics: Merging Photonics and Electronics at Nanoscale Dimensions.” Science 311 (5758): 189–93. doi:10.1126/science.1114849. [2] Nezhad, Maziar P., Kevin Tetz, and Yeshaiahu Fainman. 2004. “Gain Assisted Propagation of Surface Plasmon Polaritons on Planar Metallic Waveguides.” Optics Express 12 (17): 4072. doi:10.1364/OPEX.12.004072. [3] Smith, Cameron L. C., Anil H. Thilsted, Cesar E. Garcia-Ortiz, Ilya P. Radko, Rodolphe Marie, Claus Jeppesen, Christoph Vannahme, Sergey I. Bozhevolnyi, and Anders Kristensen. 2014. “Efficient Excitation of Channel Plasmons in Tailored, UV-Lithography-Defined V-Grooves.” Nano Letters, February. doi:10.1021/nl5002058. [email protected] 53