Plasmonics: merging photonics and electronics at nanoscale dimensions.
Summary (1 min read)
Plasmonic Chips: Light on a Wire
- What limits the integration of optical and electronic circuits most is their respective sizes.
- Plasmonic waveguides are used to guide the plasmonic signals in these circuits and can be configured by using various geometries (6).
- D ow nloaded from energy more intently to the middle of the guide (Fig. 1A).
- The near-field image (Fig. 2B) shows that the focused SPs propagate along the subwavelength metal guide, where they partially penetrate into the 100-nm-wide bifurcation at the end of the guide, thus overcoming the diffraction limit of conventional optics.
- Unfortunately, the current performance of plasmonic waveguides is insufficient for this kind of application, and there is an urgent need for more work in this area.
Plasmonic Light Sources
- The emerging field of plasmonics is not only limited to the propagation of light in structures with subwavelength dimensions.
- The results indicate that the addition of a nanopatterned dielectric overlayer to the cathode of top-emitting OLEDs should increase light emission from these structures by two orders of magnitude over a similar planar structure.
- Plasmonics can also be used to enhance the performance of lasers (25).
- These results show that plasmon enhancement will be helpful for realizing high-resolution optical near-field VCSEL probes.
- SPs also play a key role in the transmission properties of single apertures and the enhanced transmission through subwavelength hole arrays (26, 27).
Future Directions and Challenges
- The field of plasmonics offers several research opportunities.
- These include plasmonic chips that function as ultra–low-loss optical interconnects, plasmonic circuits and components that can guide light within ultracompact optically functional devices, nanolithography at deep subwavelength scale, superlenses that enable optical imaging with unprecedented resolution, and new light sources with unprecedented performance.
- Some of the challenges that face Fig. 3. Calculated (A) and measured (B) electric field distribution from a subwavelength circular annular aperture with a grating at the resonance frequency.
- (B) The image obtained on photoresist with a silver superlens.
Conclusion
- The research on plasmonics has made major advances in the past few years.
- Science licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science.
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Frequently Asked Questions (17)
Q2. What are the major features of plasmons in V grooves?
The major features of plasmons in V grooves include a combination of strong localization, single-mode operation, the possibility of nearly 100% transmission through sharp bends, and a high tolerance to structural imperfections.
Q3. How long did light transport in nanowires be observed?
By direct imaging of the optical near field with subwavelength-resolution photon scanning tunneling microscopy, light transport was observed along the nanowire over a distance of a few micrometers.
Q4. How many times can optical interconnects carry digital data?
Optical interconnects such as fiber optic cables can carry digital data with a capacity 91000 times that of electronic interconnects.
Q5. What is the effect of a subwavelength circular aperture on the transmission of a ?
By texturing the metallic surface with a subwavelength pattern, the authors can create SPs that are responsible for enhanced transmission observed at microwave and millimeter wave frequencies for 1D and 2D gratings with subwavelength apertures (32, 33).
Q6. What is the effect of a circular aperture on the transmission of microwave signals?
A subwavelength circular aperture with concentric periodic grooves can be used to obtain enhanced microwave transmission near the surface plasmon resonance frequency (34).
Q7. What is the way to limit the propagating far-field light?
The couplers should have high conversion efficiency, along with a transmission length that is longer than the optical wavelength to avoid the direct coupling of the propagating far-field light to the nanophotonic devices inside the plasmonic chip.
Q8. What can be done with the reconstructed evanescent waves?
The reconstructed evanescent waves can then be used to restore an image below the diffraction limit on the other side of the lens.
Q9. What is the way to combine photonics and electronics?
Plasmonic circuits offer the potential to carry optical signals and electric currents through the same thin metal circuitry, thereby creating the ability to combine the superior technical advantages of photonics and electronics on the same chip.
Q10. What is the mechanism for confining much more field in the low-index region rather than?
The new mechanism for confining much more field in the low-index region rather than in the adjacent high-index region is based on the relative dispersive characteristics of different surface plasmon modes that are present in these structures.
Q11. What is the lateral localization of a plasmonic waveguide?
The measured lateral localization of a structure with a 40- wedge angle is È300 nm, which is superior to the nanoparticle-based plasmonic waveguides.
Q12. What is the problem with the micrometer-scale bulky components of photonics?
the micrometer-scale bulky components of photonics have limited the integration of these components into electronic chips, which are now measured in nanometers.
Q13. What is the material for tHz plasmonics?
Doped semiconductors exhibit a behavior at THz frequencies similar to that of metals at optical frequencies, thus they constitute an optimal material for THz plasmonics (37).
Q14. How can light be efficiently coupled between more conventional silicon waveguides?
Light can also be efficiently coupled between more conventional silicon waveguides, where these plasmonwaveguides with compact couplers and surface plasmon optical devices can be constructed by using planar circuit fabrication techniques.
Q15. What is the effect of the QW-SP coupling?
This enhancement of the emission rates and intensities results from the efficient energy transfer from electron-hole pair recombination in the QW to electron vibrations of SPs at the metal-coated surface of the semiconductor heterostructure.
Q16. What is the potential of the QW-SP coupling?
This QW-SP coupling is expected to lead to a new class of super bright and high-speed LEDs that offer realistic alternatives to conventional fluorescent tubes.
Q17. What are the advantages of external optical interconnects?
External optical interconnects that can connect different parts of the electronic chips via air or fiber cables have also been proposed.