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Spin–Orbit Controlled Excitation of Quantum Emitters in Hybrid Plasmonic Nanocircuits
Author(s) -
Kan Yinhui,
Kumar Shailesh,
Ding Fei,
Zhao Changying,
Bozhevolnyi Sergey I.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
advanced optical materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.89
H-Index - 91
ISSN - 2195-1071
DOI - 10.1002/adom.202000854
Subject(s) - nanophotonics , plasmon , photonics , optoelectronics , realization (probability) , materials science , quantum dot , spin (aerodynamics) , physics , excitation , excited state , dielectric , atomic physics , quantum mechanics , statistics , mathematics , thermodynamics
On‐chip realization of complex photonic functionalities is essential for further progress in planar integrated nanophotonics, especially when involving nonclassical light sources such as quantum emitters (QEs). Spin–orbit interactions on subwavelength scales are increasingly explored in nanophotonics for realization and utilization of the spin‐dependent flow of light. Here, a dielectric‐loaded plasmonic nanocircuit with an achiral spin–orbit coupler is proposed and realized for unidirectional spin‐controlled routing of pump visible radiation into branched QE‐integrated waveguides. It is experimentally demonstrated that the circular‐polarized 532 nm pump laser light selectively, with a directionality contrast of ≈30, couples into corresponding dielectric‐loaded plasmonic branched waveguides. Two spatially separated (by a distance of ≈10 µm) QEs, nanodiamonds containing multiple nitrogen vacancy centers, embedded into a hybrid plasmonic nanocircuit, can thereby be selectively and remotely excited using an incident pump beam with different circular polarizations. The realization of on‐chip spin–orbit controlled excitation of different QEs coupled to branched waveguides may open new avenues for designing complex plasmonic nanocircuits exploiting the spin degree of freedom within chiral nanophotonics.