Open AccessElectrical excitation of waveguided surface plasmons by a light-emitting tunneling optical gap antenna
Author(s) -
Nicolas Cazier,
Mickaël Buret,
Alexander V. Uskov,
Laurent Markey,
Juan Arocas,
Gérard Colas des Francs,
Alexandre Bouhélier
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.24.003873
Subject(s) - surface plasmon , plasmon , optoelectronics , surface plasmon polariton , antenna (radio) , optics , materials science , quantum tunnelling , photonics , physics , telecommunications , computer science
We introduce a new type of electroplasmonic interfacing component to electrically generate surface plasmons. Specifically, an electron-fed optical tunneling gap antenna is integrated on a plasmonic waveguiding platform. When electrical charges are injected in the tunneling barrier of the gap antenna, a broad-band radiation is emitted from the feed area by a process identified as a thermal emission of hot electrons. Part of the emitted photons couples to surface plasmon modes sustained by the waveguide geometry. The transducing optical antenna is thus acting as a localized electrical source of surface plasmon polaritons. The integration of electrically-activated optical antennas into a plasmonic architecture mitigates the need for complex coupling scheme and proposes a solution for realizing nanoscale units at the interface between nano-electronics and photonics.