Surface Plasmon Polariton Beams with Flat Top Profiles

ORAL

Abstract

Flat top beams, which are characterized by their uniform intensity and square profile shape, are well known in the context of paraxial optical beams, but remain unexplored in the field of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs). SPPs, which have emerged as ideal platforms for the manipulation of light below the diffraction limit, are collective oscillations of the conduction electrons in a metallic material, coupled to electromagnetic waves. These excitations are able to propagate for hundreds of wavelengths while confined to a small volume around the interface between the metal and its surrounding dielectric environment. Here, we introduce and characterize, for the first time, SPP beams with flat top profiles. This is accomplished by using a set of SPP Hermite Gauss modes forming a complete basis for the solutions of Maxwell’s equations for a metal-dielectric interface in the paraxial approximation. We provide a comprehensive analysis of the evolution of the shape and intensity of these flat top beams over propagation distances of hundreds of wavelengths. The introduction of flat top beams brings a new element to the SPP toolbox that can enable unique coupling and excitation scenarios not possible with conventional SPP profiles.

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Authors

  • Lauren Zundel

    The University of New Mexico

  • Colin Roberts

    High Precision Devices, Boulder, CO, Raytheon, Tucson, AZ, Seagate Technology, Minneapolis, MN, Ball Aerospace (retired), Bloomfield, CO, New Mexico State University, Brigham Young University, Colorado State University, Heinrich-Heine-Universitat Dusseldorf, National Security Technologies, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Colorado State Univ, Colorado College, Utah State University, Advisor, Material Physics Group, Utah State University, Box Elder Innovations, LLC, JILA and Department of Physics, CU Boulder, JILA and Department of Mathematics, CU Boulder, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, USA, JILA, NIST and the University of Colorado, Boulder, NIST, University of Colorado / NIST, University of Colorado/JILA, Colorado Sch of Mines, Colorado School of Mines, Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute, UC-Berkeley, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wroclaw, Poland, JILA, University of Colorado and NIST, Harvard University and Harvard-MIT Center for Ultracold Atoms, Univ of Colorado - Boulder, USAFA, Univ of Denver, Boyce Research Initiatives and Educational Foundation, Brilliant Sky Observatory, San Diego Mesa College, Utah Valley University, University of Colorado Boulder, Brigham Young Univ - Provo, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, University of Sherbrooke, NIST Boulder, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Co 80525, Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (United States), Physics Department, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Co 80525, JILA, Department of Physics, University of Colorado Boulder, Los Alamos National Laboratory, University of Alabama, University of Wyoming, University of Guelph, University of Guelph, Canadian Light source

  • Alejandro Manjavacas

    The University of New Mexico