Plasmonic mode converter for controlling optical impedance and nanoscale light-matter interaction

TL;DR

This paper introduces a plasmonic mode converter that manipulates guided optical modes on a two-wire transmission line, enabling improved control over light-matter interactions at the nanoscale for various applications.

Contribution

It presents a novel, efficient mode converter design that uses structural and environmental variations to control plasmonic modes, enhancing nanoscale light-matter interaction.

Findings

Achieved control over nanoantenna radiation patterns.

Demonstrated potential for enhanced nanoscale spectroscopy.

Showed feasibility of manipulating guided modes via structural modifications.

Abstract

To enable multiple functions of plasmonic nanocircuits, it is of key importance to control the propagation properties and the modal distribution of the guided optical modes such that their impedance matches to that of nearby quantum systems and desired light-matter interaction can be achieved. Here, we present efficient mode converters for manipulating guided modes on a plasmonic two-wire transmission line. The mode conversion is achieved through varying the path length, wire cross section and the surrounding index of refraction. Instead of pure optical interference, strong near-field coupling of surface plasmons results in great momentum splitting and modal profile variation. We theoretically demonstrate control over nanoantenna radiation and discuss the possibility to enhance nanoscale light-matter interaction. The proposed converter may find applications in surface plasmon amplification, index sensing and enhanced nanoscale spectroscopy.