Routing the emission of a near-surface light source by a magnetic field

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a novel magnetic-field-controlled light routing mechanism near surfaces, enhanced by hybrid plasmonic structures, enabling directional emission of excitons in semiconductor quantum wells.

Contribution

It introduces a new class of transverse emission phenomena controlled by magnetic fields, with enhanced directionality in hybrid plasmonic semiconductor structures.

Findings

Directional emission of excitons can be controlled by magnetic fields.

Hybrid plasmonic structures significantly enhance emission directionality.

The phenomena enable new possibilities for optical routing near surfaces.

Abstract

Magneto-optical phenomena such as the Faraday and Kerr effects play a decisive role for establishing control over polarization and intensity of optical fields propagating through a medium. Intensity effects where the direction of light emission depends on the orientation of the external magnetic field are of particular interest as they can be used for routing the light. We report on a new class of transverse emission phenomena for light sources located in the vicinity of a surface, where directionality is established perpendicularly to the externally applied magnetic field. We demonstrate the routing of emission for excitons in a diluted-magnetic-semiconductor quantum well. The directionality is significantly enhanced in hybrid plasmonic semiconductor structures due to the generation of plasmonic spin fluxes at the metal-semiconductor interface.