Theory of plasmon reflection by a 1D junction

TL;DR

This paper provides a detailed theoretical analysis of how plasmon waves reflect from a 1D junction in a 2D conductive sheet, revealing conditions for near-perfect reflection useful for infrared plasmonic devices.

Contribution

It offers rigorous analytical results on plasmon reflection phenomena, highlighting the roles of cavity resonances and capacitive coupling in different junction regimes.

Findings

Capacitive coupling causes near-perfect reflection in narrow junctions.

Resonances lead to alternating strong and weak reflections.

Results are applicable to infrared 2D plasmonic circuits and terahertz detectors.

Abstract

We present a comprehensive study of the reflection of normally incident plasmon waves from a low-conductivity 1D junction in a 2D conductive sheet. Rigorous analytical results are derived in the limits of wide and narrow junctions. Two types of phenomena determine the reflectance, the cavity resonances within the junction and the capacitive coupling between the leads. The resonances give rise to alternating strong and weak reflection but are vulnerable to plasmonic damping. The capacitive coupling, which is immune to damping, induces a near perfect plasmon reflection in junctions narrower than $1/10$ of the plasmon wavelength. Our results are important for infrared 2D plasmonic circuits utilizing slot antennas, split gates or nanowire gates. They are also relevant for the implementation of nanoscale terahertz detectors, where optimal light absorption coincides with the maximal junction reflectance.