y coating a cover layer with metallization of cut wire array, the transmission of transverse electric waves (TE; the electric field is parallel to the slits) through subwavelength slits in a thin metallic film is significantly enhanced. An 800-fold enhanced transmission is obtained compared to the case without the cut wires. It is demonstrated that a TE incident wave is highly confined by the cut wires due to the excitation of the electric dipole-like resonance, and then effectively squeezed into and through the subwavelength slits.
We analytically describe light transmission through a single subwavelength slit in a thin perfect electric conductor screen for the incident polarization being perpendicular to the slit, and derive simple, yet accurate, expressions for the average electric field in the slit and the transmission efficiency. The analytic results are consistent with full-wave numerical calculations, and demonstrate that slits of widths ~100nm in real metals may feature non-resonant (i.e., broadband) field enhancements of ~100 and transmission efficiency of ~10 at infrared or terahertz frequencies, with the associ…
We analyze, by means of numerical simulations, transmission enhancements through sub- wavelength slits due to the presence of sets of plasmonic nanocylinders, placed near the exit of these apertures. Further, we extend this study to photonic crystals of dipolar plasmonic particles in front of an array of extraordinarily transmitting slits practiced in a metallic slab.
The existence of resonant enhanced transmission and collimation of light waves by subwavelength slits in metal films [for example, see T.W. Ebbesen et al., Nature (London) 391, 667 (1998) and H.J. Lezec et al., Science, 297, 820 (2002)] leads to the basic question: Can a light pulse be enhanced and simultaneously localized in space and time by a subwavelength slit? To address this question, the spatial distribution of the energy flux of an ultrashort (femtosecond) wave-packet diffracted by a subwavelength (nanometer-size) slit was analyzed by using the conventional approach based on the Neerho…
Measurement of the transmitted intensity from a coherent monomode light source through a series of subwavelength slit arrays in Ag films, with varying array pitch and number of slits, demonstrate enhancement (suppression) by as much as a factor of 6 (9) when normalized to that of an isolated slit. Pronounced minima in the transmitted intensity were observed at array pitches corresponding to lambda_SPP, 2lambda_SPP, and 3lambda_SPP where lambda_SPP is the wavelength of the surface plasmon polariton (SPP). Increasing the number of slits to more than four does not increase appreciably the per-sli…
The existence of resonant enhanced transmission and collimation of light waves by subwavelength slits in metal films [for example, see T.W. Ebbesen et al., Nature (London) 391, 667 (1998) and H.J. Lezec et al., Science, 297, 820 (2002)] leads to the basic question: Can a light be enhanced and simultaneously localized in space and time by a subwavelength slit? To address this question, the spatial distribution of the energy flux of an ultrashort (femtosecond) wave-packet diffracted by a subwavelength (nanometer-size) slit was analyzed by using the conventional approach based on the Neerhoff and…
We present an analytical model of the resonantly enhanced transmission of light through a subwavelength nm-size slit in a thick metal film. The simple formulae for the transmitted electromagnetic fields and the transmission coefficient are derived by using the narrow-slit approximation and the Green's function formalism for the solution of Maxwell's equations. The resonance wavelengths are in agreement with the semi-analytical model [Y. Takakura, Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 5601 (2001)], which solves the wave equations by using the Rayleigh field expansion. Our formulae, however, show great resonant …
The backward scattering of TM-polarized light by a two-side-open subwavelength slit in a metal film is analyzed. We show that the reflection coefficient versus wavelength possesses a Fabry-Perot-like dependence that is similar to the anomalous behavior of transmission reported in the study [Y. Takakura, Phys. Rev. Lett. \textbf{86}, 5601 (2001)]. The open slit totally reflects the light at the near-to-resonance wavelengths. In addition, we show that the interference of incident and resonantly backward-scattered light produces in the near-field diffraction zone a spatially localized wave whose …
In this Letter, we study the transmission response of microwaves through two identical metallic plates machined with ultranarrow slit arrays. The measured and calculated transmission spectra consistently display a striking transmission peak at wavelength much larger than any characteristic length of the structure (e.g., about twenty-fold of the lattice period), which can not be directly explained by the existing mechanisms. Both the LC-circuit-based microscopic picture and the effective-medium-based macroscopic model are established to capture the essential physics behind such unexpected reson…
We discuss optical forces exerted on particles, either dielectric or metallic, near a subwavelength slit illuminated by a photonic nanojet. We compare those cases in which the Mie resonances are or are not excited. The configurations on study are 2D, hence those particles are infinite cylinders and, in order to obtain extraordinary transmission, the illuminating beam is p-polarized. We show the different effects of these particle resonances on the optical forces: while whispering gallery modes under those illumination conditions weaken the force strength, this latter is enhanced by localized p…
We apply the technique of far-field interferometry to measure the properties of surface waves generated by two-dimensional (2D) single subwavelength slit-groove structures on gold films. The effective surface index of refraction measured for the surface wave propagating over a distance of more than 12 microns is determined to be 1.016 with a measurement uncertainty of 0.004, to within experimental uncertainty of the expected bound surface plasmon-polariton (SPP) value for a Au/Air interface of 1.018. We compare these measurements to finite-difference-time-domain (FDTD) numerical simulations of…
We study, and illustrate with numerical calculations, transmission enhancement by subwavelength 2D slits due to the dominant role played by the excitation of the eigenmodes of plasmonic cylinders when they are placed at the aperture entrance; and also due to reinforced and highly localized energy in the slit as a consequence of the formation of a nanojet. We show that, providing the illumination is chosen such that an aperture transmitting eigenmode is generated, the phenomenon is independent of whether or not the slit alone produces extraordinary transmission; although in the former case this…
In this paper, the scattering/transmission inside a step-modulated subwavelength metal slit is investigated in detail. We firstly investigate the scattering in a junction structure by two types of structural changes. The variation of transmission and reflection coefficients depending on structural parameters are analyzed. Then a multi-mode multi-reflection model based on ray theory is proposed to illustrate the transmission in the step-modulated slit explicitly. The key parts of this model are the multi-mode excitation and the superposition procedure of the scatterings from all possible modes,…
We theoretically investigate the transmission of electromagnetic radiation through a metal plate with a zero-$ε$ metamaterial slit, where the permittivity tends towards zero over a given bandwidth. Our analytic results demonstrate that the transmission coefficient can be substantial for a broad range of slit geometries, including subwavelength widths that are many wavelengths long. This novel resonant effect has features quite unlike the Fabry-Pérot-like resonances that have been observed in conductors with deep channels. We further reveal that these high impedance ultranarrow zero-$ε$ channel…
Phase resonances in transmission compound structures with subwavelength slits produce sharp dips in the transmission response. For all equal slits, the wavelengths of these sharp transmission minima can be varied by changing the width or the length of all the slits. In this paper we show that the width of the dip, i.e., the frequency range of minimum transmittance, can be controlled by making at least one slit different from the rest within a compound unit cell. In particular, we investigate the effect that a change in the dielectric filling, or in the length of a single slit produces in the t…
We obtain in TM polarization an analytical expression of the scattering matrix of one infinitely conducting metallic lamellar grating with subwavelength slits. The theory is based on the Monomode Modal Method which consists in considering only one propagative mode in grating slits. Two expressions are exposed. The first one comes directly from the theory equations and the second one clearly reveals the Airy-like form of the scattering matrix terms. The theory is validated on a multi-grating object and the stability of the numerical results are shown at the same time. This work provides a basic…
For a narrow slit structure backed by a conducting strip which is taken as a representative example of an aperture-body resonance (ABR) problem, the transmission resonance condition (i.e., condition for maximum power transmission) and the transmission width (i.e., normalized maximum transmitted power through the slit) are found to be the same as those for narrow slit coupling problem in a thick conducting screen, which is designated as a transmission-cavity resonance (TCR) problem. From a viewpoint of equivalent circuit representation for the transmission resonance condition and the funneling …
We present a concrete picture of spoof surface plasmons (SSPs) combined with cavity resonance to clarify the basic mechanism underlying extraordinary light transmission through metal films with subwavelength slits or holes. This picture may indicate a general mechanism of metallic nanostructure optics: When light is incident on a non-planar conducting surface, the free electrons cannot move homogeneously in response to the incident electric field, i.e., their movement can be impeded at the rough parts, forming inhomogeneous charge distributions. The oscillating charges/dipoles then emit photon…
In the framework of the hydrodynamic model describing the response of electrons in a metal, we show that arrays of very narrow and shallow metallic slits have an optical response that is influenced by the spatial dispersion in metals arising from the repulsive interaction between electrons. As a simple Fabry-Perot model is not accurate enough to describe the structure's behavior, we propose to consider the slits as generalized cavities with two modes, one being propagative and the other evanescent. This very general model allows to conclude that the impact of spatial dispersion on the propagat…
This is a comment on "Guiding, Focusing, and Sensing on the Subwavelength Scale Using Metallic Wire Arrays" by G. Shvets, S. Trendafilov, J. B. Pendry and A. Sarychev published in Phys. Rev. Lett. 99, 053903 (2007), which demonstrates that the endoscope proposed in the letter does not demonstrate satisfactory subwavelength imaging performance.
We present an intuitive analytical model for extraordinary optical transmission (EOT) through corrugated metallic films. In the framework of this model, EOT emerges from standing wave resonances of the different diffraction orders, and is an inherent property of periodic structures, which does not require specific polarization dependent properties such as surface plasmons. The model correctly predicts the conditions for the EOT resonances in various geometrical configurations, in both TE and TM polarizations,and in the subwavelength and non-subwavelength spectral regimes, using the same underl…
We analyze nonlinear effects in optically driven arrays of nonlinear metallic nanoparticles. We demonstrate that such plasmonic systems are characterized by a bistable response, and they can support the propagation of dissipative switching waves (or plasmonic kinks) connecting the states with different polarization. We study numerically the properties of such plasmonic kinks which are characterized by a subwavelength extent and a tunable velocity.
Transmission spectra of metallic films or membranes perforated by arrays of subwavelength slits or holes have been widely interpreted as resonance absorption by surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs). Alternative interpretations involving evanescent waves diffracted on the surface have also been proposed. These two approaches lead to divergent predictions for some surface wave properties. Using far-field interferometry, we have carried out a series of measurements on elementary one-dimensional (1-D) subwavelength structures with the aim of testing key properties of the surface waves and comparing t…
Using a holographic approach, we experimentally study the near-field intensity distribution of light squeezed through an isolated subwavelength plasmonic hole in a thin metallic film. Our experiments revealed an in-plane electric dipole moment excited near the isolated hole. By analyzing the fringe patterns formed between the in-plane dipole and plane wave illumination, both the transmission coefficient and phase shift of the dipole can be retrieved. We also observed opposite phases of the excited dipoles from the subwavelength dent and protrusion in the metallic film, in good agreement with t…
We show that a metallic plate with fractal-shaped slits can be homogenitized as a plasmonic metamaterial with plasmon frequency dictated by the fractal geometry. Owing to the all-dimensional subwavelength nature of the fractal pattern, our system supports both transverse-electric and transverse-magnetic surface plasmons. As a result, this structure can be employed to focus light sources with all-dimensional subwavelength resolutions and enhanced field strengths. Microwave experiments reveal that the best achievable resolution is only, and simulations demonstrate that similar effects can be rea…
This paper proposes a novel, rigorous and simple Fourier-transformation approach to study resonances in a perfectly conducting slab with finite number of subwavelength slits of width $h\ll 1$. Since regions outside the slits are variable separated, by Fourier transforming the governing equation, we could express field in the outer regions in terms of field derivatives on the aperture. Next, in each slit where variable separation is still available, wave field could be expressed as a Fourier series in terms of a countable basis functions with unknown Fourier coefficients. Finally, by matching f…
We theoretically investigate second harmonic generation that originates from the nonlinear, magnetic Lorentz force term from single and multiple apertures carved on thick, opaque metal substrates. The linear transmission properties of apertures on metal substrates have been previously studied in the context of the extraordinary transmission of light. The transmission process is driven by a number of physical mechanisms, whose characteristics and relative importance depend on the thickness of the metallic substrate, slit size, and slit separation. In this work we show that a combination of cavi…
Extraordinary transmission through subwavelength metallic apertures has been extensively studied and demonstrated. At resonance, the coupling between surface plasmons on both surfaces of the metallic film tunnels the photon from the one side to the other through the subwavelength aperture with small transmission efficiency based on the metals dielectric parameters and aperture geometrical dimensions. Here, we report a completely different form of extraordinary transmission, where the two subwavelength complementary apertures when coupled with an optical cavity induce about 100% extraordinary t…
We show a large enhancement of two-photon absorption processes in nanocrystal quantum dots and of light upconversion efficiency from the IR to the near-IR spectral regime, using a hybrid optical device in which near-IR emitting InAs quantum dots were embedded on top a metallic nanoslit array. The resonant enhancement of these nonlinear optical processes is due to the strong local electromagnetic field enhancements inside the nanoslit array structure at the extraordinary transmission resonances. A maximal two-photon absorption enhancement of more than 20 was inferred. Different high field regio…
One-dimensional light harvesting structures illuminated by a conventional lens are studied in this paper. Our theoretical study shows that high transmission efficiencies are obtained when the structure is placed near the focal plane of the lens. The considered structure is a finite slit-groove array (SGA) with a given number of grooves that are symmetrically distributed with respect to a central slit. The SGA is nano-patterned on an opaque metallic film. It is found that a total transmittance of 80% is achieved even for a single slit when (i) Fabry-Perot like modes are excited inside the slit …
The extraordinary transmission of light through a nano slit in a metal film is enhanced by introducing a nano cavity antenna formed by a nearby metallic nano-strip over the slit opening. For a fixed wavelength, the width of the metallic nano-strip should be chosen to make the horizontal metal-insulator-metal waveguide of finite length resonant as a Fabry-Perot cavity. When such a cavity antenna is used to enhance the transmission through a non-resonant nano slit, the slit should be opened at a position with maximal magnetic field in the horizontal resonant cavity. It is shown that an optimized…
One dimensional rectangular metallic gratings enable enhanced transmission of light for specific resonance frequencies. Two kinds of modes participating to enhanced transmission have already been demonstrated : (i) waveguide modes and (ii) surface plasmon polaritons (SPP). Since the original paper of Hessel and Oliner \cite{hessel} pointing out the existence of (i), no progress was made in their understanding. We present here a carefull analysis, and show that the coupling between the light and such resonances can be tremendously improved using an {\it evanescent} wave. This leads to enhanced …
Metallic structures with periodic array of slits are well-known to lead to extraordinary power transmission, when slits have dimensions much less than the wavelength of incident optical wave. Excellent power transmission originates from surface waves excited by incident transverse magnetic wave. Here we show that metallic structure with array of stepped-slits can transmit power of incident wave into the substrate at desired optical frequency entirely and simultaneously in terahertz frequency band by 70%, for In0.53Ga0.47As substrate. Transmitted power of the proposed structure is studied both …
Using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to analyse the physical-chemical surface properties of subwavlength structured silver films and finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) numerical simulations of the optical response of these structures to plane-wave excitation, we report on the origin and nature of the persistent surface waves generated by a single slit-groove motif and recently measured by far-field optical interferometry. The surface analysis shows that the silver films are free of detectable oxide or sulfide contaminants, and the numerical simulations show very good agreement with t…
Horizontal resonances of slit arrays are studied. They can lead to an enhanced transmission that cannot be explained using the single-mode approximation. A new type of cavity resonance is found when the slits are narrow for a wavelength very close to the period. It can be excited for very low thicknesses. Optimization shows these structures could constitute interesting monochromatic filters.
Plasmonic nanostructures, which are used to generate surface plasmon polaritions (SPPs), always involve sharp corners where the charges can accumulate. This can result in strong localized electromagnetic fields at the metallic corners, forming hot spots. The influence of the hot spots on the propagating SPPs are investigated theoretically and experimentally in a metallic slit structure. It is found that the electromagnetic fields radiated from the hot spots, termed as the hot spot cylindrical wave (HSCW), can greatly manipulate the SPP launching in the slit structure. The physical mechanism be…
In the last decade, metamaterials-based superlenses, with a resolution below Abbe's diffraction limit, have emerged. To obtain a rough estimate of the resolution of such superlenses, imaging of two subwavelength slits, separated by a subwavelength gap \textit{d} is typically performed. The resolution $Δ$ of the lens corresponds to the minimum possible gap $d_{min}$ for which a distinct image of the two slits can be resolved ($Δ\sim d_{min}$). In this letter, we present a more quantitative estimate of the resolution of manufactured lenses by fitting analytical near-field image profiles, obtaine…
The giant transmission of light through a metallic nano-slit surrounded by periodic grooves on the input surface is revisited theoretically. It is shown that the influence to the transmission comes from three parts: the groove-generated surface plasmon wave (SPW), the nano-slit-generated SPW and the incident wave. The groove-generated SPW is the main factor determining the local field distribution around the nano-slit opening, which is directly related to the transmission through the nano-slit. The nano-slit-generated SPW can be considered as a disturbance to the light distribution on the inpu…
Recent numerical studies have demonstrated the possibility of achieving substantial enhancements in the transmission of transverse-electric-polarized electromagnetic fields through subwavelength slits in a thin metallic screen by placing single or paired metallic cut-wire arrays at a close distance from the screen. In this Letter, we report on the first experimental evidence of such extraordinary transmission phenomena, via microwave (X/Ku-band) measurements on printed-circuit-board prototypes. Experimental results agree very well with full-wave numerical predictions, and indicate an intrinsic…
We predict theoretically that stable subwavelength plasmonic lattice solitons (PLSs) are formed in arrays of metallic nanowires embedded in a nonlinear medium. The tight confinement of the guiding modes of the metallic nanowires, combined with the strong nonlinearity induced by the enhanced field at the metal surface, provide the main physical mechanisms for balancing the wave diffraction and the formation of PLSs. As the conditions required for the formation of PLSs are satisfied in a variety of plasmonic systems, we expect these nonlinear modes to have important applications to subwavelength…
The electromagnetic properties of subwavelength metallic surfaces are due to two kinds of elementary distinct waves, the famous surface plasmon polariton and the quasi-cylindrical wave, which are both scattered by the subwavelength indentations as they propagate on the metal. The ab-initio microscopic description of the electromagnetic properties starting from the sole knowledge of the elementary waves launched in between the indentation has a long history in grating theories. We review the evolution of the ideas and the fundamental principles that govern these waves and their impacts. For the…
Proposed all optical amplification scenario is based on the properties of light propagation in two coupled subwavelength metallic slab waveguides where for particular choice of waveguide parameters two propagating (symmetric) and non-propagating (antisymmetric) eigenmodes coexist. For such a setup incident beams realize boundary conditions for forming a stationary state as a superposition of mentioned eigenmodes. It is shown both analytically and numerically that amplification rate in this completely linear mechanism diverges for small signal values.
A perfect metal film with a periodic arrangement of cut-through slits, an anisotropic metallic metamaterial film, mimics a dielectric slab and supports guided electromagnetic waves in the direction perpendicular to the slits. Here, we introduce metallic metasurface superlattices that include multiple slits in a period, and demonstrate that the superlattices support the Fano resonances and bound states in the continuum. The number of Fano resonances and bound states depend on the number of slits in a period of superlattices. The metallic metasurface superlattices provide new mechanisms to manip…
It has recently been shown that the transmission of electromagnetic fields through sub-wavelength slits (parallel to the electric field direction) in a thin metallic screen can be greatly enhanced by covering one side of the screen with a metallic cut-wire array laid on a dielectric layer. In this Letter, we show that a richer phenomenology (which involves both electric- and magnetic-type resonances) can be attained by pairing a second cut-wire array at the other side of the screen. Via a full-wave comprehensive parametric study, we illustrate the underlying mechanisms and explore the addition…
Here, we experimentally demonstrate that a stack of metallic spiral structures (MSSs) can have dominant magnetic coupling in both of its two configurations. This allows magnetic-coupling-dominant energy transport along a one-dimensional stack of MSSs at a deep-subwavlength scale, as demonstrated with near-field transmission measurement.
A nanostructured chalcogenide-metal optical fiber is proposed. This hybrid nanofiber is embedded with a periodic array of triangular-shaped deep-subwavelength metallic nanowires set up in a bowtie configuration. Our simulations show that the proposed nanostructured fiber supports a guided collective plasmonic mode enabling both subwavelength field confinement and extreme nonlinear light- matter interactions, much larger than a bare chalcogenide nanowire of comparable diameter. This is all achieved with less than 3% by volume of metal content.
We show that a physical mechanism responsible for the enhanced transmission and reflection of femtosecond pulses by a single subwavelength nanoslit in a thick metallic film is the Fabry-Perot-like resonant excitation of stationary, quasistationary and nonstationary waves inside the slit, which leads to the field enhancement inside and around the slit. The mechanism is universal for any pulse-scatter system, which supports the stationary resonances. We point out that there is a pulse duration limit below which the slit does not support the intraslit resonance.
We propose a surface plasmon-polariton based nano-rod array lens structure that incorporates two additional lateral input channels, with the ability to control the focal length and the deflection of the transmitted beam through the lens actively by the intensity of the channel sources. We demonstrate by numerical simulations that, applying the sources with the same intensity can change the focal point and the beam waist, whereas unequal intensities generate an asymmetric field profile in the nano-rod array inducing an off-axis beam deflection.
For several years, periodical arrays of subwavelength cylindrical holes in thin metallic layers have taken a crucial importance in the context of the results reported by Ebbesen et al, on particularly attractive optical transmission experiments. It had been underlined that the zeroth order transmission pattern does not depend on the polarization of the incident light at normal incidence. In the present paper, we show that it is not the case for rectangular holes, by contrast to the case of circular holes. In this context, we suggest a new kind of polarizer that present the advantages brought b…
We demonstrate that plasmonic helical gratings consisting of metallic nanowires imprinted with helical grooves or ridges can be used efficiently to generate plasmonic vortices with radius much smaller than the operating wavelength. In our proposed approach, these helical surface gratings are designed so that plasmon modes with different azimuthal quantum numbers (topological charge) are phase-matched, thus allowing one to generate optical plasmonic vortices with arbitrary topological charge. The general principles for designing plasmonic helical gratings that facilitate efficient generation of…
One-dimensional (1D) subwavelength corrugated metal structures has been described to support spoof surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs). Here we demonstrate that a modulated 1D subwavelength corrugated metal structure can convert spoof SPPs to propagating waves. The structure is fed at the center through a slit with a connected waveguide on the input side. The subwavelength corrugated metal structure on the output surface is regarded as metasurface and modulated periodically to realize the leaky-wave radiation at the broadside. The surface impedance of the corrugated metal structure is modulated …
Recents works deal with the optical transmission on arrays of subwavelength holes in a metallic layer deposited on a dielectric substrate. Making the system as realistic as possible, we perform simulations to enlighten the experimental data. This paper proposes an investigation of the optical properties related to the transmission of such devices. Numerical simulations give theoretical results in good agreement with experiment and we observe that the transmission and reflection behaviour correspond to Fano's profile correlated with resonant response of the eigen modes coupled with nonhomogeneo…
We propose a scheme for realizing subwavelength electromagnetic diode by employing cascading nonlinear meta-atoms. One-way response is demonstrated on a microwave transmission line comprising of three metallic ring resonators acting as meta-atoms and a varactor as the nonlinear medium inclusion. Experiments show that our implementation can operate simultaneously as forward diode and backward diode at different frequencies. A transmission contrast of up to 14.7dB was achieved between forward and backward transmission. Subwavelength size of our diode should be useful for miniaturization of integ…
