Dresden 2011 – scientific programme
Parts | Days | Selection | Search | Updates | Downloads | Help
O: Fachverband Oberflächenphysik
O 60: Poster Session IV (Solid/liquid interfaces; Semiconductors; Oxides and insulators; Graphene; Plasmonics and nanooptics; Electronic Structure; Surface chemical reactions; Heterogeneous catalysis)
O 60.88: Poster
Wednesday, March 16, 2011, 17:30–21:00, P4
Probing subwavelength plasmonic components from the far field — •Jing Wen1,2, Arian Kriesch1,2,3, Daniel Ploss1,2,3, Peter Banzer1,2, and Ulf Peschel1,2 — 1MPI für die Physik des Lichts, Erlangen, Germany — 2Friedrich-Alexander-Universtität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany — 3Erlangen Graduate School in Advanced Optical Technologies (SAOT)
Optical antennas connected to waveguides with subwavelength width enable the investigation of different nanoplasmonic components. An high-NA focal scanning setup exploits the distinctive spectral and polarization selectivity of these antennas. A clever combination of several antennas for receiving and emitting light in mutually orthogonal configurations allows unprecedented signal-to-noise ratio in probing different waveguide configurations. We report the first experimental characterization of an optical antenna connected to a nanoplasmonic gap waveguide. A strongly confined bound mode can not leak to the far field unless it is scattered out at an antenna or a waveguide end. Far-field measurements of the light emitted from those waveguide ends or extra antennas are performed in crossed polarization and enable the detection of extremely weak signals. To allow for highly efficient crossed polarization detection, a 90∘ waveguide bend is used. Our method allows for the probing nano-structures that were previously only accessible by Scanning Near-field Optical Microscopy, and we therefore circumvent the intrinsic disadvantages of near-field microscopy such as high losses and elaborate operation. Instead of intruding the near field directly, we focus the far field to the nanoscale and vice versa.