Berlin 2012 – scientific programme

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O: Fachverband Oberflächenphysik

O 85: Plasmonics and nanooptics V

O 85.2: Talk

Friday, March 30, 2012, 10:45–11:00, MA 005

Local Enhancement of Optical Chirality in Planar and 3D Plasmonic Nanostructures — •Martin Schäferling, Mario Hentschel, Daniel Dregely, and Harald Giessen — 4th Physics Institute, Research Center SCoPE and Research Center SimTech, University of Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 57, 70550 Stuttgart, Germany

Chirality -- the absence of mirror symmetry -- is an integral component of our world. The chirality of electromagnetic fields can be quantified by the so-called optical chirality [1]. Fields with high optical chirality can be utilized to enhance the sensitivity of enantiomer sensors [2]. Such fields can be generated by plasmonic nanostructures.

We numerically calculate and visualize the enhancement of optical chirality in the near-field of different planar and three-dimensional nanostructures. For practical applications not only the absolute values of the enhancement but also the shapes of the regions with enhanced optical chirality are important. Therefore, we present three-dimensional maps of the enhancement which allows a straightforward comparison of the different structures.

We show that planar structures can provide easy access to these chiral fields. As also the fabrication process is simple compared to three-dimensional structures, they are very well-suited for applications such as enantiomer sensing. Three-dimensional structures, on the other hand, allow higher enhancement of optical chirality.

[1] Y. Tang and A.E. Cohen, Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 163901 (2010).

[2] E. Hendry et al., Nat. Nanotechnol. 5, 783 (2010).