Plasmon

PLASMONIC WAVEGUIDES
What is Plasmon???
• A plasmon is a density wave in an electron gas.
• Analogous to sound wave.
• Exist in metals, where electrons are weakly
bound and free to move.
• Plasmonics is the study of plasmons and oscillation of
plasmons in solids such as metals,semi-metals,metal
oxides,nitrides,doped semiconductors etc.
• Electrons oscillates at the surface of a metal due to strong
interactions with the electric field of incident light.
• Due to high scattering rate of electrons, ohmic(heating)
losses in plasmonic signals are generally large ,which limits
the signal transfer distances to the cm range.
• Solution-Optimal plasmonic waveguide designs to maximize
ptopagation length of surface plasmons within a plasmonic
circuit.
• Plasmon gain amplification or Hybrid plasmonic waveguide
networks are used to increase the distance of propagation.
Why plamonics???
• Optoelectronics is much faster than regular
electronics(waveguides, optical fibers).
• With long wavelength of light (cm) creates a
problem for applying in nm domain.
• Solution – converting light to plasmons (small
wavelengths than light).
Converting light into plasmons
• To combine optoelectronics with plasmonics one has to
convert light (photons) into plasmons. This is not as
simple as it sounds.
• Bulk plasmons are longitudinal oscillations (parallel to the

propagation direction), while photons are transverse
(perpendicular to the propagation). They don’t match.
• Surface plasmons are transverse, but they are

mismatched to photons in their momentum. The two E(k)
curves only coincide at k=0. It is possible to provide
the necessary momentum ħk by a grating, which
transfers the Δk = 2π/d (d = line spacing) . Thereby one
can control the wavelength of surface plasmons
The surface plasmon band joins the photon band
at very small k and ω.
Photon
Bulk Plasmon
Surface Plasmon
Static: 0
0
The Plasmon Resonance
• The electron gas has a resonance right
at the plasma frequency ωp . This
resonance frequency increases with the
electron density n , since the electric
restoring force is proportional to the
displaced charge (analogous to the force
constant f of a spring): ωp ∝ √n
Surface plasmon polariton
• Polariton=photon + phonon
• Explains charge motion in metals(surface
plasmon=phonon) and electromagnetic waves in
the air or dielctric (photon)
• Spps are shorter in wavelength than incident light
(photons)
• An spp will propagate along the interface until its
energy is lost either due to absorption in the
metal or scattering into other directions(free
space)
• Optical systems with metallic waveguides can allow
miniaturizing optical components through excitation of
surface plasmon polaritons.
• Due to losses in metal, an excited plasmon can
propagate for only a very short distance.
• Introducing a heterostructure such as a three-layer
system helps to increase the propagation distance due
to the coupling of plasmons at the neighboring
interfaces and the field localization in dielectric rather
than metal.
• Dielectric-metal-dielectric and metal-dielectric-metal
structures
• Surface plasmon-polaritons (SPPs) are
electromagnetic modes occurring due to
coupling of incident radiation and collective
electron oscillations at the interface of a
medium with negative permittivity such as a
metal and a dielectric.
• These modes are bound to the interface
between the metal and the dielectric.
• SPP propagate along this interface.
• SPPs can be excited by an optical input so that
the light can be converted to plasmons of
much shorter wavelengths, which can then be
used to transmit data over a short distance.
• Above plasma frequency metal loses
reflectivity.
• The corresponding photon energy is the
plasmon energy
Advantage of SPP over conventional
dielectric waveguide.
• Ease of fabrication.
• Ability to carry optical and electrical signals.
• SPPs are of TM type, light guided within the
dielectric region will suffer attenuation only in
its TM mode, while the TE mode remains
essentially unaffected- for polarisation
sensitive coherent systems.
Plasmonic materials
• Silver, n = 0.15016
• Gold, n= 0.27049
Application in Nanophotonics
• Suface plasmons-
• Electrons and photons can coexist as a single entity !!
• An elementary excitation found at the interface between a conductor and

an insulator.
• Hybrid electric and photonic nature, plasmons allow photons to be
precisely controlled on the nanoscale.
• The electrons oscillate with an amplitude and phase reminiscent of light

waves, but are bound to a conducting surface.
© 2012 Materials Research Society-VOLUME 37-AUGUST 2012-www.mrs.org/bulletin

Modes of propagation
▪ Single conducting interface,

▪ Also propagate within narrow dielectric channels.
▪ (For example, a shallow groove in a metallic film
supports “channel” plasmon polariton modes that
propagate along the dielectric region with minimal
decay into the surrounding metal ).
▪ Similarly, metal-insulator-metal or
semiconducting-insulator- metal multilayers can
support “gap”or “hybrid” plasmon polariton modes.
Waveguiding with one interface
Channel plasmon subwavelength
components
Plasmonic gap waveguides
Major applications..
• Integrated plasmonic circuits for nanophotonic

computation.
• nanoscale optical modulators,
• high-efficiency solar cells,
• photocatalysts,
• They also provide the basis for color-changing
biosensors (such as home pregnancy tests),
photothermal cancer treatments, improved
photovoltaic cell efficiencies, and nanoscale lasers.
•nanoscale lasers,
•and electromagnetic meta-materials
•for invisibility and sub-diffraction-
•limited optical microscopy.
Plasmon nanoparticles serve as efficient
receiving and transmitting “nanoantennas”
for optical signals.
• Conducting nanoparticle with dimensions
much smaller than the wavelength of light
exhibits a purely localized plasmon
resonance, similar to an electric dipole.
• Its scattering spectrum depends sensitively on
the particle size, shape, charge, and the
surrounding dielectric media.
• The strong local resonances - utilized in
biological and catalytic sensing, as well as in
‘spasing’
“Spasing”—Surface Plasmon
Amplification by Stimulated emission
of radiation.
Colour depends on particle size
Broadband high efficiency plasmonic
silicon waveguide coupler
Coupling of plasmonic and photonic nanowires
for hybrid nano photonic circuits
Extraordinary optical transmission through
sub-wavelength hole arrays

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PLASMONIC WAVEGUIDES

• Bulk plasmons are longitudinal oscillations (parallel to the

• Surface plasmons are transverse, but they are

• An elementary excitation found at the interface between a conductor and

• The electrons oscillate with an amplitude and phase reminiscent of light

© 2012 Materials Research Society-VOLUME 37-AUGUST 2012-www.mrs.org/bulletin

▪ Single conducting interface,

• Integrated plasmonic circuits for nanophotonic

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