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Review Article
Use of a near-field optical probe to locally launch surface plasmon polaritons on plasmonic waveguides: A study by the finite difference time domain method
Article first published online: 17 NOV 2004
DOI: 10.1002/jemt.20103
Copyright © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Issue
Microscopy Research and Technique
Special Issue: Nanomaterials Characterization Using Microscopy—Part I
Volume 64, Issue 5-6, pages 453–458, August 2004
Additional Information
How to Cite
Hwang, B.S., Kwon, M.H. and Kim, J. (2004), Use of a near-field optical probe to locally launch surface plasmon polaritons on plasmonic waveguides: A study by the finite difference time domain method. Microsc. Res. Tech., 64: 453–458. doi: 10.1002/jemt.20103
Publication History
- Issue published online: 17 NOV 2004
- Article first published online: 17 NOV 2004
- Manuscript Accepted: 29 MAY 2004
- Manuscript Received: 22 NOV 2003
- Abstract
- References
- Cited By
Keywords:
- FDTD;
- SNOM;
- local excitation;
- propagation length;
- energy transportation;
- diffraction limit
Abstract
We used the finite difference time domain (FDTD) method to study the use of scanning near field optical microscopy (SNOM) to locally excite the nanometric plasmonic waveguides. In our calculation, the light is funneled through a SNOM probe with a sub-wavelength optical aperture and is irradiated on one end of two types of plasmonic waveguides made of 50 nm Au sphere arrays and Au nanowires. The incident light was well localized at one end of the waveguides and consequently propagated toward the other end, due to the excitation of surface plasmon polaritons. We found that the propagation length of the nanosphere array type waveguide varies from 100 to 130 nm depending on the light wavelength, the size of the probe aperture, and the launching heights. Our result shows that reducing the aperture size and using the light of the plasmon resonance wavelength of the nanosphere array could increase the propagation length and, thus, the efficiency of electromagnetic energy transportation through nanosphere arrays. Microsc. Res. Tech. 64:453–458, 2004. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.