Arbitrary bending plasmonic light waves

Plasmonic light waves along arbitrary curves

The ability to control and guide plasmonic light waves could present significant opportunities in photonics and electronics applications for nanoscale-on-chip technologies and subwavelength optical devices.  Different kinds of plasmonic beams have been observed including those that preserve their spatial shape with propagation (“nonspreading”) and those that propagate along curved trajectories (“self-accelerating”).  By conducting numerical simulations and direct experiments with NSOM using a Nanonics Multiview 2000 system, authors Itai Epstein and Ady Arie generate surface plasmon beams that propagate along arbitrary curved trajectories.  These beams have important applications such as enabling trapping/guiding of microparticles or bypassing a curve of concentrated light.

 

 

 

Published:  Physical Review Letters, 112, 023902 (2014)