ABSTRACT
We have observed laserlike emission of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) decoupled to the glass prism in an attenuated total reflection setup. SPPs were excited by optically pumped molecules in a polymeric film deposited on the top of a silver film. Stimulated emission was characterized by a distinct threshold in the input-output dependence and narrowing of the emission spectrum. The observed stimulated emission and corresponding compensation of the metallic absorption loss by gain enables many applications of metamaterials and nanoplasmonic devices.
ABSTRACT
We have demonstrated that an addition of highly concentrated rhodamine 6G chloride dye to the PMMA film adjacent to a silver film can cause 30% elongation of the propagation length of surface Plasmon polaritons (SPPs). The possibility to elongate the SPP propagation length without optical gain opens a new technological dimension to low-loss nanoplasmonic and metamaterials.
Subject(s)
Optics and Photonics , Polymethyl Methacrylate/chemistry , Surface Plasmon Resonance/methods , Chlorides/chemistry , Coloring Agents/pharmacology , Electrochemistry/methods , Equipment Design , Materials Testing , Metals , Nanotechnology/methods , Oscillometry , Photons , Rhodamines/chemistryABSTRACT
We report the suppression of loss of surface plasmon polariton propagating at the interface between silver film and optically pumped polymer with dye. The large magnitude of the effect enables a variety of applications of 'active' nanoplasmonics. The experimental study is accompanied by the analytical description of the phenomenon. In particular, we resolve the controversy regarding the direction of the wavevector of a wave with a strong evanescent component in an active medium.
Subject(s)
Algorithms , Artifacts , Metals/chemistry , Surface Plasmon Resonance/methods , Electric Conductivity , Reproducibility of Results , Sensitivity and SpecificityABSTRACT
We have observed the compensation of loss in a metal by a gain in a dielectric medium in the mixture of an Ag aggregate and a Rhodamine 6G dye. The demonstrated sixfold enhancement of the Rayleigh scattering is the evidence of the enhancement of the surface-plasmon resonance. The reported experimental observation facilitates many applications of nanoplasmonics.
