Near-field resonance at far-field-induced transparency in diffractive arrays of plasmonic nanorods.

We numerically demonstrate that a periodic array of metallic nanorods sustains a maximum near-field enhancement and a far field (FF)-induced transparency at the same energy and in-plane momentum. The coupling of bright and dark plasmonic lattice resonances, and electromagnetic retardation along the nanorod length, are responsible for this effect. A standing wave with a quadrupolar field distribution is formed, giving rise to a collective suppression of FF scattering and simultaneously enhanced local fields.

Efficient optimization method for the light extraction from periodically modulated LEDs using reciprocity.

The incoherent emission of periodically structured Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) can be computed at relatively low computational cost by applying the reciprocity method. We show that by another application of the reciprocity principle, the structure of the LED can be optimized to obtain a high emission. We demonstrate the method by optimizing one-dimensional grating structures. The optimized structures have twice the extraction efficiency of an optimized flat structure.

Vectorial aerial-image computations of three-dimensional objects based on the extended Nijboer-Zernike theory.

We present details of a novel imaging algorithm based on the extended Nijboer-Zernike (ENZ) theory of diffraction. We derive integral expressions relating the electric field distribution in the entrance pupil of an optical system to the electric field in its focal region. The evaluation of these integrals is made possible by means of a highly accurate and efficient series expansion similar to those occurring in standard ENZ theory. Based on these results an ENZ imaging scheme is constructed and evaluated in detail with attention to the convergence properties and computational complexity of the new method.

Giant optical transmission of a subwavelength slit optimized using the magnetic field phase.

In this Letter, we show that the energy equivalent to that incident on a 4.7 microm wide strip can be squeezed through a 50 nm wide slit in a metal film surrounded by grooves. This corresponds to a transmission efficiency of 9400%, which can be even further enhanced by increasing the number of grooves. We use the phase of the magnetic field to explain that the ideal slit-to-groove distance is just over half the plasmon wavelength. In addition, we also optimize the groove depth and width. Such optimized transmission enhancement is very important for near-field devices.

On the phase of plasmons excited by slits in a metal film.

The excitation of surface plasmons by subwavelength slits in metal films is studied using a rigorous diffraction model. It is shown that the plasmon is launched by a slit in antiphase with the incident magnetic field. This is true independent of slit width and of the metal used. Using this phase information, maxima and minima in transmission are explained in the case of two and more slits.