Femtosecond modulation of surface plasmon-polariton propagation

MacDonald, K.F., Sámson, Z.L., Zheludev, N.I. and Stockman, M. (2008) Femtosecond modulation of surface plasmon-polariton propagation. SPIE Optics & Photonics 2008: Metallic Nanostructures and their Optical Properties IV, San Diego, USA. 09 - 13 Aug 2008.

Record type: Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)

Abstract

We report on a new way of controlling the propagation of surface plasmon polariton waves on a metal/dielectric interface using femtosecond optical pulses. We report for the first time that optical illumination of a plasmonic waveguide can affect the propagation of a plasmon wave in the waveguide and can be used to modulate plasmonic signals.
This has been demonstrated in pump-probe experiments wherein a probe plasmon wave was generated by grating mediated coupling of femtosecond pulses into an aluminium/silica waveguide, while control (pump) pulses were incident directly on the waveguide. Pump excitation at a wavelength of 780 nm with a fluence of the order 1 mJ/cm² produces an ultrafast modulation of several percent in the detected probe signal. Fast (femtosecond) and slow (picosecond) response components have been detected along with a strong dependence of the modulation effect on pump polarization.

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