Gain assisted propagation of surface plasmon polaritons on planar metallic waveguides

Nezhad, M.P.; Tetz, K.; Fainman, Y.

Abstract

The propagation of surface plasmon polaritons on metallic waveguides adjacent to a gain medium is considered. It is shown that the presence of the gain medium can compensate for the absorption losses in the metal. The conditions for existence of a surface plasmon polariton and its lossless propagation and wavefront behavior are derived analytically for a single infinite metal-gain boundary. In addition, the cases of thin slab and stripe geometries are also investigated using finite element simulations. The effect of a finite gain layer and its distance from the SPP waveguide is also investigated. The calculated gain requirements suggest that lossless gain-assisted surface plasmon polariton propagation can be achieved in practice for infrared wavelengths.

Citation

Nezhad, M., Tetz, K., & Fainman, Y. (2004). Gain assisted propagation of surface plasmon polaritons on planar metallic waveguides. Optics Express, 12(17), 4072-4079. https://doi.org/10.1364/OPEX.12.004072

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Aug 15, 2004
• Publication Date: Aug 23, 2004
• Deposit Date: Aug 21, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 2, 2024
• Journal: Optics Express
• Publisher: Optical Society of America
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 12
• Issue: 17
• Pages: 4072-4079
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1364/OPEX.12.004072