title: Stimulated emission of surface plasmon polaritons.
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.
authors.affiliation: Center for Materials Research, Norfolk State University, Norfolk, Virginia 23504, USA.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Noginov
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mayy
authors.forename: B A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Ritzo
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Noginova
authors.forename: V A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Podolskiy