title: Active control and spatial mapping of mid-infrared propagating surface plasmons.
abstract: Periodic arrays of subwavelength apertures in metal films have been shown to exhibit strongly enhanced transmission at wavelengths determined by the periodicity of the film as well as the optical properties of the metal and surrounding dielectric material. Here we investigate the coupling between such a grating and a Quantum Cascade Laser. By actively tuning the optical properties of our grating, we control the coupling of laser light to the plasmonic structure, switching our grating from a predominantly transmitting state to a state that allows coupling to propagating surface waves, which can then be imaged on the metallic surface.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, MA 01854, USA.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ribaudo
authors.forename: E A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Shaner
authors.forename: S S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Howard
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gmachl
authors.forename: X J
authors.initials: XJ
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: F-S
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: Choa
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wasserman
mesh_terms: D003198:Computer Simulation; D007259:Infrared Rays; D007834:Lasers; D008027:Light; D008670:Metals / Q000737:chemistry*; D008956:Models, Chemical; D012031:Refractometry / Q000379:methods*; D012542:Scattering, Radiation; D020349:Surface Plasmon Resonance / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D008670:Metals