An integrated surface-plasmon source.
A compact and versatile source of coherent surface-plasmon polaritions (SPPs) is demonstrated by end-coupling a laser diode operating at 1.46 microm to a plasmonic waveguide integrated on the same microchip. With an optimized overlap between the spatial-modes of the laser and a planar-stripe waveguide, a high coupling efficiency of approximately 36% is achieved, that computations show could approach approximately 60% with smaller, readily achievable gaps between laser and waveguide. This integrated and electrically-activated source, with an available SPP power limited only by the laser diode, appears ideally suited for directly driving plasmonic circuitry or surface-enhanced sensors.
Kim
C S
CS
Optical Sciences Division, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C. 20375, USA.
Vurgaftman
I
I
Flynn
R A
RA
Kim
M
M
Lindle
J R
JR
Bewley
W W
WW
Bussmann
K
K
Meyer
J R
JR
Long
J P
JP
D054023:Lasers, Semiconductor; D008029:Lighting / Q000295:instrumentation*; D020349:Surface Plasmon Resonance / Q000295:instrumentation*; D018511:Systems Integration