title: Launching propagating surface plasmon polaritons by a single carbon nanotube dipolar emitter.
abstract: We report on the excitation of propagating surface plasmon polaritons in thin metal films by a single emitter. Upon excitation in the visible regime, individual semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes are shown to act as directional near-infrared point dipole sources launching propagating surface plasmons mainly along the direction of the nanotube axis. Plasmon excitation and propagation is monitored in Fourier and real space by leakage radiation microscopy and is modeled by rigorous theoretical calculations. Coupling to plasmons almost completely reshapes the emission of nanotubes both spatially and with respect to polarization as compared to photoluminescence on a dielectric substrate.
authors.affiliation: Department Chemie and CeNS, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 81377 München, Germany.
authors.forename: Nicolai
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hartmann
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Piredda
authors.forename: Johann
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Berthelot
authors.forename: Gérard Colas
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: des Francs
authors.forename: Alexandre
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bouhelier
authors.forename: Achim
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hartschuh
mesh_terms: D003198:Computer Simulation; D008027:Light; D008422:Materials Testing; D008670:Metals / Q000737:chemistry*; D008956:Models, Chemical; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D010316:Particle Size; D012542:Scattering, Radiation; D020349:Surface Plasmon Resonance / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D008670:Metals