title: Lateral and temporal dependence of the transport through an atomic gold contact under light irradiation: signature of propagating surface plasmon polaritons.
abstract: Metallic point contacts (MPCs) with dimensions comparable to the Fermi wavelength of conduction electrons act as electronic waveguides and might operate as plasmon transmitters. Here we present a correlated study of optical and conductance response of MPCs under irradiation with laser light. For elucidating the role of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs), we integrate line gratings into the leads that increase the SPP excitation efficiency. By analyzing spatial, polarization, and time dependence, we identify two SPP contributions that we attribute to transmitted and decaying SPPs, respectively. The results demonstrate the role of SPPs for optically controlling the transport in metallic nanostructures and are important for designing opto-nanoelectronic devices.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of Konstanz , Universitätsstraße 10, 78464 Konstanz, Germany.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Benner
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Boneberg
authors.forename: Philipp
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nürnberger
authors.forename: Reimar
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Waitz
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Leiderer
authors.forename: Elke
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Scheer
keywords: Surface plasmon polariton (SPP); atomic contact; field enhancement; optical antennae; photo-assisted transport (PAT); polarization dependence