title: Terahertz Quantum Plasmonics of Nanoslot Antennas in Nonlinear Regime.
abstract: Quantum tunneling in plasmonic nanostructures has presented an interesting aspect of incorporating quantum mechanics into classical optics. However, the study has been limited to the subnanometer gap regime. Here, we newly extend quantum plasmonics to gap widths well over 1 nm by taking advantage of the low-frequency terahertz regime. Enhanced electric fields of up to 5 V/nm induce tunneling of electrons in different arrays of ring-shaped nanoslot antennas of gap widths from 1.5 to 10 nm, which lead to a significant nonlinear transmission decrease. These observations are consistent with theoretical calculations considering terahertz-funneling-induced electron tunneling across the gap.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy and Center for Atom Scale Electromagnetism, Seoul National University , Seoul 08826, Korea.
authors.forename: Joon-Yeon
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Department of Energy Systems Research, Ajou University , Suwon 16499, Korea.
authors.forename: Bong Joo
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Joohyun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy and Center for Atom Scale Electromagnetism, Seoul National University , Seoul 08826, Korea.
authors.forename: Young-Mi
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Bahk
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Department of Energy Systems Research, Ajou University , Suwon 16499, Korea.
authors.forename: Won Tae
authors.initials: WT
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy and Center for Atom Scale Electromagnetism, Seoul National University , Seoul 08826, Korea.
authors.forename: Jiyeah
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rhie
authors.forename: Hyeongtag
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jeon
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Department of Energy Systems Research, Ajou University , Suwon 16499, Korea.
authors.forename: Fabian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rotermund
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy and Center for Atom Scale Electromagnetism, Seoul National University , Seoul 08826, Korea.
authors.forename: Dai-Sik
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Kim
keywords: Terahertz nonlinearity; aluminum oxide; metal−insulator−metal tunneling; quantum plasmonics; terahertz nanoslot antenna