KEYWORDS: Spiral phase plates, Near field scanning optical microscopy, Near field, Surface plasmon polaritons, Scanning electron microscopy, Radio propagation, Nanostructures, Signal detection, Optical microscopes, Integrated optics
We used a scanning near-field optical microscope (SNOM) to observe the near-field distribution of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) from a ring-shaped metasurface under illumination of circularly polarized light. It was found that with an additional degree of freedom of the geometric phase provided by the regularly arranged metamolecules, control over the near-field interference of the SPPs can be achieved, which is governed by the metasurface geometric symmetry that can be tuned by its topological charge. Meanwhile, the planar chiral character of the metamolecules exerts a deep influence on the near-field interference patterns. Our results can pave the way for active control of SPP propagation in near fields, and have potential applications in highly integrated optical communication systems.
We proposed a symmetric V-type slit array to tune the propagation direction of surface plasmon polaritons by external control of the polarization and/or the inclination angle of the incident light. Using theoretical analysis and numerical simulation, we studied the position-related phase and spin-related phase of the SPPs excited by an inclined and circularly polarized light through a column of slits to determine the parameter of the structure. The results showed that we can tune the propagation of the SPPs with significant flexibility, by changing the polarization of the incident light and the inclination angle of the incident light. Furthermore, a nanostructures were designed to control directional launching of surface plasmons based on the principle of optical spin’s effect for the geometric phase of light. The propagation direction of the generated SPPs can be controlled by the spin of photons. The total size of the surface plasmon polariton (SPP) launcher is 320 nm by 180 nm, which is far smaller than the wavelength of the incident light. This result may provide a new way of spin-controlled directional launching of SPP.
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