Internal excitation and superfocusing of surface plasmon polaritons on a silver-coated optical fiber tip

W. Ding, S. R. Andrews, and S. A. Maier
Phys. Rev. A 75, 063822 – Published 25 June 2007

Abstract

We have theoretically studied the conversion of radially polarized waveguide modes of a tapered optical fiber into surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) propagating at the outer surface of an apertureless silver-coated optical tip. Optimization of this process is important in exploiting SPP superfocusing in scanning near-field optical microscopy without the need for external illumination. Our approach is based on analyzing the evolution of the local modal index as a function of the fiber radius. The influence of mode projection, intermodal coupling, and metal dissipation are treated analytically, while a numerical finite integration technique is used to model radiation coupling. The results identify and quantify the mode conversion processes that need to be taken into account. We estimate that at least 10% of the modal energy in an uncoated fiber taper can be fed into the superfocusing mode at a silver-coated tip.

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  • Received 17 March 2007

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.75.063822

©2007 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

W. Ding*, S. R. Andrews, and S. A. Maier

  • Centre for Photonics and Photonic Materials, Department of Physics, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath BA2 7AY, United Kingdom

  • *Electronic address: pypwd@bath.ac.uk

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Issue

Vol. 75, Iss. 6 — June 2007

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