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Completely Stopped and Dispersionless Light in Plasmonic Waveguides

Kosmas L. Tsakmakidis, Tim W. Pickering, Joachim M. Hamm, A. Freddie Page, and Ortwin Hess
Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 167401 – Published 25 April 2014
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Abstract

We introduce a scheme where a time-dependent source excites “complex-frequency” modes in uniform plasmonic heterostructures, enabling complete and dispersionless stopping of light pulses, resilient to realistic levels of dissipative, radiative, and surface-roughness losses. Using transparent conducting oxides at telecommunication wavelengths we show how, without increasing optical losses, multiple light pulses can decay with time precisely at their injection points, unable to propagate despite the complete absence of barriers in front or behind them. Our results theoretically demonstrate extraordinary large light-deceleration factors (of the order of 1.5×107) in integrated nanophotonic media, comparable only to those attainable with ultracold atomic vapors or with quantum coherence effects, such as coherent population oscillations, in ruby crystals.

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  • Received 2 April 2013

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.112.167401

© 2014 American Physical Society

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Light Nearly Stopped in a Waveguide

Published 25 April 2014

Calculations show how to excite extremely slow-moving light pulses in a nanosized waveguide.

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Authors & Affiliations

Kosmas L. Tsakmakidis*, Tim W. Pickering, Joachim M. Hamm, A. Freddie Page, and Ortwin Hess

  • Blackett Laboratory, Department of Physics, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom

  • *Present address: NSF Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center, University of California, 3112 Etcheverry Hall, Berkeley, California 94720, USA. k.tsakmakidis@berkeley.edu
  • o.hess@imperial.ac.uk

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Issue

Vol. 112, Iss. 16 — 25 April 2014

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