Focus issue on surface plasmon photonics

introduction
Pierre Berini,1,* Alexandre Bouhelier,2,3 Javier Garcia de Abajo,4,5 and Namkyoo Park6,7
1

School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Department of Physics, and Centre for Research in
Photonics at the University of Ottawa, University of Ottawa, Ottawa K1N 6N5 Canada
Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire Carnot de Bourgogne UMR CNRS 6303, Universit de Bourgogne, 9 av. Alain
Savary, BP 47870, 21078 Dijon France
3
alexandre.bouhelier@u-bourgogne.fr
4
ICFO Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques, Mediterranean Technology Park, Av. Carl Friedrich Gauss, 3 08860
Castelldefels (Barcelona), Spain, and ICREA Instituci Catalana de Reserca i Estudis Avanats, Barcelona, Spain
5
javier.garciadeabajo@icfo.es
6
Photonic Systems Laboratory, School of EECS, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-744, South Korea
7
nkpark@snu.ac.kr
*
berini@eecs.uottawa.ca
2

Abstract: The 6th International Conference on Surface Plasmon Photonics

(SPP6) was held in Ottawa, Canada from May 26th to 31st, 2013. This
independent series of biennial conferences is widely regarded as the premier
series in the field, and the 6th edition maintained the tradition of excellence.
This Focus Issue collects several papers related to research presented at
SPP6, and although the number of papers it comprises is small compared to
the total number of papers presented at the conference, the issue is
representative and provides a good snapshot of the field at this point in time.
2013 Optical Society of America
OCIS codes: (240.6680) Surface plasmons.

References and links

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D. Pile, View from SPP6: New directions in plasmonics, Nat. Photonics 7(8), 594596 (2013).
A. Wiener, A. I. Fernndez-Domnguez, J. B. Pendry, A. P. Borsfield, and S. A. Maier, Nonlocal propagation
and tunnelling of surface plasmons in metallic hourglass waveguides, Opt. Express 21(20), 2750927519
(2013).
T. V. Teperik, P. Nordlander, J. Aizpurua, and A. G. Borisov, Quantum effects and nonlocality in strongly
coupled plasmonic nanowire dimers, Opt. Express 21(22), 27306 27325 (2013).
S. R. K. Rodriguez and J. Gmez Rivas, Surface lattice resonances strongly coupled to Rhodamine 6G excitons:
tuning the plasmon-exciton-polariton mass and composition, Opt. Express 21(20), 27411 27421 (2013).
S. Raza, W. Yan, N. Stenger, M. Wubs, and N. Asger Mortensen, Blueshift of the surface plasmon resonance in
silver nanoparticles: substrate effects, Opt. Express 21(22), 27344 27421 (2013).
S. Divitt, P. Bharadwaj, and L. Novotny, The role of gap plasmons in light emission from tunnel junctions,
Opt. Express 21(22), 27452 27459 (2013).
M. P. van Exter, V. T. Tenner, F. van Beijnum, M. J. A. de Dood, P. J. van Veldhoven, E. J. Geluk, and G. W. 't
Hooft, Surface plasmon dispersion in metal hole array lasers, Opt. Express 21(22), 27422 27437 (2013).
J. B. Khurgin and G. Sun, Plasmonic enhancement of the third order nonlinear optical phenomena: figures of
merit, Opt. Express 21(22), 27460 27480 (2013).
B. pakov and J. Homola, Sensing properties of lattice resonances of 2D metal nanoparticle arrays: An
analytical model, Opt. Express 21(22), 27490 27502 (2013).
D. Punj, J. de Torres, H. Rigneault, and J. Wenger, Gold nanoparticles for enhanced single molecule
fluorescence analysis at micromolar concentration, Opt. Express 21(22), 27338 27343 (2013).
A. Pors and S. I. Bozhevolnyi, Plasmonic metasurfaces for efficient phase control in reflection, Opt. Express
21(22), 27438 27451 (2013).
S. K. Earl, T. D. James, T. J. Davis, J. C. McCallum, R. E. Marvel, R. F. Haglund, Jr., and A. Roberts, Tunable
optical antennas enabled by the phase transition in vanadium dioxide, Opt. Express 21(22), 27503 27508
(2013).
Q. Bai, M. Perrin, C. Sauvan, J.-P. Hugonin, and P. Lalanne, Efficient and intuitive method for the analysis of
light scattering by a resonant nanostructure, Opt. Express 21(22), 27371 27382 (2013).
G. Armelles, A. Cebollada, A. Garca-Martn, M. U. Gonzlez, F. Garca, D. Meneses-Rodrguez, N. de Sousa,
and L. S. Froufe-Prez, Mimicking electromagnetically induced transparency in the magneto-optical activity of
magnetoplasmonic nanoresonators, Opt. Express 21(22), 27356 27370 (2013).

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4 November 2013 | Vol. 21, No. 22 | DOI:10.1364/OE.21.027286 | OPTICS EXPRESS 27286

15. J. Takahara and M. Miyata, Mutual mode control of short- and long-range surface plasmons, Opt. Express
21(22), 27402 27410 (2013).
16. J.-C. Weeber, T. Bernardin, M. G. Nielsen, K. Hassan, S. Kaya, J. Fatome, and C. Finot, A. Dereux, and N.
Pleros, Nanosecond thermo-optical dynamics of polymer loaded plasmonic waveguides, Opt. Express 21(22),
27291 27305 (2013).
17. V. E. Babicheva, N. Kinsey, G. V. Naik, M. Ferrera, A. V. Lavrinenko, V. M. Shalaev, and A. Boltasseva,
Towards CMOS-compatible nanophotonics: Ultra-compact modulators using alternative plasmonic materials,
Opt. Express 21(22), 27326 27337 (2013).
18. S. Schmidt, P. Engelke, B. Piglosiewicz, M. Esmann, S. F. Becker, K. Yoo, N. Park, C. Lienau, and P. Gro,
Wave front adaptation using a deformable mirror for adiabatic nanofocusing along an ultrasharp gold taper,
Opt. Express 21(22), 2656426577 (2013).
19. C. Lemke, T. Leiner, A. Klick, J. W. Radke, J. Fiutowski, J. Kjelstrup-Hansen, H.-G. Rubahn, and M. Bauer,
Measurement of surface plasmon autocorrelation functions, Opt. Express 21(22), 27392 27401 (2013).
20. B. Ashall, J. F. Lpez-Barber, E. McClean-Ilten, and D. Zerulla, Highly efficient broadband ultrafast
plasmonics, Opt. Express 21(22), 27383 27391 (2013).
21. K. Imaeda and K. Imura, Optical control of plasmonic fields by phase modulated pulse excitations, Opt.
Express 21(22), 27481 27489 (2013).

Introduction to the focus issue on surface plasmon photonics

Surface plasmon photonics is a rapidly growing and evolving field on the cutting edge of
optical science and engineering. The field is concerned with the interaction of light on
metallic structures, from THz to UV wavelengths, and is driven by interests in fundamental
questions and in applications such as biosensors for health care, light concentration for solar
energy, devices for telecommunications, and near-field instrumentation for performing stateof-the-art research.
The 6th International Conference on Surface Plasmon Photonics (SPP6) was held recently
in Ottawa, Canada from May 26 to 31, 2013 [1]. This independent series of biennial
conferences is widely regarded as the premier series in the field, and the 6th edition
maintained the tradition of excellence established at previous editions (SPP5 Busan, SPP4
Amsterdam, SPP3 Dijon, SPP2 Graz, SPP1 Granada, and the precursor to the series organized
by T. W. Ebbesen in 2001). SPP6 brought together about 500 plasmonics experts from around
the globe, both junior and senior, from academia and industry, to share their latest results and
set the agenda for future developments in the field. About 520 abstracts were received from
34 countries across several science and engineering disciplines. The technical program of the
conference was constructed from submissions on fundamental and applied topics. Papers
reporting applications such as biosensors for health care, light concentration for solar energy,
devices for telecommunications, and near-field instrumentation were presented, along with
papers on fundamental aspects such as nonlocality, quantum effects, electron-plasmon
interactions, loss compensation and plasmon lasing, and novel plasmonic materials. Papers
were gathered into sessions on traditional topics such as waveguides, particles, nanoholes and
metamaterials, and in sessions reflecting recent trends such as antennas, photovoltaics and
graphene. The large number of high-quality abstracts received for SPP6, the representation of
several science and engineering disciplines, the increasing international scope, and the
emergence of new topics and trends, suggest that the field of plasmonics is very healthy
indeed and that it continues to expand.
This Focus Issue collects several invited papers related to research presented at SPP6, and
although the number of papers it comprises is small compared to the total number of papers
presented at the conference, the issue is representative and provides a good snapshot of the
field at this point in time. Plasmon-oriented topics covered in this Focus Issue include
quantum effects, nonlocality, emission, nonlinearity, sensors, nano-particles, nano-antennas,
waveguides, devices and ultrafast phenomena. We briefly describe in what follows the papers
included in this Focus Issue [221].
Quantum effects and nonlocality: The assumption that the electric displacement is simply
proportional to the electric field at the same position (local description) is widely extended in
the study of plasmonics, but recent work is demonstrating that it breaks down when small
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Received 23 Oct 2013; published 4 Nov 2013
(C) 2013 OSA
4 November 2013 | Vol. 21, No. 22 | DOI:10.1364/OE.21.027286 | OPTICS EXPRESS 27287

distances between metals or sharp metal elements are involved, where nonlocal effects
become important. Nonlocality produces a smooth redistribution of the induced charges
towards the bulk of the materials involved, rather than being confined to the interfaces, as
predicted by local theories. This charge redistribution generally leads to weaker plasmon
confinement and field enhancement, which can damage the prospects of plasmons for
applications such as biosensing and short-distance waveguiding. At SPP6, Wiener et al.
presented semi-analytical theory based on an elegant reformulation of the hydrodynamical
model to describe the reduction of field enhancement at hourglass waveguides involving gap
distances below 0.5 nm [2].
The drive for engineering ultimate field enhancement and confinement has recently
entered a new realm as optical feed gaps are now routinely reaching sub-nanometer
dimensions. In this interaction regime, the classical description of the plasmonic response
based on Maxwells equations fails to capture the underlying physics. In their approach
Teperik and associates used a full quantum mechanical approach to take into account electron
tunneling to appropriately predict the optical response of two strongly coupled nanowires [3].
The regime of strong coupling is further discussed in the work of Rodriguez and Gmez
Rivas [4]. Using energy-momentum spectroscopy, the authors investigate the coupling
mechanisms between lattice resonances and organic excitons. They show that the lattice
constant controls the properties of the hybridization and that the effective mass of the coupled
system can be reduced. This is a prerequisite to achieve quantum condensation.
Raza et al. [5] have studied the blueshift of the surface plasmon resonance of Ag
nanoparticles with decreasing particle diameter from 26 to 3.5 nm. A blueshift of 0.5 eV
observed from EELS was in qualitative agreement with the nonlocal hydrodynamic model, for
which a nonlocal Clausius-Mossotti factor was derived. The authors suggested the neglect of
the intrinsic properties of silver as a possible mechanism for the observed quantitative
deviation between theory and experiment.
Emission and nonlinearities: By examining light emission from the junction of a STM in the
presence of 20 nm topographical features in thin gold films, Divitt et al. [6] show that the
variability in STM photoemission rates between a gold tip and a gold film under ambient
conditions is due to the modification of localized gap plasmon modes. The electroluminescence from gold clusters on the STM probe apex was typically negligible.
Light interaction with hole arrays, and in particular extraordinary optical transmission and
resonant effects related to periodic arrangements of holes, have been a recurrent subject in the
entire series of SPP conferences. At SPP6, van Exter et al. [7] presented evidence of lasing in
the light emitted from metallic hole arrays surrounded by an optically pumped semiconductor.
The emission took place at frequencies and directions of emission determined by the lattice
resonances.
The enhancement of optical nonlinearities using plasmonic structures is of strong current
interest. Khurgin and Sun [8] investigated the plasmonic enhancement of 3rd order nonlinear
optical phenomena in metal-cladded dielectric waveguides, with the nonlinearity originating
in the dielectric. They find that the effective nonlinear index is strongly enhanced relative to
the bulk dielectric but that propagation losses limit the overall efficiency.
Sensors: Because of their nature, surface plasmons are routinely used to probe and monitor
minute changes in the refractive index of the bounding dielectric environment. With the quest
to ever more sensitive platforms, pakov and Homola numerically investigate the figure-ofmerit of lattice resonances [9]. They found that while this parameter is comparable to that for
surface sensing on non-ordered arrays of nanoparticles, lattice resonances outperform when
the bulk surrounding refractive index changes.
The large field enhancement and strong focusing of light produced by localized plasmons
allow using them as lighthouses, whereby any substance in the vicinity of the metallic
particles sustaining plasmons are detected with a minimum of noise, as the surrounding

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4 November 2013 | Vol. 21, No. 22 | DOI:10.1364/OE.21.027286 | OPTICS EXPRESS 27288

environment is comparatively less exposed to the applied light. Using this principle, Punj et
al. [10] have managed to detect micromolar concentrations in zeptomol volumes with
improved sensitivity by combining it with fluorescence correlation analysis.
Nano-particles and nano-antennas: Pors and Bozhevolnyi [11] investigate theoretically the
absorption and scattering properties of an array composed of gap surface plasmon resonators.
The authors introduced the concept of a birefringent metal surface to control the phase of
polarized light and meta-scatterers to steer light beams in integrated nanophotonic systems.
Earl et al. [12] investigated tunable optical antenna arrays as resonating Ag nanostructures on films of VO2. Tuning was achieved thermally by inducing a phase transition in
VO2, by heating the film above its critical temperature (68 C). Tuning of resonant
wavelengths by up to 110 nm was observed.
The field of plasmonics has witnessed an impressive, continued effort to devise simple
analytical descriptions of the interaction of light with nanostructures. Following this tradition,
a new method has been put forward by Bai et al. to analyze the scattering of light by resonant
plasmonic antennas [13].
Active control over the plasmonic response of nanoantennas is also of paramount
importance, in order to reconfigure the response of future adaptable nanoplasmonic devices.
In particular, control through applied magnetic fields has been demonstrated by placing a
magneto-optic structure close to the plasmonic structure. This results in so-called magnetoplasmonic activity, in which the plasmon inherits a susceptibility to external magnetic fields.
In their paper, Armelles et al. have demonstrated an emulation of electromagnetically induced
transparency using suitably designed magnetoplasmonic structures [14].
Waveguides and devices: The ability of propagating plasmons to carry information encoded
in their time-dependent intensity has stimulated a long search for suitable waveguide designs
to realize plasmonic networks for on-chip optical communications. Inelastic plasmon
attenuation is however a limiting factor, especially when the plasmons are tightly confined to
laterally narrow waveguides. New designs are constantly challenging the tradeoff between the
degree of confinement, which is beneficial for high integration density, and the propagation
distance. Takahara and Miyata [15] propose and demonstrate conversion of short-range,
tightly confined plasmons into long-range, loosely confined plasmons and vice-versa. This is
an interesting solution this tradeoff, where each type of plasmon is used wherever it can
perform better.
Weeber et al. [16] investigated the thermo-optic dynamics of polymer-loaded plasmonic
waveguides driven photo-thermally on ns time scales. They demonstrated the thermallymodulated absorption of SPP modes, by thermally modulating the absorption of the metal
(i.e., they exploit the temperature-dependent Ohmic loss of metals). Modulation depths of up
to 50% were observed, with 2 and 800 ns characteristic times. Racetrack-shaped resonators
were also investigated.
Babicheva et al. [17] propose ultra-compact plasmonic modulators using alternative
plasmonic materials, such as transparent conducting oxides and titanium nitride, with a view
towards eventual integration with silicon electronics. They exploit the carrier refraction effect
in a conducting oxide, whereby modulating the carrier density therein modulates the loss of
the SPPs. They predict extinction ratios of up to ~45 dB/m.
Schmidt et al. [18] propose and demonstrate the use of a deformable mirror to increase the
excitation efficiency to SPPs by a grating coupler fabricated on a conical ultra-sharp gold
taper. The deformable mirror adaptively controls the wave front of the incident far field light.
The shape of the mirror was optimized to maximize the intensity of the light scattered from
the tip by nanofocused SPPs converging thereon. They find that a highly astigmatic beam
profile maximizes the nanofocusing efficiency of their structure.

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Received 23 Oct 2013; published 4 Nov 2013
(C) 2013 OSA
4 November 2013 | Vol. 21, No. 22 | DOI:10.1364/OE.21.027286 | OPTICS EXPRESS 27289

Ultrafast phenomena: Lemke et al. [19] demonstrated a plasmonic autocorrelator for SPP
pulse characterization based on a wedge-shaped structure which continuously increases the
time delay (0 ~ 30 fs) between two interfering SPPs. The autocorrelation signal monitored by
non-linear two-photon photoemission electron microscopy also provided the mapping of SPP
field amplitudes in a direct manner.
Zerula and co-workers [20] introduce an engineered periodic surface to efficiently excite
surface plasmons over the entire spectral content of a sub-20 fs laser pulse. A nearly
dispersion-less mode is identified by energy-momentum spectroscopy. The ability to excite
propagating broadband modes with no chirp is an important step for controlling the ultrafast
dynamics of surface plasmons.
The visualization of plasmonic fields with high spatial and temporal resolution is a
necessity to understand and design the next generation of plasmonic devices. Imaeda and
Imura [21] introduce a near-field optical microscope to interrogate the lifetime of plasmon
excitations. They show that interference dictates the spatial distribution and can thus be
controlled by a phase-modulation of the ultrafast incident pulses.
In closing, we hope that researchers will enjoy reading this Focus Issue, and we extend to all
an enthusiastic invitation to the 7th edition of the SPP conference series which will be held in
Jerusalem May 31 to June 5, 2015.

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Received 23 Oct 2013; published 4 Nov 2013
(C) 2013 OSA
4 November 2013 | Vol. 21, No. 22 | DOI:10.1364/OE.21.027286 | OPTICS EXPRESS 27290