Lectures 9: Surface Plasmon Polaritons

Surface Plasmon Polaritons (SPPs)

Introduction and basic properties
- Overview
- SPP dispersion
- SPP excitation
- active switching
Standard textbook:
- Heinz Raether, Surface Plasmons on Smooth and Rough Surfaces and on Gratings
Springer Tracts in Modern Physics, Vol. 111, Springer Berlin 1988
Overview articles on Plasmonics:
- A. Zayats, I. Smolyaninov, Journal of Optics A: Pure and Applied Optics 5, S16 (2003)
- A. Zayats, et. al., Physics Reports 408, 131-414 (2005)
- W.L.Barnes et. al., Nature 424, 825 (2003)

Elementary excitations and polaritons

Elementary excitations:
Phonons
Plasmons
Excitons (bound electron-hole pair)
Polaritons:
Coupled state between an elementary
excitation and a photon.
Plasmon polariton: coupled state
between a plasmon and a photon.
Phonon polariton: coupled state
between a phonon and a photon.
As (visible) photons have wavelengths
much larger than lattice constants they
interact only with long wavelength
polar elementary excitations.
Polar = excitations have long
wavelength electromagnetic fields.

From
Boardman

Plasmons
free electrons in metal: electron liquid of high density

n 10 23 cm 3

longitudinal density fluctuations (plasma oscillations) at eigenfrequency p

quanta of volume plasmons have energy

ne 2
h p = h
m0 0

, ~ 10eV

Volume plasmon polaritons

propagate through the volume for frequencies

> p

Surface plasmon polaritons

Maxells theory shows that EM surface waves can propagate also along a metallic
surface with a broad spectrum of eigen frequencies
from = 0 up to

= p

Particle (localized) plasmon polaritons

(later)

Plasmon resonance positions in vacuum

Bulk
metal

+ + + +

=0
-

Metal
surface

Metal sphere
localized SPPs

++ -- ++ -- ++ --

Drude model

p2
m = 1 2

= 1
drude
model

+
-

+
-

= 2

drude
model

Volume plasmon polaritons in metals

Dielectric function

Drude model
(see Nanooptic I, Chap. 5)

p2
m = 1 2

Volume plasmon polariton dispersion

= +c k
2

2
p

= ck

Volume plasmon

Surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs)

Solution of the Maxwell equations for interface metal/dielectric
Excitaton of a coupled state between photons and plasma oscillations
at the interface between a metal and a dielectric
- radiative surface plasmons are coupled with propagating EM waves
- nonradiative surface plasmons do not couple with propagating EM waves
- for perfectly flat surfaces SPPs are always nonradiative!
In contrast to conventional waveguides: field on both sides are evanecent

dielectric

d ( )

longitudinal surface wave

++ -- ++ -- ++ --

metal

m ( )

Ee
Ez

Im k z z

SPP - propagation

dielectric waveguiding
vs.
plasmon waveguiding

i ( k x x k z z t )
0

ESP = E e

k x = k x + ik x

k x =

SP

Derivation of SPP dispersion boundary conditions

Ey = 0

Ez

Hy

++

Ex

Hx = Hz = 0
--

z
x

dielectric

d ( )

longitudinal surface wave

z>0
z<0

++ -- ++ -- ++ --

metal

z
x

m ( )

H d = (0, H yd ,0)ei (k xd x + k zd z t )
E d = (E xd ,0, E zd )ei (k xd x + k zd z t )

H m = (0, H ym ,0)ei (k xm x k zm z t )
E m = (E xm ,0, E zm )ei (k xm x k zm z t )

Boundary
bonditions (z=0)

m E zm = d E zd
E xm = E xd
H ym = H yd

k xm = k xd

Derivation of SPP dispersion

1
rot H =
E
c t

Maxwell eq.:

Ex
x 0

1
y H y = t 0
c
0
Ez
z
zH y
Ex

0 = 0
c
H
Ez
x y
Diel.:

Metal:

e
e

i ( k xd x + k zd z t )

i ( k xm x k zm z t )

x-component:
Metal:

z H ym = + k zm H ym
+ k zm H ym = m

Diel.:

E xm

z H yd = k zd H yd
+ k zd H yd = + d

E xd

z-component:
Metal:

Diel.:

+ k xm H ym = m

+ k xd H yd = d

E zm

E zd

Derivation of SPP dispersion

x-component:
Metal

I:

k zm H ym = m

Diel.

II:

k zd H yd = d

I / II:

Boundary
conditions:

E xm

E xd

k zm H ym
m E xm
=
k zd H yd
d E xd

E xm = E xd
H ym = H yd

k zm
= m
k zd
d

k zd

k zm

=0

Dispersion relation of SPPs

generally:

k x2 + k y2 + k z2 = k 2

dielectric:

k + k = d

metal:

k +k

2
x

2
zd

c2

at interface metal/dielectric:

k xd = k xm

m d
k x2 =
c m + d

2
x

2
zm

= m

2
c2

2
c2

k zd

k zm

=0

d

k zd2 =
c ( m + d )
2

m

=
c ( m + d )
2

2
zm

Re( m ) < 0 and m > d real k x

kzd and k zm are imaginary

Dispersion relation of SPPs

= ck x
photon
in air

2 = p2 + c 2 k x2

p
SP = p

plasmon
polariton

volume plasmon

1
1+ d

surface plasmon polariton

m + d
ck x
m d

kx

surface plasmons
non-propagating
collective oscillations
of electron plasma
near the surface

Dielectric function for silver

D. Gntzer
Zulassungsarbeit
www.phog.physik.uni-muenchen.de

Dispersion relation for SPPs on silver (with damping)

imaginary part

k x

D. Gntzer, Zulassungsarbeit, www.phog.physik.uni-muenchen.de

real part

k x

SPP propagation length

metal/air
interface

k x = k x + ik x =

m +1

d =1
m = 1
= 0.2

E( x ) = E 0 e

ik x x

= E0e

ik x x k x x

propagating term exponential decay

in x-direction

1
Lx =
2k x
Example silver:

propagation
length
intensity !

= 514.5 nm : Lx = 22 m
= 1060 nm : Lx = 500 m

10
7.5
5
2.5
-2.5
-5
-7.5
-10

p2

Drude
model

+ i
2

m
0.4

0.6

0.8

Lx (vac )

SP =

200
100
50

p
2

20
10
5
2
1
0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

SPP field perpendicular to surface

dielectric

d ( )

kx

E( z ) = E 0 e
Ez

Im k z z

Lz =

1
Im k z

z-decay length
(skin depth):

metal

m ( )

z
x

Examples:
silver:

= 600 nm : Lz ,d = 390 nm and Lz ,m = 24 nm

gold:

= 600 nm : Lz ,d = 280 nm and Lz ,m = 31 nm

SPPs have transversal and longitudinal el. fields

Ez

Hy

++

Ex

--

At large

k z

kx
E
=
i
Ex
El. field
z
kz
m
E zd
=i
d
Ex

k x

The mag. field H is

parallel to surface
and perpendicular to
propagation

SP

E zm
d
= i
Ex
m

values,

the el. field in air/diel. has a strong

transvers Ez component compared to the
longitudinal component Ex
In the metal Ez is small against Ex

At large kx, i.e. close to = - d,

both components become equal

E z = iE x

(air: +i, metal: -i)

Smmary: SPP lenght scales

W.L.Barnes et. al., Nature 424, 825 (2003)

Excitation of SPPs
in a dielectric k of the photon is increased

photon in air

k of photon in dielectric can equal k of SPP

photon in
dielectric
SPP can be excited by p-polarized light
(SPP has longitudinal component)

SPP dispersion

kx

Kretschmann configuration
kx

k of photon in air is always < k of SPP

no excitation of SPP is possible

z
thin metal film
dielectric
E

0
R

Methods of SPP excitation

nprism > nL !!

Excitation by Kretschmann configuration

z
x

d
m
0

k=

kx =

k=

0 sin ( 0 )

= c / k x 0 sin ( 0 )

= ck

photon in
dielectric

photon
in air

SPP dispersion

kx =

m +1

k x0

0
k x0

=c

m +1
c
=
m
0 sin ( 0 )

Resonance
condition

kx

Kretschmann configuration angle scan

illumination freq. 0= const.

s-polarized
-> no excitation of SPPs

R
R

p-polarized

photon
in air

0
kx

Towards switchable coupling into SPP modes

Note: kSPP > k0 special geometry required to couple freespace
Radiation into SPP modes

Kretschmann
configuration

grating
Woods anomaly

Dielectric properties of gold

Visible dielectric response strongly affected by d-band
resonance
6
Im
Im(500K)

conduction
band
Im{}

EF
2.38 eV

-2
400

d-band
W

Im(1000K)

450

500

550

Wavelength (nm)

Large changes of the dielectric function by heating

Here: transient optical heating!

600

Experimental setup: NIR pump, visible probe

810 nm
100 fs
4 J
gold grating:
= 830 nm

sapphire
HWP: TM/TE

400 fs
4f pulse-shaper

PC

Results: pump-probe of a Woods anomaly

period: 830 nm
profile: Sawtooth, blaze: 29.90

here: = -180, q = 2

TE / TM
reflectivity
(zero order)
peak electron
Temperature: 600 K

Discussion: shift of the resonance

measured reflectivity change
wavelength derivative of
the linear reflectivity

Indication for a spectral

Shift of the anomaly
by 0.75 nm
Decay time: ~1 ps

Quantitative discussion: Thermomodulation

of the dielectric response
Recall: q = 2 in