Directional Local Density of States of Classical and Quantum Propagating Surface Plasmons

Martin Berthel (1) , Quanbo Jiang (1) , Aline Pham (1) , Joël Bellessa (2) , Cyriaque Genet (3) , Serge Huant (1) , Aurelien Drezet (1)

1 NEEL - NOF - Nano-Optique et Forces
2 ILM - Institut Lumière Matière [Villeurbanne]
3 ISIS - Institut de Science et d'ingénierie supramoléculaires

We theoretically and experimentally introduce the concept of the local density of states (LDOS) associated with propagative surface plasmons (PSPs) launched along a structured thin gold film (a concept we call PSP LDOS). The alternative method couples a near-field optical microscope, in either the classical or the quantum regime of excitation, to a far-field leakage-radiation microscope. This method allows for selecting and collecting a very narrow portion of the directional SP wave vectors, thereby offering sufficient resolution to probe the collimation efficiency of a SP beam for a source near the focal point of a Bragg parabolic reflector. We are able to build and image the PSP LDOS in a fully integrated quantum SP launcher by depositing a diamond nanocrystal hosting nitrogen-vacancy centers at the focal point of the mirror. Our demonstration of the PSP LDOS with quantized SPs offers alternative prospects in the field of quantum plasmonics.

Domaines: Autre [cond-mat.other]

Martin Berthel, Quanbo Jiang, Aline Pham, Joël Bellessa, Cyriaque Genet, et al.. Directional Local Density of States of Classical and Quantum Propagating Surface Plasmons. Physical Review Applied, 2017, 7 (1), pp.014021. ⟨10.1103/PhysRevApplied.7.014021⟩. ⟨hal-01627769⟩