Squeezing visible light waves into a 3-nm-thick and 55-nm-long plasmon cavity

Phys Rev Lett. 2006 Mar 10;96(9):097401. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.96.097401. Epub 2006 Mar 7.

Abstract

We demonstrate controlled squeezing of visible light waves into nanometer-sized optical cavities. The light is perpendicularly confined in a few-nanometer-thick SiO2 film sandwiched between Au claddings in the form of surface plasmon polaritons and exhibits Fabry-Perot resonances in a longitudinal direction. As the thickness of the dielectric core is reduced, the plasmon wavelength becomes shorter; then a smaller cavity is realized. A dispersion relation down to a surface plasmon wavelength of 51 nm for a red light, which is less than 8% of the free-space wavelength, was experimentally observed. Any obvious breakdowns of the macroscopic electromagnetics based on continuous dielectric media were not disclosed for 3-nm-thick cores.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Light
  • Nanostructures / chemistry*
  • Surface Plasmon Resonance / methods*