Nonlinear self-confined plasmonic beams: experimental proof

Journal article

Controlling low power light beam self-confinement with ultrafast response time opens up opportunities for the development of signal processing in microdevices. The combination of a highly nonlinear medium with the tight confinement of plasmonic waves offers a viable but challenging configuration to reach this goal. In the present work, a beam propagating in a plasmonic structure that undergoes a strongly enhanced self-focusing effect is reported for the first time. The structure consists of a chalcogenide-based four-layer planar geometry engineered to limit plasmon propagation losses while exhibiting efficient Kerr self-focusing at moderate power. As expected from theory, only TM-polarized waves exhibit such a behavior. Different experimental arrangements are tested at telecom wavelengths and compared with simulations obtained from a dedicated model. The observed efficient beam reshaping takes place over a distance as low as 100 μm, which unlocks new perspectives for the development of integrated photonic devices.

Authors: Kuriakose, T; Renversez, G; Nazabal, V; Elsawy, MMR; Coulon, N

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: American Chemical Society
• Journal: ACS Photonics
• Volume: 7
• Issue: 9
• Pages: 2562-2570
• Publication date: 2020-08-17
• DOI: 10.1021/acsphotonics.0c00906
• EISSN: 2330-4022
• Language: English
• Keywords: chalcogenide glass; self-confined waves; modeling; nonlinear integrated plasmonics; planar waveguides; optical Kerr effect