Plasmonics is a research area merging the fields of optics and nanoelectronics by confining light with relatively large free-space wavelength to the nanometer scale thereby enabling a family of novel devices. Current plasmonic devices at telecommunication and optical frequencies face significant challenges due to losses encountered in the constituent plasmonic materials. These large losses seri...

The authors show that the incorporation of gain media in only a selected device area can annul the effect of material loss, and enhance the performance of loss-limited plasmonic devices. In addition, they demonstrate that optical gain provides a mechanism for on/off switching in metal-dielectric-metal (MDM) plasmonic waveguides. The proposed gain-assisted plasmonic switch consists of a subwavel...

Plasmonics is a well-established field, exploiting the interaction of light and metals at the nanoscale; with the help of surface plasmon polaritons, remote-excitation can also be observed by using silver or gold plasmonic waveguides. Recently, plasmonic catalysis was established as a new exciting platform for heterogeneous catalytic reactions. Recent reports present remote-excitation surface c...

The recent advances in photocatalysis have opened a variety of new possibilities for energy and biomedical applications. In particular, plasmonic photocatalysis using hybridization of semiconductor materials and metal nanoparticles has recently facilitated the rapid progress in enhancing photocatalytic efficiency under visible or solar light. One critical underlying aspect of photocatalysis is ...

Plasmonic metal nanostructures have shown great potential in sensing applications. Among various materials and structures, monolithic nanoporous gold disks (NPGD) have several unique features such as three-dimensional (3D) porous network, large surface area, tunable plasmonic resonance, high-density hot-spots, and excellent architectural integrity and environmental stability. They exhibit a gre...

We numerically investigate the coupling efficiency of a single self-assembled quantum dot to a metallic slot waveguide in the presence of leaky plasmonic modes. Leaky plasmonic modes refer to radiation modes with plasmonic features, resulting from the inhomogeneity of the dielectric environment in which the metallic slot waveguide is embedded. Compared to the ideal case of a homogenous dielectr...

Enhanced light-matter interactions in light-confining structures (such as optical cavities) have been extensively investigated for both fundamental studies and practical applications. Plasmonic nanostructures, which can confine and manipulate light down to the nanometer scale, are becoming increasingly important (Atwater 2007, Brongersma 2009). Plasmonic resonators and antennas can convert free...

Selective configuration control of plasmonic nanostructures using either top-down or bottom-up approaches has remained challenging in the field of active plasmonics. We demonstrate the realization of DNA-assembled reconfigurable plasmonic metamolecules, which can respond to a wide range of pH changes in a programmable manner. This programmability allows for selective reconfiguration of differen...

Optimal plasmonic focusing can be achieved through matching the rotational symmetry of the plasmonic lens to the polarization symmetry of a radially polarized illumination. In this letter, we report the experimental confirmation of the focusing properties and field enhancement effect of plasmonic lens made of multiple concentric annular rings using a collection mode near field scanning optical ...

We perform experimental investigations on the characteristics of graphene-based plasmonic waveguides for development of photonic integrated circuits. By embedding chemical vapor deposited graphene strip in a photoactive UV curable perfluorinated acrylate polymer with a low refractive index and material loss, the two-dimensional metal-like plasmonic waveguide demonstrated as a light signal guidi...