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Lossless directional guiding of light in dielectric nanosheets using Dyakonov surface waves

Nature Nanotechnology volume 9, pages 419–424 (2014)Cite this article

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Abstract

Guiding light at the nanoscale is usually accomplished using surface plasmons1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12. However, plasmons propagating at the surface of a metal sustain propagation losses. A different type of surface excitation is the Dyakonov surface wave. These waves, which exist in lossless media, were predicted more than two decades ago13 but observed only recently14. Dyakonov surface waves exist when at least one of the two media forming the surface exhibits a suitable anisotropy of refractive indexes. Although propagating only within a narrow range of directions15, these waves can be used to create modes supported by ultrathin films that confine light efficiently within film thicknesses well below the cutoff thickness required in standard waveguides. Here, we show that 10 nm and 20 nm dielectric nanosheets of aluminium oxide clad between an anisotropic crystal (lithium triborate) and different liquids support Dyakonov-like modes. The direction of light propagation can be controlled by modulating the refractive index of the cladding. The possibility of guiding light in nanometre-thick films with no losses and high directionality makes Dyakonov wave modes attractive for planar photonic devices in schemes similar to those currently employing long-range plasmons.

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Figure 1: Nanosheet structure supporting guided modes enabled by Dyakonov surface waves (GEDS).
Figure 2: Existence domain and localization of GEDS as a function of nanosheet thickness.
Figure 3: Calculated and observed polarization-conversion reflection spectra.
Figure 4: Measured cutoff angle θmax for different liquids and nanosheet thicknesses.
Figure 5: Steering of GEDS by varying the cladding refractive index.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Generalitat de Catalunya (grant no. 2009-SGR-159), by the Ministry of Science and Innovation, Government of Spain (grant no. FIS2009-09928), the Severo Ochoa programme LaserLab Europe and by Fundacio Privada Cellex Barcelona. The authors thank D. Ghosh, V. Pruneri and J. Osmond for assistance in the preparation and characterization of the Al2O3 nanosheets, A. Singh and N. van Hulst for assistance in the fabrication of the grating coupler, and R. Quidant for discussions.

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  1. ICFO-Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques and Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Mediterranean Technology Park, 08860, Castelldefels (Barcelona), Spain

    Osamu Takayama, David Artigas & Lluis Torner

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  1. Osamu Takayama
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  2. David Artigas
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  3. Lluis Torner
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All authors contributed equally to the work.

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Correspondence to David Artigas.

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Takayama, O., Artigas, D. & Torner, L. Lossless directional guiding of light in dielectric nanosheets using Dyakonov surface waves. Nature Nanotech 9, 419–424 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2014.90

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