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Optical antennas based on coupled nanoholes in thin metal films

Nature Physics volume 3, pages 884–889 (2007)Cite this article

Abstract

The ability to control optical effects at the nanoscale is a challenge that could be of great importance for a range of photonic applications. However, progress requires a deep understanding of the relationship between near-field and far-field properties of the individual elements of the nanostructure, as well as of the role of nano-optical interactions. Here, we show that the strong interaction between nanoholes in optically thin metal films can be used to readily tune their spectral response and visibility. Control of this interaction in short chains of nanoholes enables either amplification or almost total suppression of the scattered light. The phenomena are interpreted in terms of hole coupling mediated via antisymmetric surface plasmon polaritons, which makes the nanohole chains effectively behave as linear wire antennas.

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Figure 1: Illustration of visibility phenomena in two orthogonal nanohole chains.
Figure 2: Experimental elastic scattering spectra of nanohole chains (N=2,8) measured in the in-phase configuration of incidence.
Figure 3: Model of hole–hole interaction mediated by the antisymmetric bound (ab) SPP mode.
Figure 4: Comparison of experimental elastic scattering spectra for the in-phase and out-of-phase configurations for different numbers of nanoholes.
Figure 5: Nano-antenna based on a chain of nanoholes.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank P. Johansson, J. G. de Abajo, J. Aizpurua, P. Nordlander, T. Rindzevicius, T. Pakizeh and S. A. Astakhov for stimulating discussions and suggestions. Financial support from the Swedish Research Council and the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research is gratefully acknowledged.

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  1. Y. Alaverdyan and B. Sepúlveda: These authors contributed equally to this work

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Applied Physics, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-412 96 Göteborg, Sweden

    Y. Alaverdyan, B. Sepúlveda, L. Eurenius, E. Olsson & M. Käll

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  1. Y. Alaverdyan
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  2. B. Sepúlveda
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  3. L. Eurenius
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Contributions

Y.A. and L.E. prepared the samples. Y.A. and B.S. carried out optical measurements and data analysis. B.S. and M.K. made numerical simulations and analytical theory. Y.A., B.S., E.O. and M.K. planned the work. Y.A., B.S. and M.K. wrote the paper. All authors discussed the results.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Y. Alaverdyan or M. Käll.

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Alaverdyan, Y., Sepúlveda, B., Eurenius, L. et al. Optical antennas based on coupled nanoholes in thin metal films. Nature Phys 3, 884–889 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/nphys785

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