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Active nanoplasmonic metamaterials

Nature Materials volume 11, pages 573–584 (2012)Cite this article

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Metamaterials have a tremendous potential for applications from biophotonics to optical circuits, although progress has been hampered by intrinsic metal losses. This Review discusses the progress in countering such losses through the use of gain media to realize devices such as nanoplasmonic lasers or improved metamaterials for imaging and nonlinear optical applications.

Abstract

Optical metamaterials and nanoplasmonics bridge the gap between conventional optics and the nanoworld. Exciting and technologically important capabilities range from subwavelength focusing and stopped light to invisibility cloaking, with applications across science and engineering from biophotonics to nanocircuitry. A problem that has hampered practical implementations have been dissipative metal losses, but the efficient use of optical gain has been shown to compensate these and to allow for loss-free operation, amplification and nanoscopic lasing. Here, we review recent and ongoing progress in the realm of active, gain-enhanced nanoplasmonic metamaterials. On introducing and expounding the underlying theoretical concepts of the complex interaction between plasmons and gain media, we examine the experimental efforts in areas such as nanoplasmonic and metamaterial lasers. We underscore important current trends that may lead to improved active imaging, ultrafast nonlinearities on the nanoscale or cavity-free lasing in the stopped-light regime.

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Figure 1: From loss compensation to steady-state amplification in active negative-index fishnet metamaterials.
Figure 2: Experimental demonstration of amplification or loss compensation in gain-enhanced negative-index or negative-magnetic metamaterials.
Figure 3: Dynamics of bright and dark lasing states in gain-enhanced double-fishnets.
Figure 4: Mapping of the modal spatial field distributions of the lowest-order bright and dark modes of gold bowtie nanoantennas.
Figure 5: Experimental demonstrations of plasmonic lasers exhibiting sub-diffraction limited confinement in one, two and three dimensions.
Figure 6: Multifold enhancement of quantum-dot luminescence in plasmonic metamaterials.

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  1. Department of Physics, The Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, SW7 2AZ, London, UK

    O. Hess, J. B. Pendry, S. A. Maier, R. F. Oulton, J. M. Hamm & K. L. Tsakmakidis

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  1. O. Hess
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Hess, O., Pendry, J., Maier, S. et al. Active nanoplasmonic metamaterials. Nature Mater 11, 573–584 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat3356

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