Increasing Surface Plasmons Propagation via Photonic Nanojets with Periodically Spaced 3D Dielectric Cuboids

• Main Authors: Victor Pacheco-Peña, Igor V. Minin, Oleg V. Minin, Miguel Beruete
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2016-03-01
• Series: Photonics
• Subjects: photonic nanojets; surface plasmons; optical waveguide; dielectric waveguide; telecom wavelengths
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/2304-6732/3/1/10

A structure based on periodically arranged 3D dielectric cuboids connected by photonic nanojets (PNJs) is proposed with the aim of increasing the propagation distance of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) at the telecom wavelength of 1550 nm. The performance of the structure is evaluated and compared with the case without the cuboids demonstrating that the SPPs propagation length is enhanced by a factor greater than 2, reaching a value of approximately 19λ0, when the gap between the cuboids is 2.5λ0. Also, the dependence of the propagation length with the height of the cubes is evaluated, showing that this parameter is critical for a good performance of the chain. A subwavelength resolution is obtained for all the jets generated at the output of the cuboids.