Publications
The Interplay between Localized and Propagating Plasmonic Excitations tracked in Space and Time
Christoph Lemke, Till Leißner, Andrey Evlyukhin, Jörn W. Radke, Alwin Klick, Jacek Fiutowski, Jakob Kjelstrup-Hansen, Horst-Günter Rubahn, Boris Chichkov, Carsten Reinhardt, Michael Bauer
Nano Letters accepted (2014)
In this work the mutual coupling and coherent interaction of propagating and localized surface plasmons within a model type plasmonic assembly is experimentally demonstrated, imaged and analyzed. Using interferometric time resolved photoemission electron microscopy the interplay between ultrashort surface plasmon polariton wave packets and plasmonic nanoantennas is monitored on sub femtosecond time scales. The data reveal real time insights into dispersion and localization of electro magnetic fields as governed by the elementary modes determining the functionality of plasmonic operation units.
Morphological tuning of the plasmon dispersion relation in dielectric-loaded nanofiber waveguides
T. Leißner, C. Lemke, J. Fiutowski, J.W. Radke, A. Klick, L. Tavares, J. Kjelstrup-Hansen, H.-G. Rubahn, and M. Bauer
Physical Review Letters 111 (2013) 46802
Understanding the impact of lateral mode confinement in plasmonic waveguides is of fundamental interest regarding potential applications in plasmonic devices. The knowledge of the frequency-wave vector dispersion relation provides the full information on electromagnetic field propagation in a waveguide. This Letter reports on the measurement of the real part of the surface plasmon polariton dispersion relation in the near infrared spectral regime for individual nanoscale plasmonic waveguides, which were formed by deposition of para-hexaphenylene (p-6P) based nanofibers on top of a gold film. A detailed structural characterization of the nanofibers provides accurate information on the dimensions of the investigated waveguides and enables us to quantify the effect of mode confinement by comparison with experimental results from continuous p-6P films and calculations based on the effective index method.
SPP propagation in organic nanofiber based plasmonic waveguides
T. Leißner, C. Lemke, S. Jauernik, M. Müller, J. Fiutowski, J. Kjelstrup-Hansen, O. Magnussen, H.-G. Rubahn, M. Bauer
Optics Express 21 (2013) 8251
Plasmonic wave packet propagation is monitored in dielectric-loaded surface plasmon polariton waveguides realized from para-hexaphenylene nanofibers deposited onto a 60nm thick gold film. Using interferometric time resolved two-photon photoemission electron microscopy we are able to determine phase and group velocity of the surface plasmon polariton (SPP) waveguiding mode (0.967c and 0.85c at λLaser= 812nm) as well as the effective propagation length (39µm) along the fiber-gold interface. We furthermore observe that the propagation properties of the SPP waveguiding mode are governed by the cross section of the waveguide.
Measurement of surface plasmon autocorrelation functions
C. Lemke, T. Leißner, A. Klick, J.W. Radke, J. Fiutowski, J. Kjelstrup-Hansen, H.-G. Rubahn, and M. Bauer
Optics Express 21 (2013) 27392
In this paper we demonstrate the realization of an autocorrelator for the characterization of ultrashort surface plasmon polariton (SPP) pulses. A wedge shaped structure is used to continuously increase the time delay between two interfering SPPs. The autocorrelation signal is monitored by non-linear two-photon photoemission electron microscopy. The presented approach is applicable to other SPP sensitive detection schemes that provide only moderate spatial resolution and may therefore be of general interest in the field of ultrafast plasmonics.\end{abstract}
Plasmonic black gold based broadband polarizers for ultra-short laser pulses
E. Skovsen, T. Sondergaard, C. Lemke, T. Holmgaard, T. Leissner, R. Eriksen, J. Beermann, M. Bauer, K. Pedersen, S. Bozhevolnyi
Applied Physics Letters 103 (2013) 211102
It has recently been demonstrated that adiabatic nanofocusing of light by gap-plasmon modes in ultra-sharp convex metal grooves can turn metallic surfaces with high reflectivity in the visible and near-infrared into excellent absorbers of light polarized perpendicular to the groove direction. Here we demonstrate that this effect can be used to design broadband linear polarizers, operating in reflection and inducing negligible dispersive stretching of ultra-short (5–10 fs) laser pulses.
Spatiotemporal Characterization of SPP Pulse Propagation in Two-Dimensional Plasmonic Focusing Devices
C. Lemke, C. Schneider, T. Leißner, D. Bayer, J. W. Radke, A. Fischer, P. Melchior, A. B. Evlyukhin, B. N. Chichkov, C. Reinhardt, M. Bauer, M. Aeschlimann
Nano letters 13 (2013) 1053
The spatiotemporal evolution of a SPP wave packet with femtosecond duration is experimentally investigated in two different plasmonic focusing structures. A two-dimensional reconstruction of the plasmonic field in space and time is possible by the numerical analysis of interferometric time-resolved photoemission electron microscopy data. We show that the time-integrated and time-resolved view onto the wave packet dynamics allow one to characterize and compare the capabilities of two-dimensional components for use in plasmonic devices operating with ultrafast pulses.
Application of a grating coupler for surface plasmon polariton excitation in a photoemission electron microscopy experiment
T. Leißner, S. Jauernik, C. Lemke, J. Fiutowski, J. Fiutowski, J. Kjelstrup-Hansen, H. -G. Rubahn, M. Bauer
Proc. SPIE 8424 (2012)
Surface plasmon polariton (SPP) excitation at a gold-vacuum interface via 800 nm light pulses mediated by a periodic array of gold ridges is probed at high lateral resolution by means of photoemission electron microscopy (PEEM). We directly monitor and quantify the coupling properties as a function of the number of grating ridges and compare the PEEM results with analytic calculations. An increase in the coupling efficiency of 3 is observed when increasing the number of ridges from 1 to 6. We observe, however, that a further addition of ridges is rather ineffective. This saturation behavior is assigned to the grazing incidence excitation geometry intrinsic to a conventional PEEM scheme and the limited propagation distance of the SPP modes at the gold-vacuum interface at the used wavelength.
Mapping surface plasmon polariton propagation via counter-propagating light pulses
Ch. Lemke, T. Leißner, S. Jauernik, A. Klick, J. Fiutowski, J. Kjelstrup-Hansen, H. -G. Rubahn, M. Bauer
Optics Express 20 (2012) 12877
In an interferometric time-resolved photoemission electron microscopy (ITR-PEEM) experiment, the near-field associated with surface plasmon polaritons (SPP) can be locally sensed via interference with ultrashort laser pulses. Here, we present ITR-PEEM data of SPP propagation at a gold vacuum interface recorded in a counter-propagating pump-probe geometry. In comparison to former work this approach provides a very intuitive real-time access to the SPP wave packet. The quantitative analysis of the PEEM data enables us to determine in a rather direct manner the propagation characteristics of the SPP.
Surface plasmon polariton emission prompted by organic nanofibers on thin gold films
T. Leißner, K. Thilsing-Hansen, C. Lemke, S. Jauernik, J. Kjelstrup-Hansen, M. Bauer, H. -G. Rubahn
Plasmonics 7 (2012) 253
The excitation of surface plasmon polaritons (SPP) at a gold-vacuum interface by femtosecond light-pulses mediated by organic nanofiber-induced dielectric perturbations is observed using interferometric time-resolved photoemission electron microscopy (ITR-PEEM). The experimental data are quantitatively reproduced by analytic simulations, where the nanofibers are considered as superior source of the SPP emission. The flexibility and tuneability of phenylene-based nanofibers in their morphology and intrinsic optical properties open up future applications to fabricate custom-designed nanoscale sources of SPP’s.
Optimal open-loop near-field control of plasmonic nanostructures
M. Aeschlimann, M. Bauer, D. Bayer, T. Brixner, S. Cunovic, A. Fischer, P. Melchior, W. Pfeiffer, M. Rohmer, C. Schneider, C. Strüber, P. Tuchscherer, D. V. Voronine
New Journal of Physics (2012)
Optimal open-loop control, i.e., the application of an analytically derived control rule, is demonstrated for nanooptical excitations using polarization-shaped laser pulses. Optimal spatial near-field localization in gold nanoprisms and excitation switching is realized by applying a π shift to the relative phase of the two polarization components. The achieved near-field switching confirms theoretical predictions, proves the applicability of predefined control rules in nanooptical light-matter interaction, and reveals local mode interference as an important control mechanism.
Deterministic Control in Subwavelength Field Localization in Plasmonic Nanoantennas
M. Aeschlimann, M. Bauer, D. Bayer, T. Brixner, S. Cunovic, A. Fischer, P. Melchior, W. Pfeiffer, M. Rohmer, C. Schneider, C. Strüber, P. Tuchscherer, D. V. Voronine
Oxford University Press, Inc. 667 (2011)
Spatiotemporal control of nanooptical excitations
M. Aeschlimann, M. Bauer, D. Bayer, T. Brixner, S. Cunovic, F. Dimler, A. Fischer, W. Pfeiffer, M. Rohmer, C. Schneider, F. Steeb, C. Strüber, D. V. Voronine
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 107 (2010)
The most general investigation and exploitation of light-induced processes require simultaneous control over spatial and temporal properties of the electromagnetic field on a femtosecond time and nanometer length scale. Based on the combination of polarization pulse shaping and time-resolved two-photon photoemission electron microscopy, we demonstrate such control over nanoscale spatial and ultrafast temporal degrees of freedom of an electromagnetic excitation in the vicinity of a nanostructure. The time-resolved cross-correlation measurement of the local photoemission yield reveals the switching of the nanolocalized optical near-field distribution with a lateral resolution well below the diffraction limit and a temporal resolution on the femtosecond time scale. In addition, successful adaptive spatiotemporal control demonstrates the flexibility of the method. This flexible simultaneous control of temporal and spatial properties of nanophotonic excitations opens new possibilities to tailor and optimize the light–matter interaction in spectroscopic methods as well as in nanophotonic applications.
Two-Photon Photoemission of Plasmonic Nanostructures with High Temporal and Lateral Resolution
M. Bauer, D. Bayer, C. Wiemann, M. Aeschlimann
eds.Radons, Rumpf, SchusterNonlinear Dynamics of NanosystemsWhiley-VCH, Weinheim (2010)
