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Physical Review A

Electromagnetically-induced-transparency plasmonics: Quantum-interference-assisted tunable surface-plasmon-polariton resonance and excitation

Jian Qi Shen

Published Aug 11, 2014• 17 citations
Publisher

Abstract

An experimentally feasible configuration of a prism coupler with an electromagnetically-induced-transparency (EIT) medium layer, e.g., a semiconductor-quantum-dot (SQD) medium, deposited upon its prism base is suggested for generating tunable surface-plasmon-polariton resonance. Such surface-plasmon-polariton resonance and optical excitation of a surface plasmon wave can be manipulated by switchable quantum interference among SQD multilevel transitions driven by two external control fields. When an incident probe field is coupled into a surface plasmon wave excitation mode, the surface-plasmon-polariton (SPP) resonance at the interface between the SQD medium layer and the substrate will arise, and the quantum-coherently controllable reflection spectrum of the probe field on the prism base can be achieved. In this process, destructive and constructive quantum interference (determined by the intensity ratio of the two external control fields) in the SQD multilevel system plays a key role for achieving the tunable reflection spectrum. The EIT-based surface-plasmon-polariton resonance presented here will have three characteristics (some of them would be attractive): (i) switchable quantum interference exhibited by surface plasmon wave excitation, (ii) quantum-coherently controllable surface plasmon polaritons by external optical fields, (iii) surface wave sensitive to dispersion of the SQD quantum coherent medium. Such an effect of controllable optical response based on the quantum-interference switchable surface-plasmon-polariton resonance in the EIT-prism coupler may find some potential applications in design of new photonic and quantum optical devices.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.90.023814

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An experimentally feasible configuration of a prism coupler with an electromagnetically-induced-transparency (EIT) medium layer, e.g., a semiconductor-quantum-dot (SQD) medium, deposited upon its prism base is suggested for generating tunable surface-plasmon-polariton resonance. Such surface-plasmon-polariton resonance and optical excitation of a surface plasmon wave can be manipulated by switchable quantum interference among SQD multilevel transitions driven by two external control fields. When an incident probe field is coupled into a surface plasmon wave excitation mode, the surface-plasmon-polariton (SPP) resonance at the interface between the SQD medium layer and the substrate will arise, and the quantum-coherently controllable reflection spectrum of the probe field on the prism base can be achieved. In this process, destructive and constructive quantum interference (determined by the intensity ratio of the two external control fields) in the SQD multilevel system plays a key role for achieving the tunable reflection spectrum. The EIT-based surface-plasmon-polariton resonance presented here will have three characteristics (some of them would be attractive): (i) switchable quantum interference exhibited by surface plasmon wave excitation, (ii) quantum-coherently controllable surface plasmon polaritons by external optical fields, (iii) surface wave sensitive to dispersion of the SQD quantum coherent medium. Such an effect of controllable optical response based on the quantum-interference switchable surface-plasmon-polariton resonance in the EIT-prism coupler may find some potential applications in design of new photonic and quantum optical devices.
An EIT (electromagnetically induced transparency)-based prism coupler is suggested for realizing tunable re∞ection spectrum via quantum coherence of phases in a multilevel system, where destructive and constructive quantum interference will occur among multilevel transition pathways that are driven by two external control flelds. In this prism coupler, a semiconductor-quantum-dot (SQD) medium layer, which can exhibit EIT and relevant quantum coherent efiects, bounds the prism base, and the two external control flelds are used to manipulate the probe fleld and the excited surface plasmon wave (on the SQD layer surface). Then the surface plasmon wave modes, which are generated by the probe fleld incident into this multilevel SQD medium layer, can be coherently tunable through the switchable quantum interference (destructive and constructive quantum interference) among the energy levels in the SQD systems. Such switchable quantum interference can be realized if we tune the intensities (i.e., adjust a proper intensity ratio) of the two control flelds that drive the SQD multilevel EIT system. New switchable photonic devices, which could flnd applications in photonic microcircuits as well as some areas in integrated optical circuits, could be designed based on this quantum-interference switchable surface plasmon resonance.
Abstract We present a comprehensive theoretical study on the controlling of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) excitation at the metal–dielectric (silver-Rb atoms) interface using electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). The results demonstrate that the excitation of SPPs can efficiently be controlled by utilizing the system parameters, e . g . atomic density, pump Rabi frequency and metal thickness. A significant probe field enhancement is achieved by adjusting the pump Rabi frequency and atomic number density, and it can be further optimized by precise tuning of the metal thickness. The resonance angle as well as reflection and transmission of the probe field are found to be highly sensitive to the probe frequency detuning. A notable displacement of the probe transmission peak position is also observed with the increasing pump Rabi frequency. These findings provide tunable control of SPPs using an EIT medium, which may find potential applications in the domains of quantum plasmonic sensor-based devices and quantum communication.
Quantum coherence controlled by the resonant condition of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) has attracted considerable attention for the excitation of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) in various metal–dielectric hybrid structures. However, for all coherent fields operating resonantly in the system, the exact extent to which perfect EIT is effective in establishing coupler-free SPP excitation has not yet been well examined. Here, we investigate the excitation of SPPs in an air–metal–atom composite structure incorporating a three-level Λ-type atomic model that operates in the strong ground-state coherence-dephasing regime. Such decoherence limits the establishment of true EIT under the condition of two-photon Raman resonance. It is found that, although the characteristic narrow resonant field enhancement associated with EIT mediated by the resonant fields disappears, significant SPP-assisted field enhancement survives over a broad off-resonant spectral region. This behavior originates from the preservation of the momentum-matching condition together with the fulfillment of the dielectric requirements for surface plasmon resonance (SPR) in the normal-dispersion regime. If the coupling field is tuned to the SPR condition, the detuned two-photon Raman resonance plays a vital role in structuring a doublet in the spectral response of an initially single-peaked broadband SPP excitation. This observation demonstrates that, although true EIT does not occur in the system, an EIT-like plasmonic spectral signature appears through the off-resonant SPP excitation mechanism. All-optical switching can be realized by turning the detuned condition of the coupling field on and off, thereby exhibiting this coherence feature. Furthermore, we show that the present model remains robust in the Doppler-broadened regime, providing a realistic route toward coherence-controlled coupler-free SPP excitation beyond the conventional ideal-EIT framework.
We find that the magnetic plasmon resonance plays a vital role in plasmonic electromagnetically-induced transparency (EIT) proposed by Zhang et al. [\prl \textbf{101}, 047401 (2008)] as well as the localized surface plasmon polaritons. Based on this picture, the plasmonic EIT control through single optical field is suggested in a modified scheme for active plasmonic switching by simply adjusting the incident angle of the optical field. The tunability of plasmonic EIT in this scheme is exhibited sufficiently.
Tunable surface plasmons on the interface of a multilevel atomic medium with a cross coupling of the electric and magnetic components of a plasmonic field are investigated. The strong chirality resulting from the quantum coherence leads to some exciting properties of the surface plasmons. Compared to the traditional chiral-metal interface, surface plasmonic mode can still be found at the interface between such atomic media and a dielectric even when both the permittivity and the permeability of the medium are positive. This is in contrast to the conventional plasmonic systems where the signs of the permittivities or permeabilities on the two sides of the interface are opposite. We call this phenomenon an electromagnetically induced plasmon. Additionally, as the chirality and effective refractive index of the atomic medium are dependent on the intensity and phase of the controlling field, we can conveniently manipulate the properties of the surface plasmons.
The spectral response of a plasmonic nanostructure may heavily depend on the refractive index of its surroundings. The key idea of this paper is to control this response by coherent optical means, i.e., with an optically controlled electromagnetically induced transparency medium. In such an environment, an external laser provides a knob to shift the position of plasmonic resonances without the need to change the geometry of the nanostructure. Additionally, the setup can be exploited to excite narrowband surface plasmon polaritons.