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Optics Express

Bistable enhanced total reflection in Kretschmann configuration containing a saturable gain medium

Haichun Zhou, Jie Guo, Kun Xu, Zhe Li, Junqi Tang, Shiqing Man

Published Feb 21, 2018• 5 citations

Abstract

The reflection of a TM-polarized light beam from a Kretschmann configuration with a saturable gain medium is investigated theoretically. Here, the dielectric constant of the gain medium is described by a classical Lorentzian oscillator model. When surface plasmon polaritons are effectively excited in this structure, it is demonstrated that the curves of enhanced total reflection (ETR) show different shaped hysteresis loops associated with optical bistability owing to gain saturation effect. The effects of the angle of incidence, the thickness of metal film, and the value of small-signal gain on bistable ETR are discussed in detail in a homogeneously broadened (HB) gain medium at line center. Analogous results can also be obtained in an inhomogeneously broadened (inHB) gain medium, while the two switch thresholds and the width of optical bistability hysteresis in an inHB gain medium are significantly different from those in a HB gain medium.

DOI: 10.1364/oe.26.005253

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The reflection of a TM-polarized light beam from a Kretschmann configuration with a saturable gain medium is investigated theoretically. Here, the dielectric constant of the gain medium is described by a classical Lorentzian oscillator model. When surface plasmon polaritons are effectively excited in this structure, it is demonstrated that the curves of enhanced total reflection (ETR) show different shaped hysteresis loops associated with optical bistability owing to gain saturation effect. The effects of the angle of incidence, the thickness of metal film, and the value of small-signal gain on bistable ETR are discussed in detail in a homogeneously broadened (HB) gain medium at line center. Analogous results can also be obtained in an inhomogeneously broadened (inHB) gain medium, while the two switch thresholds and the width of optical bistability hysteresis in an inHB gain medium are significantly different from those in a HB gain medium.

Optical bistability based on surface plasmon polaritons in the Kretschmann configuration involving a Kerr nonlinear medium is described by analytical solutions. The conditions of forming the optical bistability with different parameters are explored. The resonant angle of surface plasmon polaritons varying with the incident light intensity also generates the phenomenon of bistability. The system could form optical bistability with the special thickness of the metal film and incident angle. This kind of system has potential application in all-optical networks.

Wysin et al1 suggested that the local field enhancement near a metal surface which occurs if surface plasmons are excited in a metal film, can be useful for observing optical bistability arising from the nonlinearity of the Kerr medium. Other geometrical arrangements2 have also been suggested. These studies assume plane waves in the nonlinear medium and use the Fresnel formulae for reflection and refraction from a layered medium but with linear refractive index replaced by the nonlinear refractive index. This assumes that the fields in the medium are homogeneous. However if surface plasmons are excited, then the fields are inhomogeneous and one has the problem of reflection and refraction from an inhomogeneous layered medium. The inhomogeneity is to be determined self consistently. Thus a proper treatment of optical bistability with surface plasmons should use the nonlinear solutions of the wave equation in Kerr medium. This is what we do in this paper.

We have theoretically analysed the optical bistability due to the excitation of surface plasmon polaritons (SP's) in samples, prism/metal film/nonlinear optic medium and prism/gap material/metal film/non-linear optic medium, where the non-linear optic medium has an intensity-dependent refractive index. We considered two cases, i.e. non-linearity along the propagation direction of SP's and along the normal to the interface. In the former case, the critical input power for the optical bistability was too high to allow experimental observation, while it was reasonably low for the latter case.