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Impedance matching and emission properties of optical antennas in a nanophotonic circuit
An experimentally realizable prototype nanophotonic circuit consisting of a
receiving and an emitting nano antenna connected by a two-wire optical
transmission line is studied using finite-difference time- and frequency-domain
simulations. To optimize the coupling between nanophotonic circuit elements we
apply impedance matching concepts in analogy to radio frequency technology. We
show that the degree of impedance matching, and in particular the impedance of
the transmitting nano antenna, can be inferred from the experimentally
accessible standing wave pattern on the transmission line. We demonstrate the
possibility of matching the nano antenna impedance to the transmission line
characteristic impedance by variations of the antenna length and width
realizable by modern microfabrication techniques. The radiation efficiency of
the transmitting antenna also depends on its geometry but is independent of the
degree of impedance matching. Our systems approach to nanophotonics provides
the basis for realizing general nanophotonic circuits and a large variety of
derived novel devices
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