Nonlinear surface-plasmon whispering-gallery modes in metallic nanowire cavities

We demonstrate that the surface second-harmonic generation can lead to the formation of nonlinear plasmonic whispering-gallery modes (WGMs) in microcavities made of metallic nanowires. Since these WGMs are excited by induced surface nonlinear dipoles, they can be generated even when they are not coupled to the radiation continuum. Consequently, the quality factor of these nonlinear modes can be as large as the theoretical limit imposed by the optical losses in the metal. Remarkably, our theoretical analysis shows that nonlinear plasmonic WGMs are characterized by fractional azimuthal modal numbers. This suggests that the plasmonic cavities investigated here can be used to generate multicolor optical fields with fractional angular momentum. Applications to plasmonic sensors are also discussed. © 2013 American Physical Society

The origin of second harmonic generation hotspots in chiral optical metamaterials [Invited]

Novel ways to detect the handedness in chiral optical metamaterials by means of the second harmonic generation (SHG) process have recently been proposed. However, the precise origin of the SHG emission has yet to be unambiguously established. In this paper, we present computational simulations of both the electric currents and the electromagnetic fields in chiral planar metamaterials, at the fundamental frequency (FF), and discuss the implications of our results on the characteristics of experimentally measured SHG. In particular, we show that the results of our numerical simulations are in good agreement with the experimental mapping of SHG sources. Thus, the SHG in these metamaterials can be attributed to a strong local enhancement of the electromagnetic fields at the FF, which depends on the particular structure of the patterned metamaterial

Nonlinear superchiral meta-surfaces: tuning chirality and disentangling non-reciprocity at the nanoscale.

Circularly polarized light is incident on a nanostructured chiral meta-surface. In the nanostructured unit cells whose chirality matches that of light, superchiral light is forming and strong optical second harmonic generation can be observed

The origin of second harmonic generation hotspots in chiral optical metamaterials

Novel ways to detect the handedness in chiral optical metamaterials by means of the second harmonic generation (SHG) process have recently been proposed. However, the precise origin of the SHG emission has yet to be unambiguously established. In this paper, we present computational simulations of both the electric currents and the electromagnetic fields in chiral planar metamaterials, at the fundamental frequency (FF), and discuss the implications of our results on the characteristics of experimentally measured SHG. In particular, we show that the results of our numerical simulations are in good agreement with the experimental mapping of SHG sources. Thus, the SHG in these metamaterials can be attributed to a strong local enhancement of the electromagnetic fields at the FF, which depends on the particular structure of the patterned metamaterial

Robustness of the scanning second harmonic generation microscopy technique for characterization of hotspot patterns in plasmonic nanomaterials

peer reviewedScanning second harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy is becoming an important tool for characterizing nanopatterned metal surfaces and mapping plasmonic local field enhancements. Here we study G-shaped and mirror-G-shaped gold nanostructures and test the robustness of the experimental results versus the direction of scanning, the numerical aperture of the objective, the magnification, and the size of the laser spot on the sample. We find that none of these parameters has a significant influence on the experimental results

Nonlinear Superchiral Meta-Surfaces: Tuning Chirality and Disentangling Non-Reciprocity at the Nanoscale

Circularly polarized light is incident on a nanostructured chiral meta-surface. In the nanostructured unit cells whose chirality matches that of light, superchiral light is forming and strong optical second harmonic generation can be observed.status: publishe

Hydrodynamic model for coherent nonlinear plasmonics

This chapter reviews recent advances in the investigation of the nonlinear optical properties of metallic nanostructures based on the hydrodynamic approach. The basic principles of this concept are introduced and various nonlinear phenomena, such as nonlinear harmonic generation at the nanoscale and soliton formation, are overviewed applying both perturbative analytical and approximation-free numerical methods