826 research outputs found
Giant Modal Gain, Amplified Surface Plasmon Polariton Propagation, and Slowing Down of Energy Velocity in a Metal-Semiconductor-Metal Structure
We investigated surface plasmon polariton (SPP) propagation in a
metal-semiconductor-metal structure where semiconductor is highly excited to
have optical gain. We show that near the SPP resonance, the imaginary part of
the propagation wavevector changes from positive to hugely negative,
corresponding to an amplified SPP propagation. The SPP experiences a giant gain
that is 1000 times of material gain in the excited semiconductor. We show that
such a giant gain is related to the slowing down of average energy propagation
in the structur
Material dependence of Casimir forces: gradient expansion beyond proximity
A widely used method for estimating Casimir interactions [H. B. G. Casimir,
Proc. K. Ned. Akad. Wet. 51, 793 (1948)] between gently curved material
surfaces at short distances is the proximity force approximation (PFA). While
this approximation is asymptotically exact at vanishing separations,
quantifying corrections to PFA has been notoriously difficult. Here we use a
derivative expansion to compute the leading curvature correction to PFA for
metals (gold) and insulators (SiO) at room temperature. We derive an
explicit expression for the amplitude of the PFA correction to
the force gradient for axially symmetric surfaces. In the non-retarded limit,
the corrections to the Casimir free energy are found to scale logarithmically
with distance. For gold, has an unusually large temperature
dependence.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
Quantum and thermal Casimir interaction between a sphere and a plate: Comparison of Drude and plasma models
We calculate the Casimir interaction between a sphere and a plate, both
described by the plasma model, the Drude model, or generalizations of the two
models. We compare the results at both zero and finite temperatures. At
asymptotically large separations we obtain analytical results for the
interaction that reveal a non-universal, i.e., material dependent interaction
for the plasma model. The latter result contains the asymptotic interaction for
Drude metals and perfect reflectors as different but universal limiting cases.
This observation is related to the screening of a static magnetic field by a
London superconductor. For small separations we find corrections to the
proximity force approximation (PFA) that support correlations between geometry
and material properties that are not captured by the Lifshitz theory. Our
results at finite temperatures reveal for Drude metals a non-monotonic
temperature dependence of the Casimir free energy and a negative entropy over a
sizeable range of separations.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figure
New approach to the thermal Casimir force between real metals
The new approach to the theoretical description of the thermal Casimir force
between real metals is presented. It uses the plasma-like dielectric
permittivity that takes into account the interband transitions of core
electrons. This permittivity precisely satisfies the Kramers-Kronig relations.
The respective Casimir entropy is positive and vanishes at zero temperature in
accordance with the Nernst heat theorem. The physical reasons why the Drude
dielectric function, when substituted in the Lifshitz formula, is inconsistent
with electrodynamics are elucidated. The proposed approach is the single one
consistent with all measurements of the Casimir force performed up to date. The
application of this approach to metal-type semiconductors is considered.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures. Proceedings of QFEXT07, to appear in J. Phys.
Phase-change chalcogenide glass metamaterial
Combining metamaterials with functional media brings a new dimension to their
performance. Here we demonstrate substantial resonance frequency tuning in a
photonic metamaterial hybridized with an electrically/optically switchable
chalcogenide glass. The transition between amorphous and crystalline forms
brings about a 10% shift in the near-infrared resonance wavelength of an
asymmetric split-ring array, providing transmission modulation functionality
with a contrast ratio of 4:1 in a device of sub-wavelength thickness.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figure
Experimental cross-polarization detection of coupling far-field light to highly confined plasmonic gap modes via nanoantennas
We experimentally demonstrate the coupling of far-field light to highly
confined plasmonic gap modes via connected nanoantennas. The excitation of
plasmonic gap modes is shown to depend on the polarization, position and
wavelength of the incident beam. Far-field measurements performed in crossed
polarization allow for the detection of extremely weak signals re-emitted from
gap waveguides and can increase the signal-to-noise ratio dramatically.Comment: 5 figures; http://apl.aip.org
Comparison between experiment and theory for the thermal Casimir force
We analyze recent experiments on measuring the thermal Casimir force with
account of possible background effects. Special attention is paid to the
validity of the proximity force approximation (PFA) used in the comparison
between the experimental data and computational results in experiments
employing a sphere-plate geometry. The PFA results are compared with the exact
results where they are available. The possibility to use fitting procedures in
theory-experiment comparison is discussed. On this basis we reconsider
experiments exploiting spherical lenses of centimeter-size radii.Comment: Plenary talk at the 10th International Conference "Quantum Field
Theory Under the Influence of External Conditions" (Benasque, Spain, 2011);
16 pages, 5 figure
Resonant photon tunneling enhancement of the van der Waals friction
We study the van der Waals friction between two flat metal surfaces in
relative motion. For good conductors we find that normal relative motion gives
a much larger friction than for parallel relative motion. The friction may
increase by many order of magnitude when the surfaces are covered by
adsorbates, or can support low-frequency surface plasmons. In this case the
friction is determined by resonant photon tunneling between adsorbate
vibrational modes, or surface plasmon modes.Comment: Published in PR
Optical detection of spin transport in non-magnetic metals
We determine the dynamic magnetization induced in non-magnetic metal wedges
composed of silver, copper and platinum by means of Brillouin light scattering
(BLS) microscopy. The magnetization is transferred from a ferromagnetic
Ni80Fe20 layer to the metal wedge via the spin pumping effect. The spin pumping
efficiency can be controlled by adding an insulating but transparent interlayer
between the magnetic and non-magnetic layer. By comparing the experimental
results to a dynamical macroscopic spin-transport model we determine the
transverse relaxation time of the pumped spin current which is much smaller
than the longitudinal relaxation time
Quantum reflection of ultracold atoms from thin films, graphene, and semiconductor heterostructures
We show that thin dielectric films can be used to enhance the performance of
passive atomic mirrors by enabling quantum reflection probabilities of over 90%
for atoms incident at velocities ~1 mm/s, achieved in recent experiments. This
enhancement is brought about by weakening the Casimir-Polder attraction between
the atom and the surface, which induces the quantum reflection. We show that
suspended graphene membranes also produce higher quantum reflection
probabilities than bulk matter. Temporal changes in the electrical resistance
of such membranes, produced as atoms stick to the surface, can be used to
monitor the reflection process, non-invasively and in real time. The resistance
change allows the reflection probability to be determined purely from
electrical measurements without needing to image the reflected atom cloud
optically. Finally, we show how perfect atom mirrors may be manufactured from
semiconductor heterostructures, which employ an embedded two-dimensional
electron gas to tailor the atom-surface interaction and so enhance the
reflection by classical means.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figure
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