Sub-wavelength plasmonic modes in a conductor-gap-dielectric system with a nanoscale gap

We study guided modes in a conductor-gap-dielectric (CGD) system that includes a low-index dielectric gap layer of deep sub-wavelength thickness sandwiched between a conductor and a high-index dielectric cladding. Analysis of the dispersion equation for CGD modes provides an analytical estimation for the cut-off thickness of the gap layer. This guided mode is unusual because it exists when the gap thickness is less than the cutoff thickness. In the direction normal to the interfaces, the modal electric field is tightly confined within the gap. Sub-wavelength lateral mode confinement is readily provided by a spatial variation of the gap-layer thickness: the modal field localizes at the narrowest gap. Various lateral confinement schemes are proposed and verified by numerical simulations. Possible applications of CGD modes include surface-plasmon nano-lasers (SPASERs) and sensors. If these plasmonic waveguides are scaled for operation at far infrared rather than telecomm wavelengths, then the propagation losses are dramatically reduced, thereby enabling the construction of practical chip-scale plasmonic integrated circuits or PLICs. (C) 2009 Optical Society of America