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| Auteurs principaux: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
| Publié: |
2025
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| Sujets: | |
| Accès en ligne: | https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.11643 |
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| _version_ | 1866917925401657344 |
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| author | Ichiji, Naoki Kikuchi, Hibiki Yessenov, Murat Schepler, Kenneth L. Abouraddy, Ayman F. Kubo, Atsushi |
| author_facet | Ichiji, Naoki Kikuchi, Hibiki Yessenov, Murat Schepler, Kenneth L. Abouraddy, Ayman F. Kubo, Atsushi |
| contents | Surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) are surface-bound waves at metal-dielectric interfaces that exhibit strong out-of-plane field confinement, a key feature for applications is nano-scale sensing and imaging. However, this advantage is offset by diffractive spreading during in-plane propagation, leading to transverse spatial delocalization. Conventional strategies to combat diffraction through spatial structuring are not applicable for dimensionally restricted SPPs -- except for cosine plasmons that are not localized or Airy plasmons that propagate along a curved trajectory. Here, we report the first realization of space-time SPPs (ST-SPPs), ultrashort (16 fs) diffraction-free SPPs that propagate in a straight line, whose unique propagation characteristics stem from precise sculpting of their spatiotemporal spectra. By first synthesizing a spatiotemporally structured field in free space, we couple the field to an axially invariant ST-SPP at a metal-dielectric surface via an ultra-broadband nanoslit coupling mechanism, further enabling control over the ST-SPP group velocity and propagation characteristics. Time-resolved two-photon fluorescence interference microscopy enables reconstructing the surface-bound field in space and time, thereby verifying their predicted phase-tilted spatiotemporal wave-front and diffraction-free propagation. Our work opens new avenues for combining spatiotemporally structured light with the field-localization associated with nanophotonics, and may thus enable novel applications in surface-enhanced sensing and nonlinear optical interactions. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2502_11643 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Observation of space-time surface plasmon polaritons Ichiji, Naoki Kikuchi, Hibiki Yessenov, Murat Schepler, Kenneth L. Abouraddy, Ayman F. Kubo, Atsushi Optics Surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) are surface-bound waves at metal-dielectric interfaces that exhibit strong out-of-plane field confinement, a key feature for applications is nano-scale sensing and imaging. However, this advantage is offset by diffractive spreading during in-plane propagation, leading to transverse spatial delocalization. Conventional strategies to combat diffraction through spatial structuring are not applicable for dimensionally restricted SPPs -- except for cosine plasmons that are not localized or Airy plasmons that propagate along a curved trajectory. Here, we report the first realization of space-time SPPs (ST-SPPs), ultrashort (16 fs) diffraction-free SPPs that propagate in a straight line, whose unique propagation characteristics stem from precise sculpting of their spatiotemporal spectra. By first synthesizing a spatiotemporally structured field in free space, we couple the field to an axially invariant ST-SPP at a metal-dielectric surface via an ultra-broadband nanoslit coupling mechanism, further enabling control over the ST-SPP group velocity and propagation characteristics. Time-resolved two-photon fluorescence interference microscopy enables reconstructing the surface-bound field in space and time, thereby verifying their predicted phase-tilted spatiotemporal wave-front and diffraction-free propagation. Our work opens new avenues for combining spatiotemporally structured light with the field-localization associated with nanophotonics, and may thus enable novel applications in surface-enhanced sensing and nonlinear optical interactions. |
| title | Observation of space-time surface plasmon polaritons |
| topic | Optics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.11643 |