Directed emission by electrically driven optical antennas

René Kullock; Philipp Grimm; Maximilian Ochs; Bert Hecht

doi:10.1117/12.2289647

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26 January 2018 Directed emission by electrically driven optical antennas

René Kullock, Philipp Grimm, Maximilian Ochs, Bert Hecht

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Proceedings Volume 10540, Quantum Sensing and Nano Electronics and Photonics XV; 1054012 (2018) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2289647
Event: SPIE OPTO, 2018, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

Antennas play a key role in today’s wireless communication networks and it would be hugely beneficial to extent their use into the optical regime. However, classical signal generators do not work at those frequencies and therefore new concepts are needed. Here, we demonstrate how to electrically drive an optical nanoantenna using an atomic-scale feed gap provided by a gold-particle pushed into a precisely tailored interstice between two antenna arms. Upon applying a voltage, inelastic electron tunneling leads to current fluctuations in the optical regime and, hence, light emission. We show how the antennas spectrally shape the emission, how the exact particle position influences these properties and how to increase the directivity via Yagi-Uda arrangements or plasmonic waveguides structures in order to make electricallydriven optical nanoantennas more suitable for on-chip data communication.

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René Kullock, Philipp Grimm, Maximilian Ochs, and Bert Hecht "Directed emission by electrically driven optical antennas", Proc. SPIE 10540, Quantum Sensing and Nano Electronics and Photonics XV, 1054012 (26 January 2018); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2289647

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