Limits of luminescence efficiency enhancement by surface plasmon polaritons

Jacob B. Khurgin; Gregory Sun

doi:10.1117/12.737171

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25 September 2007 Limits of luminescence efficiency enhancement by surface plasmon polaritons

Jacob B. Khurgin; Gregory Sun

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Proceedings Volume 6638, Photonic Metamaterials; 66380R (2007) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.737171
Event: NanoScience + Engineering, 2007, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

We develop a rigorous theory of the enhancement of spontaneous emission from a light-emitting device via coupling the radiant energy in and out of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) on the metal-dielectric interface. We show that while the efficiency of coupling into the SPP mode can be quite high, the radiative efficiency of the SPP itself is relatively low, with a substantial fraction of the energy lost in the metal. Using the GaN/Ag system as an example we obtain easy-to-interpret analytical results that unequivocally indicate that using SPP pays off only for emitters that have medium-to-low luminescence efficiency; thus the SPP applications should be limited to those in sensing and analysis rather than in the development of efficient light sources.

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Jacob B. Khurgin and Gregory Sun "Limits of luminescence efficiency enhancement by surface plasmon polaritons", Proc. SPIE 6638, Photonic Metamaterials, 66380R (25 September 2007); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.737171

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