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Reflecting upon the losses in plasmonics and metamaterials

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 August 2012

Jacob B. Khurgin  and
Alexandra Boltasseva
Jacob B. Khurgin
Affiliation:
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Johns Hopkins University; jakek@jhu.edu
Alexandra Boltasseva
Affiliation:
School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Purdue University, Birck Nanotechnology Center; aeb@purdue.edu
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Abstract

Plasmonics aims at combining features of photonics and electronics by coupling photons with a free-electron gas, whose subwavelength oscillations (surface plasmons) enable manipulation of light at the nanoscale and engender the exciting properties of optical metamaterials. Plasmonics is facing a grand challenge of overcoming metal losses impeding its progress. We reflect on the reasons why subwavelength confinement and loss are intimately intertwined and investigate the physics of loss in conductors beyond the conventional Drude model. We suggest that commonly used noble metals may not be the best materials for plasmonics and describe alternate materials such as transparent conducting oxides and transition metal nitrides. We consider the prospects of compensating the loss with gain materials and conclude that the so-far elusive solution to the loss obstacle lies in finding better materials with lower losses.

Keywords

MetalnanoscaleRaman spectroscopyoptical properties
Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Bulletin , Volume 37 , Issue 8: Plasmonics , August 2012 , pp. 768 - 779
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2012

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