Tamm plasmon-polaritons: First experimental observation

We report on the first experimental observation of Tamm plasmon-polaritons (TPP) formed at the interface between a metal and a dielectric Bragg reflector (DBR). Contrary to conventional surface plasmons, TPPs have an in-plane wave vector less than the wave vector of light in vacuum, which allows for their direct optical excitation, and can be formed in both the TE and TM polarizations. The angular resolved reflectivity and transmission spectra of a GaAs/AlAs DBR covered by Au films of various thicknesses show the resonances associated with the TPP at low temperatures and at room temperature. The in-plane dispersion of TTPs is parabolic with an effective mass 4×10−54×10−5 of the free electron mass.