Propagation length of surface plasmon polaritons excited by a 1D plasmonic grating

• Higher refractive index substrate is used.
• Excitation and propagation length of the SPP is correlated with near- and far-field analysis.
• Application in heat assisted magnetic recording.
• Experimental work.

The propagation length of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) is investigated experimentally using a 1D metallic grating fabricated on a higher refractive index substrate (Gallium Phosphide, GaP). The experimentally measured value propagation length of the SPP (LSPP) at 785 nm wavelength is 13.33 ± 0.13 μm, which is close to the theoretical value of the LSPP on an ideal Au-thin film. The SPP resonance observed in far-field measurements confirms the underlying process and the related effects on the LSPP measured by scanning near field optical microscope (SNOM). Far-field measurements shows that LSPP is associated with the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the SPP resonance which in-turn associated with in-plane directional scattering of the SPP.

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