Hybrid photonic-plasmonic cavities based on the nanoparticle-on-a-mirror configuration

Hybrid photonic-plasmonic cavities have emerged as a new platform to increase light-matter interaction capable to enhance the Purcell factor in a singular way not attainable with either photonic or plasmonic cavities separately. In the hybrid cavities proposed so far, the plasmonic element is usually a metallic bow-tie antenna, so the plasmonic gap-defined by lithography-is limited to minimum values of several nanometers. Nanoparticle-on-a-mirror (NPoM) cavities are far superior to achieve the smallest possible mode volumes, as plasmonic gaps smaller than 1 nm can be created. Here, we design a hybrid cavity that combines an NPoM plasmonic cavity and a dielectric-nanobeam photonic crystal cavity operating at transverse-magnetic polarization. The metallic nanoparticle can be placed very close (<1 nm) to the upper surface of the dielectric cavity, which acts as a low-reflectivity mirror. We demonstrate through numerical calculations of the local density of states that this hybrid plasmonic-photonic cavity exhibits quality factors Q above 10(3) and normalized mode volumes V down to 10(-3), thus resulting in high Purcell factors (F-P approximate to 10(5)), while being experimentally feasible with current technology. Our results suggest that hybrid cavities with sub-nanometer gaps should open new avenues for boosting light -matter interaction in nanophotonic systems. (C) 2021 Chinese Laser Press

Automated summary

Hybrid photonic-plasmonic cavities that combine NPoM plasmonic cavities with dielectric-nanobeam photonic crystal cavities demonstrate high Purcell factors and low mode volumes, potentially enhancing light-matter interaction in nanophotonic systems.