A subwavelength coupler-type MIM optical filter

A novel subwavelength surface plasmon polaritons optical filter based on an incompletely directional coupler is proposed and numerically simulated by using the finite difference time domain method with perfectly matched layer absorbing boundary condition. An analytical solution for the resonant condition of the structure is derived by means of the cavity theory. Both analytical and simulative results reveal that the resonant wavelengths are proportional to the length of the slit segment, inversely proportional to the antinode number of a standing wave in the segment, and are related to the slit width and the gap between the two slits. The analytical solution being consistent with the numerical simulation verifies the feasibility of the concept of the new filter structure. (c) 2009 Optical Society of America