Out of plane mode conversion and manipulation of Surface Plasmon Polariton Waves

We propose a rigorous design method of structured gratings for out of plane mode conversion, line focusing and manipulation of Surface Plasmon Polariton (SPP) waves. Employing a blazed grating to incorporate the directionality of SPP launch, and at the same time controlling grating depth and chirp to account for the radiation loss and diffraction angle, it was possible to achieve high efficiency and flexible SPP to freespace mode conversion. Devices with advanced functionalities, such as balanced SPP power splitter, and SPP wavelength demultiplexer are demonstrated with over 75% of power efficiencies at reasonable working distances of less than several wavelengths. (C) 2010 Optical Society of America