A dichroic surface-plasmon-polariton splitter based on an asymmetric T-shape nanoslit

An asymmetric T-shape nanoslit in a metal film is proposed to act as an efficient dichroic surface-plasmon-polariton (SPP) splitter, which is composed of a single nanoslit in immediate contacting with two nanogrooves with different widths. Simulations show that, due to the interferences of SPPs in the upper part of the asymmetric T-shape nanoslit, the generated SPPs propagating to the left and right directions on the front metal surface can be manipulated nearly independently by altering the right and left groove widths, respectively. Based on such effects, a dichroic SPP splitter is demonstrated and the splitting wavelengths can easily be adjusted. High splitting ratios of 31: 1 and 1: 12 at splitting wavelengths of 680 nm and 884 nm are numerically presented with a device's lateral dimension of only 1200 nm. Further experimental results match the simulations well. (C)2013 Optical Society of America