Vertical emitting aperture nanoantennas

Herein we propose, theoretically investigate, and numerically demonstrate a compact design for a vertical emitter at a wavelength of 1.5 mu m based on nanophotonic aperture antennas coupled to a dielectric waveguide. The structure utilizes a plasmonic antenna placed above a Si3N4 waveguide with a ground plane for breaking the up-down symmetry and increasing the emission efficiency. Three-dimensional (3-D) finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulations reveal that up to 60% vertical emission efficiency is possible in a structure only four wavelengths long with a 3 dB bandwidth of over 300 nm. (C) 2012 Optical Society of America