Spatially tunable and self-healing plasmonic Talbot imaging by using periodic metal nanopore arrays

Plasmonic Talbot imaging exhibits unique advantages over conventional Talbot imaging owing to the potential possibility of the miniaturization and integration of optoelectronic devices. However, the fixed structure parameters limit imaging manipulation, and the defects of masks also affect imaging integrity. Here, we propose a plasmonic Talbot imaging scheme based on the periodic metal nanopore arrays to achieve spatially tunable and self-healing performance evaluated by the FDTD method. The results reveal that the transverse field distribution at the Talbot planes can be offset in the 500 nm range with the incident light angle changed from 0 degrees to 25 degrees, exhibiting a tunability of the spatial position. Meanwhile, the randomly missing and misaligned defects of such periodic metal nanopore arrays can be effectively restored by the presence of low density or defects located at the center. The feasibility of spatial tunability and self-healing may provide an opportunity for optical imaging, nanolithography, and phase manipulation.

Automated summary

In this paper, a plasmonic Talbot imaging scheme based on periodic metal nanopore arrays is proposed, and its tunable and self-healing performance is evaluated using the FDTD method. The results show that the transverse field distribution at the Talbot planes can be offset in the range of 500 nm by changing the incident light angle, demonstrating the tunability of spatial position. Additionally, the randomly missing and misaligned defects of such arrays can be effectively restored by the presence of low density or defects located at the center. The feasibility of spatial tunability and self-healing may have applications in optical imaging, nanolithography, and phase manipulation.