Control of surface plasmon generation efficiency by slit-width tuning

We demonstrate control of surface plasmon polariton (SPP) generation efficiency via varying the width of a single slit that acts as a SPP launcher. Generated SPP intensities are directly measured through a near-field scanning microscope measuring both the transmitted and the scattered light. These results demonstrate enhancement as well as suppression of surface plasmon generation efficiency at specific slit widths. The experimentally observed sinusoidal width dependence can be explained by diffraction theory. (C) 2008 American Institute of Physics.