Surface plasmon excitation in silver nanowires directly deposited on a laser diode chip

We demonstrate surface plasmon (SP) excitation in silver nanowires directly deposited on the emission facet of a laser diode (LD) chip. Evident light output from the silver nanowires is observed. The output is linear-polarized and is strongly dependent on the nanowire orientation. SP excitation at the central part of a silver nanowire is also observed. The possibility of direct SP excitation on an LD chip may open opportunities for realizing plasmonic and photonic circuits or components with high compactness.