Spectral Shifting in Extraordinary Optical Transmission by Polarization-Dependent Surface Plasmon Coupling

Abstract

Nanoapertures in a metallic film exhibit extraordinary optical transmission (EOT) owing to the surface plasmon resonance. Their transmission properties are known to be dependent on the structural parameters of the nanoapertures. In addition, the polarization of light has also a crucial influence on the transmission spectrum. In this study, we numerically found that the polarization state is a sensitive parameter in plasmonic EOT only when the gap size between triangular nanoapertures is less than ~ 20 nm. For a polarization of the light perpendicular to the axis between the nanoapertures, the optical transmission spectrum is nonlinearly redshifted with decreasing gap size. This spectral shifting of the transmission has potential applications for active optical filters, which can be manipulated by the polarization of light or by adjusting the gap size.