Sharp phase variations from the plasmon mode causing the Rabi-analogue splitting

Abstract

The Rabi-analogue splitting in nanostructures resulting from the strong coupling of different resonant modes is of importance for lasing, sensing, switching, modulating, and quantum information processes. To give a clearer physical picture, the phase analysis instead of the strong coupling is provided to explain the Rabi-analogue splitting in the Fabry-Pérot (FP) cavity, of which one end mirror is a metallic nanohole array and the other is a thin metal film. The phase analysis is based on an analytic model of the FP cavity, in which the reflectance and the reflection phase of the end mirrors are dependent on the wavelength. It is found that the Rabi-analogue splitting originates from the sharp phase variation brought by the plasmon mode in the FP cavity. In the experiment, the Rabi-analogue splitting is realized in the plasmonic-photonic coupling system, and this splitting can be continually tuned by changing the length of the FP cavity. These experimental results agree well with the analytic and simulation data, strongly verifying the phase analysis based on the analytic model. The phase analysis presents a clear picture to understand the working mechanism of the Rabi-analogue splitting; thus, it may facilitate the design of the plasmonic-photonic and plasmonic-plasmonic coupling systems.