Imaging surface plasmon polaritons using proximal self-assembled InGaAs quantum dots

We present optical investigations of hybrid plasmonic nanosystems consisting of lithographically defined plasmonic Au-waveguides or beamsplitters on GaAs substrates coupled to proximal self-assembled InGaAs quantum dots. We designed a sample structure that enabled us to precisely tune the distance between quantum dots and the sample surface during nano-fabrication and demonstrated that non-radiative processes do not play a major role for separations down to ∼10 nm. A polarized laser beam focused on one end of the plasmonic nanostructure generates propagating surface plasmon polaritons that, in turn, create electron-hole pairs in the GaAs substrate during propagation. These free carriers are subsequently captured by the quantum dots ∼25 nm below the surface, giving rise to luminescence. The intensity of the spectrally integrated quantum dot luminescence is used to image the propagating plasmon modes. As the waveguide width reduces from 5 μm to 1 μm, we clearly observe different plasmonic modes at the remot...