Slow plasmons in grating cavities

Recent research on surface plasmon polaritons and their applications have brought forward a wealth of information and continues to be of interest to many. In this report, we concentrate on propagating surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) and their interaction with matter. Using grating based metallic structures, it is possible to control the electrodynamics of propagating SPPs. Biharmonic gratings loaded with periodic Si stripes allow excitation of SPPs that are localized inside the band gap with grating coupling. The cavity state is formed due to periodic effective index modulation obtained by one harmonic of the grating and loaded Si stripes. More complicated grating structures such as metallic Moiré surfaces have also been shown to form a localized state inside the band gap when excited with Kretschmann configuration.