Transformation plasmonics

Abstract

Surface plasmons polaritons (SPPs) at metal/dielectric interfaces have raised lots of expectations in the on-going quest towards scaling down optical devices. SPP optics offers a powerful and flexible platform for real two-dimensional integrated optics, capable of supporting both light and electrons. Yet, a full exploitation of the features of SPPs is conditioned by an accurate control of their flow. Most efforts have so far focused on the extrapolation of concepts borrowed from guided optics. This strategy has already led to many important breakthroughs but a fully deterministic control of SPP modes remains a challenge. Recently, the field of optics was stimulated by a novel paradigm, transformation optics, which offers the capability to control light flow in any desired fashion. While it has already significantly contributed to the design of metamaterials with unprecedented optical properties, its versatility offers new opportunities towards a fully deterministic control of SPPs and the design of a new class of plasmonic functionalities. Here, we review recent progress in the application of transformation optics to SPPs. We first briefly describe the theoretical formalism of transformation plasmonics, focusing on its specificities over its three-dimensional optical counterpart. Numerical simulations are then used to illustrate its capability to tame SPP flows at a metal interface patterned with a dielectric load. Finally, we review recent experimental implementations leading to unique SPP functionalities at optical frequencies. © 2012 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin Boston.