On-chip wireless communications require optical nanoantennas with dynamically tunable radiation patterns, which may allow for higher integration with multiple nanoantennas instead of two fixed nanoantennas in existing approaches. In this paper, we introduce a concept to enable active manipulation of radiated beam steering using applied magnetic fields. The proposed system consists of a highly directive Yagi–Uda-like arrangement of magnetoplasmonic nanoribs made of Co6Ag94 and immersed in SiO2. Numerical demonstration of the tilting of the radiated beam from the nanoantenna on its plane is provided with full-wave electromagnetic simulations using the finite element method. The tilt direction of the radiated beam can be changed by reversing the magnetization direction, while the conventional plasmonic nanoantenna pattern is recovered by demagnetizing the system. The geometry of the nanoantenna can be tailored to work at optical or infrared wavelengths, but a proof of concept for λ = 700 nm is conducted for taking advantage of the high magneto-optical activity of Co6Ag94. The design was based on experimental data for materials that can be fabricated via nanolithography, thus permitting magnetically on-chip reconfigurable optical wireless communications.

We demonstrate a concept for the active manipulation of radiated fields by a magnetoplasmonic half-wave dipole nanoantenna. Our idea comprises a two arms nanoantenna, made of metallic ferromagnetic cobalt–silver alloy (Co6Ag94), inspired by the analogous radio frequency half-wave dipole antenna design. Numerical results, obtained under the magnetization saturation condition, indicate a tilting of the radiated beam depending on the magnitude and sense of the magnetization of the ferromagnetic material. Significantly, we obtained tilting angles as large as ± 9.7 ∘ around the y axis for the magnetization placed along the x or z axes, respectively. Results in this work not only open up a new, to the best of our knowledge, way to dynamically manipulate the beam steering at the chip-scale, but also contribute to unveil novel magneto-optical effects at the nanoscale.

Optical wireless transmission has recently become a major cutting-edge alternative for on-chip/inter-chip communications with higher transmission speeds and improved power efficiency. Plasmonic nanoantennas, the building blocks of this new nanoscale communication paradigm, require precise design to have directional radiation and improved communication ranges. Particular interest has been paid to plasmonic Yagi–Uda, i.e., the optical analog of the conventional Radio Frequency (RF) Yagi–Uda design, which may allow directional radiation of plasmonic fields. However, in contrast to the RF model, an overall design strategy for the directional and optimized front-to-back ratio of the radiated far-field patterns is lacking. In this work, a guide for the optimized design of Yagi–Uda plasmonic nanoantennas is shown. In particular, five different design conditions are used to study the effects of sizes and spacing between the constituent parts (made of Au). Importantly, it is numerically demonstrated (using the scattered fields) that closely spaced nanoantenna elements are not appropriated for directional light-to-plasmon conversion/radiation. In contrast, if the elements of the nanoantenna are widely spaced, the structure behaves like a one-dimensional array of nanodipoles, producing a funnel-like radiation pattern (not suitable for on-chip wireless optical transmission). Therefore, based on the results here, it can be concluded that the constituent metallic rib lengths must be optimized to exhibit the resonance at the working wavelength, whilst their separations should follow the relation λeff/π, where λeff indicates the effective wavelength scaling for plasmonic nanostructures.