Polarization Selectivity of the Thin-Metal-Film Plasmon-Assisted Fiber-Optic Polarizer

Abstract

The interaction between light and metallic nanostructures leads to many impressive achievements and has a wide range of applications. The thin-metal-film plasmon-assisted fiber-optic polarizer is one of the essential applications. However, the polarization mechanism and the transmitted polarization of the plasmon-assisted polarizer have given rise to controversy over the past decade. Which of the polarizations is preferentially transmitted through the polarizer? The transverse electric polarization or the transverse magnetic polarization? Here, special emphasis is placed upon the polarization mechanism and the transmitted polarization of thin-metal-film plasmon-assisted fiber polarizers. We first investigate the polarization mechanism of the polarizers theoretically and numerically. Furthermore, a novel approach is proposed to demonstrate the transmitted polarization in the plasmon-assisted fiber polarizers experimentally. We demonstrate that the polarization mechanism is based on the polarization selective absorption of the metallic material, and the transverse electric polarization is the only transmitted polarization of the metallic plasmon-assisted polarizer. Moreover, the plasmon-assisted polarizer can offer a high polarization extinction ratio (33.1 dB) and a low insertion loss (1.1 dB) at room temperature and have excellent temperature stability in the range of −48 to 82 °C. Experimental results agree well with our theoretical and numerical analyses. The findings clarify the confusion about the polarization mechanism and the transmitted polarization of metallic plasmon-assisted fiber polarizers over the past decade, providing new ground for the exploration of polarization-sensitive optical systems, with good potential applications in the fields of optical sensors, plasmonic lasers, coherent optical communications, and biosensor systems.

A double helix-shaped optical fiber sensor for non-endoscopic diagnosis of gastrin-17

“…Fiber optic sensors, instead use optical fibers to transmit light signals, providing advantages when compared with conventional sensors. [5][6][7][8] Aside from basic physical measurements, fiber optic sensors are now used in healthcare, defense, and nanotechnology. Biosensors, which serve as the experimental reference in this study, are widely used in biomedicine for detecting microRNA, 9,10 methanol, 11,12 and nucleic acids.…”

Low-Loss Broadband Transverse Electric Pass Hybrid Plasmonic Fiber Polarizers Using Metallic Nanomaterials

“…The main disadvantage of the birefringent-crystal-fiber polarizer is the poor mechanical and thermal stability. 12 Compared with the traditional approaches, the proposed hybrid plasmonic PM fiber polarizer is compatible with the polarization-sensitive systems and has better mechanical and thermal stability.…”

“…Surface plasmons (SPs) are waves that propagate along the interfaces of metals and dielectrics. , With the development of precise control over architectural parameters, metals can be structured and characterized on the nanoscale. , Metallic plasmonic nanomaterials exhibit a number of unique structural and optical properties, including breaking through the diffraction limit, − environmental sensitivity, , super-resolution, polarization selectivity, − etc. These distinctive properties offer the potential for developing new types of plasmonic devices.…”

“…Conventional crystal polarizers can be classified into three main categories: birefringent polarizers, reflective polarizers, and absorptive polarizers. With the development of accurate and robust nanofabrication techniques − and exploration of two-dimensional materials and plasmonic nanomaterials, − polarizers based on novel physical mechanisms, such as graphene polarizers − and plasmonic polarizers, have generated significant interest. ,, The polarization mechanism of the graphene polarizer originates from the leakage radiation of the transverse magnetic (TM) polarization state due to the interaction of the electromagnetic field with graphene . Hybrid plasmonic waveguide polarizers, including metal nanoparticle chain TM-pass waveguide polarizers, nano-metal-strip transverse electric (TE) pass waveguide polarizers, − and nanoslot waveguide polarizers, have been reported .…”

“…Another approach is using the polarization-maintaining (PM) fiber as the input and the output fibers and the birefringent crystal as the polarization section to make fiber polarizers. The main disadvantage of the birefringent-crystal-fiber polarizer is the poor mechanical and thermal stability . Compared with the traditional approaches, the proposed hybrid plasmonic PM fiber polarizer is compatible with the polarization-sensitive systems and has better mechanical and thermal stability.…”