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      Imaging and steering an optical wireless nanoantenna link

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          Abstract

          Optical nanoantennas tailor the transmission and reception of optical signals. Owing to their capacity to control the direction and angular distribution of optical radiation over a broad spectral range, nanoantennas are promising components for optical communication in nanocircuits. Here we measure wireless optical power transfer between plasmonic nanoantennas in the far-field and demonstrate changeable signal routing to different nanoscopic receivers via beamsteering. We image the radiation pattern of single-optical nanoantennas using a photoluminescence technique, which allows mapping of the unperturbed intensity distribution around plasmonic structures. We quantify the distance dependence of the power transmission between transmitter and receiver by deterministically positioning nanoscopic fluorescent receivers around the transmitting nanoantenna. By adjusting the wavefront of the optical field incident on the transmitter, we achieve directional control of the transmitted radiation over a broad range of 29°. This enables wireless power transfer from one transmitter to different receivers.

          Abstract

          Like conventional antennas, optical nanoantennas can transmit and receive signals but on much smaller length scales. Dregely et al. measure the optical power transmitted and received in the far-field by plasmonic nanoantennas and show that they can control the direction of transmission over a broad range.

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          Most cited references29

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          Generation of single optical plasmons in metallic nanowires coupled to quantum dots.

          Control over the interaction between single photons and individual optical emitters is an outstanding problem in quantum science and engineering. It is of interest for ultimate control over light quanta, as well as for potential applications such as efficient photon collection, single-photon switching and transistors, and long-range optical coupling of quantum bits. Recently, substantial advances have been made towards these goals, based on modifying photon fields around an emitter using high-finesse optical cavities. Here we demonstrate a cavity-free, broadband approach for engineering photon-emitter interactions via subwavelength confinement of optical fields near metallic nanostructures. When a single CdSe quantum dot is optically excited in close proximity to a silver nanowire, emission from the quantum dot couples directly to guided surface plasmons in the nanowire, causing the wire's ends to light up. Non-classical photon correlations between the emission from the quantum dot and the ends of the nanowire demonstrate that the latter stems from the generation of single, quantized plasmons. Results from a large number of devices show that efficient coupling is accompanied by more than 2.5-fold enhancement of the quantum dot spontaneous emission, in good agreement with theoretical predictions.
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            Photodetection with active optical antennas.

            Nanoantennas are key optical components for light harvesting; photodiodes convert light into a current of electrons for photodetection. We show that these two distinct, independent functions can be combined into the same structure. Photons coupled into a metallic nanoantenna excite resonant plasmons, which decay into energetic, "hot" electrons injected over a potential barrier at the nanoantenna-semiconductor interface, resulting in a photocurrent. This dual-function structure is a highly compact, wavelength-resonant, and polarization-specific light detector, with a spectral response extending to energies well below the semiconductor band edge.
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              • Record: found
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              Unidirectional emission of a quantum dot coupled to a nanoantenna.

              Nanoscale quantum emitters are key elements in quantum optics and sensing. However, efficient optical excitation and detection of such emitters involves large solid angles because their interaction with freely propagating light is omnidirectional. Here, we present unidirectional emission of a single emitter by coupling to a nanofabricated Yagi-Uda antenna. A quantum dot is placed in the near field of the antenna so that it drives the resonant feed element of the antenna. The resulting quantum-dot luminescence is strongly polarized and highly directed into a narrow forward angular cone. The directionality of the quantum dot can be controlled by tuning the antenna dimensions. Our results show the potential of optical antennas to communicate energy to, from, and between nano-emitters.
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Nat Commun
                Nat Commun
                Nature Communications
                Nature Pub. Group
                2041-1723
                04 July 2014
                : 5
                : 4354
                Affiliations
                [1 ]4th Physics Institute and Research Center SCoPE, University of Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 57 , 70550 Stuttgart, Germany
                [2 ]Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research, Heisenbergstrasse 1 , 70569 Stuttgart, Germany
                [3 ]Department of Chemistry, University of Cologne, Luxemburger Strasse 116 , 50939 Cologne, Germany
                [4 ]Department of Physics, University of Bayreuth, Universitaetsstrasse 30 , 95447 Bayreuth, Germany
                [5 ]Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, 200 South 33rd Street – ESE 203 Moore , Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA
                [6 ]Corporate Research and Technology, Carl Zeiss AG, Carl-Zeiss-Strasse 22 , 73447 Oberkochen, Germany
                [7 ]These authors contributed equally to this work
                Author notes
                Article
                ncomms5354
                10.1038/ncomms5354
                4102110
                24993946
                6a50e4e5-4a03-4a50-9b8b-cd8721bd48ae
                Copyright © 2014, Nature Publishing Group, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited. All Rights Reserved.

                This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

                History
                : 11 March 2014
                : 05 June 2014
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