Coupling of light from an optical fiber taper into silver nanowires

Abstract

We report the coupling of photons from an optical fiber taper to surface plasmon modes of silver nanowires. The coupling efficiency can be modulated by adjusting the cross angle and the polarization of the input light. The launch of propagating plasmons can be realized not only at ends of the nanowires but also at the midsection. In addition, we present the coupling of light into multiple nanowires from a single optical fiber taper simultaneously. Our demonstration offers an efficient method for optimizing plasmon coupling into nanoscale metallic waveguides and promotes the realization of highly integrated plasmonic devices.