Polarization-selective defect mode amplification in a photonic crystal with intracavity 2D arrays of metallic nanoparticles

Abstract

We demonstrate the possibility of polarization-selective amplification of a defect mode in an active multilayered photonic crystal through the resonant excitation of surface plasmons in a 2D ordered array of metallic nanoparticles embedded in the structure. Such an array acts as a polarizer whose spectral characteristics are defined by the shape of the nanoparticles and the periodicity of the array. The modal selectivity of the photonic structure is due to the strong surface-plasmon-assisted scattering of light by anisotropic nanoparticles, which depends on the relative orientations of their anisotropy axis and the polarization direction of the incoming light wave. The spectral and polarimetric characteristics of the photonic structure are calculated using the transfer matrix formalism. The 2D array of nanoparticles is described within the coupled-dipole approximation and is associated with a matrix whose elements depend on the geometry of the array and the polarization of the radiation. We show that in order to achieve defect mode amplification for a chosen polarization in such a heterostructure, the position of the array of nanoparticles should be made to coincide with regions of high optical field localization. We also determine the structural characteristics of the nanoparticle array that enhance the sensitivity of the spectral behavior of the photonic heterostructure to the polarization state of the incoming light beam.