Modification of the photoluminescence anisotropy of semiconductor nanowires by coupling to surface plasmon polaritons

• Published in: Optics letters 2007-08, Vol.32 (15), p.2097-2099
• Main Authors: MUSKENS, O. L, TREFFERS, J, FORCALES, M, BORGSTRÖM, M. T, BAKKERS, E. P. A. M, GOMEZ RIVAS, J
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Collective excitations (including excitons, polarons, plasmons and other charge-density excitations); Condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties; Electronic structure and electrical properties of surfaces, interfaces, thin films and low-dimensional structures; Exact sciences and technology; Iii-v semiconductors; Optical properties and condensed-matter spectroscopy and other interactions of matter with particles and radiation; Photoluminescence; Physics; Surface and interface electron states
• ISSN: 0146-9592; 1539-4794
• DOI: 10.1364/OL.32.002097

We demonstrate efficient modification of the polarized light emission from single semiconductor nanowires by coupling this emission to surface plasmon polaritons on a metal grating. The polarization anisotropy of the emitted photoluminescence from single nanowires is compared for wires deposited on silica, a flat gold film, and a shallow gold grating. By varying the orientation of the nanowire with respect to the grating grooves, the large intrinsic polarization anisotropy can be either suppressed or enhanced. This modification is interpreted by the appearance of an additional emission channel induced by surface plasmon polaritons and their conversion to p-polarized radiation at the grating.