Imaging and steering an optical wireless nanoantenna link

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...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature communications 2014-07, Vol.5 (1), p.4354-4354, Article 4354
Main Authors: Dregely, Daniel, Lindfors, Klas, Lippitz, Markus, Engheta, Nader, Totzeck, Michael, Giessen, Harald
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
639/624/1075/187
639/624/1107/510
639/766/400/1021
Antennas
Arrays
Communication
Glass substrates
Humanities and Social Sciences
multidisciplinary
Optical wireless
Propagation
Radiation
Receivers & amplifiers
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Transmitters
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Summary: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. 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.
ISSN:2041-1723
2041-1723
DOI:10.1038/ncomms5354