A plasmonic metal grating wavelength splitter

A plasmonic metal grating wavelength splitter is theoretically investigated and experimentally demonstrated. Based on the periodical waveguide theories, the negative real part of the propagation constant of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) () in metal grating is derived in a wavelength range which is determined by the grating parameters. The transmission prohibition at the negative is utilized to realize the wavelength splitting by the metal grating with different grating periods and fill factors on the left and right half. The metal grating plasmonic splitter is simulated by the finite difference time domain simulation method, the characteristics of which are consistent well with theoretical predictions. The plasmonic wavelength splitter is fabricated by electron beam lithography and the ion beam etching process. The SPPs excited by an incident wavelength of 532 and 650 nm are experimentally split and observed under an optical microscope using a charge-coupled device camera.