Abstract
Surface plasmons are usually excited by diffraction-limited optical methods with the use of bulky optical components, which greatly limits the miniaturization and chip-scale high-density integration of plasmonic devices. By integrating a plasmonic nanostructure with a tunnel junction, plasmonic modes in the nanostructure can be directly excited by low-energy tunneling electrons with the advantages including an ultra-small footprint and an ultra-fast speed. In this mini-review, recent progress in the electric excitation of localized and propagating surface plasmons by inelastic electron tunneling is overviewed.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 251 |
Journal | Frontiers in Physics |
Volume | 8 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 6 Aug 2020 |
Keywords
- inelastic tunneling
- light emission
- optical antennas
- surface plasmons
- tunnel junctions
- waveguiding