Plasmonic wavelength splitter based on a large-area dielectric grating and white light illumination.

An optical process by which transmission wavelengths can be divided selectively by changing a resonance condition of surface plasmons (SPs) is demonstrated. When white light is incident to an SP resonance substrate with a dielectric grating, SP waves are excited at resonance and transmitted into the air via diffraction by a large-area grating pattern fabricated by nanoimprint lithography. While only a limited range of certain wavelengths is allowed to transmit, the peak transmission wavelength can be tuned continuously in the visible band. We also show that multiple wavelengths are transmitted into different directions simultaneously by using a wedge-shaped white light. (C) 2012 Optical Society of America