Abstract

We analyze an inherent nonlinearity of surface plasmon polaritons at the interface of Fermi–Dirac metal plasma, stemming from the depletion of electron density in high-intensity regions. The derived optical nonlinear coefficients are comparable with the experimental values for metals. We calculate the dispersion relations for the nonlinear propagation of high-intensity surface plasmon polaritons, predicting a nonlinearity-induced cutoff and vanishing group velocity.

© 2010 Optical Society of America

SPM and XPM nonlinear effects in plasmonic directional couplers, considering the ponderomotive metal nonlinearity

N. Nozhat and N. Granpayeh
Appl. Opt. 53(15) 3328-3332 (2014)

Amplification of surface plasmon polaritons in the presence of nonlinearity and spectral signatures of threshold crossover

A. Marini, A. V. Gorbach, D. V. Skryabin, and A. V. Zayats
Opt. Lett. 34(18) 2864-2866 (2009)

Coupled-mode approach to surface plasmon polaritons in nonlinear periodic structures

A. Marini, A. V. Gorbach, and D. V. Skryabin
Opt. Lett. 35(20) 3532-3534 (2010)

Dispersion relation for surface plasmon polaritons in metal/nonlinear-dielectric/metal slot waveguides

Ivan D. Rukhlenko, Asanka Pannipitiya, and Malin Premaratne
Opt. Lett. 36(17) 3374-3376 (2011)

Well-confined surface plasmon polaritons for sensing applications in the near-infrared

C. H. Gan and P. Lalanne
Opt. Lett. 35(4) 610-612 (2010)