J.P.S. Fitzgerald

Controlled Spatial Switching and Routing of Surface Plasmons in Designed Single-Crystalline Gold Nanostructures

Electron emission microscopy is used to visualize plasmonic routing in gold nano-structures. We show that in single-crystalline gold structures reliable routing can be achieved with polarization switching. The routing is due to the polarization dependence of the photon-to-plasmon coupling, which controls the mode distribution in the plasmonic gold film. We use specifically designed, single-crystalline planar structures. In these structures, the plasmon propagation length is sufficiently large such that significant plasmon power can be delivered to the near-field region around the end tips of the router. Solid state devices based on internal electron excitation and emission processes appear feasible.

Direct coupling of photonic modes and surface plasmon polaritons observed in 2-photon PEEM

We report the direct microscopic observation of optical energy transfer from guided photonic modes in an indium tin oxide (ITO) thin film to surface plasmon polaritons (SPP) at the surfaces of a single crystalline gold platelet. The photonic and SPP modes appear as an interference pattern in the photoelectron emission yield across the surface of the specimen. We explore the momentum match between the photonic and SPP modes in terms of simple waveguide theory and the three-layer slab model for bound SPP modes of thin metal films. We show that because the gold is thin (30-40 nm), two SPP modes exist and that momentum of the spatially confined asymmetric field mode coincides with the dominant mode of the ITO waveguide. The results demonstrate that photoemission electron microscopy (PEEM) can be an important tool for the observation of photonic to SPP interactions in the study of integrated photonic circuits.

Photoelectron Emission Control with Polarized Light in Plasmonic Metal Random Structures

We report on the possibility of switching the emission rate of photoelectrons by polarization changes in the plasmon excitation light. Photoelectron emission is strongly enhanced in the near-field of localized surface plasmons and occurs from areas with typical diameters of 20-70 nm. The underlying physical process involves excitation of a localized surface plasmon polariton with a femtosecond laser pulse, and a subsequent multi-photon photoemission process. The non-linearity of this process leads to a sharp polarization dependence that allows efficient switching of the emission. We demonstrate that a 90° polarization change can result in on/off ratios of ∼100 for electron emission.

Positional Control of Plasmonic Fields and Electron Emission

We report the positional control of plasmonic fields and electron emission in a continuous gap antenna structure of sub-micron size. We show experimentally that a nanoscale area of plasmon-enhanced electron emission can be motioned by changing the polarization of an exciting optical beam of 800 nm wavelength. Finite-difference calculations are presented to support the experiments and to show that the plasmon-enhanced electric field distribution of the antenna can be motioned precisely and predictively.

Direct imaging of optical diffraction in photoemission electron microscopy

We report the visualization of optical diffraction at the boundaries of semiconductor and metal nanostructures in non-linear photoemission electron microscopy. We observe light diffracting into photonic and plasmonic modes of planar samples, and into photonic vacuum modes above sample surfaces. In either case, the electron photoemission rate from the sample material is spatially modulated resulting in photoemission images with information on the electric field distribution at the sample/vacuum interface. The resolution in these images is typically ∼30 nm, i.e., significantly below the wavelengths of the exciting light. Optical phase shifts and absorption losses for the diffracted modes can be determined.

Simultaneous and independent adaptive correction of spherical and chromatic aberration using an electron mirror and lens combination.

We present a theoretical analysis of an electrostatic triode mirror combined with an einzel lens for the correction of spherical and chromatic aberration. We show that this device adaptively corrects spherical and chromatic aberration simultaneously and independently. Chromatic aberration can be compensated over a relative range of -38% to +100%, and spherical aberration over ±100% range. We compare the analytic calculation with a numerical simulation and show that the two descriptions agree to within 5% in the relevant operating regime of the device.

Adaptive aberration correction using a triode hyperbolic electron mirror

A converging electron mirror can be used to compensate spherical and chromatic aberrations in an electron microscope. This paper presents an analytical solution to a novel triode (three electrode) hyperbolic mirror as an improvement to the well-known diode (two electrode) hyperbolic mirror for aberration correction. A weakness of the diode mirror is a lack of flexibility in changing the chromatic and spherical aberration coefficients independently without changes in the mirror geometry. In order to remove this limitation, a third electrode can be added. We calculate the optical properties of the resulting triode mirror analytically on the basis of a simple model field distribution. We present the optical properties-the object/image distance, z(0), and the coefficients of spherical and chromatic aberration, C(s) and C(c), of both mirror types from an analysis of electron trajectories in the mirror field. From this analysis, we demonstrate that while the properties of both designs are similar, the additional parameters in the triode mirror improve the range of aberration that can be corrected. The triode mirror is also able to provide a dynamic adjustment range of chromatic aberration for fixed spherical aberration and focal length, or any permutation of these three parameters. While the dynamic range depends on the values of aberration correction needed, a nominal 10% tuning range is possible for most configurations accompanied by less than 1% change in the other two properties.

Light propagation and interaction observed with electrons.

We discuss possibilities for a microscopic optical characterization of thin films and surfaces based on photoemission electron microscopy. We show that propagating light with wavelengths across the visible range can readily be visualized, and linear and non-linear materials properties can be evaluated non-invasively with nanometer spatial resolution. While femtosecond temporal resolution can be achieved in pump-probe-type experiments, the interferometric approach presented here has typical image frame times of ~200 fs.

Aberrations in asymmetrical electron lenses.

Starting from well established knowledge in light-optics we explore the question if electron-optical aberration can be improved in asymmetrical electron lenses. We show that spherical as well as chromatic aberration coefficients are reduced in asymmetric electrostatic einzel lenses when the center electrode is moved away from the center position towards the entrance electrode. Relative improvements up to 40% for both the chromatic and the spherical aberration coefficients can be obtained. We use analytical and numerical calculations to confirm this result for exemplary cases of a lens with fixed length and working distance. The agreement of the two calculation methods is very good. We then derive an estimate for the electron-optical aberration coefficients from light-optics. The derived expressions for chromatic and spherical aberrations are somewhat simpler than the ones derived from electron-optics as they involve integrals only over the electrostatic potential, not over the electron paths. The estimated formulas still agree well with the electron optical calculations. Overall, we are tempted to suggest that the enormous knowledge base of light optics can provide considerable guidance for electron-optical applications.

Theoretical estimates of spherical and chromatic aberration in photoemission electron microscopy

We present theoretical estimates of the mean coefficients of spherical and chromatic aberration for low energy photoemission electron microscopy (PEEM). Using simple analytic models, we find that the aberration coefficients depend primarily on the difference between the photon energy and the photoemission threshold, as expected. However, the shape of the photoelectron spectral distribution impacts the coefficients by up to 30%. These estimates should allow more precise correction of aberration in PEEM in experimental situations where the aberration coefficients and precise electron energy distribution cannot be readily measured.