Geometric control over surface plasmon polariton out-coupling pathways in metal-insulator-metal tunnel junctions.

Metal-insulator-metal tunnel junctions (MIM-TJs) can electrically excite surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) well below the diffraction limit. When inelastically tunneling electrons traverse the tunnel barrier under applied external voltage, a highly confined cavity mode (MIM-SPP) is excited, which further out-couples from the MIM-TJ to photons and single-interface SPPs via multiple pathways. In this work we control the out-coupling pathways of the MIM-SPP mode by engineering the geometry of the MIM-TJ.

Analytical Evaluation of the Dendritic Structure Parameters and Crystallization Rate of Laser-Deposited Cu-Fe Functionally Graded Materials.

The paper is devoted to the direct energy deposition (DED) of functionally graded materials (FGMs) created from stainless steel and aluminum bronze with 10% content of Al and 1% of Fe. The results of the microstructure analysis using scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) demonstrate the existence of a dendritic structure in the specimens. The crystallization rate of the gradient binary Cu-Fe system structures was investigated and calculated using the model of a fast-moving concentrated source with an ellipsoid crystallization front.

Efficient Surface Plasmon Polariton Excitation and Control over Outcoupling Mechanisms in Metal-Insulator-Metal Tunneling Junctions.

Surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) are viable candidates for integration into on-chip nano-circuitry that allow access to high data bandwidths and low energy consumption. Metal-insulator-metal tunneling junctions (MIM-TJs) have recently been shown to excite and detect SPPs electrically; however, experimentally measured efficiencies and outcoupling mechanisms are not fully understood. It is shown that the MIM-TJ cavity SPP mode (MIM-SPP) can outcouple via three pathways to i) photons via scattering of MIM-SPP at the MIM-TJ interfaces, ii) SPPs at the metal-dielectric interfaces (bound-SPPs) by mode coupling through the electrodes, and iii) photons and bound-SPP modes by mode coupling at the MIM-TJ edges.

Geometric reduction of dynamical nonlocality in nanoscale quantum circuits.

Nonlocality is a key feature discriminating quantum and classical physics. Quantum-interference phenomena, such as Young's double slit experiment, are one of the clearest manifestations of nonlocality, recently addressed as dynamical to specify its origin in the quantum equations of motion. It is well known that loss of dynamical nonlocality can occur due to (partial) collapse of the wavefunction due to a measurement, such as which-path detection.