transmitting the extraordinary

Researchers at New Mexico State University in the US have investigated extraordinary optical transmission in a plasmonic cavity. The device they have developed features a hybrid surface plasmon polariton/Fabry-Pérot cavity, which gives an improved Q-factor and demonstrates its suitability for use in biosensors and photonic circuits. The main achievement by the team was that of extraordinary optical transmission (EOT). EOT is the surprising phenomenon where a subwavelength aperture can transmit considerably more light than would classically be expected. The phenomenon is caused by the presence of surface plasmon polaritons. Plasmonic cavities have long been of interest to researchers in the field due to the fact that they are naturally nanoscale and easily miniaturised. However, high ohmic losses in metal at optical frequencies mean that they have suffered from low q-factors and the US team expect their design to address these issues.