Surface plasmon polariton amplification in metal-semiconductor structures

We propose a novel scheme of surface plasmon polariton (SPP) amplification that is based on a minority carrier injection in a Schottky diode. This scheme uses compact electrical pumping instead of bulky optical pumping. Compact size and a planar structure of the proposed amplifier allow one to utilize it in integrated plasmonic circuits and couple it easily to passive plasmonic devices. Moreover, this technique can be used to obtain surface plasmon lasing. (C)2011 Optical Society of America