Elongation of surface plasmon polariton propagation length without gain

We have demonstrated that an addition of highly concentrated rhodamine 6G chloride dye to the PMMA film adjacent to a silver film can cause 30% elongation of the propagation length of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs). The possibility to elongate the SPP propagation length without optical gain opens a new technological dimension to low-loss nanoplasmonic and metamaterials. (C) 2008 Optical Society of America