Guiding, bending, and splitting of coupled defect surface modes in a surface-wave photonic crystal

• Main Authors: Gao, Zhen, Gao, Fei, Zhang, Baile
• Other Authors: School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2016
• Subjects: Crystal defects
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/82450; http://hdl.handle.net/10220/40012
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

We experimentally demonstrate a type of waveguiding mechanism for coupled surface-wave defect modes in a surface-wave photonic crystal. Unlike conventional spoof surface plasmonwaveguides, waveguiding of coupled surface-wave defect modes is achieved through weak coupling between tightly localized defectcavities in an otherwise gapped surface-wave photonic crystal, as a classical wave analogue of tight-binding electronic wavefunctions in solid state lattices. Wave patterns associated with the high transmission of coupled defectsurface modes are directly mapped with a near-field microwave scanning probe for various structures including a straight waveguide, a sharp corner, and a T-shaped splitter. These results may find use in the design of integrated surface-wave devices with suppressed crosstalk.