https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/s13360-025-06085-7
Regular Article
Gain-assisted excitation and manipulation of surface plasmon-polaritons
1
Department of Physics, Zhejiang Normal University, 321004, Jinhua, Zhejiang, China
2
Zhejiang Institute of Photoelectronics, 321004, Jinhua, Zhejiang, China
3
Department of Physics, Abbottabad University of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 22500, Havellian, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
4
Department of Physics, University of Malakand, Chakdara, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
Received:
10
November
2024
Accepted:
3
February
2025
Published online:
17
February
2025
The excitation and manipulation of surface plasmon-polaritons (SPPs) are analyzed at a flat interface between a gain medium and a metal in Otto-type configuration. The gain medium is assumed to be a three-level atomic system whose transitions are coupled by two optical and one microwave fields. We show that, by making a transition from lossy dielectric to a gain medium, the losses for plasmonic waves can be greatly reduced, leading to reduced absorption and higher propagation distances for these modes. It is further emphasized that, in comparison to the lossy nature of the medium, maximum excitation can be achieved when the dielectric is a gain medium. Moreover, the SPPs can be manipulated with the frequencies and effective phase of the coupling fields driving the gain medium. The obtained results may find applications in low-loss plasmonic lasers and routers.
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© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Società Italiana di Fisica and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2025
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
