Optical Frequency Mixing Through Nanoantenna Enhanced Difference Frequency Generation: Metatronic Mixer

A design for a subwavelength all-optical frequency mixer is proposed. The method relies on enhanced difference-frequency generation, which is achieved in two steps with the help of plasmonic nanoantennas. The interaction of the two input signals with the nonlinear material is increased through the use of input nanoantennas, which focus the incident energy of two different frequencies onto the nanoparticle formed by a nonlinear material. Next, the difference-frequency emission is enhanced through the Purcell effect by the use of a separate output nanoantenna that is resonant at the difference frequency. The application of this twofold approach allows for a significant enhancement in the difference-frequency generation efficiency. Simulation results are presented highlighting the features of the method. This multi-element nanostructure is indeed an optical mixer circuit element in the metatronic paradigm. Disciplines Electrical and Computer Engineering Comments Chettiar, U. K. and Engheta, N. (2012). Optical frequency mixing through nanoantenna enhanced difference frequency generation: Metatronic mixer. Physical Review B, 86(7), 075405. doi: 10.1103/ PhysRevB.86.075405 ©2012 American Physical Society This journal article is available at ScholarlyCommons: http://repository.upenn.edu/ese_papers/624 PHYSICAL REVIEW B 86, 075405 (2012) Optical frequency mixing through nanoantenna enhanced difference frequency generation: Metatronic mixer Uday K. Chettiar and Nader Engheta* University of Pennsylvania Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104 USA (Received 6 March 2012; revised manuscript received 2 July 2012; published 2 August 2012) A design for a subwavelength all-optical frequency mixer is proposed. The method relies on enhanced difference-frequency generation, which is achieved in two steps with the help of plasmonic nanoantennas. The interaction of the two input signals with the nonlinear material is increased through the use of input nanoantennas, which focus the incident energy of two different frequencies onto the nanoparticle formed by a nonlinear material. Next, the difference-frequency emission is enhanced through the Purcell effect by the use of a separate output nanoantenna that is resonant at the difference frequency. The application of this twofold approach allows for a significant enhancement in the difference-frequency generation efficiency. Simulation results are presented highlighting the features of the method. This multi-element nanostructure is indeed an optical mixer circuit element in the metatronic paradigm. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.86.075405 PACS number(s): 61.46.−w, 78.67.Bf, 78.20.−e, 07.50.Ek