Absence of unidirectionally propagating surface plasmon-polaritons at nonreciprocal metal-dielectric interfaces

Siddharth Buddhiraju (), Yu Shi, Alex Song, Casey Wojcik, Momchil Minkov, Ian A. D. Williamson, Avik Dutt and Shanhui Fan ()
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Siddharth Buddhiraju: Stanford University
Yu Shi: Stanford University
Alex Song: Stanford University
Casey Wojcik: Stanford University
Momchil Minkov: Stanford University
Ian A. D. Williamson: Stanford University
Avik Dutt: Stanford University
Shanhui Fan: Stanford University

Nature Communications, 2020, vol. 11, issue 1, 1-6

Abstract: Abstract In the presence of an external magnetic field, the surface plasmon polariton that exists at the metal-dielectric interface is believed to support a unidirectional frequency range near the surface plasmon frequency, where the surface plasmon polariton propagates along one but not the opposite direction. Recent works have pointed to some of the paradoxical consequences of such a unidirectional range, including in particular the violation of the time-bandwidth product constraint that should otherwise apply in general in static systems. Here we show that such a unidirectional frequency range is nonphysical using both a general thermodynamic argument and a detailed calculation based on a nonlocal hydrodynamic Drude model for the metal permittivity. Our calculation reveals that the surface plasmon-polariton at metal-dielectric interfaces remains bidirectional for all frequencies.

Date: 2020
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-14504-9

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