Terahertz field enhancement by a metallic nano slit operating beyond the skin-depth limit

Abstract

The unique optical properties of metals are at the core of many areas of research and applications, including plasmonics(1-4), metamaterials(5,6), superlensing and subdiffraction focusing(7-10), optical antennas(11-14) and surface enhanced Raman scattering(15). One important length scale inherent in metamaterials and plasmonics research activities in the microwave(5,16), terahertz(17-19), infrared(20,21), visible(22) and ultraviolet ranges(7) is the skin depth of metal, which remains at the submicrometre level throughout the broad spectral range. One prominent question is whether terahertz electromagnetic waves can be controlled on the nanoscale to achieve new functionalities in the sub-skin-depth lregime. Here, we show that a lambda/30,000 slit on metal film acts as a nanogap-capacitor charged by light-induced currents, enhancing the electric field by orders of magnitudes.