Near-field localization of ultrashort optical pulses in transverse 1-D periodic nanostructures

Abstract

We present a transverse 1-D periodic nanostructure which exhibits lateral internal field localization for normally incident ultrashort pulses, and which may be applied to the enhancement of nonlinear optical phenomena. The peak intensity of an optical pulse propagating in the nanostructure is approximately 12 times that of an identical incident pulse propagating in a bulk material of the same refractive index. For second harmonic generation, an overall enhancement factor of approximately 10.8 is predicted. Modeling of pulse propagation is performed using Fourier spectrum decomposition and Rigorous Coupled-Wave Analysis (RCWA).