Non-reciprocal diffraction in magnetoplasmonic gratings

Abstract

Phase-matching conditions—used to bridge the wave vector mismatch between light and surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs)—have been exploited recently to enable nonreciprocal optical propagation and enhanced magneto-optic responses in magnetoplasmonic systems. Here we show that using diffraction in conjunction with plasmon excitations leads to a photonic system with a more versatile and flexible response. As a testbed, we analyzed diffracted magneto-optical effects in magnetoplasmonic gratings, where broken time-reversal symmetry induces frequency shifts in the energy and angular spectra of plasmon resonance. These result in exceptionally large responses in the diffracted magnetooptical effect. The concepts presented here can be used to develop non-reciprocal optical devices that exploit diffraction, in order to achieve tailored electromagnetic responses.