A waveguiding configuration for surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) featuring simultaneously
a tight mode confinement and long propagation (several millimeters) at telecom
wavelengths is proposed and analyzed using the finite-element method. The configuration
represents a long-range dielectric-loaded SPP waveguide (LR-DLSPPW), in which a thin
and narrow metal stripe is sandwiched between a square dielectric ridge and a dielectric
film supported by a low-index substrate. Considering optical polymers, for example, we …

We report on the realization of long-range dielectric-loaded surface plasmon polariton
waveguides (LR-DLSPPWs) consisting of straight and bent subwavelength dielectric ridges
deposited on thin and narrow metal stripes supported by a dielectric buffer layer covering a
low-index substrate. Using imaging with a near-field optical microscope and end-fire
coupling with a tapered fiber connected to a tunable laser at telecommunication
wavelengths (1425–1545? nm), we demonstrate low-loss (propagation length∼ 500? μm) …