Extra-narrowband metallic filters with an ultrathin single-layer metallic grating*

Abstract

Narrowband and high-transmission optical filters are extensively used in color display technology, optical information processing, and high-sensitive sensing. Because of large ohmic losses in metallic nanostructures, metallic filters usually exhibit low transmittances and broad bandwidths. By employing both strong field enhancements in metallic nano-slits and the Wood’s anomaly in a periodic metallic grating, an extra-narrowband and high-transmission metallic filter is numerically predicted in an ultrathin single-layer metallic grating. Simulation results show that the Wood’s anomaly in the ultrathin (thickness H = 60 nm) single-layer metallic grating results in large field enhancements in the substrate and low losses in the metallic grating. As a result, the transmission bandwidth (transmittance T > 60%) at λ = 1200 nm is as small as Δλ FWHM = 1.6 nm, which is smaller than 4% of that in the previous thin dielectric and metallic filters. The corresponding quality factor is as high as Q = λ/Δλ FWHM = 750, which is 40 times greater than that in the previous reports. Moreover, the thickness of our metallic filter (H = 60 nm) is smaller than 40% of that in the previous reports, and its maximum transmittance can reach up to 80%. In experiments, a narrowband metallic filter with a bandwidth of about Δλ FWHM = 10 nm, which is smaller than 25% of that in the previous metallic filters, is demonstrated.