Dispersion of strongly confined channel plasmon polariton modes

We report on experimental (by use of scanning near-field optical microscopy) and theoretical investigations of strongly confined (∼λ/5) channel plasmon polariton (CPP) modes propagating at telecom wavelengths (1425–1630 nm) along V-grooves cut in a gold film. The main CPP characteristics (mode index, width, and propagation length) are determined directly from the experimental near-field images and compared to theoretical results obtained using an analytic description of CPP modes supported by (infinitely deep) V-grooves and finite-element simulations implemented in COMSOL.