Plasmonic Chiral Switching via Sub-10-nm Gap Engineering in a Fiber-Taper-Silver Nanowire Hybrid System.

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Title: Plasmonic Chiral Switching via Sub-10-nm Gap Engineering in a Fiber-Taper-Silver Nanowire Hybrid System.
Authors: Chen, Yifan1 (AUTHOR), Zhang, Fuping1 (AUTHOR), Wang, Huijie1 (AUTHOR), Dai, Wei1 (AUTHOR), Guan, Zhiqiang1,2 (AUTHOR) zhiqiang.guan@whu.edu.cn, Xu, Hongxing1 (AUTHOR)
Source: Chinese Physics Letters. 2026, Vol. 43 Issue 4, p1-7. 7p.
Subjects: Plasmonics, Optical switches, Finite difference time domain method, Polaritons, Near-field microscopy, Nanophotonics
Abstract: The nanoscale generation and manipulation of chiral surface plasmon polaritons are pivotal for advancing near-field optics and chiral biosensing, yet the microscopic coupling mechanisms governing chiral switching in hybrid plasmonic systems remain incompletely understood. Here, we report an ultra-sensitive chiral switch realized in a fiber-taper-silver nanowire hybrid structure, in which the handedness of guided SPPs is completely reversed by sub-10 nm variations of the coupling gap. Three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain simulations demonstrate a clear chirality inversion as the gap increases from 0 to 10 nm. By combining coupled-mode theory with a transfer-matrix approach, we elucidate the origin of the ultra-low-threshold chiral switching. We find that the switching is governed by a gap-induced accumulation of the relative phase between the HE+1 and HE−1 modes exceeding π /2. This effect arises from operating the mode converter in the vicinity of a phase singularity. The system exhibits an exceptional phase-sensitivity figure of merit of ∼0.12 π /nm. Our findings establish nanogap engineering as a powerful and hitherto overlooked control parameter for chiral plasmonics, offering a straightforward route for ultra-sensitive probing and active manipulation of chiral optical fields at deep-subwavelength scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Chinese Physics Letters is the property of IOP Publishing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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  Label: Title
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  Data: Plasmonic Chiral Switching via Sub-10-nm Gap Engineering in a Fiber-Taper-Silver Nanowire Hybrid System.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Chinese+Physics+Letters%22">Chinese Physics Letters</searchLink>. 2026, Vol. 43 Issue 4, p1-7. 7p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Plasmonics%22">Plasmonics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Optical+switches%22">Optical switches</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Finite+difference+time+domain+method%22">Finite difference time domain method</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Polaritons%22">Polaritons</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Near-field+microscopy%22">Near-field microscopy</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Nanophotonics%22">Nanophotonics</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: The nanoscale generation and manipulation of chiral surface plasmon polaritons are pivotal for advancing near-field optics and chiral biosensing, yet the microscopic coupling mechanisms governing chiral switching in hybrid plasmonic systems remain incompletely understood. Here, we report an ultra-sensitive chiral switch realized in a fiber-taper-silver nanowire hybrid structure, in which the handedness of guided SPPs is completely reversed by sub-10 nm variations of the coupling gap. Three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain simulations demonstrate a clear chirality inversion as the gap increases from 0 to 10 nm. By combining coupled-mode theory with a transfer-matrix approach, we elucidate the origin of the ultra-low-threshold chiral switching. We find that the switching is governed by a gap-induced accumulation of the relative phase between the HE+1 and HE−1 modes exceeding π /2. This effect arises from operating the mode converter in the vicinity of a phase singularity. The system exhibits an exceptional phase-sensitivity figure of merit of ∼0.12 π /nm. Our findings establish nanogap engineering as a powerful and hitherto overlooked control parameter for chiral plasmonics, offering a straightforward route for ultra-sensitive probing and active manipulation of chiral optical fields at deep-subwavelength scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Chinese Physics Letters is the property of IOP Publishing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.1088/0256-307X/43/4/040402
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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      – SubjectFull: Optical switches
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      – SubjectFull: Finite difference time domain method
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      – SubjectFull: Nanophotonics
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      – TitleFull: Plasmonic Chiral Switching via Sub-10-nm Gap Engineering in a Fiber-Taper-Silver Nanowire Hybrid System.
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            NameFull: Zhang, Fuping
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              Text: 2026
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