Excitation of Broadband Surface Plasmons with Dye Molecules

Rhodamine B and Rhodamine 6G molecules were doped in polymethyl methacrylate solution. Then a silver film on the glass substrate was spin coated with the mixed solution to get a multilayer film. Under the irradiation of a 532-nm green laser, broadband surface plasmons (SPs) on the silver film were generated due to the coupling between the broadband fluorescence and the SP modes allowed in the multilayer film. From the back focal plane image of a leakage radiation microscopy, propagation constants of SP waves at different wavelengths were derived. Numerical calculations were also carried out and were consistent with the experimental results.