Abstract

By directing light, optical antennas can enhance light-matter interaction and improve the efficiency of nanophotonic devices. Though several designs have been presented¹, most of them have been scaled-down radio frequency antennas which have narrow bandwidths and are sensitive to the position of the coupled emitters. Here we present a magneto-electric antenna: by exploiting the interference between magnetic and electric modes in a split-ring resonator (SRR) we experimentally realize a compact and robust optical antenna which outperforms larger, multi-element antennas in both bandwidth and directionality.

© 2013 IEEE