Quantum features of surface plasmon polaritons

Abstract

We formulate the first quantum description of surface plasmon polaritons in a attenuated-reflection setup and find remarkably high quantum efficiencies for the quantum excitation process. The Hamiltonian we introduce is based on a fully quantized treatment of both photon and SPP field modes. We then establish the extent to which the excited SPPs preserve the quantum statistics of the original photons as they travel on realistic metal surfaces. Furthermore, we discuss the possibility of generating Schrodinger`s cat state, a typical quantum feature.