Photoluminescence-Driven Broadband Transmitting Directional Optical Nanoantennas

Optical nanoantennas mediate near and far optical fields. Operating a directional nanoantenna in transmitting mode is challenging because the antenna needs to be driven by a nanosized optical frequency generator, which must work at the antenna’s resonance frequency and be precisely attached to the antenna’s feed with correct polarization. Quantum emitters have been used as optical nanogenerators, but their precise positioning relative to the nanoantenna is technically challenging, setting up a barrier to the practical implementation. One unique source to drive nanoantenna is the photoluminescence from the material of the nanoantenna because the high operational frequency of the antenna reaches the regime for the electronic transitions in matter. Here, we exploit plasmon-modulated photoluminescence (PMPL) as an effective optical source to drive directional nanoantennas. We experimentally realize two technically challenging theoretical proposals, namely, an optical nanospectrometer based on Yagi–Uda nanoantennas and tunable broadband directional emission from log-periodic nanoantennas. Using photoluminescence from the nanoantenna as an optical source promotes practical implementation of transmitting optical nanoantennas.