In magnetoplasmonics, it is possible to tailor the magneto-optical properties of nanostructures by exciting surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs). Thus far, magnetoplasmonic effects have been considered static. Here, we describe ultrafast manifestations
of magnetoplasmonics by observing the non-trivial evolution of the transverse magneto-optic Kerr effect within 45-fs pulses reflected from an iron-based magnetoplasmonic crystal. The effect occurs for resonant SPP excitations, displays opposite time derivative signs for different slopes of the resonance, and is explained with the magnetization-dependent dispersion relation of SPPs.
We investigate experimentally and theoretically the third harmonic generated by a double-layer fishnet metamaterial. To unambiguously disclose most notably the influence of the magnetic resonance, the generated third harmonic was measured as a functi
on of the angle of incidence. It is shown experimentally and numerically that when the magnetic resonance is excited by pump beam, the angular dependence of the third harmonic signal has a local maximum at an incidence angle of {theta} simeq 20{deg}. This maximum is shown to be a fingerprint of the antisymmetric distribution of currents in the gold layers. An analytical model based on the nonlinear dynamics of the electrons inside the gold shows excellent agreement with experimental and numerical results. This clearly indicates the difference in the third harmonic angular pattern at electric and magnetic resonances of the metamaterial.
Femtosecond-scale polarization state conversion is experimentally found in optical response of a plasmonic nanograting by means of time-resolved polarimetry. Simultaneous measurements of the Stokes parameters as a function of time with an averaging t
ime-gate of 130 fs reveal a remarkable alteration of polarization state inside a single fs-pulse reflected from a plasmonic crystal. Time-dependent depolarization is experimentally found and described within an analytical model which predicts the four-fold enhancement of the polarization conversion effect with the use of the narrower gate. The effect is attributed to excitation of time-delayed polarization-sensitive surface plasmons with a highly birefringent Fano-type spectral profile.
