Internal excitation and superfocusing of surface plasmon polaritons on a silver-coated optical fiber tip

We have theoretically studied the conversion of radially polarized waveguide modes of a tapered optical fiber into surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) propagating at the outer surface of an apertureless silver-coated optical tip. Optimization of this process is important in exploiting SPP superfocusing in scanning near-field optical microscopy without the need for external illumination. Our approach is based on analyzing the evolution of the local modal index as a function of the fiber radius. The influence of mode projection, intermodal coupling, and metal dissipation are treated analytically, while a numerical finite integration technique is used to model radiation coupling. The results identify and quantify the mode conversion processes that need to be taken into account. We estimate that at least 10% of the modal energy in an uncoated fiber taper can be fed into the superfocusing mode at a silver-coated tip.