Abstract

In 2003 Bergman and Stockman introduced the spaser (Surface Plasmon Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation), a quantum amplifier of surface plasmons by stimulated emission of radiation [1]. The spaser includes two parts: gain medium, that amplifies the electromagnetic field, and resonator, that provides the positive feedback. Its principles of operation are analogous to those for a laser with the role of photons played by surface plasmons localized at a metal surface. The main feature of the spaser is the subwavelength field localization that emerges due to the nature of the surface plasmons. This feature provide many possibilities for prospective applications, in particular, for near-field nonlinear-optical probing.

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