Lasing action assisted by long-range surface plasmons

It is shown that lasing action at subwavelength scales can be achieved in realistic plasmonic systems supporting long-range surface plasmons (LRSPPs). To this end, a general numerical framework has been developed that is able to accurately account for the full spatio-temporal lasing dynamics and the vastly different length- and time-scales featured by this class of systems. Starting from a loss compensation regime for propagating LRSPPs, it is shown how the introduction of an optical feedback mechanism induces the formation of a self-sustained laser oscillation at moderate pump intensities. The simplicity of the proposed subwavelength scale laser offers significant potential as a novel class of planar light sources in complex plasmonic circuits.