ABSTRACT Hybrid plasmonic source emitters operating within telecommunication windows offer exciting opportunities for nanoscale light applications. In this research, an Er 3+ ‐doped tellurite glass serves simultaneously as a gain medium and a substrate. A gold nanopillar array fabricated on the glass surface forms a metasurface that, when optically pumped at 980 nm, excites the Er 3+ ions, yielding a significantly broadened emission spectrum across the S and C telecom bands. The nanostructures function as plasmonic nanocavities, obviating the need for bulky external resonators. We attribute the observed spectral modification to the following mechanisms: (i) localized surface plasmon‐driven Er 3+ excitation via dipole interactions. (ii) Quantum‐plasmonic coupling enabling the 4 I 13/2 → 4 I 15/2 transition and the generation of surface plasmon polaritons. (iii) Propagation of the surface plasmon polaritons within the nanocavities. (iv) Subsequent out‐coupling of the plasmonic modes into the far‐field. Notably, the hybrid system exhibits a ≈143% increase in the FWHM, spanning from 1480 to 1580 nm. This configuration demonstrates a robust platform for plasmon‐to‐photon conversion mediated by Er 3+ ions at telecom wavelengths, thereby advancing both fundamental light‐matter interaction studies towards applications in nanophotonic communication devices.
C. et al. (Sun,) studied this question.