  We propose a novel technique to efficiently excite a surface plasmon
polariton (SPP) mode at a gold-glass interface by exploiting the near field
excitation of an engineered high index (silicon) gabled tip at the telecom
wavelengths. The proposed structure can theoretically convert 49% of the input
optical power to a SPP mode. The device is compact, it will facilitate the
on-chip excitation of the SPP, its fabrication is compatible with the standard
Si fabrication processes, and as such, it is expected to be useful in the
design of future integrated sensors.
