scholarly journals The Quest for Low Loss High Refractive Index Dielectric Materials for UV Photonic Applications

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 2065 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yael Gutiérrez ◽  
Dolores Ortiz ◽  
José Saiz ◽  
Francisco González ◽  
Pablo Albella ◽  
...  

Nanostructured High Refractive Index (HRI) dielectric materials, when acting as nanoantennas or metasurfaces in the near-infrared (NIR) and visible (VIS) spectral ranges, can interact with light and show interesting scattering directionality properties. Also, HRI dielectric materials with low absorption in these spectral ranges show very low heat radiation when illuminated. Up to now, most of the studies of these kind of materials have been explored in the VIS-NIR. However, to the best of our knowledge, these properties have not been extended to the ultraviolet (UV), where their application in fields like photocatalysis, biosensing, surface-enhanced spectroscopies or light guiding and trapping can be of extraordinary relevance. Here, we present a detailed numerical study of the directional scattering properties, near-field enhancement and heat generation of several materials that can be good candidates for those applications in the UV. These materials include aluminum phosphide, aluminum arsenide, aluminum nitride, diamond, cerium dioxide and titanium dioxide. In this study, we compare their performance when forming either isolated nanoparticles or dimers to build either nanoantennas or unit cells for more complex metasurfaces.

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 2306-2314 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valerio F Gili ◽  
Lavinia Ghirardini ◽  
Davide Rocco ◽  
Giuseppe Marino ◽  
Ivan Favero ◽  
...  

Background: Dielectric nanoantennas have recently emerged as an alternative solution to plasmonics for nonlinear light manipulation at the nanoscale, thanks to the magnetic and electric resonances, the strong nonlinearities, and the low ohmic losses characterizing high refractive-index materials in the visible/near-infrared (NIR) region of the spectrum. In this frame, AlGaAs nanoantennas demonstrated to be extremely efficient sources of second harmonic radiation. In particular, the nonlinear polarization of an optical system pumped at the anapole mode can be potentially boosted, due to both the strong dip in the scattering spectrum and the near-field enhancement, which are characteristic of this mode. Plasmonic nanostructures, on the other hand, remain the most promising solution to achieve strong local field confinement, especially in the NIR, where metals such as gold display relatively low losses. Results: We present a nonlinear hybrid antenna based on an AlGaAs nanopillar surrounded by a gold ring, which merges in a single platform the strong field confinement typically produced by plasmonic antennas with the high nonlinearity and low loss characteristics of dielectric nanoantennas. This platform allows enhancing the coupling of light to the nanopillar at coincidence with the anapole mode, hence boosting both second- and third-harmonic generation conversion efficiencies. More than one order of magnitude enhancement factors are measured for both processes with respect to the isolated structure. Conclusion: The present results reveal the possibility to achieve tuneable metamixers and higher resolution in nonlinear sensing and spectroscopy, by means of improved both pump coupling and emission efficiency due to the excitation of the anapole mode enhanced by the plasmonic nanoantenna.


MRS Advances ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (41-42) ◽  
pp. 2283-2288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Viktoriia E. Babicheva

ABSTRACTHigh-index materials such as silicon and III-V compounds have recently gained a lot of interest as a promising material platform for efficient photonic nanostructures. Because of the high refractive index, nanoparticles of such materials support Mie resonances and enable efficient light control and its confinement at the nanoscale. Here we propose a design of nanostructure with multipole resonances where optical nanoantennas are made out of transition metal dichalcogenide, in particular, tungsten disulfide WS2. Transition metal dichalcogenide (TMDCs) possess a high refractive index and strong optical anisotropy because of their layered structure and are promising building blocks for next-generation photonic devices. Strong anisotropic response results in different components of TMDC permittivity and the possibility of tailoring nanostructure optical properties by choosing different axes and adjusting dimensions in design. The proposed periodic array of TMDC nanoantennas can be used for controlling optical resonances in the visible and near-infrared spectral ranges and engineering efficient ultra-thin optical components with nanoscale light confinement.


Nanomaterials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 1728
Author(s):  
Joshua Fernandes ◽  
Sangmo Kang

The near-field enhancement and localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) on the core-shell noble metal nanostructure surfaces are widely studied for various biomedical applications. However, the study of the optical properties of new plasmonic non-spherical nanostructures is less explored. This numerical study quantifies the optical properties of spherical and non-spherical (prolate and oblate) dimer nanostructures by introducing finite element modelling in COMSOL Multiphysics. The surface plasmon resonance peaks of gold nanostructures should be understood and controlled for use in biological applications such as photothermal therapy and drug delivery. In this study, we find that non-spherical prolate and oblate gold dimers give excellent tunability in a wide range of biological windows. The electromagnetic field enhancement and surface plasmon resonance peak can be tuned by varying the aspect ratio of non-spherical nanostructures, the refractive index of the surrounding medium, shell thickness, and the distance of separation between nanostructures. The absorption spectra exhibit considerably greater dependency on the aspect ratio and refractive index than the shell thickness and separation distance. These results may be essential for applying the spherical and non-spherical nanostructures to various absorption-based applications.


Nanophotonics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Søren Raza ◽  
Anders Kristensen

AbstractThe advent of resonant dielectric nanomaterials has provided a new path for concentrating and manipulating light on the nanoscale. Such high-refractive-index materials support a diverse set of low-loss optical resonances, including Mie resonances, anapole states, and bound states in the continuum. Through these resonances, high-refractive-index materials can be used to engineer the optical near field, both inside and outside the nanostructures, which opens up new opportunities for Raman spectroscopy. In this review, we discuss the impact of high-refractive-index nano-optics on Raman spectroscopy. In particular, we consider the intrinsic Raman enhancement produced by different dielectric resonances and their theoretical description. Using the optical reciprocity theorem, we derive an expression which links the Raman enhancement to the enhancement of the stored electric energy. We also address recent results on surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy based on high-refractive-index dielectric materials along with applications in stimulated Raman scattering and nanothermometry. Finally, we discuss the potential of Raman spectroscopy as a tool for detecting the optical near-fields produced by dielectric resonances, complementing reflection and transmission measurements.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sushanth Reddy Amanaganti ◽  
Miha Ravnik ◽  
Jayasri Dontabhaktuni

Abstract Sub-wavelength periodic nanostructures give rise to interesting optical phenomena like effective refractive index, perfect absorption, cloaking, etc. However, such structures are usually metallic which results in high dissipative losses and limitations for use; therefore, dielectric nanostructures are increasingly considered as a strong alternative to plasmonic (metallic) materials. In this work, we show light-matter interaction in a high refractive index dielectric metasurface consisting of an array of cubic dielectric nano-structures made of very high refractive index material, Te in air, using computer modelling. We observe a distinct band-like structure in both transmission and reflection spectra resulting from the near-field coupling of the field modes from neighboring dielectric structures followed by a sharp peak in the transmission at higher frequencies. From the spatial distribution of the electric and magnetic fields and a detailed multipole analysis in both spherical harmonics and Cartesian components, the dominant resonant modes are identified to be electric and magnetic dipoles. Specifically at lower frequency (60 THz) a novel anapole-like state characterized by strong-suppression in reflection and absorption is observed, reported very recently as ‘lattice-invisibility’ state. Differently, at higher frequency (62 THz), strong absorption and near-zero far field scattering are observed, which combined with the field profiles and the multipole analysis of the near-fields indicate the excitation of an anapole. Notably the observed novel modes occur in the simple geometry of dielectric cubes and are a result of collective response of the metasurfaces. Periodicity of the cubic metasurface is shown as the significant material tuning parameter, allowing for the near-field and far-field coupling effects of anapole metasurface. More generally, our work is a contribution towards developing far-fetching applications based on metamaterials such as integrated devices and waveguides consisting of non-radiating modes.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Debadrita Paria ◽  
Chi Zhang ◽  
Ishan Barman

Abstract In biology, sensing is a major driver of discovery. A principal challenge is to create a palette of probes that offer near single-molecule sensitivity and simultaneously enable multiplexed sensing and imaging in the “tissue-transparent” near-infrared region. Surface-enhanced Raman scattering and metal-enhanced fluorescence have shown substantial promise in addressing this need. Here, we theorize a rational design and optimization strategy to generate nanostructured probes that combine distinct plasmonic materials sandwiching a dielectric layer in a multilayer core shell configuration. The lower energy resonance peak in this multi-resonant construct is found to be highly tunable from visible to the near-IR region. Such a configuration also allows substantially higher near-field enhancement, compared to a classical core-shell nanoparticle that possesses a single metallic shell, by exploiting the differential coupling between the two core-shell interfaces. Combining such structures in a dimer configuration, which remains largely unexplored at this time, offers significant opportunities not only for near-field enhancement but also for multiplexed sensing via the (otherwise unavailable) higher order resonance modes. Together, these theoretical calculations open the door for employing such hybrid multi-layered structures, which combine facile spectral tunability with ultrahigh sensitivity, for biomolecular sensing.


2003 ◽  
Vol 803 ◽  
Author(s):  
Koichiro Kishima ◽  
Isao Ichimura ◽  
Kimihiro Saito ◽  
Kenji Yamamoto ◽  
Atsushi Iida ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTWe propose multi-layer near-field recording with using inner focus mode. The restricted conditions for multi-layer near-field recording are discussed from the viewpoint of both media structure and optical setup. One solution is presented for dual layer recording with a numerical aperture (NA) of 1.5 and a wavelength of 405 nm as a light source of GaN laser diode.In the proposed layer structure, a Nb2O5 material has been adopted as the intermediate layer because of its high refractive index, n = 2.4, in order to prevent the decrease of beam propagation that corresponds to NA>1. Almost the same signal characteristics can be obtained from both recording layers at the air gap of 40 nm. The adjustment of focusing position and the compensation of spherical aberrations have been implemented by the combination of an expander lens unit and a liquid crystal (LC) panel in the optical setup.


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 83-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Katyal

The localized surface plasmon resonance of homo-dimer nanostructures is studied using FDTD simulations. The calculated LSPR wavelength of Au, Ag and Al nanosphere forming a homo-dimer configuration is compared and the results reveal a larger LSPR shift in Ag and Al homo-dimer than in Au homo-dimer. Taking the sensitivity of LSPR shape to the size and interparticle spacing of nanoparticle along with a surrounding refractive index, parameters like refractive index sensitivity have been determined. The spherical homo-dimer over the whole range of particle size, studied here shows the index sensitivity order as Ag>Al>Au. Hence, the use of plasmonic material towards the refractive index sensing applications is useful in this order.  The average refractive index sensitivities of Ag, Al and Au are 287.09 nm/RIU, 210.21 nm/RIU and 192.47 nm/RIU in DUV-Visible-NIR region. Apart from LSPR shift, the highly confined near-field intensity enhancement of homo-dimer nanostructures for SERS has also been studied. The interacting homo-dimer nanoparticles reveals intensity enhancements in the junction. Comparing the field enhancement for Au, Ag and Al homo-dimer nanostructure 10^8-10^9  have been theoretically predicted in DUV-UV-visible region which can be used to strongly enhance the Raman scattering of molecules.


Author(s):  
Vadim Elyutin ◽  
◽  
Muhammad A. Butt ◽  
Svetlana N. Khonina ◽  
◽  
...  

Nanomaterials ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 856 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrés M. Raya ◽  
David Fuster ◽  
José M. Llorens

GaAs nanomembranes grown by selective area epitaxy are novel structures. The high refractive index of GaAs makes them good candidates for nanoantennas. We numerically studied the optical modal structure of the resonator. The nanomembrane geometry introduces a strong light-polarization dependence. The scattering is dominated by an electric dipole contribution for polarization along the nanomembrane long dimension and by a magnetic dipole contribution in the orthogonal direction. The dependence on the geometry of the resonances close to the GaAs band gap was modeled by a single coefficient. It describes the resonance shifts against up-to 40% changes in length, height, and width. We showed that the nanomembranes exhibited field enhancement, far-field directionality, and tunability with the GaAs band gap. All these elements confirm their great potential as nanoantennas.


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