Towards Perfect Absorption of Single Layer CVD Graphene in an Optical Resonant Cavity: Challenges and Experimental Achievements.

Graphene is emerging as a promising material for the integration in the most common Si platform, capable to convey some of its unique properties to fabricate novel photonic and optoelectronic devices. For many real functions and devices however, graphene absorption is too low and must be enhanced. Among strategies, the use of an optical resonant cavity was recently proposed, and graphene absorption enhancement was demonstrated, both, by theoretical and experimental studies. This paper summarizes our recent progress in graphene absorption enhancement by means of Si/SiO2-based Fabry-Perot filters fabricated by radiofrequency sputtering. Simulations and experimental achievements carried out during more than two years of investigations are reported here, detailing the technical expedients that were necessary to increase the single layer CVD graphene absorption first to 39% and then up to 84%. Graphene absorption increased when an asymmetric Fabry-Perot filter was applied rather than a symmetric one, and a further absorption increase was obtained when graphene was embedded in a reflective rather than a transmissive Fabry-Perot filter. Moreover, the effect of the incident angle of the electromagnetic radiation and of the polarization of the light was investigated in the case of the optimized reflective Fabry-Perot filter. Experimental challenges and precautions to avoid evaporation or sputtering induced damage on the graphene layers are described as well, disclosing some experimental procedures that may help other researchers to embed graphene inside PVD grown materials with minimal alterations.

Experimental demonstration of mid-IR absorption enhancement in single layer CVD graphene.

Mid-IR absorption of single layer graphene (SLG) was simulated and experimentally demonstrated by embedding a SLG grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) inside a Fabry-Perot (FP) filter made by alternating quarter wave Si and SiO2 layers fabricated by radiofrequency sputtering. The absorption from the graphene layer was modeled by using COMSOL Multiphysics in four different configurations, depending on its position inside the filter, an asymmetric FP made of two different dielectric mirrors separated by a cavity. In the first three configurations, graphene was inserted at the center of the optical cavity and inside the top or bottom dielectric mirror forming the FP. The fourth configuration involves two layers of graphene, each positioned inside one of the dielectric mirrors. The calculated electric field distribution inside the FP shows two symmetric maxima just above and below the cavity, i.e., inside the mirrors, while the electric field at the center of the cavity is negligible. For the experimental demonstration, the graphene geometry corresponding to the maximum electric field intensity was chosen, and, between two equivalent alternatives, the one with the easiest fabrication procedure was selected. Results demonstrate a maximum experimental absorption of 50% at 4342 nm for SLG when inserted in the top mirror of the FP, in excellent agreement with the simulated value of 53%.

Experimental near infrared absorption enhancement of graphene layers in an optical resonant cavity.

Graphene has recently emerged as a promising candidate for a wide range of photonic and optoelectronic applications, with a high application potential in devices using infrared radiation. The optical absorption of 2D materials and graphene can be uniquely enhanced when they are embedded in optical resonant cavities, since optically-thin atomic-thickness absorbers do not perturb the cavity itself. Despite the many theoretical studies, experimental validation is still lagging behind. Here, large near infrared (NIR) absorption of unpatterned chemical vapor deposition graphene is experimentally demonstrated for the first time in a large area (1 inch) passive optical device by exploiting the enhancement of the electric field at the center of a Fabry-Perot cavity. Test devices were fabricated with single layer, double layer and five layers graphene, sandwiched between two almost symmetric Bragg mirrors deposited by radio frequency sputtering and consisting of alternate layers of Si and SiO2. A thin evaporated MgF2 overlayer was used to reduce sputtering induced damage on graphene layers. Measured absorption values, in the range of 37%-45%, were found in very good accordance with simulated ones. A maximum absorption of 45% was measured at 2345 nm for the double-layer graphene.

Plasmonic thin film InP/graphene-based Schottky-junction solar cell using nanorods.

Herein, the design and simulation of graphene/InP thin film solar cells with a novel periodic array of nanorods and plasmonic back-reflectors of the nano-semi sphere was proposed. In this structure, a single-layer of the graphene sheet was placed on the vertical nanorods of InP to form a Schottky junction. The electromagnetic field was determined using solving three-dimensional Maxwell's equations discretized by the finite difference method (FDM). The enhancement of light trapping in the absorbing layer was illustrated, thereby increasing the short circuit current to a maximum value of 31.57 mA/cm2 with nanorods having a radius of 400 nm, height of 1250 nm, and nano-semi sphere radius of 50 nm, under a solar irradiation of AM1.5G. The maximum ultimate efficiency was determined to be 45.8% for an angle of incidence of 60°. This structure has shown a very good light trapping ability when graphene and ITO layers were used at the top and as a back-reflector in the proposed photonic crystal structure of the InP nanorods. Thence, this structure improves the short-circuit current density and the ultimate efficiency of 12% and 2.7%, respectively, in comparison with the InP-nanowire solar cells.