Plasmonic internal-photoemission-based Si photodetector design suitable for optical communication.

We propose a high-performance plasmonic photodetector based on the internal photoemission (IPE) process for the C-band communication wavelength. This photodetector takes advantage of an embedded nanohole array in Schottky metal. Owing to localized surface plasmon resonance, the absorption of the active metal layer increases, which results in the generation of more hot carriers and subsequently compensates for the low efficiency of IPE-based photodetectors. Simulations show that for the proposed photodetector with 2-nm-thick Au, Cu, and Ag Schottky contacts, the absorptance dramatically enhances to 95.1%, 93.2%, and 98.2%, respectively, at the wavelength of 1.55 µm. For the detector based on Au, the highest external quantum efficiency of 25.3% and responsivity of 0.32 A/W are achieved at a reverse bias voltage of 1 V. Furthermore, the 3 dB bandwidth can exceed 369 GHz owing to the low capacitance of the structure and the fast transit time of carriers from the thin p-Si layer. Finally, by studying the current-voltage characteristics of the photodetector, it is shown that under the reverse bias voltage of 1 V, the dark current is 665 nA at room temperature, and by reducing the temperature to 200 K, it improves three orders of magnitude and decreases to 810 pA.

Directional optical absorption and scattering in conical plasmonic nanostructures.

Asymmetric plasmonic nanostructures can be exploited to realize directional optical absorption or scattering for oppositely propagating optical waves. Here we theoretically investigate the roles of asymmetry and interaction of nanoparticles in directional optical responses. It is shown that adding optical interaction to a single truncated nanocone by dividing it into interacting nanodisks without changing geometrical asymmetry causes significant enhancement of directionality. We achieve an increase of about six times in directional optical absorption by using four nanodisks arranged in conical form. This effect is obtained due to the constructive interference of the excited modes of each nanodisk.

Packed Yagi-Uda nano-antennas using a unidirectional feed at visible wavelengths.

Optical nano-antennas' capability for controlling the intensity and direction of freely propagating waves is a precursor to demanding on-chip optical communications. Here we present a novel and efficiently packed Yagi-Uda (P-YU) nano-antenna which is dramatically directive and shortened. This is due to the excitation of a pair of strong interacting Au nanorods as a feed in the form of conventional Yagi-Uda (YU). Using a sophisticated feed with a unidirectional radiation pattern in a wavelength close to the antiphase hybridized plasmon causes significant directionality in the designed nano-antennas' emission. This allows us to reduce the number of directors or overall size while directivity and gain of the P-YU antenna considerably improve at about 610 nm.

Solar Transparent Radiators by Optical Nanoantennas.

Architectural windows are a major cause of thermal discomfort as the inner glazing during cold days can be several degrees colder than the indoor air. Mitigating this, the indoor temperature has to be increased, leading to unavoidable thermal losses. Here we present solar thermal surfaces based on complex nanoplasmonic antennas that can raise the temperature of window glazing by up to 8 K upon solar irradiation while transmitting light with a color rendering index of 98.76. The nanoantennas are directional, can be tuned to absorb in different spectral ranges, and possess a structural integrity that is not substrate-dependent, and thus they open up for application on a broad range of surfaces.

Optical absorbing origin of chiroptical activity in planar plasmonic metasurfaces.

As a significant characteristic of many biomolecules, chemical substances, and artificial nanostructures, chirality conduce different types of optical interactions with the spin angular momentum of the impinging light field. Although, chiral arrangement and spatial phase retardation are the key factors for obtaining chirality in three-dimensional (3D) structures, the origin of chirality in the feasible planar structures has not been thoroughly addressed. Here using an intuitive and simple analytical approach, called cross-hybridization model, the essence and properties of the optical chirality of individual planar nanostructures are unveiled. In order to fundamentally address this chirality in terms of circular dichroism (CD), the chiroptical response of a simple dimer composed of the lossy nanoblocks in L-shape arrangement are investigated based on the provided optical interaction and loss effects. The theoretical findings, adequately supported by the numerical calculations, reveal that chiroptical activity occurs predominantly due to handedness-dependent absorption or heating loss in a nanostructured metasurface.

Magnetoplasmonic design rules for active magneto-optics.

Light polarization rotators and nonreciprocal optical isolators are essential building blocks in photonics technology. These macroscopic passive devices are commonly based on magneto-optical Faraday and Kerr polarization rotation. Magnetoplasmonics, the combination of magnetism and plasmonics, is a promising route to bring these devices to the nanoscale. We introduce design rules for highly tunable active magnetoplasmonic elements in which we can tailor the amplitude and sign of the Kerr response over a broad spectral range.

Selective-mode optical nanofilters based on plasmonic complementary split-ring resonators.

A nanoplasmonic optical filtering technique based on a complementary split-ring resonator structure is proposed. The basic and modal properties of the square-nanoring are studied using the group theory. Degeneracy and non-degeneracy of the possible TM odd- and even-modes are characterized based on the symmetry elements of the ring structure. Distinctively, the proposed technique allows selecting and exciting the proper plasmonic modes of the nanoring in the side-coupled arrangement. It is found that the non-integer modes can be excited due to the presence of a metallic nano-wall. These modes are highly sensitive to the nano-wall dimensions, in contrast to the regular integer modes. Moreover, the transmission-line theory is used to derive the resonance condition of the modes. The results show the optical transmission spectrum of the investigated filter can be efficiently modified and tuned either by manipulation of the position or by variation of the width of the employed nano-wall inside the ring. The numerical results support the theoretical analysis.

Designer magnetoplasmonics with nickel nanoferromagnets.

We introduce a new perspective on magnetoplasmonics in nickel nanoferromagnets by exploiting the phase tunability of the optical polarizability due to localized surface plasmons and simultaneous magneto-optical activity. We demonstrate how the concerted action of nanoplasmonics and magnetization can manipulate the sign of rotation of the reflected light's polarization (i.e., to produce Kerr rotation reversal) in ferromagnetic nanomaterials and, further, how this effect can be dynamically controlled and employed to devise conceptually new schemes for biochemosensing.

Unidirectional ultracompact optical nanoantennas.

We report on a dramatic directionality effect in a simple and ultracompact optical nanoantenna consisting of a pair of interacting plasmonic nanoparticles. We found that the emission from a dipole source positioned close to one of the particles in the pair exhibits an essentially unidirectional radiation pattern for emission wavelengths close to the antiphase hybridized plasmon. We analyze this unique effect in terms of radiation, reception, and reciprocity concepts using electrodynamics simulations and dipole analysis. A forward-backward directionality of approximately 18 dB at 665 nm is obtained for a nanoantenna that consists of two 90 nm wide and 20 nm thick gold nanodisks separated by a 10 nm gap.

Intrinsic Fano interference of localized plasmons in Pd nanoparticles.

Palladium (Pd) nanoparticles exhibit broad optical resonances that have been assigned to so-called localized surface plasmons (LSPs). The resonance's energy varies with particle shape in a similar fashion as is well known for LSPs in gold and silver nanoparticles, but the line-shape is always anomalously asymmetric. We here show that this effect is due to an intrinsic Fano interference caused by the coupling between the plasmon response and a structureless background originating from interband transitions. The conclusions are supported by experimental and numerical simulation data of Pd particles of different shape and phenomenologically analyzed in terms of the point dipole polarizability of spheroids. The latter analysis indicates that the degree of Fano asymmetry is simply linearly proportional to the imaginary part of the interband contribution to the metal dielectric function.

Enhanced nanoplasmonic optical sensors with reduced substrate effect.

We present a straightforward method to double the refractive index sensitivity of surface-supported nanoplasmonic optical sensors by lifting the metal nanoparticles above the substrate by a dielectric nanopillar. The role of the pillar is to substantially decrease the spatial overlap between the substrate and the enhanced fields generated at plasmon resonance. Data presented for nanodisks and nanoellipsoids supported by pillars of varying heights are found to be in excellent agreement with electrodynamics simulations. The described concepts apply to multitude of plasmonic nanostructures, fabricated by top-down or bottom-up techniques, and are likely to further facilitate the development of novel nanooptical sensors for biomedicine and diagnostics.