Plasmonic devices based on transparent conducting oxides for near infrared applications
Abstract
In the past decade, there have been many breakthroughs in the field of plasmonics and nanophotonics that have enabled optical devices with unprecedented functionalities. Even though remarkable demonstration of at photonic devices has been reported, constituent materials are limited to the noble metals such as gold (Au) and silver (Ag) due to their abundance of free electrons which enable the support of plasmon resonances in the visible range. With the strong demand for extension of the optical range of plasmonic applications, it is now a necessity to explore and develop alternative materials which can overcome intrinsic issues of noble metals such as integration challenges, considerable optical losses, and lack of tunability of their optical properties. As most promising alternative to noble metals, transparent conducting oxides (TCOs) have been proposed as a promising new class of plasmonic materials for the IR applications. The main objective of the thesis is to explore the various plasmonic devices based on TCOs in order to evaluate the capabilities of TCOs as alternative metallic component for plasmonic applications. By beginning with a discussion of the general (optical, electrical and morphological) properties of TCOs, we describe the demonstration of devices such as plasmonic resonator for bio-sensing and waveplate metasurfaces. In addition, we study the impact of TCOs to local antenna as epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) substrate. The technological importance of the IR range is apparent and growing, and as plasmonics develops a niche at these frequencies, I believe this study represents a scientific directive toward the quest to bring plasmonics into the IR.
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
Boltasseva, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Electrical engineering|Optics|Materials science
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