Anton C. Greenwald

Extraordinary emission from two-dimensional plasmonic-photonic crystals

A metallodielectric architecture is employed to readily tailor the spectral properties of a bulk material for application to infrared sources and spectroscopic sensors. We exploit the interaction between surface plasmons at a metal interface with a photonic crystal in silicon to control the spectral response of the surface in reflection, absorption, and emission. The design uses Si-based thermally isolated suspended bridge structures fabricated using conventional photolithography techniques. The tunable narrow spectral response is defined by the symmetry and periodicity of the metallodielectric photonic crystal. Individual subresonances are recognized within this bandwidth. We model their origin through calculations of surface-plasmon modes in the metallic grating overlayer. Periodic arrays of holes in thin metal layers lead to coupled plasmons at the two metal–dielectric interfaces that, in turn, couple to modes in the underlying silicon–air photonic crystal. The model provides crucial physical insight i...

Mocvd Erbium Sourcesa

The overall objective of this research is to develop source materials for doping AIGaAs. We compared Er(C 5 H 5 ) 3 to Er{N[Si(CH 3 ) 3 ] 2 ) 3 for purity, decomposition kinetics and doping of germanium films deposited from Ge(CH 3 ) 4 in a hydrogen atmosphere. Cyclopentadienyl erbium left large amounts of carbon both in pure metal films, and in the germanium film, at low pressure and temperatures to 850°C. Bis-(tri-methylsilyl) erbium amide decomposed cleanly without carbon, nitrogen or silicon in the deposited film.

Photonic crystals enable infrared gas sensors

Sensors of trace gases are of enormous importance to diverse fields such as environmental protection, household safety, homeland security, bio-hazardous material identification, meteorology and industrial environments. The gases of interest include CO for home environments, CO2 for industrial and environment applications and toxic effluents such as SO2, CH4, NO for various manufacturing environments. We propose a new class of IR gas sensors, where the enabling technology is a spectrally tuned metallo-dielectric photonic crystal. Building both the emitting and sensing capabilities on to a single discrete element, Ion Optics’ infrared sensorchip brings together a new sensor paradigm to vital commercial applications. Our design exploits Si-based suspended micro-bridge structures fabricated using conventional photolithographic processes. Spectral tuning, control of bandwidth and direction of emission were accomplished by specially designed metallo-dielectric photonic crystal surfaces.

Development of optical MEMS CO2 sensors

Inexpensive optical MEMS gas and chemical sensors offer chip-level solutions to environmental monitoring, industrial health and safety, indoor air quality, and automobile exhaust emissions monitoring. Previously, Ion Optics, Inc. reported on a new design concept exploiting Si-based suspended micro-bridge structures. The devices are fabricated using conventional CMOS compatible processes. The use of photonic bandgap (PBG) crystals enables narrow band IR emission for high chemical selectivity and sensitivity. Spectral tuning was accomplished by controlling symmetry and lattice spacing of the PBG structures. IR spectroscopic studies were used to characterize transmission, absorption and emission spectra in the 2 to 20 micrometers wavelength range. Prototype designs explored suspension architectures and filament geometries. Device characterization studies measured drive and emission power, temperature uniformity, and black body detectivity. Gas detection was achieved using non-dispersive infrared (NDIR) spectroscopic techniques, whereby target gas species were determined from comparison to referenced spectra. A sensor system employing the emitter/detector sensor-chip with gas cell and reflective optics is demonstrated and CO2 gas sensitivity limits are reported.

Nanostructured surfaces for tuned infrared emission for spectroscopic applications

Thermal emission from heated materials follows the blackbody curve, multiplied by emissivity. Emissivity may be, but is not usually a strong function of wavelength. Ion Optics has developed a variety of surface texturing processes that create specific nano-structures which alter the emissivity in predictable fashion. Random structures produced by ion beam etching create long and/or short wavelength cutoffs. Repeated patterns produced by fine-line lithography, resembling photonic bandgap materials, have large peaks in the emitted spectrum. The central wavelength and bandwidth for lithographic structures can be varied with geometry. FWHM values for ((Delta) (lambda) /(lambda) ) are less than 0.1. These light sources reduce power requirements for applications now using broadband sources with filters, and in some cases entirely eliminate the need for filters.

Tuned Infrared Emission From Lithographically-Defined Silicon Surface Structures

Photonic bandgap structures have received much attention as optical and infrared filters with controllable narrow-band absorbance. There is a need, however, for the same kind of control of the thermal emittance of surfaces for applications ranging from control of radiative heat transfer to gas absorption spectroscopy. We report on the fabrication of photonic bandgap structures on silicon surfaces using standard lithographic techniques. Substrate resistivity varied from n − to n + and in some cases background surface emissivity was suppressed with a high reflectivity coating such as aluminum. We have measured the infrared reflectance and emittance of these patterned surfaces. Peak absorption wavelength and spectral purity (linewidth) correlate with photonic bandgap feature size and spacing as well as surface conductivity. We demonstrate band emission with a sharp short wavelength cut-off from these structures when heated.

Photonic crystals for narrow-band infrared emission

MEMS silicon (Si) micro-bridge elements, with photonic band gap (PBG) modified surfaces are exploited for narrow-band spectral tuning in the infrared wavelength regime. Thermally isolated, uniformly heated single crystal Si micro-heaters would otherwise provide gray-body emission, in accordance with Plancks distribution function. The introduction of an artificial dielectric periodicity in the Si, with a surface, vapor-deposited gold (Au) metal film, governs the photonic frequency spectrum of permitted propagation, which then couples with surface plasmon states at the metal surface. Narrow band spectral tuning was accomplished through control of symmetry and lattice spacing of the PBG patterns. Transfer matrix calculations were used to model the frequency dependence of reflectance for several lattice spacings. Theoretical predictions that showed narrow-band reflectance at relevant wavelengths for gas sensing and detection were then compared to measured reflectance spectra from processed devices. Narrow band infrared emission was confirmed on both conductively heated and electrically driven devices.

Modeling Combined Thermal, Electrical, Optical and Mechanical Response for MEMS Spectroscopic Gas Sensor Based On Photonic Crystals

A new type of gas sensor was developed that combines the principles of bolometric infrared detectors with photonic crystals. 1,2 This paper describes a quantitative model used to optimize the materials, geometry, and electrical properties of this suspended membrane MEMS device. Fundamentally the model is concerned with the thermal response of the device using temperature dependent thermal conductivity, specific heat, and electrical resistance to calculate conduction, convection, and radiation losses for a negative temperature coefficient of resistance material. Variations in the electrical drive circuit, dc and ac response, low and high frequency sinusoidal and random noise, along with an exacting calculation of expected signal were used to improve design. The model follows the time evolution of the system. We show how look-up tables with scaling (derived from exact, off-line finite element models for thermal conduction, spectral emission, etc.) provided sufficiently accurate estimates with rapid calculation to enable running the model on a standard PC type computer. The simulations matched the experimental results, accurately predicted the unstable operating regimes, and maximized the signal to noise ratio for the device.

Pulsed Electron Beam Annealing Ion Implanted Materials: Equipment and Results

A series of pulsed electron beam accelerators has been developed for the modification of material surfaces. Each facility produces an electron beam with an average particle energy of 10-100 keV, a fluence of 0.5 to 10 J/cm2 on the sample, and a pulse width of 20-200 nsec. The total energy stored (per pulse) varies between the different models from 15 to 1500J with a maximum repetition rate of 0.5 Hz. The uniform beam has a diameter of 1-10 cm. These accelerators are used for annealing ion implants. After processing, the surface exhibits perfect, dislocation-free crystal regrowth for single crystal materials. A variety of discrete electronic devices have been fabricated with characteristics comparable to those observed with optimum thermal (furnace) annealing procedures. The first production application of pulsed electron beam annealing will be for solar cell junction fabrication, where the high speed (1800 four-inch-diameter wafers per hour) and low power consumption give a strong cost advantage over competing furnace or pulsed laser equipment.

Theory of Thermal Emissivity and Enhanced Absorption in Sub-wavelength Metallo-Dielectric Photonic Crystals

Metallo-dielectric photonic crystals are sharp thermal emitters at infrared wavelengths, and are being employed in sensors. We describe the theory of thermal emission and enhanced absorption in these photonic crystals using a scattering matrix approach, where Maxwells equations are solved in Fourier space. A sub-wavelength hole array in a metal layer is coupled to a two-dimensional photonic crystal of the same periodicity in these metallo-dielectric photonic crystals. The sub-wavelength hole array has an enhanced transmission mode that couples to a weakly guided mode of the photonic crystal having similar modal character. The transmissive mode of the hole array is absorbed by the photonic crystal to create a sharp absorption and reflective minimum. The enhanced absorption is investigated in different lattice symmetries.