David Shelton

IR permittivities for silicides and doped silicon

The complex permittivity for Pt, Pd, Ni, and Ti-silicide films as well as heavily doped p- and n-type silicon were determined by ellipsometry over the energy range 0.031 eV to 4.0 eV. Fits to the Drude model gave bulk plasma and relaxation frequencies. Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, secondary ion mass spectrometry, and four-point probe measurements complemented the optical characterization. Calculations from measured permittivities of waveguide loss and mode confinement suggest that the considered materials are better suited for long-wavelength surface-plasmon-polariton waveguide applications than metal films.

Strong coupling between nanoscale metamaterials and phonons.

We use split ring resonators (SRRs) at optical frequencies to study strong coupling between planar metamaterials and phonon vibrations in nanometer-scale dielectric layers. A series of SRR metamaterials were fabricated on a semiconductor wafer with a thin intervening SiO(2) dielectric layer. The dimensions of the SRRs were varied to tune the fundamental metamaterial resonance across the infrared (IR) active phonon band of SiO(2) at 130 meV (31 THz). Strong anticrossing of these resonances was observed, indicative of strong coupling between metamaterial and phonon excitations. This coupling is very general and can occur with any electrically polarizable resonance including phonon vibrations in other thin film materials and semiconductor band-to-band transitions in the near to far IR. These effects may be exploited to reduce loss and to create unique spectral features that are not possible with metamaterials alone.

Polarized infrared emission using frequency selective surfaces

An emission frequency selective surface, or eFSS, is made up of a periodic arrangement of resonant antenna structures above a ground plane. By exploiting the coupling and symmetry properties of an eFSS, it is possible to introduce polarization sensitive thermal emission and, subsequently, coherent emission. Two surfaces are considered: a linearly polarized emission surface and a circularly polarized emission surface. The linearly polarized surface consisted of an array of dipole elements and measurements demonstrate these surfaces can be fabricated into high polarization contrast patterns. The circularly polarized surface required the use of an asymmetrical tripole element to maintain coherence between orthogonal current modes and introduce the necessary phase delay to realize circularly polarized radiation.

Experimental demonstration of tunable phase in a thermochromic infrared-reflectarray metamaterial

For the first time, a tunable reflected phase reflectarray is demonstrated in the thermal infrared. This is done using thermochromic VO(2) square-patch elements in a reflectarray metamaterial configuration. A sixty degree change in reflected phase is measured using a Twyman-Green interferometer, and FTIR measurements show that the resonance reflection minima shifts from 9.2 to 11.2 mum as the sample is heated from 45 through 65 degrees C. These results are in agreement with finite-element method simulations using the optical properties of VO(2) which are measured by infrared ellipsometry.

Effect of thin silicon dioxide layers on resonant frequency in infrared metamaterials

Infrared metamaterials fabricated on semiconductor substrates exhibit a high degree of sensitivity to very thin (as small as 2 nm) layers of low permittivity materials between the metallic elements and the underlying substrate. We have measured the resonant frequencies of split ring resonators and square loops fabricated on Si wafers with silicon dioxide thicknesses ranging from 0 to 10 nm. Resonance features blue shift with increasing silicon dioxide thickness. These effects are explained by the silicon dioxide layer forming a series capacitance to the fringing field across the elements. Resonance coupling to the Si-O vibrational absorption has been observed. Native oxide layers which are normally ignored in numerical simulations of metamaterials must be accounted for to produce accurate predictions.

Reflectarray Design at Infrared Frequencies: Effects and Models of Material Loss

Reflectarray designs at infrared (IR) frequencies are investigated in this paper. At the short-wavelength region, material loss becomes an important consideration in reflectarray designs. Based on the measured properties of conductors and dielectrics at infrared frequency, this paper investigates the loss effects on the reflection magnitude and phase of reflectarray elements. It is revealed that when the material loss exceeds a certain limit, the element reflection phase will vary within a narrow phase range instead of a full 360° phase range. An equivalent circuit model is used to understand this phenomenon. Based on the investigation, alternative design methods for infrared reflectarrays are suggested to lower the loss effect. The low loss reflectarrays have great potential for infrared and visible range applications, such as a low profile planar concentrator for solar energy systems.

Silicides for Infrared Surface Plasmon Resonance Biosensors

Pt-, Pd-, Ni-, and Ti-silicide films on silicon were evaluated as conducting hosts for surface plasmon polaritons (SPP) in proposed long-wave IR (LWIR) attenuated total reflection biosensors. Original LWIR complex permittivity data was collected, from which SPP properties were determined and compared with those for noble metals. LWIR SPPs on silicide films were found to offer enhanced sensitivity to thinner biological entities than when usual metal films are used.

Altering infrared metamaterial performance through metal resonance damping

Infrared metamaterial design is a rapidly developing field and there are increasing demands for effective optimization and tuning techniques. One approach to tuning is to alter the material properties of the metals making up the resonant metamaterial to purposefully introduce resonance frequency and bandwidth damping. Damping in the infrared portion of the spectrum is unique for metamaterials because the frequency is on the order of the inverse of the relaxation time for most noble metals. Metals with small relaxation times exhibit less resonance frequency damping over a greater portion of the infrared than metals with a longer relaxation time and, subsequently, larger dc conductivity. This leads to the unexpected condition where it is possible to select a metal that simultaneously increases a metamaterial’s bandwidth and resonance frequency without altering the geometry of the structure. Starting with the classical microwave equation for thin-film resistors, a practical equivalent-circuit model is develo...

Phase resolved near-field mode imaging for the design of frequency-selective surfaces

Frequency-selective surfaces (FSS) are a class of metasurfaces with engineered reflectance, absorbance, and transmittance behavior. We study an array of metallic crossed dipole FSS elements in the infrared using interferometric scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscopy (s-SNOM). We resolve the dependence of the near-field phase on the dimensions of the elements and compare with numerical models. The combined phase and amplitude information of the underlying near-field mode distribution compared to conventional far-field absorption spectroscopy greatly improves the targeted design of frequency-selective surfaces.

Relaxation time effects on dynamic conductivity of alloyed metallic thin films in the infrared band

The behavior of nanoscale infrared antenna elements depends upon the dynamic conductivity of thin metallic films. Spectroscopic ellipsometer measurements of noble metal films show that when the product of the incident radiation frequency and the relaxation time is greater than unity, anomalous dynamic electron transport effects occur. In this regime electron scattering increases the conductivity of alloyed metallic films as demonstrated by ellipsometry measurements of films from the Au-Cu system. A binary alloy thin film was fabricated with equal parts of Au and Cu, and the dynamic conductivity was measured to be 300% larger than the high frequency conductivity of pure Au or pure Cu films at wavelengths in the 3–5 μm band. When electronic scattering is reduced, ellipsometer measurements of Au and Cu films taken near 4 K demonstrate that the IR conductivity decreases to 20% of the value measured at 300 K at wavelengths in the 3–5 μm band. Using measured dc relaxation times, a model to explain deviations fr...