Desalegn T. Debu

Fabrication of Sub-Lithography-Limited Structures via Nanomasking Technique for Plasmonic Enhancement Applications

Fabrication of sub-10 nm features is advantageous for continued improvement of plasmonic enhancement applications. This letter demonstrates a technique, called nanomasking, which can fabricate nanostructures and gaps below the resolution limit of the lithography technique used in the process: nanogaps that are less than 10 nm in width, and nanostructures with 15 nm widths. This method improves upon existing techniques for creating metallic features at this scale, and it is also scalable for mass production. Unique structures that can be fabricated with this technique have been optically investigated to provide evidence as to their potential plasmonic applications.

Calculated thickness dependent plasmonic properties of gold nanobars in the visible to near-infrared light regime

Metallic, especially gold, nanostructures exhibit plasmonic behavior in the visible to near-infrared light range. In this study, we investigate optical enhancement and absorption of gold nanobars with different thicknesses for transverse and longitudinal polarizations using finite element method simulations. This study also reports on the discrepancy in the resonance wavelengths and optical enhancement of the sharp-corner and round-corner nanobars of constant length 100 nm and width 60 nm. The result shows that resonance amplitude and wavelength have strong dependences on the thickness of the nanostructure as well as the sharpness of the corners, which is significant since actual fabricated structure often have rounded corners. Primary resonance mode blue-shifts and broadens as the thickess increases due to decoupling of charge dipoles at the surface for both polarizations. The broadening effect is characterized by measuring the full width at half maximum of the spectra. We also present the surface charge distribution showing dipole mode oscillations at resonance frequency and multimode resonance indicating different oscillation directions of the surface charge based on the polarization direction of the field. Results of this work give insight for precisely tuning nanobar structures for sensing and other enhanced optical applications.

Surface plasmon damping effects due to Ti adhesion layer in individual gold nanodisks

The adhesion layer used in nanofabrication process of metallic nanostructures affects the surface plasmon modes. We characterize the localized surface plasmon resonances (SPRs) of gold nanodisks of various diameters and heights while varying the thickness of the Ti adhesion layers. Scattering, absorption, and extinction coefficient calculations show a significant dependence of the SPR on the size of nanostructures and the adhesion layer thickness. Comparisons of peak resonance wavelengths of different Ti adhesion layer thicknesses indicate a significant red shift and a reduction in amplitude as the Ti thickness increases. A comparison of spectral broadening of the plasmon mode indicates a linear increase with Ti thickness and percentage. In addition, the decay time of the plasmon mode decreased significantly as the adhesion layer size increases. These observations aid in understanding size dependent adhesion layer effects and optimized fabrication of single nanoplasmonic structures.

Investigation of maximum optical enhancement in single gold nanowires and triple nanowire arrays

Abstract. This work thoroughly investigates gold nanowires with various cross-sectional geometries and patterns. The study has determined the effect of the cross section aspect ratio on its maximum optical enhancement. The plasmonic optical enhancement properties of single gold nanowires and an array of three nanowires were investigated using finite element method simulations. The results indicate a significant dependence of the optical enhancement on both the thickness and width of the nanowires. From the simulation data, an equation for each geometry (single and triple array) was found that relates the dimensions and incident wavelength to the optical enhancement. These relationships can be a valuable resource while designing nanowires to optimize the dimensions and provide the maximum possible optical enhancement.

Plasmonic structures fabricated via nanomasking sub-10 nm lithography technique

Making use of a newly established nanomasking technique, nanoscale features (sub-10 nm) have been fabricated with the potential to act as plasmonic enhancement structures. The technique makes use of a two-step lithography process to simultaneously produce many plasmonic hotspots with two-dimensional features over a large area, showing promise for mass production scalability. This technique is highly reproducible, reliably patterning multiple nanostructures and nanogaps over a potentially wafer-scale area without significantly increasing the number of steps required. Fabrication results show promise for scalability towards applications such as biosensing, photovoltaics, and enhanced spectroscopies.

Optical nanogap matrices for plasmonic enhancement applications

Plasmonic structures can be used to enhance electromagnetic radiation, and nanoscale (<5 nm) gaps can increase this enhancement even further. Fabrication of these desired structures involves using a relatively new, previously developed self-aligned process to overcome typical electron beam lithography resolution limits. The resulting nanogap structures have been shown to exhibit enhanced optical emission. This technique enables the fabrication of a large-area two-dimensional matrix of such nanostructures which could prove useful for photovoltaics, plasmonically enhanced Raman spectroscopy, biosensing, and other optoelectronic applications. Computational electromagnetic simulations of the structures will prove useful for predicting behavior upon interaction with light and for experimental comparison.

Tuning Infrared Plasmon Resonance of Black Phosphorene Nanoribbon with a Dielectric Interface

We report on the tunable edge-plasmon-enhanced absorption of phosphorene nanoribbons supported on a dielectric substrate. Monolayer anisotropic black phosphorous (phosphorene) nanoribbons are explored for light trapping and absorption enhancement on different dielectric substrates. We show that these phosphorene ribbons support infrared surface plasmons with high spatial confinement. The peak position and bandwidth of the calculated phosphorene absorption spectra are tunable with low loss over a wide wavelength range via the surrounding dielectric environment of the periodic nanoribbons. Simulation results show strong edge plasmon modes and enhanced absorption as well as a red-shift of the peak resonance wavelength. The periodic Fabry-Perot grating model was used to analytically evaluate the absorption resonance arising from the edge of the ribbons for comparison with the simulation. The results show promise for the promotion of phosphorene plasmons for both fundamental studies and potential applications in the infrared spectral range.

Plasmonic Au Array SERS Substrate with Optimized Thin Film Oxide Substrate Layer

This work studies the effect of a plasmonic array structure coupled with thin film oxide substrate layers on optical surface enhancement using a finite element method. Previous results have shown that as the nanowire spacing increases in the sub-100 nm range, enhancement decreases; however, this work improves upon previous results by extending the range above 100 nm. It also averages optical enhancement across the entire device surface rather than localized regions, which gives a more practical estimate of the sensor response. A significant finding is that in higher ranges, optical enhancement does not always decrease but instead has additional plasmonic modes at greater nanowire and spacing dimensions resonant with the period of the structure and the incident light wavelength, making it possible to optimize enhancement in more accessibly fabricated nanowire array structures. This work also studies surface enhancement to optimize the geometries of plasmonic wires and oxide substrate thickness. Periodic oscillations of surface enhancement are observed at specific oxide thicknesses. These results will help improve future research by providing optimized geometries for SERS molecular sensors.

Fabrication and analysis of metallic nanoslit structures: advancements in the nanomasking method

Abstract. This work advances the fabrication capabilities of a two-step lithography technique known as nanomasking for patterning metallic nanoslit (nanogap) structures with sub-10-nm resolution, below the limit of the lithography tools used during the process. Control over structure and slit geometry is a key component of the reported method, exhibiting the control of lithographic methods while adding the potential for mass-production scale patterning speed during the secondary step of the process. The unique process allows for fabrication of interesting geometric combinations such as dual-width gratings that are otherwise difficult to create with the nanoscale resolution required for applications, such as nanoscale optics (plasmonics) and electronics. The method is advanced by introducing a bimetallic fabrication design concept and by demonstrating blanket nanomasking. Here, the need for the secondary lithography step is eliminated improving the mass-production capabilities of the technique. Analysis of the gap width and edge roughness is reported, with the average slit width measured at 7.4±2.2  nm. It was found that while no long-range correlation exists between the roughness of either gap edge, and there are ranges in the order of tens of nanometers over which the slit edge roughness is correlated or anticorrelated across the gap. This work helps quantify the nanomasking process, which aids in future fabrications and leads toward the development of more accurate computational models for the optical and electrical properties of fabricated devices.

Localized surface plasmons on periodic monolayer black phosphorene nanoribbons tuned in the infrared region with a dielectric substrate

Localized surface plasmons have been reported for periodic 2D monolayer black phosphorene (BP) nanoribbons in the infrared region. The anisotropic nature of BP causes different plasmonic effects depending on their orientation over select dielectric substrates, leading to tunability and promising future applications in imaging and other detectors. Computational models are used to demonstrate that by tuning the localized plasmonic resonance, as well as the orientation of the BP nanoribbon, it is possible to obtain desired coupled resonance modes and enhanced absorption capabilities. The modes obtained from the absorption spectra span the infrared range and extend our understanding of BP plasmons.