Hai-Pang Chiang

Laser-induced phase transitions of Ge 2 Sb 2 Te 5 thin films used in optical and electronic data storage and in thermal lithography

Amorphous thin films of Ge(2)Sb(2)Te(5), sputter-deposited on a ZnS-SiO(2) dielectric layer, are investigated for the purpose of understanding the structural phase-transitions that occur under the influence of tightly-focused laser beams. Selective chemical etching of recorded marks in conjunction with optical, atomic force, and electron microscopy as well as local electron diffraction analysis are used to discern the complex structural features created under a broad range of laser powers and pulse durations. Clarifying the nature of phase transitions associated with laser-recorded marks in chalcogenide Ge(2)Sb(2)Te(5) thin films provides useful information for reversible optical and electronic data storage, as well as for phase-change (thermal) lithography.

Fast fabrication of a Ag nanostructure substrate using the femtosecond laser for broad-band and tunable plasmonic enhancement.

Using a femtosecond laser, we have transformed the laser-direct-writing technique into a highly efficient method that can process AgO(x) thin films into Ag nanostructures at a fast scanning rate of 2000 μm(2)/min. The processed AgO(x) thin films exhibit broad-band enhancement of optical absorption and effectively function as active SERS substrates. Probing of the plasmonic hotspots with dyed polymer beads indicates that these hotspots are uniformly distributed over the treated area.

OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF COMPOSITE MATERIALS AT HIGH TEMPERATURES

The optical properties of composite materials are studied theoretically as a function of temperature via a phenomenological model for temperatures up to the melting points of the materials. Both the Maxwell-Garnett and Bruggeman models are considered and the temperature variation of the optical constants of the metallic particles is obtained with an account of the dependence of both the electron-phonon and electron-electron scattering on temperature. The results show that the extinction coefficient of the composite generally increases with temperature and that the Maxwell-Garnett and Bruggeman models can give very different results at certain optical frequency. Transmittance through a thin composite film is calculated providing a means for a simple experimental study of the various modeling results.

High sensitivity surface plasmon resonance sensor based on phase interrogation at optimal incident wavelengths

It is demonstrated that ultrahigh sensitivity of glucose refractive index measurement can be achieved via surface plasmon resonance excitation in which the phase difference between p- and s-polarized reflected waves is monitored as a function of the incident angle. Sensitivity with values down to the order of 10−8 is obtained by performing the measurements at optimal incident wavelengths. This represents an order of magnitude improvement compared to the previously reported values in the literature.

The surface plasmon enhancement effect on adsorbed molecules at elevated temperatures

The surface plasmon enhancement effect on adsorbed molecules at elevated substrate temperatures is studied theoretically using surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) as an example. The surface structure is idealized to be a monodisperse spherical particle with its nonlocal dielectric response accounted for. The temperature effects are modeled using a temperature-dependent collision frequency in the Drude model. Numerical results show that only a small decrease in the SERS enhancement ratio occurs for temperatures up to the melting point of the substrate, even for scattering close to the surface plasmon resonance frequency of the metal. More definitive results are subjected to more realistic modeling as well as systematic experimental studies. The implication of this result to other surface photochemical processes is discussed.

High-resolution angular measurement using surface-plasmon-resonance via phase interrogation at optimal incident wavelengths

It is demonstrated that ultrahigh-resolution angular measurement can be achieved via surface-plasmon-resonance excitation in which the phase difference between p- and s-polarized reflected waves is monitored as a function of the incidence angle. Resolutions down to 1.9 x 10(-6) deg are obtained by performing the measurements at optimal incident wavelengths. This represents an order of magnitude improvement compared with previously reported values.

Imaging layer number and stacking order through formulating Raman fingerprints obtained from hexagonal single crystals of few layer graphene

Quantitative mapping of layer number and stacking order for CVD-grown graphene layers is realized by formulating Raman fingerprints obtained on two stepwise stacked graphene single-crystal domains with AB Bernal and turbostratic stacking (with ~30°interlayer rotation), respectively. The integrated peak area ratio of the G band to the Si band, A(G)/A(Si), is proven to be a good fingerprint for layer number determination, while the area ratio of the 2D and G bands, A(2D)/A(G), is shown to differentiate effectively between the two different stacking orders. The two fingerprints are well formulated and resolve, quantitatively, the layer number and stacking type of various graphene domains that used to rely on tedious transmission electron microscopy for structural analysis. The approach is also noticeable in easy discrimination of the turbostratic graphene region (~30° rotation), the structure of which resembles the well known high-mobility graphene R30/R2(±) fault pairs found on the vacuum-annealed C-face SiC and suggests an electron mobility reaching 14,700 cm(3) V(-1) s(-1). The methodology may shed light on monitoring and control of high-quality graphene growth, and thereby facilitate future mass production of potential high-speed graphene applications.

Sub-wavelength GaN-based membrane high contrast grating reflectors

The GaN-based membrane high contrast grating (HCG) reflectors have been fabricated and investigated. The structural parameters including grating periods, grating height, filling factors and air-gap height were calculated to realize high reflectivity spectra with broad bandwidth by the rigorous coupled-wave analysis and finite-difference time-domain method. Based on the optimized simulation results, the GaN-based membrane HCGs were fabricated by e-beam lithography and focused-ion beam process. The fabricated GaN-based membrane HCG reflectors revealed high reflectivity at 460 nm band with large stopband width of 60 nm in the TE polarization measured by using the micro-reflectivity spectrometer. The experimental results also showed a good agreement with simulated ones. We believe this study will be helpful for development of the GaN-based novel light emitting devices in the blue or UV region.

Local electrical characterization of laser-recorded phase-change marks on amorphous Ge2Sb2Te5 thin films.

Amorphous thin films of Ge(2)Sb(2)Te(5), sputter-deposited on a thin-film gold electrode, are investigated for the purpose of understanding the local electrical conductivity of recorded marks under the influence of focused laser beam. Being amorphous, the as-deposited chalcogenide films have negligible electrical conductivity. With the aid of a focused laser beam, however, we have written on these films micron-sized crystalline marks, ablated holes surrounded by crystalline rings, and other multi-ring structures containing both amorphous and crystalline zones. Within these structures, nano-scale regions of superior local conductivity have been mapped and probed using our high-resolution, high-sensitivity conductive-tip atomic force microscope (C-AFM). Scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive spectrometry have also been used to clarify the origins of high conductivity in and around the recorded marks. When the Ge(2)Sb(2)Te(5) layer is sufficiently thin, and when laser crystallization/ablation is used to define long isolated crystalline stripes on the samples, we find the C-AFM-based method of extracting information from the recorded marks to be superior to other forms of microscopy for this particular class of materials. Given the tremendous potential of chalcogenides as the leading media candidates for high-density memories, local electrical characterization of marks recorded on as-deposited amorphous Ge(2)Sb(2)Te(5) films provides useful information for furthering research and development efforts in this important area of modern technology.

Optical temperature sensing based on the Goos-Hänchen effect

The possibility of constructing an optical sensor for temperature monitoring based on the Goos-Hänchen (GH) effect is explored using a theoretical model. This model considers the lateral shift of the incident beam upon reflection from a metal-dielectric interface, with the shift becoming a function of temperature due mainly to the temperature dependence of the optical properties of the metal. It is found that such a sensor can be most effective by using long wavelength p-polarized incident light at almost grazing incidence onto the metal, where significant variation of negative GH shifts can be observed as a function of the temperature.