Kursat Sendur

Interaction of spherical nanoparticles with a highly focused beam of light.

The interaction of a highly focused beam of light with spherical nanoparticles is investigated for linear and radial polarizations. An analytical solution is obtained to calculate this interaction. The Richards-Wolf theory is used to express the incident electric field near the focus of an aplanatic lens. The incident beam is expressed as an integral where the integrand is separated into transverse-electric (TE) and transverse-magnetic (TM) waves. The interaction of each TE and TM wave with a spherical nanoparticle is calculated using the Mie theory. The resulting analytical solution is then obtained by integrating the scattered waves over the entire angular spectrum. A finite element method solution is also obtained for comparison.

Interaction of radially polarized focused light with a prolate spheroidal nanoparticle

The interaction of a nanoparticle with light is affected by nanoparticle geometry and composition, as well as by focused beam parameters, such as the polarization and numerical aperture of the beam. The interaction of a radially focused beam with a prolate spheroidal nanoparticle is particularly important because it has the potential to produce strong near-field electromagnetic radiation. Strong and tightly localized longitudinal components of a radially polarized focused beam can excite strong plasmon modes on elongated nanoparticles such as prolate spheroids. In this study, near field radiation from a prolate spheriodal nanoparticle is investigated when it is illuminated with a radially polarized focused beam of light. Near-field radiation from the nanoparticle is investigated in the absence and presence of metallic layers. It is shown that the interaction of a radially polarized focused beam with a prolate spheroidal nanoparticle can be enhanced by creating images of monopole charges using metallic layers. In addition, it is also observed that the presence of a metallic layer shifts the resonance of the prolate spheroid toward longer wavelengths. Dipole, quadruple, and off resonance field distributions for particles with different sizes and aspect ratios are presented when they are illuminated with a radially focused beam of light.

Optical aspects of the interaction of focused beams with plasmonic nanoparticles

In this study, the interaction of a spherical nanoparticle with focused beams of various angular spectra is investigated. This study demonstrates that the focused light can be utilized to manipulate the near-field radiation around nanoparticles. Also in this study, the interaction between focused light and nano-antennas is investigated.

An integral equation based numerical solution for nanoparticles illuminated with collimated and focused light

To address the large number of parameters involved in nano-optical problems, a more efficient computational method is necessary. An integral equation based numerical solution is developed when the particles are illuminated with collimated and focused incident beams. The solution procedure uses the method of weighted residuals, in which the integral equation is reduced to a matrix equation and then solved for the unknown electric field distribution. In the solution procedure, the effects of the surrounding medium and boundaries are taken into account using a Greens function formulation. Therefore, there is no additional error due to artificial boundary conditions unlike differential equation based techniques, such as finite difference time domain and finite element method. In this formulation, only the scattering nano-particle is discretized. Such an approach results in a lesser number of unknowns in the resulting matrix equation. The results are compared to the analytical Mie series solution for spherical particles, as well as to the finite element method for rectangular metallic particles. The Richards-Wolf vector field equations are combined with the integral equation based formulation to model the interaction of nanoparticles with linearly and radially polarized incident focused beams.

Optical transmission enhancement of stacked plasmonic apertures

In this study, we demonstrate enhanced transmission for out-of-plane stacked plasmonic apertures through the interaction of localized surface plasmons of apertures using both numerical and theoretical approaches. A dispersive finite-difference time-domain (D-FDTD) model is used to investigate the systems through the numerical simulations. To explain the results of the FDTD numerical simulations and to bring further insight to this interaction, we use a magnetic coupled dipole approximation as the theoretical basis. Our results demonstrate that near-field in-phase and out-of-phase interactions of the stacked nanoholes increase or decrease the optical transmission. Plasmon hybridization is discussed for stacked nanohole dimers on out-of-plane metallic films.

Domain control of carrier density at a semiconductor-ferroelectric interface.

Control of charge carrier distribution in a gated channel via a dielectric layer is currently the state of the art in the design of integrated circuits such as field effect transistors. Replacing linear dielectrics with ferroelectrics would ultimately lead to more energy efficient devices as well as the added advantage of the memory function of the gate. Here, we report that the channel-off/channel-on states in a metal/ferroelectric/semiconductor stack are actually transitions from a multi domain state to a single domain state of the ferroelectric under bias. In our approach, there is no a priori assumption on the single or multi-domain nature of the ferroelectric layer that is often neglected in works discussing the ferroelectric-gate effect on channel conductivity interfacing a ferroelectric. We also predict that semiconductor/ferroelectric/semiconductor stacks can function at even lower gate voltages than metal/ferroelectric/semiconductor stacks when an n-type semiconductor is placed between the ferroelectric and the gate metal. Our results suggest the ultimate stability of the multidomain state whenever it interfaces a semiconductor electrode and that a switchable single domain state may not be necessary to achieve effective control of conductivity in a p-type channel. Finally, we discuss some experimental results in the literature in light of our findings.

Tunable Surface Plasmon and Phonon Polariton Interactions for Moderately Doped Semiconductor Surfaces

Spatial charge distribution for biased semiconductors fundamentally differs from metals since they can allow inhomogeneous charge distributions due to penetration of the electric field, as observed in the classical Schottky junctions. Similarly, the electrostatics of the dielectric/semiconductor interface can lead to a carrier depletion or accumulation in the semiconductor side when under applied bias. In this study, we demonstrate that the inhomogeneous carrier accumulation in a moderately p-doped GaAs–dielectric interface can be tailored for tunable plasmonics by an external voltage. Solving Maxwell’s equations in the doped GaAs-dielectric stack, we investigate the tunability of the surface plasmon and phonon polaritons’ interaction via an external bias. The plasmonic mode analysis of such an interface reveals interesting dispersion curves for surface plasmon and phonon polariton interactions that are not possible in metals. We show that the plasmon dispersion curve can be engineered through an external bias using the inherent properties of the p-doped GaAs– dielectric interface.

Integrating Magnetic Heads With Plasmonic Nanostructures in Multilayer Configurations

Heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) is an emerging technology that has increased the areal density of conventional recording techniques for hard disc drives. Integrated heads have enabled this increase through localized heating of the recording media during the recording process. One of the problems in integrating magnetic heads with plasmonic nanotransducers is the resulting losses. In this study, multilayer configurations with gold thin-films near magnetic thin-films are investigated to minimize radiative and load-induced losses. The effect of load-induced damping of the magnetic film and evanescent coupling is identified with the intensity enhancement near the magnetic films. It is shown that a higher intensity enhancement can be obtained by minimizing radiative and load-induced losses through adjusting layer thicknesses in multilayer configurations.

Circularly polarized localized near-field radiation at the nanoscale

A novel nano-antenna configuration is suggested to achieve circularly polarized optical spots beyond the diffraction limit. Intense optical spots with circular polarization are obtained using a cross-dipole nano-antenna.

Near-Field Radiation from Nano-Particles and Nano-Antennas Illuminated with a Focused Beam of Light

The interaction of photons with metallic nanoparticles and nanoantennas yields large enhancement and tight localization of electromagnetic fields in the vicinity of nanoparticles. In the first part of this study, the interaction of a spherical nanoparticle with focused beams of various angular spectra is investigated. This study demonstrates that the focused light can be utilized to manipulate the near-field radiation around nanoparticles. In the second part of this study, the interaction between linearly and radially polarized focused light with prolate spheroidal nanoparticles and nano-antennas is investigated. Strong and tightly localized longitudinal components of a radially polarized focused beam can excite strong plasmon modes on elongated nanoparticles such as prolate spheroids. The effect of a focused beam on parameters such as the numerical aperture of a beam and the wavelength of incident light, as well as particle geometry and composition are also studied.