Plasmonic materials based on ZnO films and their potential for developing broadband middle-infrared absorbers

Journal Article · Tue Jul 15 00:00:00 EDT 2014 · AIP Advances

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4887520· OSTI ID:22299865

Battal, Enes ^[1]; Okyay, Ali K. ^[1]

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1. Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Bilkent University, Ankara, 06800 (Turkey)

Noble metals such as gold and silver have been extensively used for plasmonic applications due to their ability to support plasmons, yet they suffer from high intrinsic losses. Alternative plasmonic materials that offer low loss and tunability are desired for a new generation of efficient and agile devices. In this paper, atomic layer deposition (ALD) grown ZnO is investigated as a candidate material for plasmonic applications. Optical constants of ZnO are investigated along with figures of merit pertaining to plasmonic waveguides. We show that ZnO can alleviate the trade-off between propagation length and mode confinement width owing to tunable dielectric properties. In order to demonstrate plasmonic resonances, we simulate a grating structure and computationally demonstrate an ultra-wide-band (4–15 μm) infrared absorber.

• OSTI ID: 22299865
• Journal Information: AIP Advances, Vol. 4, Issue 7; Other Information: (c) 2014 Author(s); Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 2158-3226
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
DIELECTRIC PROPERTIES
FILMS
GOLD
PLASMONS
RESONANCE
SILVER
WAVEGUIDES
ZINC OXIDES