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Tunable surface plasmon devices

Patent ·
OSTI ID:1023917

A tunable extraordinary optical transmission (EOT) device wherein the tunability derives from controlled variation of the dielectric constant of a semiconducting material (semiconductor) in evanescent-field contact with a metallic array of sub-wavelength apertures. The surface plasmon resonance wavelength can be changed by changing the dielectric constant of the dielectric material. In embodiments of this invention, the dielectric material is a semiconducting material. The dielectric constant of the semiconducting material in the metal/semiconductor interfacial region is controllably adjusted by adjusting one or more of the semiconductor plasma frequency, the concentration and effective mass of free carriers, and the background high-frequency dielectric constant in the interfacial region. Thermal heating and/or voltage-gated carrier-concentration changes may be used to variably adjust the value of the semiconductor dielectric constant.

Research Organization:
Sandia Corporation (Albuquerque, NM)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
AC04-94AL85000
Assignee:
Sandia Corporation (Albuquerque, NM)
Patent Number(s):
8,009,356
Application Number:
12/137,882
OSTI ID:
1023917
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (3)

Electrically tunable extraordinary optical transmission gratings journal October 2007
All-optical switching of the transmission of electromagnetic radiation through subwavelength apertures journal January 2005
Midinfrared doping-tunable extraordinary transmission from sub-wavelength Gratings journal May 2007

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