Coupled surface plasmon–phonon polariton nanocavity arrays for enhanced mid-infrared absorption
- Texas Tech Univ., Lubbock, TX (United States); University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Brownsville, TX (United States)
- Univ. of Houston, TX (United States); Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Fermi National Accelerator Lab. (FNAL), Batavia, IL (United States)
- Texas Tech Univ., Lubbock, TX (United States)
- Univ. of Houston, TX (United States)
- Texas Tech Univ., Lubbock, TX (United States); Korea Advanced Inst. Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)
Resonant optical cavities are essential components in mid-infrared applications. However, typical film-type cavities require multilayer stacks with a micron-thick spacer due to mid-infrared wavelengths, and their performance is limited by narrow frequency tunability and angular sensitivity. We propose and experimentally demonstrate the subwavelength-scale (≈λ0/150) resonant nanocavity arrays that enhance the absorption spectrum of the device in the mid-infrared (10–12 microns) via excitation of coupled surface plasmon–phonon polaritons. The proposed metal–insulator–polar dielectric (gold–silicon–silicon carbide) structure supports a guided mode of the coupled surface polaritons in the lateral direction while vertically confining the mid-infrared wave within the 80 nm thick dielectric spacer. In particular, the subwavelength-scale (≈λ0/10) gratings are imposed to form Fabry–Pérot cavity arrays displaying angle-insensitive and frequency-tunable absorption of up to 80% of the optical power in the mid-infrared. Our work should benefit diverse mid-infrared applications and novel designs of polariton-based photonic devices.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL), Batavia, IL (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), High Energy Physics (HEP); National Science Foundation (NSF)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC02-07CH11359; 89233218CNA000001; NA0003525; ECCS-2025227
- OSTI ID:
- 1893729
- Report Number(s):
- FERMILAB-PUB-22-768-SQMS; oai:inspirehep.net:2167218; TRN: US2310225
- Journal Information:
- Nanophotonics (Online), Vol. 11, Issue 20; ISSN 2192-8614
- Publisher:
- de GruyterCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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