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Title: Tailoring the optical constants in single-crystal silicon with embedded silver nanostructures for advanced silicon photonics applications

Abstract

Plasmonic effects associated with metal nanostructures are expected to hold the key to tailoring light emission/propagation and harvesting solar energy in materials including single crystal silicon which remains the backbone in the microelectronics and photovoltaics industries but unfortunately, lacks many functionalities needed for construction of advanced photonic and optoelectronics devices. Currently, silicon plasmonic structures are practically possible only in the configuration with metal nanoparticles or thin film arrays on a silicon surface. This does not enable one to exploit the full potential of plasmonics for optical engineering in silicon, because the plasmonic effects are dominant over a length of ∼50 nm, and the active device region typically lies below the surface much beyond this range. Here, we report on a novel method for the formation of silver nanoparticles embedded within a silicon crystal through metal gettering from a silver thin film deposited at the surface to nanocavities within the Si created by hydrogen ion implantation. The refractive index of the Ag-nanostructured layer is found to be 3–10% lower or higher than that of silicon for wavelengths below or beyond ∼815–900 nm, respectively. Around this wavelength range, the optical extinction values increase by a factor of 10–100 as opposed to the pure siliconmore » case. Increasing the amount of gettered silver leads to an increased extinction as well as a redshift in wavelength position for the resonance. This resonance is attributed to the surface plasmon excitation of the resultant silver nanoparticles in silicon. Additionally, we show that the profiles for optical constants in silicon can be tailored by varying the position and number of nanocavity layers. Such silicon crystals with embedded metal nanostructures would offer novel functional base structures for applications in silicon photonics, optoelectronics, photovoltaics, and plasmonics.« less

Authors:
 [1]; ; ;  [2];  [3]
+ Show Author Affiliations
  1. Department of Physics, State University of New York at Albany, Albany, New York 12222 (United States)
  2. College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, State University of New York Polytechnic Institute, Albany, New York 12203 (United States)
  3. Department of Physics, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, North Dakota 58203 (United States)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
22399330
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Resource Relation:
Journal Name: Journal of Applied Physics; Journal Volume: 117; Journal Issue: 12; Other Information: (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSICS; 77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY; EXCITATION; HYDROGEN IONS; LAYERS; MONOCRYSTALS; NANOPARTICLES; NANOSTRUCTURES; OPTOELECTRONIC DEVICES; PHOTOVOLTAIC EFFECT; PLASMONS; RED SHIFT; REFRACTIVE INDEX; RESONANCE; SILICON; SILVER; SURFACES; THIN FILMS; VISIBLE RADIATION

Citation Formats

Akhter, Perveen, Huang, Mengbing, E-mail: mhuang@albany.edu, Spratt, William, Kadakia, Nirag, and Amir, Faisal. Tailoring the optical constants in single-crystal silicon with embedded silver nanostructures for advanced silicon photonics applications. United States: N. p., 2015. Web. doi:10.1063/1.4916253.
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Akhter, Perveen, Huang, Mengbing, E-mail: mhuang@albany.edu, Spratt, William, Kadakia, Nirag, & Amir, Faisal. Tailoring the optical constants in single-crystal silicon with embedded silver nanostructures for advanced silicon photonics applications. United States. doi:10.1063/1.4916253.
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Akhter, Perveen, Huang, Mengbing, E-mail: mhuang@albany.edu, Spratt, William, Kadakia, Nirag, and Amir, Faisal. Sat . "Tailoring the optical constants in single-crystal silicon with embedded silver nanostructures for advanced silicon photonics applications". United States. doi:10.1063/1.4916253.
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@article{osti_22399330,
title = {Tailoring the optical constants in single-crystal silicon with embedded silver nanostructures for advanced silicon photonics applications},
author = {Akhter, Perveen and Huang, Mengbing, E-mail: mhuang@albany.edu and Spratt, William and Kadakia, Nirag and Amir, Faisal},
abstractNote = {Plasmonic effects associated with metal nanostructures are expected to hold the key to tailoring light emission/propagation and harvesting solar energy in materials including single crystal silicon which remains the backbone in the microelectronics and photovoltaics industries but unfortunately, lacks many functionalities needed for construction of advanced photonic and optoelectronics devices. Currently, silicon plasmonic structures are practically possible only in the configuration with metal nanoparticles or thin film arrays on a silicon surface. This does not enable one to exploit the full potential of plasmonics for optical engineering in silicon, because the plasmonic effects are dominant over a length of ∼50 nm, and the active device region typically lies below the surface much beyond this range. Here, we report on a novel method for the formation of silver nanoparticles embedded within a silicon crystal through metal gettering from a silver thin film deposited at the surface to nanocavities within the Si created by hydrogen ion implantation. The refractive index of the Ag-nanostructured layer is found to be 3–10% lower or higher than that of silicon for wavelengths below or beyond ∼815–900 nm, respectively. Around this wavelength range, the optical extinction values increase by a factor of 10–100 as opposed to the pure silicon case. Increasing the amount of gettered silver leads to an increased extinction as well as a redshift in wavelength position for the resonance. This resonance is attributed to the surface plasmon excitation of the resultant silver nanoparticles in silicon. Additionally, we show that the profiles for optical constants in silicon can be tailored by varying the position and number of nanocavity layers. Such silicon crystals with embedded metal nanostructures would offer novel functional base structures for applications in silicon photonics, optoelectronics, photovoltaics, and plasmonics.},
doi = {10.1063/1.4916253},
journal = {Journal of Applied Physics},
number = 12,
volume = 117,
place = {United States},
year = {Sat Mar 28 00:00:00 EDT 2015},
month = {Sat Mar 28 00:00:00 EDT 2015}
}
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Journal Article:
DOI:  10.1063/1.4916253
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