Optical absorption control in two-dimensional materials with nanophotonic structures
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- We investigate the control of optical absorption in two-dimensional materials such as graphene and monolayer molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) by the use of nanophotonic structures. Why do we care? For two reasons: speed and energy efficiency. Modern societies run on computers, and these computers use a huge amount of energy. The less electricity or light that needs to move to carry information from one place to another, the faster and more energy-efficient the transfer of that information can be. Electronic circuits can only operate at the highest speeds when they're very small (much smaller than optical wavelengths), and because the chip designers have already hit the wall on Moore's Law they can't get any smaller with silicon. So next-generation electronics designers are looking for new materials -- and in particular, there has been huge interest in atomically-thin materials such as graphene and MoS2. The excellent electronic, mechanical, and thermal properties of graphene (a layer of carbon one atom thick) make it a particularly attractive material for high speed opto-electronics. However, it's single-pass optical absorption is low. To use graphene for a high-efficiency photodetector or modulator, we need to increase the absorption to 100%. This thesis presents two schemes for achieving total absorption in graphene. On the other hand, when we consider solar photovoltaic energy generation speed isn't a factor, but energy efficiency most certainly is: we want to absorb as much of the light as we can, preferably using as small of a device as we can. (In retrospect, it's obvious why 70's-80's solar never took off: the panels were simply too big and ugly!) For this task, we turn to MoS2, which has a direct bandgap (important for making a solar cell), and has its band edge at the red end of the spectrum, allowing it to absorb throughout the visible. This thesis discusses the nanophotonic design rules to make an optimized broadband absorption in atomically thin layers such as MoS2.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Form | electronic; electronic resource; remote |
| Extent | 1 online resource. |
| Publication date | 2015 |
| Issuance | monographic |
| Language | English |
Creators/Contributors
| Associated with | Piper, Jessica R |
|---|---|
| Associated with | Stanford University, Department of Electrical Engineering. |
| Primary advisor | Fan, Shanhui, 1972- |
| Thesis advisor | Fan, Shanhui, 1972- |
| Thesis advisor | Fejer, Martin M. (Martin Michael) |
| Thesis advisor | Miller, D. A. B |
| Advisor | Fejer, Martin M. (Martin Michael) |
| Advisor | Miller, D. A. B |
Subjects
| Genre | Theses |
|---|
Bibliographic information
| Statement of responsibility | Jessica R. Piper. |
|---|---|
| Note | Submitted to the Department of Electrical Engineering. |
| Thesis | Thesis (Ph.D.)--Stanford University, 2015. |
| Location | electronic resource |
Access conditions
- Copyright
- © 2015 by Jessica R. Piper
Also listed in
Loading usage metrics...