Phase change optical antennas : applications of germanium antimony telluride for the dynamic control of light
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- As materials are reduced from bulk quantities to micron or sub-micron dimensions, remarkable changes in the optical properties of these materials appear. Over the past several decades, the physics of these small structures has been studied, leading to a host of novel ways to control light. The devices which achieve this control are referred to as optical antennas, in analogy with their radio-frequency counterparts. In this thesis, we illustrate a model for understanding the optical properties of antennas fabricated out of dielectric materials using conventional semiconductor processing methods, such as etching or lift-off. This model, which operates faster than standard brute-force full-field simulation methods, reveals the existence of two classes of Fabry-Perot type resonances in such structures. Knowledge of these separate modes enables us to manipulate them using the properties of adjacent materials, including the substrate on which the antenna is placed. After developing this theory, the intuition is applied to the design of antennas using so-called phase change chalcogenide materials - that is, the alloys of germanium, antimony, and tellurium. These materials show uniquely large refractive index contrasts in the near- to mid-infrared bands of the electromagnetic spectrum. While previous studies have applied films of these materials near established optical device designs, our project demonstrates the first individual, patterned phase change optical antennas. The antennas perform remarkably well, allowing the post-fabrication tuning of an optical resonance over a free spectral range, from 3.2 to 4.5 um. Finally, from our experience developing these antennas, we propose and fabricate a second generation of phase change optical antennas. The newer design is based on coupled metallic nanorods, and enables independent optimization of the phase change and optical behavior of the antenna device. We show a proof-of-principle experiment in which the resonances of such antennas are also tunable post-fabrication, and we suggest a path towards measurements on individual, electrically-controlled devices.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Form | electronic; electronic resource; remote |
| Extent | 1 online resource. |
| Publication date | 2016 |
| Issuance | monographic |
| Language | English |
Creators/Contributors
| Associated with | Landreman, Patrick |
|---|---|
| Associated with | Stanford University, Department of Electrical Engineering. |
| Primary advisor | Brongersma, Mark L |
| Thesis advisor | Brongersma, Mark L |
| Thesis advisor | Miller, D. A. B |
| Thesis advisor | Vuckovic, Jelena |
| Advisor | Miller, D. A. B |
| Advisor | Vuckovic, Jelena |
Subjects
| Genre | Theses |
|---|
Bibliographic information
| Statement of responsibility | Patrick Landreman. |
|---|---|
| Note | Submitted to the Department of Electrical Engineering. |
| Thesis | Thesis (Ph.D.)--Stanford University, 2016. |
| Location | electronic resource |
Access conditions
- Copyright
- © 2016 by Patrick Edward Landreman
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).
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