Regensburg 2016 – wissenschaftliches Programm

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O: Fachverband Oberflächenphysik

O 59: Photonics and Nanooptics III: Fabrication and Characterization

O 59.7: Vortrag

Mittwoch, 9. März 2016, 16:30–16:45, S051

Efficient Surface Plasmon Excitation via Inelastic Electron Tunneling — •Eric Jehnes and Lukas M. Eng — Institut für Angewandte Physik, TU Dresden, Deutschland

Surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) can be described as electromagnetic waves that are localized at metal-dielectric interfaces. Such surface-bound fields are caused by electron-density oscillations that may be excited by both photons and electrons. While current research mostly focuses on light-excited SPPs, the interaction with charged particles such as electrons is often neglected.

This contribution concentrates on the excitation of SPPs via inelastic electron tunneling in metal-insulator-metal and metal-insulator-semiconductor junctions. Such tunneling junctions emit visible light [1] of a specific wavelength and polarization, clearly depending on the nanoscopic structure of the metal electrode. Far-field imaging and spectroscopic measurements were used to characterize the fabricated samples. The conversion from electrical to optical signal is limited only by the tunneling time itself and enables high bandwidths, which is of relevance for telecommunication and optical interconnect applications. With current lithographic techniques at hand, nanoscopic light emitting tunneling junctions can easily be integrated into opto-electronic devices.

[1] J. Lambe and S. L. McCarthy, Phys. Rev. Lett. 37, 923 (1976)