Berlin 2024 – scientific programme

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O: Fachverband Oberflächenphysik

O 71: Poster: Plasmonics and Nanooptics

O 71.5: Poster

Wednesday, March 20, 2024, 18:00–20:00, Poster D

Bloch surface waves on multilayer structures made from tantalum pentoxide and silicon dioxide — •Amélie Wagner and Stefan Linden — Physikalisches Institut, Universität Bonn, Nussallee 12, 53115 Bonn, Germany

Bloch surface waves (BSWs) are electromagnetic surface waves that are confined to the interface between a periodic dielectric multilayer structure and a homogeneous dielectric medium. Guiding of BSWs with low propagation losses can be achieved by depositing thin dielectric ridges on top of the multilayer film. BSW waveguides are therefore an attractive alternative to dielectrically loaded surface plasmon polariton waveguides, whose propagation length is limited by Ohmic damping. Here we report on the design and fabrication of BSW waveguides. The multilayer structure consists of alternating tantalum pentoxide (Ta2O5) and silicon dioxide (SiO2) layers deposited by electron beam evaporation. The required thicknesses of the layers are determined beforehand with the help of transfer matrix calculations. In order to test the optical quality of the fabricated samples, we perform total internal reflection measurements in Kretschmann configuration. In the next step, we will deposit dielectric ridges on top of the multilayers by electron beam lithography and evaluate the propagation length by leakage radiation microscopy.

Keywords: Bloch surface waves; waveguides; dielectric mirror