KEYWORDS: Gold, Nanoimprint lithography, Metals, Waveguides, Near field optics, Surface roughness, Near field scanning optical microscopy, Ultraviolet radiation, Silicon, Plasmonics
We present a nanoimprint lithography based method for the fabrication of plasmonic waveguides in the form of V-grooves
in a metal surface which support propagation of channel plasmon polaritons (CPPs). The developed method is
compatible with large scale production, easily adaptable to different device designs and offers wafer-scale parallel
fabrication of plasmonic components. The metal quality is improved in terms of surface roughness when compared to
previous demonstrations where grooves were made by direct milling of metal, and the design allows easy fiber access at
both ends of the waveguide. We demonstrate the design, fabrication and scanning near-field optical characterization of
channel plasmon polariton waveguides at telecom wavelengths. Optical characterization of the fabricated waveguides
shows low-loss (propagation length ~ 120 μm) CPP guiding.
We report on experimental realization of different metal-insulator geometries that are used as plasmonic waveguides
guiding electromagnetic radiation along metal-dielectric interfaces via excitation of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs).
Three configurations are considered: metal strips, symmetric nanowires and nanowire pairs embedded in a dielectric, and
metal V-shaped grooves. Planar plasmonic waveguides based on nm-thin and μm-wide gold strips embedded in a
polymer that support propagation of long-range SPPs are shown to constitute an alternative for integrated optical
circuits. Using uniform and thickness-modulated gold strips different waveguide components including reflecting
gratings can be realized. For applications where polarization is random or changing, metal nanowire waveguides are
shown to be suitable candidates for efficient guiding of arbitrary polarized light. Plasmonic waveguides based on metal
V-grooves that offer subwavelength confinement are also considered. We focus on recent advances in manufacturing of
nanostructured metal strips and metal V-grooves using combined UV, electron-beam and nanoimprint lithography.
Conference Committee Involvement (2)
Nanoengineering: Fabrication, Properties, Optics, and Devices XII
11 August 2015 | San Diego, California, United States
Nanoengineering: Fabrication, Properties, Optics, and Devices XI
19 August 2014 | San Diego, California, United States
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