Observation of surface and bulk plasmons in semiconductor superlattices

We report far infrared measurements of oblique incidence power reflectivity and attenuated total reflection (ATR) on multiply Si δ-doped GaAs samples. The reflectivity spectrum in s-polarisation probes the in-plane component of the superlattice dielectric function, and is sensitive to the overall 3D electron density. The p-polarisation spectrum, however, also probes the out-of-plane component, resulting in an extra mode which is sensitive to the distribution of free electrons between wells and barriers. The p-polarisation ATR spectrum shows surface modes which are also sensitive to this distribution. The results are compared with a bulk slab model of the dielectric function.     

Transverse surface and slab modes in semiconductor superlattices

It is shown from the exact equations for transverse electromagnetic waves propagating in a superlattice that in the long-wavelength limit the superlattice has the optical properties of a conventional uniaxial medium. This result is used to derive the dispersion equations for polaritons at single and double interfaces between superlattices and ordinary media.     

Bulk and surface excitations in magnetoactive periodic semiconductor heterostructures

We have theoretically investigated the dispersion characteristics of bulk and surface excitations in a magnetoactive periodic semiconductor heterostructure (PSH) using a local theory in the nonretardation limit (c → ∞). The computation has been performed treating the unit cell of the heterostructure as made up of an array of alternate n-type GaAs (in A-type region) and n-type InSb (in B-type region) slabs of equal widths. The presence of the high magnetostatic field (B₀) gives a rich spectrum of the bulk excitations. A new type of surface polariton mode is found in a complete analogy with the one occurring at the surface of a semiconductor superlattice as predicted by Giuliani and Quinn. The frequency-dependent inverse penetration depth for this new magnetoplasma surface polariton has also been computed as a function of wave vector component parallel to the layers. We discuss our analytical and numerical results in the light of the recent work on heterostructures/superlattices.     

Lateral surface magnetoplasma modes of type II semiconductor superlattices

The recently developed theory of superlattice lateral surface magnetoplasmon is extended to type II superlattices consisting of alternating two-dimensional planes of electrons and holes. The magnetoplasmon dispersion relation is calculated by transforming the two coupled integral equations for the a.c. potential into a composite matrix equation. This method can be generalized to study charge density collective excitations in an arbitrary multi-component superlattice.     

Electrostatic and magnetostatic modes in semiconductor superlattices

We present a study of interface optical phonons and magnetostatic modes in semiconductor superlattices. We first review the propagation of longitudinal waves propagating parallel to the superlattice axis in order to show the similarities and differences between these and the interface modes just mentioned. The interface modes are discussed with the aim to interpret experiments carried out with superlattices of diluted magnetic semiconductors.     

Modified method of surface plasmons in metal superlattices

We present a modified method to solve the surface plasmons(SPs) of semi-infinite metal/dielectric superlattices and predicted new SP modes in physics. We find that four dispersion-equation sets and all possible SP modes are determined by them. Our analysis and numerical calculations indicate that besides the SP mode obtained in the original theory, the other two SP modes are predicted, which have either a positive group velocity or a negative group velocity. We also point out the possible defect in the previous theoretical method in accordance to the linear algebra principle.     

Plasmon-polariton modes and optical properties of metallic superlattices

The plasmon-polariton modes in metallic superlattices are studied using coupled hydrodynamic and electromagnetic equations. At spatial periods of the order of 1000Å, we find important influences of the artificial superlattice modulation on the dispersions, which have interesting implications on the optical properties. We also find anisotropic behavior in the study of helicon modes in the presence of a static magnetic field.     

Terahertz plasmon and surface-plasmon modes in cylindrical metallic nanowires

We present a theoretical study on collective excitation modes associated with plasmon and surface-plasmon oscilla- tions in cylindrical metallic nanowires. Based on a two-subband model, the dynamical dielectric function matrix is derived under the random-phase approximation. An optic-like branch and an acoustic-like branch, which are free of Landau damp- ing, are observed for both plasmon and surface-plasmon modes. Interestingly, for surface-plasmon modes, we find that two branches of the dispersion relation curves converge at a wavevector qz = qrnax beyond which no surface-plasmon mode exists. Moreover, we examine the dependence of these excitation modes on sample parameters such as the radius of the nanowires. It is found that in metallic nanowires realized by state-of-the-art nanotechnology the intra- and inter-subband plasmon and surface-plasmon frequencies are in the terahertz bandwidth. The frequency of the optic-like modes decreases with increasing radius of the nanowires, whereas that of the acoustic-like modes is not sensitive to the variation of the radius. This study is pertinent to the application of metallic nanowires as frequency-tunable terahertz plasmonic devices.     

Bulk and surface magnetostatic modes in superlattices

General dispersion equations for the magnetostatic modes in infinite and semi-infinite superlattices are derived by the transfer matrix method for the case of superlattices with an elementary unit consisting of N (N arbitrary) ferromagnetic layers. The films are assumed to be magnetized parallel to the film surfaces and parallel to an external magnetic field. Explicit forms of the dispersion equations, together with exemplary dispersion curves of surface modes and bands of bulk waves, are given in the case of N = 2.     

Theory of surface plasmon polaritons in truncated superlattices

A theoretical investigation has been made of surface plasmon polariton modes in truncated superlattices using a local theory with retardation. The modes are characterized by electric fields that decay exponentially away from each interface and that have an envelope that decays exponentially away from the end of the truncated superlattice. A criterion for the existence of the surface models is developed. Numerical results are presented for several illustrative cases.     

Acoustic plasmons and composite hole-acoustic plasmon satellite bands in graphene on a metal gate

We demonstrate that single-layer graphene in the presence of a metal gate displays a gapless collective (plasmon) mode that has a linear dispersion at long wavelengths. We calculate exactly the acoustic-plasmon group velocity at the level of the random phase approximation and carry out microscopic calculations of the one-body spectral function of such systems. Despite screening exerted by the metal, we find that graphene’s quasiparticle spectrum displays a very rich structure characterized by composite hole-acoustic plasmon satellite bands (that we term for brevity “soundarons”), which can be observed by e.g. angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy.     

Optic and acoustic plasmon modes of a semiconductor superlattice

The collective plasmon modes of s semiconductor superlattices consisting of alternating layers of electrons and holes or alternating layers of electrons with different densities are investigated. For wells widely separated in space, such that Bloch wavefunction overlap between wells is negligible, we find optical-like and acoustical-like plasmon modes propagating along the superlattice direction. Perpendicular to the superlattice direction, the acoustic mode (ω～q_″) recently observed by Olego and Pinczuk⁸ is found to be split into two acoustic branches.     

Bulk and surface collective modes in metal superlattices

We study bulk and surface collective modes in a metal superlattice using a formalism bringing out the classical nature of the excitations. Appropriate limits are investigated and earlier erroneous mode assignements for semiconductor superlattices are corrected. Explicit calculations are performed for a structure having metals of very different electron densities. Our study indicates that measuring the collective mode frequencies in superlattices can yield important geometrical information.     

Experimental study of sensitivity enhancement in surface plasmon resonance biosensors by use of periodic metallic nanowires

We have experimentally confirmed sensitivity enhancement of a nanowire-based surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor structure. Gold nanowires with periods of 200 and 500 nm were fabricated, respectively, by electron-beam and interference lithography on a gold/SF10 substrate. Sensitivity enhancement was measured to be 44% compared with a conventional thin-film-based SPR structure for nanowires of 200 nm period and 31% for 500 nm when evaluated using ethanol at a varied concentration. This result is consistent with numerical data. Surface roughness is responsible for sensitivity reduction by more than 10%. More significant sensitivity improvement can be achieved by inducing strong localized plasmon coupling with finer nanowires.     

Strong coupling between surface plasmons and excitons in an organic semiconductor

We report on the observation of a strong coupling between a surface plasmon and an exciton. Reflectometry experiments are performed on an organic semiconductor, namely, cyanide dye J aggregates, deposited on a silver film. The dispersion lines present an anticrossing that is the signature of a strong plasmon-exciton coupling. Mixed states are formed in a similar way as microcavities polaritons. The Rabi splitting characteristic of this coupling reaches 180 meV at room temperature. The emission of the low energy plasmon-exciton mixed state has been observed and is largely shifted from the uncoupled emission.     

Interaction of surface plasmons with interference modes in thin-film nanostructures

In Au/As₂S₃ metal-semiconductor surface composite structures, anomalous absorption of light beyond the fundamental absorption edge of the semiconductor is observed. This absorption is caused by the interaction of the near field of surface plasmons in metal nanoparticles with interference (virtual) modes of the Fabry-Perot cavity formed by the semiconductor film.     

Strong coupling of localized and surface plasmons to microcavity modes

We strongly couple surface plasmon modes on a thin metal layer via localized plasmons of nanowires to photonic microcavity modes. In particular, we place an array of nanowires close to a mirror and position a second mirror at Bragg distance. The coupling becomes evident from an anticrossing of the resonances in the dispersion diagram. We experimentally determine the dispersion by applying external pressure to the microcavity and find excellent agreement with simulations.