• Current Applied Physics
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• v.18 no.11
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• pp.1381-1387
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• 2018

One dimensional (1D) grating has been fabricated (using focused ion beam) on 50 nm gold (Au) film deposited on higher refractive index Gallium phosphate (GaP) substrate. The sub-wavelength periodic metal nano structuring enable to couple photon to couple with the surface plasmons (SPs) excited by them. These grating devices provide the efficient control on the SPs which propagate on the interface of noble metal and dielectric whose frequency is dependent on the bulk electron plasma frequency of the metal. For a fixed periodicity (${\Lambda}=700 nm$) and slit width (w = 100 nm) in the grating device, the efficiency of SPP excitation is about 40% compared to the transmission in the near-field. Efficient coupling of SPs with photon in dielectric provide field localisation on sub-wavelength scale which is needed in Heat Assisted Magnetic recording (HAMR) systems. The GaP is also used to emulate Vertical Cavity Surface emitting laser (VCSEL) in order to provide cheaper alternative of light source being used in HAMR technology. In order to understand the underlying physics, far-and near-field results has been compared with the modelling results which are obtained using COMSOL RF module. Apart from this, grating devices of smaller periodicity (${\Lambda}=280nm$) and slit width (w = 22 nm) has been fabricated on GaP substrate which is photoluminescence material to observe amplified spontaneous emission of the SPs at wavelength of 805 nm when the grating device was excited with 532 nm laser light. This observation is unique and can have direct application in light emitting diodes (LEDs).

• Journal of the Korean Physical Society
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• v.73 no.11
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• pp.1698-1702
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• 2018

We simulate the light transmission through an extremely small nanoscale aperture having a 10 nm diameter punctured in a metal film positioned at the center of a plasmonic bull's eye grating. A considerable directive emission of transmitted light with a divergence angle of 5.7 degrees was observed at $10{\mu}m$ from the nanohole opening at the frequency of surface plasmon polariton excitation, an confirmed by measuring the distance dependent transmission amplitude. Observations of the electric field in cross-sectional, near-field, and far-field views near-field enhancement associated with the surface plasmon excitation, and the interference of the electric field light through the nanohole in the near-field region is responsible for such a considerable directive emission.

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 2010.05a
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• pp.11.2-11.2
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• 2010

Photovoltaic devices are promising candidates as affordable and large-area renewable energy sources, which can replace the fossil-fuel-based resources. Especially, thin film solar cells have attracted increasing research attention, since they have a great advantage of low production cost. From the physical point of view, the photovoltaic devices can provide us interesting questions, how to enhance the light absorption and the carrier collection efficiency. A lot of approaches would be possible to address these issues. We have focused on two major topics relevant to photovoltaic device physics; (1) light management using surface plasmons and (2) junction characterizations aiming at proper interface engineering. Regarding the first topic, we have investigated the influences of Ag under-layer morphology on optical properties of ZnO thin films. The experimental results suggested that coupling between the surface plasmon polaritons at the ZnO/Ag interface and excitons in ZnO should play important roles in reflectivity of the ZnO/Ag thin films, which are widely used back reflector structures in thin film solar cells. For the second topic, we have carried out scanning probe microscopy studies of Schottky junctions consisting of photovoltaic materials. Such a research is very helpful to understand the correlation between the defects (e.g., grain boundaries) and local electrical properties. We will introduce some of the recent experimental results and discuss the physical significance.

• Journal of the Optical Society of Korea
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.130-134
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• 2016

The influence of Au/Ni-based contact formed on a lightly-doped (7.3×1017cm−3, Zn-doped) InGaAsP layer for electrical compensation of surface plasmon polariton (SPP) propagation under various rapid thermal annealing (RTA) conditions has been studied. The active control of SPP propagation is realized by electrically pumping the InGaAsP multiple quantum wells (MQWs) beneath the metal planar waveguide. The metal planar film acts as the electric contact layer and SPP waveguide, simultaneously. The RTA process can lower the metal-semiconductor electric contact resistance. Nevertheless, it inevitably increases the contact interface morphological roughness, which is detrimental to SPP propagation. Based on this dilemma, in this work we focus on studying the influence of RTA conditions on electrical control of SPPs. The experimental results indicate that there is obvious degradation of electrical pumping compensation for SPP propagation loss in the devices annealed at 400℃ compared to those with no annealing treatment. With increasing annealing duration time, more significant degradation of the active performance is observed even under sufficient current injection. When the annealing temperature is set at 400℃ and the duration time approaches 60s, the SPP propagation is nearly no longer supported as the waveguide surface morphology is severely changed. It seems that eutectic mixture stemming from the RTA process significantly increases the metal film roughness and interferes with the SPP signal propagation.