Anti-reflection coating design for metallic terahertz meta-materials

Fuente: arXiv
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Hauptverfasser: Pancaldi, M., Freeman, R., Hudl, M., Hoffmann, M. C., Urazhdin, S., Vavassori, P., Bonetti, S.
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2017
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author Pancaldi, M.
Freeman, R.
Hudl, M.
Hoffmann, M. C.
Urazhdin, S.
Vavassori, P.
Bonetti, S.
author_facet Pancaldi, M.
Freeman, R.
Hudl, M.
Hoffmann, M. C.
Urazhdin, S.
Vavassori, P.
Bonetti, S.
contents We demonstrate a silicon-based, single-layer anti-reflection coating that suppresses the reflectivity of metals at near-infrared frequencies, enabling optical probing of nano-scale structures embedded in highly reflective surroundings. Our design does not affect the interaction of terahertz radiation with metallic structures that can be used to achieve terahertz near-field enhancement. We have verified the functionality of the design by calculating and measuring the reflectivity of both infrared and terahertz radiation from a silicon/gold double layer as a function of the silicon thickness. We have also fabricated the unit cell of a terahertz meta-material, a dipole antenna comprising two 20-nm thick extended gold plates separated by a 2 $μ$m gap, where the terahertz field is locally enhanced. We used the time-domain finite element method to demonstrate that such near-field enhancement is preserved in the presence of the anti-reflection coating. Finally, we performed magneto-optical Kerr effect measurements on a single 3-nm thick, 1-$μ$m wide magnetic wire placed in the gap of such a dipole antenna. The wire only occupies 2\% of the area probed by the laser beam, but its magneto-optical response can be clearly detected. Our design paves the way for ultrafast time-resolved studies, using table-top femtosecond near-infrared lasers, of dynamics in nano-structures driven by strong terahertz radiation.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_1711_05670
institution arXiv
publishDate 2017
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Anti-reflection coating design for metallic terahertz meta-materials
Pancaldi, M.
Freeman, R.
Hudl, M.
Hoffmann, M. C.
Urazhdin, S.
Vavassori, P.
Bonetti, S.
Applied Physics
Other Condensed Matter
We demonstrate a silicon-based, single-layer anti-reflection coating that suppresses the reflectivity of metals at near-infrared frequencies, enabling optical probing of nano-scale structures embedded in highly reflective surroundings. Our design does not affect the interaction of terahertz radiation with metallic structures that can be used to achieve terahertz near-field enhancement. We have verified the functionality of the design by calculating and measuring the reflectivity of both infrared and terahertz radiation from a silicon/gold double layer as a function of the silicon thickness. We have also fabricated the unit cell of a terahertz meta-material, a dipole antenna comprising two 20-nm thick extended gold plates separated by a 2 $μ$m gap, where the terahertz field is locally enhanced. We used the time-domain finite element method to demonstrate that such near-field enhancement is preserved in the presence of the anti-reflection coating. Finally, we performed magneto-optical Kerr effect measurements on a single 3-nm thick, 1-$μ$m wide magnetic wire placed in the gap of such a dipole antenna. The wire only occupies 2\% of the area probed by the laser beam, but its magneto-optical response can be clearly detected. Our design paves the way for ultrafast time-resolved studies, using table-top femtosecond near-infrared lasers, of dynamics in nano-structures driven by strong terahertz radiation.
title Anti-reflection coating design for metallic terahertz meta-materials
topic Applied Physics
Other Condensed Matter
url https://arxiv.org/abs/1711.05670