Infrared rectification in a nanoantenna-coupled metal-oxide-semiconductor tunnel diode.

Direct rectification of electromagnetic radiation is a well-established method for wireless power conversion in the microwave region of the spectrum, for which conversion efficiencies in excess of 84% have been demonstrated. Scaling to the infrared or optical part of the spectrum requires ultrafast rectification that can only be obtained by direct tunnelling. Many research groups have looked to plasmonics to overcome antenna-scaling limits and to increase the confinement. Recently, surface plasmons on heavily doped Si surfaces were investigated as a way of extending surface-mode confinement to the thermal infrared region. Here we combine a nanostructured metallic surface with a heavily doped Si infrared-reflective ground plane designed to confine infrared radiation in an active electronic direct-conversion device. The interplay of strong infrared photon-phonon coupling and electromagnetic confinement in nanoscale devices is demonstrated to have a large impact on ultrafast electronic tunnelling in metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) structures. Infrared dispersion of SiO2 near a longitudinal optical (LO) phonon mode gives large transverse-field confinement in a nanometre-scale oxide-tunnel gap as the wavelength-dependent permittivity changes from 1 to 0, which leads to enhanced electromagnetic fields at material interfaces and a rectified displacement current that provides a direct conversion of infrared radiation into electric current. The spectral and electrical signatures of the nanoantenna-coupled tunnel diodes are examined under broadband blackbody and quantum-cascade laser (QCL) illumination. In the region near the LO phonon resonance, we obtained a measured photoresponsivity of 2.7 mA W(-1) cm(-2) at -0.1 V.

Phased-array sources based on nonlinear metamaterial nanocavities.

Coherent superposition of light from subwavelength sources is an attractive prospect for the manipulation of the direction, shape and polarization of optical beams. This phenomenon constitutes the basis of phased arrays, commonly used at microwave and radio frequencies. Here we propose a new concept for phased-array sources at infrared frequencies based on metamaterial nanocavities coupled to a highly nonlinear semiconductor heterostructure. Optical pumping of the nanocavity induces a localized, phase-locked, nonlinear resonant polarization that acts as a source feed for a higher-order resonance of the nanocavity. Varying the nanocavity design enables the production of beams with arbitrary shape and polarization. As an example, we demonstrate two second harmonic phased-array sources that perform two optical functions at the second harmonic wavelength (∼5 µm): a beam splitter and a polarizing beam splitter. Proper design of the nanocavity and nonlinear heterostructure will enable such phased arrays to span most of the infrared spectrum.

Microwave and terahertz wave sensing with metamaterials.

We have designed, fabricated, and characterized metamaterial enhanced bimaterial cantilever pixels for far-infrared detection. Local heating due to absorption from split ring resonators (SRRs) incorporated directly onto the cantilever pixels leads to mechanical deflection which is readily detected with visible light. Highly responsive pixels have been fabricated for detection at 95 GHz and 693 GHz, demonstrating the frequency agility of our technique. We have obtained single pixel responsivities as high as 16,500 V/W and noise equivalent powers of 10(-8) W/Hz(1/2) with these first-generation devices.