Strong Confinement of Optical Fields Using Localized Surface Phonon Polaritons in Cubic Boron Nitride

Abstract

Phonon polaritons (PhPs) are long-lived electromagnetic modes that originate from the coupling of infrared (IR) photons with the bound ionic lattice of a polar crystal. Cubic-boron nitride (cBN) is such a polar, semiconductor material which, due to the light atomic masses, can support high-frequency optical phonons. Here we report on random arrays of cBN nanostructures fabricated via an unpatterned reactive ion etching process. Fourier-transform infrared reflection spectra suggest the presence of localized surface PhPs within the Reststrahlen band, with quality factors in excess of 38 observed. These can provide the basis of next-generation IR optical components such as antennas for communication, improved chemical spectroscopies, and enhanced emitters, sources, and detectors.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 27, 2018
Accession Number
AD1100533

Entities

People

  • Alexander J. Giles
  • Athith Krishna
  • Ioannis Chatzakis
  • James C. Culbertson
  • Joshua D Caldwell
  • Michael G. Spencer
  • Nicholas Sharac

Organizations

  • United States Naval Research Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Advanced Electronics

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Ceramic Materials
  • Crystal Lattice Vibrations
  • Detectors
  • Electromagnetic Fields
  • Electromagnetic Radiation
  • Materials Laboratories
  • Materials Science
  • Nanotechnology
  • Optical Properties
  • Optics
  • Phonon Polaritons
  • Polaritons
  • Resonance
  • Silicon Carbide
  • Spectra
  • Spectroscopy
  • Surface Plasmon Polaritons

Fields of Study

  • Materials science
  • Physics

Readers

  • Materials Science and Engineering.
  • Optical Physics and Photonics.
  • Thin Film Deposition Science.

Technology Areas

  • Microelectronics
  • Microelectronics - Graphene