All-Semiconductor Plasmonic Nanoantennas for Infrared Sensing

TLDR

Infrared absorption spectroscopy of vibro‑rotational molecular resonances is powerful, yet the required long wavelengths are far larger than the molecules’ absorption cross sections, making nanoscale detection difficult. The study introduces a novel infrared plasmonic antenna that enhances sensing at long wavelengths for nanoscale samples. The antenna employs epitaxially grown semiconductor‑engineered metals to provide low‑loss, tunable plasmonics, is fabricated by nanosphere lithography for large‑area, cost‑effective production, and is optically characterized across geometry and material variations. When thin, weakly absorbing polymer layers are deposited on the arrays, the antennas reveal very weak molecular absorption signatures near resonance, with experimental data matching finite‑element simulations.

Abstract

Infrared absorption spectroscopy of vibro-rotational molecular resonances provides a powerful method for investigation of a wide range of molecules and molecular compounds. However, the wavelength of light required to excite these resonances is often orders of magnitude larger than the absorption cross sections of the molecules under investigation. This mismatch makes infrared detection and identification of nanoscale volumes of material challenging. Here we demonstrate a new type of infrared plasmonic antenna for long-wavelength nanoscale enhanced sensing. The plasmonic materials utilized are epitaxially grown semiconductor engineered metals, which results in high-quality, low-loss infrared plasmonic metals with tunable optical properties. Nanoantennas are fabricated using nanosphere lithography, allowing for cost-effective and large-area fabrication of nanoscale structures. Antenna arrays are optically characterized as a function of both the antenna geometry and the optical properties of the plasmonic semiconductor metals. Thin, weakly absorbing polymer layers are deposited upon the antenna arrays, and we are able to observe very weak molecular absorption signatures when these signatures are in spectral proximity to the antenna resonance. Experimental results are supported with finite element modeling with strong agreement.