Heeres, R. W., Dorenbos, S. N., Koene, B., Solomon, G. S., Kouwenhoven, L. P., & Zwiller, V. (2010). On-Chip Single Plasmon Detection. Nano Lett., 10, 661–664.
Abstract: Surface plasmon polaritons (plasmons) have the potential to interface electronic and optical devices. They could prove extremely useful for integrated quantum information processing. Here we demonstrate on-chip electrical detection of single plasmons propagating along gold waveguides. The plasmons are excited using the single-photon emission of an optically emitting quantum dot. After propagating for several micrometers, the plasmons are coupled to a superconducting detector in the near-field. Correlation measurements prove that single plasmons are being detected.
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González, F. J., Alda, J., Ilic, B., & Boreman, G. D. (2004). Infrared Antennas Coupled to Lithographic Fresnel Zone Plate Lenses. Appl. Opt., 43(33), 6067–6073.
Abstract: Several designs for Fresnel zone plate lenses (FZPLs) to be used in conjunction with antenna-coupled infrared detectors have been fabricated and tested. The designs comprise square and circular FZPLs with different numbers of Fresnel zones working in transmissive or reflective modes designed to focus infrared energy on a square-spiral antenna connected to a microbolometer. A 163× maximum increase in response was obtained from a 15-zone circular FZPL in the transmissive mode. Sensor measurements of normalized detectivity D* resulted in a 2.67× increase with FZPLs compared with measurements made of square-spiral antennas without FZPLs. The experimental results are discussed and compared with values obtained from theoretical calculations.
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Saynak, U. Ä. Ÿ. (2008). Novel rectangular spiral antennas.
Abstract: Round spiral antennas are generally designed by using Archimedean spiral geometries which have linear growth rates. To obtain smaller antennas with nearly the same performance, square spiral Archimedean geometries are also widely used instead. In this study, novel square antennas are proposed, designed and examined. At first two similar but different approaches are employed to design new antennas by considering the design procedure used to obtain log-periodic antennas. Then, the performance of these antennas is improved by considering another property of log-periodic antennas. Simulations are performed by using two different numerical methods which are Finite Difference Time Domain Method (FDTD) and Method of Moments (MoM). The results obtained from the simulations are compared with those of the Archimedean spiral antennas in terms of the frequency dependency of fundamental antenna parameters such as antenna gain and radiation pattern. The simulation results are compared with the ones obtained from the experimental study.
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Hu, X., Dauler, E. A., Molnar, R. J., & Berggren, K. K. (2011). Superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors integrated with optical nano-antennae. Opt. Express, 19(1), 17–31.
Abstract: Optical nano-antennae have been integrated with semiconductor lasers to intensify light at the nanoscale and photodiodes to enhance photocurrent. In quantum optics, plasmonic metal structures have been used to enhance nonclassical light emission from single quantum dots. Absorption and detection of single photons from free space could also be enhanced by nanometallic antennae, but this has not previously been demonstrated. Here, we use nano-optical transmission effects in a one-dimensional gold structure, combined with optical cavity resonance, to form optical nano-antennae, which are further used to couple single photons from free space into a 80-nm-wide superconducting nanowire. This antenna-assisted coupling enables a superconducting nanowire single-photon detector with 47% device efficiency at the wavelength of 1550 nm and 9-μm-by-9-μm active area while maintaining a reset time of only 5 ns. We demonstrate nanoscale antenna-like structures to achieve exceptional efficiency and speed in single-photon detection.
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Novotny, L., & van Hulst, N. (2011). Antennas for light. Nat. Photon., 5(2), 83–90.
Abstract: Optical antennas are devices that convert freely propagating optical radiation into localized energy, and vice versa. They enable the control and manipulation of optical fields at the nanometre scale, and hold promise for enhancing the performance and efficiency of photodetection, light emission and sensing. Although many of the properties and parameters of optical antennas are similar to their radiowave and microwave counterparts, they have important differences resulting from their small size and the resonant properties of metal nanostructures. This Review summarizes the physical properties of optical antennas, provides a summary of some of the most important recent developments in the field, discusses the potential applications and identifies the future challenges and opportunities.
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Bharadwaj, P., Deutsch, B., & Novotny, L. (2009). Optical Antennas. Adv. Opt. Photon, 1, 438–483.
Abstract: Optical antennas are an emerging concept in physical optics. Similar to radiowave
and microwave antennas, their purpose is to convert the energy of free propagating radiation to localized energy, and vice versa. Optical antennas exploit the unique properties of metal nanostructures, which behave as strongly coupled plasmas at ptical frequencies. The tutorial provides an account of the historical origins and the basic concepts and parameters associated with optical antennas. It also reviews recent work in the field and discusses areas of application, such as light-emitting devices, photovoltaics, and spectroscopy.
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Hocker, L. O., Sokoloff, D. R., Daneu, V., Szoke, A., & Javan, A. (1968). Frequency mixing in the infrared and far-infrared using a metal-to-metal point contact diode. Appl Phys Lett, 12(12).
Abstract: Metalâ€toâ€metal point contact diodes were used to obtain the 54â€GHz beat notes between two adjacent 10.6â€μ CO2 laser transitions. The speed of the diodes in the farâ€infrared is at least 1000 GHz. This was tested with a 337â€μ HCN laser.
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Gonzalez, F. J., Ilic, B., Alda, J., & Boreman, G. D. (2005). Antenna-coupled infrared detectors for imaging applications. IEEE J. Sel. Topics Quantum Electron., 11(1), 117–120.
Abstract: Infrared focal plane arrays (IRFPAs) are a critical component in advanced infrared imaging systems. IRFPAs are made up of two parts, a detector array and a readout integrated circuit (ROIC) multiplexer. Current ROIC technology has typical pitch sizes of 20×20 to 50×50 μm2. In order to make antenna-coupled detectors suited for infrared imaging systems, two-dimensional (2-D) arrays have been fabricated that cover a whole pixel area with the penalty of increasing the noise figure of the detector and, therefore, reducing its performance. By coupling a Fresnel zone plate lens to a single element antenna-coupled detector, infrared radiation can be collected over a typical pixel area and still keep low-noise levels. A Fresnel zone plate lens coupled to a single-element square-spiral-coupled infrared detector has been fabricated and its performance compared to single element antenna-coupled detectors and 2-D arrays of antenna coupled detectors. Measurements made at 10.6 μm showed a two-order-of-magnitude increase in SNR and a ~× increase in D* as compared to 2-D arrays of antenna-coupled detectors.
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Novotny, L. (2007). Effective wavelength scaling for optical antennas. Phys. Rev. Lett., 98(26), 266802(1–4).
Abstract: In antenna theory, antenna parameters are directly related to the wavelength λ of incident radiation, but this scaling fails at optical frequencies where metals behave as strongly coupled plasmas. In this Letter we show that antenna designs can be transferred to the optical frequency regime by replacing λ by a linearly scaled effective wavelength λeff=n1+n2λ/λp, with λp being the plasma wavelength and n1, n2 being coefficients that depend on geometry and material properties. It is assumed that the antenna is made of linear segments with radii Râ‰<aa>λ. Optical antennas hold great promise for increasing the efficiency of photovoltaics, light-emitting devices, and optical sensors.
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Huang, K. C. Y., Jun, Y. C., Seo, M. - K., & Brongersma, M. L. (2011). Power flow from a dipole emitter near an optical antenna. Opt. Express, 19(20), 19084–19092.
Abstract: Current methods to calculate the emission enhancement of a quantum emitter coupled to an optical antenna of arbitrary geometry rely on analyzing the total Poynting vector power flow out of the emitter or the dyadic Green functions from full-field numerical simulations. Unfortunately, these methods do not provide information regarding the nature of the dominant energy decay pathways. We present a new approach that allows for a rigorous separation, quantification, and visualization of the emitter output power flow captured by an antenna and the subsequent reradiation power flow to the far field. Such analysis reveals unprecedented details of the emitter/antenna coupling mechanisms and thus opens up new design strategies for strongly interacting emitter/antenna systems used in sensing, active plasmonics and metamaterials, and quantum optics.
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