Extraordinary optical transmission (EOT), through highly conductive ZnO films with sub-wavelength hole arrays is investigated in the long-wavelength infrared regime. EOT is facilitated by the excitation of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) on Ga-Doped ZnO films and can be tuned utilizing the physical parameters such as film thickness, period, hole size, and hole shape, as well as doping of the film. Analytical and finite-difference time-domain calculations are completed for 1 micron thick films with square, circular, and triangular hole arrays demonstrating SPP coupling and EOT. The fundamental plasmonic modes are observed in each of these hole shapes at wavelengths that correspond to strong EOT peaks. Doping tunability for these structures is also observed. Ga-doped ZnO films are grown via pulsed laser deposition (PLD) on silicon with plasma frequencies in the near-infrared. The sub-wavelength 2D hole arrays are fabricated in the Ga-doped ZnO films via standard lithography and etching processes. This highly conductive ZnO EOT structure may prove useful in novel integrated components such as tunable biosensors or surface plasmon coupling mechanisms.

Date Published: 8 March 2014
PDF: 10 pages
Proc. SPIE 8987, Oxide-based Materials and Devices V, 898704 (8 March 2014); doi: 10.1117/12.2042477

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 8987:
Oxide-based Materials and Devices V
Ferechteh H. Teherani; David C. Look; David J. Rogers, Editor(s)