Tamm plasmons in metal/nanoporous GaN distributed Bragg reflector cavities for active and passive optoelectronics

TitleTamm plasmons in metal/nanoporous GaN distributed Bragg reflector cavities for active and passive optoelectronics
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2020
AuthorsLheureux, G., M. Monavarian, R. Anderson, R. A. Decrescent, J. Bellessa, C. Symonds, J. A. Schuller, J. S. Speck, S. Nakamura, and S. P. DenBaars
JournalOpt. Express
Volume28
Pagination17934–17943
Date PublishedJun
KeywordsBragg reflectors, Distributed Bragg reflectors, Optical sensing, Reflectance spectroscopy, Refractive index, Surface plasmons
Abstract

We theoretically and experimentally investigate Tamm plasmon (TP) modes in a metal/semiconductor distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) interface. A thin Ag (silver) layer with a thickness (55 nm from simulation) that is optimized to guarantee a low reflectivity at the resonance was deposited on nanoporous GaN DBRs fabricated using electrochemical (EC) etching on freestanding semipolar (2021¯) GaN substrates. The reflectivity spectra of the DBRs are compared before and after the Ag deposition and with that of a blanket Ag layer deposited on GaN. The experimental results indicate the presence of a TP mode at $\sim$ 454 nm on the structure after the Ag deposition, which is also supported by theoretical calculations using a transfer-matrix algorithm. The results from mode dispersion with energy-momentum reflectance spectroscopy measurements also support the presence of a TP mode at the metal-nanoporous GaN DBR interface. An active medium can also be accommodated within the mode for optoelectronics and photonics. Moreover, the simulation results predict a sensitivity of the TP mode wavelength to the ambient ($\sim$ 4-7 nm shift when changing the ambient within the pores from air with n $=$ 1 to isopropanol n $=$ 1.3), suggesting an application of the nanoporous GaN-based TP structure for optical sensing.

URLhttp://www.opticsexpress.org/abstract.cfm?URI=oe-28-12-17934
DOI10.1364/OE.392546