Surface Phonon Polaritons Research Articles

Near-Field Radiative Heat Transfer between Dissimilar Materials Mediated by Coupled Surface Phonon- and Plasmon-Polaritons

Near-field radiative heat transfer (NFRHT) between dissimilar materials supporting surface polaritons in the infrared is of critical importance for applications such as photonic thermal rectification and near-field thermophotovoltaics. Here, we measure NFRHT between millimetersize surfaces made of 6H-SiC and doped Si, respectively supporting surface phonon-polaritons (SPhPs) and surface plasmon-polaritons (SPPs) in the infrared, separated by a 150-nm-thick vacuum gap spacing maintained via SiO2 nanopillars. For purpose of comparison, measurements are also performed between two doped Si surfaces. The measured radiative flux is in good agreement with theoretical predictions based on fluctuational electrodynamics. A flux enhancement beyond the blackbody limit of ~ 8.2 is obtained for the SiC-Si sample, which is smaller than the enhancement for the Si-Si sample (~ 12.5) owing to the spectral mismatch of the SiC and Si light lines, and SPhP and SPP resonances. However, due to lower losses in SiC than Si and weaker SPhP-SPP coupling than SPP coupling, the near-field enhancement for the SiC-Si sample exhibits a more pronounced monochromatic behavior with a resonant flux that is ~ 5 times larger than the resonant flux for the Si-Si sample. This work demonstrates that it is possible to modulate NFRHT via surface polariton coupling, and will accelerate the development of energy conversion and thermal management devices capitalizing on the near-field effects of thermal radiation between dissimilar materials.

Extinction mechanisms of hyperbolic h-BN nanodisk**Project supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2016YFA0203500), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 11874407), and Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. XDB 30000000).

We applied the finite element method to calculate the extinction spectrum of single hyperbolic hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) nanodisk. We show that the hyperbolic h-BN nanodisk exhibits two extinction mechanisms in the mid-infrared region. The volume confined phonon polaritons resonances of the nanodisk give rise to a series of weak extinction peaks. The localized surface phonon polaritons lead to a robust dipolar extinction, and the extinction peak position is tunable by varying the size of the h-BN nanodisk. These findings reveal the mechanisms of the interaction between light and resonant h-BN nanodisk, which are essential for h-BN related opto-electromagnetic applications.

Tunable phase change polaritonic perfect absorber in the mid-infrared region

Realizing tunable light-polaritons interaction, such as perfect absorption in a controllable and compact manner holds great promise in nanophotonic systems. In this work, we engineer the hyperbolic surface phonon polaritons and surface plasmons polaritons to dynamically tune the perfect absorption in mid-infrared by combing the two van der Waals materials: the natural hyperbolic material hBN and phase change material VO2. Two spectrally separated and physically distinct perfect absorption peaks are alternatively observed and can be tuned through changing the temperature. The absorption in the resonant wavelengths can reach around 100%. We also demonstrate the flexibility of the absorber by investigating the absorption dependence on the polarization state and angle of incidence. The structural parameters sweep also confirms the robustness of our design. Our findings may open new possibilities to many versatile minimized applications such as optical modulators, optical switching, and temperature control system.

In English

One of the promising materials for the development of 2D photonic structures is macroporous silicon obtained using photoanodic etching. Presence of periodically located cylindrical pores divided by silicon columns provides large effective surface of samples and enhanced optical and photo-physical characteristics of macroporous silicon structures. In this paper, the near-IR light absorption oscillations of 2D macroporous silicon structures with microporous silicon layers, SiO 2 nanocoatings and CdTe, ZnO surface nanocrystals are studded taking into account the Wannier–Stark electro-optical effect. An analysis of the experimental absorption spectra was carried out within the model of the resonant electron scattering with infinite amplitude on impurity states in strong electric field, with difference between two resonant energies equaled to the step of Wannier–Stark ladder. The constant oscillation period specifies the realization of Wannier–Stark effect on the randomly distributed surface bonds on silicon-nanocoating interface. We compared the IR absorption oscillations in 2D macroporous silicon with surface nanocoatings, analyzed shifts and deviations of oscillation peaks. The coherence of the IR spectra oscillations increases with the decrease of surface state concentration and with the optimal area of contact of nanocrystals to the macropore surface. Thus, the shift of oscillations for ZnO nanoparticles with optimal size of nanocrystals (3.7–4.4 nm) leads to deviations of the oscillation peaks within 0.26–0.42 meV, the oscillation coherence reaches 0.25–0.4 %. The small broadening parameter of the Wannier–Stark ladder levels G = 0.3¸0.8 cm –1 equals to that for surface phonon polaritons measured in thin films of II-VI semiconductors. Controllability and coherence of the investigated system are determined by forming of coherent Wannier levels in a narrow triangular potential well formed by an electric field at the silicon-nanocoating interface. In addition, we have proposed a high coherent optical quantum computer based on the quantum Wannier-Stark electro-optical effect on a silicon matrix with macropores and a layer of nanocrystals on the macropore surface.

ASNOM mapping of SiC epilayer doping profile and of surface phonon polariton waveguiding

Apertureless scanning near-field optical microscopy mapping of a slightly doped 4H-SiC epitaxial layer grown on a heavily doped 4H-SiC substrate was performed in a cleaved edge geometry. Surface phonon polariton waves excited by an external coherent light were observed on a sample surface that contains such an epilayer-defined strip near its edge. The light frequency was tuned close to the lattice resonance. Due to a low doping level in an epilayer, its electromagnetic response is determined mainly by the SiC lattice resonance. The rest of the sample surface corresponds to a substrate whose electromagnetic response is determined mainly by the free carriers so that phonon polariton phenomena get suppressed. Such an epilayer-defined strip (vanishing at 895cm−1 frequency) becomes more pronounced at 920cm−1 and, finally, the excited state gets completely confined within such a strip (938cm−1) due to the differences in the electromagnetic properties of doped and undoped SiC.

Narrowband perfect terahertz absorber based on polar-dielectrics metasurface**Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 11204056), Harbin Normal University Master’s Innovation Project (Grant Nos. HSDSSCX2018-77 and HSDSSCX2018-79), Key Laboratory of Engineering Dielectrics and Its Application (Harbin University of Science and Technology), Ministry of Education, China (Grant No. KF20171110), and Natural Science Foundation of Heilongjiang Province, China

We theoretically propose a narrowband perfect absorber metasurface (PAMS) based on surface phonon polaritons in the terahertz range. The PAMS has unit cell consisting of a silver biarc on the top, a thin polar-dielectric in the middle and a silver layer at the bottom. The phonon polaritons are excited at the interface between the silver biarc and the polar dielectric, and enhance the absorption of the PAMS. The absorption peak is at 36.813 μm and the full width half maximum (FWHM) is nearly 36 nm, independent of the polarization and incidence angle. The electric fields are located at the split of the biarc silver layer and the quality factor Q is 1150. The FWHM decreases with the decreasing split width. When the thickness of the bottom layer is larger than 50 nm, the narrow band and high absorption are insensitive to the thickness of those layers. The designed absorber may have useful applications in terahertz spectra such as energy harvesting, thermal emitter, and sensing.

Manipulation of surface phonon polaritons in SiC nanorods

Surface phonon polaritons (SPhPs) are potentially very attractive for subwavelength control and manipulation of light at the infrared to terahertz wavelengths. Probing their propagation behavior in nanostructures is crucial to guide rational device design. Here, aided by monochromatic scanning transmission electron microscopy-electron energy loss spectroscopy technique, we measure the dispersion relation of SPhPs in individual SiC nanorods and reveal the effects of size and shape. We find that the SPhPs can be modulated by the geometric shape and size of SiC nanorods. The energy of SPhPs shows red-shift with decreasing radius and the surface optical phonon is mainly concentrated on the surface with large radius. Therefore, the fields can be precisely confined in specific positions by varying the size of the nanorod, allowing effective tuning at nanometer scale. The findings of this work are in agreement with dielectric response theory and numerical simulation, and provide novel strategies for manipulating light in polar dielectrics through shape and size control, enabling the design of novel nanoscale phonon-photonic devices.

Contribution of the acoustic waves to near-field heat transfer

Calculations of the radiative and phonon heat transfer between metals in an extreme near field in presence of electrostatic potential difference are given. Potential difference leads to a coupling between the radiation field and acoustic waves in solid, as a result of which the heat flux between two gold plates associated with p -polarized electromagnetic waves increases by many orders of magnitude as the potential difference varies from 0 to 10 V. The radiative heat transfer is compared with the phonon heat transfer associated with the electrostatic and van der Waals interactions between the surface displacements. For large potential difference and small distances the radiative heat transfer is reduced to the electrostatic phonon heat transfer. A particular case of surface acoustic waves—Rayleigh waves is studied in details. Conditions are obtained for the existence of surface phonon polaritons associated with the interaction of Rayleigh waves with an electromagnetic field. The surface Rayleigh and bulk acoustic waves can give contributions of the same order. The obtained results can be used to control heat fluxes at the nanoscale using the potential difference and to create coherent radiation sources based on the properties of the Rayleigh waves

The unintentional excitation of surface phonon polaritons in ATR-FTIR spectra of geological samples

Anomalous peaks were observed during attempts to measure micro-ATR infrared spectra of small domains (>30 μm) of the mineral apatite that were associated with coal particles in polished epoxy grain mounts. The peaks were sharp, variable in intensity, and appeared near the high wavenumber edge of the broad ν3 band of the phosphate. Similar effects were observed in single crystals of quartz, garnet and calcite. The manifestation of these peaks was associated with experimental factors that rendered a small gap between the ATR tip and the sample. They were assigned to surface phonon polaritons (SPhPs) owing to their explicit requirement of non-contact between sample and ATR objective, their position in relation to the longitudinal optic limit of the reststrahlen bands of the crystalline materials, and their wavenumber dependence on the refractive index of the intermediating dielectric, as predicted by SPhP theory. In this paper we establish three conditions under which SPhPs can be accidentally or unintentionally excited: when the IR beam of the microscope is not well aligned; when optical contact between the mineral and ATR objective is poor; and when the surface of the sample is not normal to the optical axis of the microscope. The object of this paper was not to study SPhPs as such, but to raise awareness amongst FT-IR ATR practitioners that SPhP peaks can interfere if their experimental conditions are less than ideal, particularly in the case of polished geological sections and minerals.

Exploiting Phonon‐Resonant Near‐Field Interaction for the Nanoscale Investigation of Extended Defects

AbstractThe evolution of wide bandgap semiconductor materials has led to dramatic improvements for electronic applications at high powers and temperatures. However, the propensity of extended defects provides significant challenges for implementing these materials in commercial electronic and optical applications. While a range of spectroscopic and microscopic tools have been developed for identifying and characterizing these defects, such techniques typically offer either technique exclusively, and/or may be destructive. Scattering‐type scanning near‐field optical microscopy (s‐SNOM) is a nondestructive method capable of simultaneously collecting topographic and spectroscopic information with frequency‐independent nanoscale spatial precision (≈20 nm). Here, how extended defects within 4H‐SiC manifest in the infrared phonon response using s‐SNOM is investigated and the response with UV‐photoluminescence, secondary electron and electron channeling contrast imaging, and transmission electron microscopy is correlated. The s‐SNOM technique identifies evidence of step‐bunching, recombination‐induced stacking faults, and threading screw dislocations, and demonstrates interaction of surface phonon polaritons with extended defects. The results demonstrate that phonon‐enhanced infrared nanospectroscopy and spatial mapping via s‐SNOM provide a complementary, nondestructive technique offering significant insights into extended defects within emerging semiconductor materials and devices and thus serves as an important diagnostic tool to help advance material growth efforts for electronic, photonic, phononic, and quantum optical applications.

Measurement of near-field thermal emission spectra using an internal reflection element

We describe a simple and robust method using an internal reflection element to measure the spectra of near-field thermal emission. We experimentally demonstrate the spectrally narrow peaks of near-field thermal emission by isotropic media due to the excitation of surface phonon polaritons in quartz and amorphous silica and due to the frustrated total-internal-reflection modes in amorphous silica and polytetrafluoroethylene. Additionally, we demonstrate the broadband near-field thermal emission of hyperbolic modes in hexagonal boron nitride, which is an anisotropic uniaxial medium. We also present a theoretical approach based on the fluctuational electrodynamics and dyadic Green's functions for one-dimensional layered media for accurately modeling the measured spectra.

Surface Wave Enhanced Sensing in the Terahertz Spectral Range: Modalities, Materials, and Perspectives.

The terahertz spectral range (frequencies of 0.1–10 THz) has recently emerged as the next frontier in non-destructive imaging and sensing. Here, we review amplitude-based and phase-based sensing modalities in the context of the surface wave enhanced sensing in the terahertz frequency band. A variety of surface waves are considered including surface plasmon polaritons on metals, semiconductors, and zero gap materials, surface phonon polaritons on polaritonic materials, Zenneck waves on high-k dielectrics, as well as spoof surface plasmons and spoof Zenneck waves on structured interfaces. Special attention is paid to the trade-off between surface wave localization and sensor sensitivity. Furthermore, a detailed theoretical analysis of the surface wave optical properties as well as the sensitivity of sensors based on such waves is supplemented with many examples related to naturally occurring and artificial materials. We believe our review can be of interest to scientists pursuing research in novel high-performance sensor designs operating at frequencies beyond the visible/IR band.

Colossal Enhancement of Near-Field Thermal Radiation Across Hundreds of Nanometers between Millimeter-Scale Plates through Surface Plasmon and Phonon Polaritons Coupling.

Coupling modes between surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) and surface phonon polaritons (SPhPs) play a vital role in enhancing near-field thermal radiation but are relatively unexplored, and no experimental result is available. Here, we consider the NFTR enhancement between two identical graphene-covered SiO2 heterostructures with millimeter-scale surface area and report an experimentally record-breaking ∼64-fold enhancement compared to blackbody (BB) limit at a gap distance of 170 nm. The energy transmission coefficient and radiation spectra show that the physical mechanism behind the colossal enhancement is the coupling between the surface plasmon and phonon polaritons.

Enhancing Thermophotovoltaic Performance Using Graphene-BN- InSb Near-Field Heterostructures

Graphene---hexagonal-boron-nitride---InSb near-field structures are designed and optimized to enhance the output power and energy efficiency of the thermophotovoltaic systems working in the temperature range of common industrial waste heat, $400~\rm K \sim 800~\rm K$, which is also the working temperature range for conventional thermoelectric devices. We show that the optimal output electric power can reach $3.5\times10^{4} \rm\ W/\rm m^2$ for the system with a graphene---hexagonal-boron-nitride heterostructure emitter and a graphene-covered InSb cell, whereas the best efficiency is achieved by the system with the heterostructure emitter and an uncovered InSb cell (reaching to $27\%$ of the Carnot efficiency). These results show that the performances of near-field thermophotovoltaic systems can be comparable with or even superior than the state-of-art thermoelectric devices. The underlying physics for the significant enhancement of the thermophotovoltaic performance is understood as due to the resonant coupling between the emitter and the cell, where the surface plasmons in graphene and surface phonon-polaritons in boron-nitride play important roles. Our study provides a stepping stone for future high-performance thermophotovoltaic systems.

Controllable and Highly Propagative Hybrid Surface Plasmon–Phonon Polariton in a CdZnO-Based Two-Interface System

The development of new nanophotonic devices requires the understanding and modulation of the propagating surface plasmon and phonon modes arising in plasmonic and polar dielectric materials, respectively. Here we explore the CdZnO alloy as a plasmonic material, with a tunable plasma frequency and reduced losses compared to pure CdO. By means of attenuated total reflectance, we experimentally observe the hybridization of the surface plasmon polariton (SPP) with the surface phonon polariton (SPhP) in the air-CdZnO-sapphire three-layer system. We show how through the precise control of the CdZnO thickness, the resonance frequencies of the hybrid surface plasmon-phonon polariton (SPPP) are tuned in the mid-infrared, and the nature of the hybrid mode turns from a plasmon-like behavior in the thicker films to a phonon-like behavior in the thinnest films. The presence of sapphire phonons not only allows the hybrid mode to be formed, but also improves its characteristics with respect to the bare SPP. The reduced damping of the phonon oscillators allows to reduce the losses of the hybrid mode, enhancing the propagation length above 500 microns, one order of magnitude larger than that of typical SPPs, clearing the path for its application on emerging devices such as plasmonic waveguides.

Surface Polariton‐Like s‐Polarized Waveguide Modes in Switchable Dielectric Thin Films on Polar Crystals

AbstractSurface phonon polaritons (SPhPs) and surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs), evanescent modes supported by media with negative permittivity, are a fundamental building block of nanophotonics. These modes are unmatched in terms of field enhancement and spatial confinement, and dynamical all‐optical control can be achieved, e.g., by employing phase‐change materials. However, the excitation of surface polaritons in planar structures is intrinsically limited to p‐polarization. On the contrary, waveguide modes in high‐permittivity films can couple to both p‐ and s‐polarized light, and in thin films, their confinement can become comparable to surface polaritons. Here, it is demonstrated that the s‐polarized waveguide mode in a thin Ge3Sb2Te6 (GST) film features a similar dispersion, confinement, and electric field enhancement as the SPhP mode of the silicon carbide (SiC) substrate, while even expanding the allowed frequency range. Moreover, it is experimentally shown that switching the GST film grants nonvolatile control over the SPhP and the waveguide mode dispersions. An analytical model is provided for the description of the GST/SiC waveguide mode and it is shown that the concept is applicable to the broad variety of polar crystals throughout the infrared spectral range. As such, complementarily to the polarization‐limited surface polaritons, the s‐polarized waveguide mode constitutes a promising additional building block for nanophotonic applications.

Two-Dimensional Phonon Polariton Heat Transport.

As is well-known, the phonon and electron thermal conductivity of a thin film generally decreases as its thickness scales down to nanoscales due to size effects, which have dramatic engineering effects, such as overheating, low reliability, and reduced lifetime of processors and other electronic components. However, given that thinner films have higher surface-to-volume ratios, the predominant surface effects in these nanomaterials enable the transport of thermal energy not only inside their volumes but also along their interfaces. In polar nanofilms, this interfacial transport is driven by surface phonon polaritons, which are electromagnetic waves generated at mid-infrared frequencies mainly by the phonon-photon coupling along their surfaces. Theory predicts that these polaritons can enhance the in-plane thermal conductivity of suspended silica films to values higher than the corresponding bulk one, as their thicknesses decrease through values smaller than 200 nm. In this work, we experimentally demonstrate this thermal conductivity enhancement. The results show that the in-plane thermal conductivity of a 20 nm thick silica film at room temperature is nearly twice its lattice vibration counterpart. Additional thermal diffusivity measurements reveal that the diffusivity of a silica film also increases as its thickness decreases, such that the ratio of thermal conductivity/thermal diffusivity (volumetric heat capacity) remains nearly independent of the film thickness. The experimental results obtained here will enable one to build on recent interesting theoretical predictions, highlight the existence of a new heat channel at the nanoscale, and provide a new avenue to engineer thermally conductive nanomaterials for efficient thermal management.

(Invited) Controlling Light with Phonons in Polar Semiconductors: Novel Approaches to Infrared Nanophotonics

The field of nanophotonics is based on the ability to confine light to sub-diffractional dimensions. Up until recently, research in this field has been primarily focused on the use of plasmonic metals. One highly promising alternative are the surface phonon polaritons that can be supported with low-losses within polar dielectric and semiconductor species. However, these modes can only be supported within a relatively narrow, material specific spectral region referred to as the Reststrahlen band. Here, methods for broadening and shifting these Reststrahlen bands will be discussed, as well as the potential for expanding it using carrier-phonon coupling.

Enhancing near-field heat transfer between composite structures through strongly coupled surface modes

In this work, we study the near-field heat transfer between composite nanostructures. It is demonstrated that thermally excited surface plasmon polaritons, surface phonon polaritons, and hyperbolic phonon polaritons in such composite nanostructures significantly enhance the near-field heat transfer. To further analyze the underlying mechanisms, we calculate energy transmission coefficients and obtain the near-field dispersion relations. The dispersion relations of composite nanostructures are substantially different from those of isolated graphene, silicon carbide (SiC) films, and SiC nanowire arrays due to the strong coupling effects among surface polaritonic modes. We identify four pairs of strongly coupled polaritonic modes with considerable Rabi frequencies in graphene/SiC film composite structures that greatly broaden the spectral peak. We confirm that near-field strong coupling effects between surface plasmon polaritons and hyperbolic phonon polaritons in the in-plane Reststrahlen band are different from those in the out-of-plane Reststrahlen band due to the different types of hyperbolicity. In addition, we analyze the effective tunability of the near-field heat transfer of graphene/SiC nanowire arrays composite structures by adjusting the chemical potential of graphene, the height and volume filling factor of the SiC nanowire arrays. This work provides a method to manipulate the near-field heat transfer with the use of strongly coupled surface polaritonic modes.

Phonon Polaritons in Monolayers of Hexagonal Boron Nitride

Phonon polaritons in van der Waals materials reveal significant confinement accompanied with long propagation length: important virtues for tasks pertaining to the control of light and energy flow at the nanoscale. While previous studies of phonon polaritons have relied on relatively thick samples, here reported is the first observation of surface phonon polaritons in single atomic layers and bilayers of hexagonal boron nitride (hBN). Using antenna-based near-field microscopy, propagating surface phonon polaritons in mono- and bilayer hBN microcrystals are imaged. Phonon polaritons in monolayer hBN are confined in a volume about one million times smaller than the free-space photons. Both the polariton dispersion and their wavelength-thickness scaling law are altered compared to those of hBN bulk counterparts. These changes are attributed to phonon hardening in monolayer-thick crystals. The data reported here have bearing on applications of polaritons in metasurfaces and ultrathin optical elements.