Electrical and Electronic Engineering - Research Publications

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    Visible to Short-Wave Infrared Photodetectors Based on ZrGeTe4 van der Waals Materials
    Yan, W ; Johnson, BC ; Balendhran, S ; Cadusch, J ; Yan, D ; Michel, JI ; Wang, S ; Zheng, T ; Crozier, K ; Bullock, J (AMER CHEMICAL SOC, 2021-09-29)
    The self-terminated, layered structure of van der Waals materials introduces fundamental advantages for infrared (IR) optoelectronic devices. These are mainly associated with the potential for low noise while maintaining high internal quantum efficiency when reducing IR absorber thicknesses. In this study, we introduce a new van der Waals material candidate, zirconium germanium telluride (ZrGeTe4), to a growing family of promising IR van der Waals materials. We find the bulk form ZrGeTe4 has an indirect band edge around ∼0.5 eV, in close agreement with previous theoretical predictions. This material is found to be stable up to 140 °C and shows minimal compositional variation even after >30 days storage in humid air. We demonstrate simple proof-of-concept broad spectrum photodetectors with responsivities above 0.1 AW-1 across both the visible and short-wave infrared wavelengths. This corresponds to a specific detectivity of ∼109 cm Hz1/2 W-1 at λ = 1.4 μm at room temperature. These devices show a linear photoresponse vs illumination intensity relationship over ∼4 orders of magnitude, and fast rise/fall times of ∼50 ns, also verified by a 3 dB roll-off frequency of 5.9 MHz. As the first demonstration of photodetection using ZrGeTe4, these characteristics measured on a simple proof-of-concept device show the exciting potential of the ZrGeTe4 for room temperature IR optoelectronic applications.
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    Copper Tetracyanoquinodimethane (CuTCNQ): A Metal-Organic Semiconductor for Room-Temperature Visible to Long-Wave Infrared Photodetection
    Balendhran, S ; Hussain, Z ; Shrestha, VR ; Cadusch, J ; Ye, M ; Azar, NS ; Kim, H ; Ramanathan, R ; Bullock, J ; Javey, A ; Bansal, V ; Crozier, KB (AMER CHEMICAL SOC, 2021-08-18)
    Mid-wave and long-wave infrared (MWIR and LWIR) detection play vital roles in applications that include health care, remote sensing, and thermal imaging. However, detectors in this spectral range often require complex fabrication processes and/or cryogenic cooling and are typically expensive, which motivates the development of simple alternatives. Here, we demonstrate broadband (0.43-10 μm) room-temperature photodetection based on copper tetracyanoquinodimethane (CuTCNQ), a metal-organic semiconductor, synthesized via a facile wet-chemical reaction. The CuTCNQ crystals are simply drop-cast onto interdigitated electrode chips to realize photoconductors. The photoresponse is governed by a combination of interband (0.43-3.35 μm) and midgap (3.35-10 μm) transitions. The devices show response times (∼365 μs) that would be sufficient for many infrared applications (e.g., video rate imaging), with a frequency cutoff point of 1 kHz.
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    All-silicon, optics-free microspectromer chip based on vertical waveguide array pixels
    Cadusch, JJ ; Meng, J ; Wen, D ; Crozier, KB (OSA & IEEE, 2021-01-01)
    We experimentally demonstrate a nanostructured silicon microspectrometer chip that consists of 144 pixels, each comprising an array of vertical waveguides of subwavelength period. We show that both broad- and narrow-band visible spectra can be reconstructed.
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    Material identification by plasmonic infrared microspectrometer employing machine learning
    Meng, J ; Weston, L ; Balendhran, S ; Wen, D ; Cadusch, JJ ; Unnithan, RR ; Crozier, KB (Optica Publishing Group, 2021-01-01)
    We demonstrate a microspectrometer comprising plasmonic filters integrated with an infrared camera. Blackbody light illuminates the material being studied, with transmitted light collected by the microspectrometer. The latter uses machine learning to identify the material.
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    Optical trapping of nanoparticles with plasmonic apertures generated by algorithm
    Li, N ; Cadusch, J ; Crozier, KB (Optica Publishing Group, 2021-01-01)
    Plasmonic apertures for optical nanotweezers are designed by an algorithm and fabricated with a helium ion microscope. Optical trapping experiments are performed. At every laser intensity, an algorithm-designed structure can outperform a conventional plasmonic aperture.
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    Triple-helix tractor beam generation with a dielectric metasurface pancharatnam-berry phase hologram
    Cadusch, J ; Wen, D ; Meng, J ; Crozier, KB (Optica Publishing Group, 2021-01-01)
    We present a silicon-based Pancharatnam-Berry (PB) phase metasurface hologram that produces a triple-helix solenoid tractor beam from a Gaussian input beam. Our metasurface has a >90% diffraction efficiency and >75% transmission.
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    Mid-Wave Infrared Polarization-Independent Graphene Photoconductor with Integrated Plasmonic Nanoantennas Operating at Room Temperature
    Ye, M ; Gao, Y ; Cadusch, JJ ; Balendhran, S ; Crozier, KB (WILEY-V C H VERLAG GMBH, 2021-03)
    Abstract Graphene photodetectors operating in the mid‐wave infrared (MWIR) face challenges that include the optical absorption of monolayer graphene being intrinsically low and the carrier lifetime in graphene being very short. Previous reports of graphene photoconductors in the MWIR have sought to overcome these challenges using approaches that include the integration of plasmonic nanoantennas and/or engineered electrodes. However, this has led to the photoresponse of these detectors being strongly polarization dependent. Here, a graphene photoconductor is reported that achieves polarization‐independent and fast response simultaneously via the integration of plasmonic nanoantennas that are termed Jerusalem‐cross antennas (JC‐antennas). Compared to previous works, the JC‐antennas concentrate the incident light onto graphene more efficiently with enhanced polarization‐independent optical absorption. MWIR detection is demonstrated at both room temperature and cryogenic temperatures, with measured responsivity of 14.5 V W−1 (room temperature) and 4400 V W−1 (78 K). Due to the carrier collection by the JC‐antennas and gapless band structure of graphene, the detector also shows significant and broadband photoresponse that extends to visible and near‐infrared wavelengths. The detector shows fast temporal response with a measured rise time of 3 ns, which would be more than sufficient for many practical applications (e.g., imaging).
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    Plasmonic Mid-Infrared Filter Array-Detector Array Chemical Classifier Based on Machine Learning
    Meng, J ; Cadusch, JJ ; Crozier, KB (AMER CHEMICAL SOC, 2021-02-17)
    Numerous applications exist for chemical detection, ranging from the industrial production of chemicals to pharmaceutical manufacturing, environmental monitoring, and hazardous risk control. For many applications, infrared absorption spectroscopy is the favored technique, due to attributes that include short response time, high specificity, minimal drift, in situ operation, negligible sample disruption, and reliability. The workhorse instrument for infrared absorption is the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer. While such systems are suitable for many purposes, new applications would be enabled by small, lightweight, low power and low cost infrared microspectrometers. Here we perform a detailed study on a microspectrometer chemical classifier comprising an array of plasmonic mid-infrared spectral filters used with a photodetector array, whose outputs are analyzed by a machine learning algorithm. We conduct simulations (including noise), demonstrating the identification of six gas-phase and six liquid-phase chemicals. We study the performance of our method at detecting the concentration of acetylene.
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    VCSELs with On-Facet Metasurfaces for Polarization State Generation and Detection
    Wen, D ; Meng, J ; Cadusch, JJ ; Crozier, KB (WILEY-V C H VERLAG GMBH, 2021-05)
    Abstract Polarization plays a critical role in optical systems that range from optical communications to imaging, lithography, metrology, and data storage. Thus, in systems that need to generate a certain polarization state, a light source (e.g., laser) is combined with polarization control elements such as polarizers, polarizing beam splitters, and waveplates. Similarly, in systems requiring polarization state detection, such elements are combined with photodetectors. There is currently a trend toward miniaturized optical systems. This motivates the question of how to achieve what may be argued as an ultimate level of miniaturization: a single chip that can both generate light with a prescribed polarization state and detect the polarization state of light impinging upon it. This paper demonstrates this via vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) with on‐facet metasurfaces. Two classes of devices are demonstrated. The first class uses high‐index dielectric metasurfaces (amorphous silicon nanofins), whereas the second class uses plasmonic metasurfaces (aluminum bilayer gratings). Each can operate as a laser (to generate) and as a photodetector (to detect) circularly or linearly polarized light.
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    Vectorial Holograms with Spatially Continuous Polarization Distributions
    Wen, D ; Cadusch, JJ ; Meng, J ; Crozier, KB (AMER CHEMICAL SOC, 2021-02-24)
    Metasurface-based holography presents opportunities for applications that include optical displays, data storage, and optical encryption. Holograms that control polarization are sometimes referred to as vectorial holograms. Most studies on this topic have concerned devices that display different images when illuminated with different polarization states. Fewer studies have demonstrated holographic images whose polarization varies spatially, i.e., as a function of the position within the image. Here, we experimentally demonstrate a vectorial hologram that produces an image with a spatially continuous distribution of polarization states, for the first time to our knowledge. An unlimited number of polarization states can be achieved within the image. Furthermore, the holographic image and its polarization map (polarization vs position in image) are independent. The same image can be thus encoded with different polarization maps. As far as we know, our approach is conceptually new. We anticipate that it could broaden the application scope of metasurface holography.