Hybrid metal-dielectric nanostructures for advanced light-field manipulation

Abstract

All-dielectric and plasmonic nanostructures have complementary advantages regarding their capabilities for controlling light fields at the nanoscale [1]. While all-dielectric nanostructures can provide near-unity efficiency, plasmonic nanostructures are more compact and offer strong near-field enhancement. Combination of photonic nanostructures of both types offers a promising route towards compact optical elements that unify low absorption losses with small footprints, while at the same time providing a high versatility in engineering the optical response of the hybrid system towards specific functionalities.

This talk aims to review our recent progress in coupling designed plasmonic nanoantennas to high-index dielectric nanostructures. Following a general analysis of coupling of plasmonic and high-refractive-index dielectric nanoresonators, various specific hybrid nanostructure designs will be discussed.

For the fabrication of designed hybrid metal-dielectric nanostructures we use a two-step electron-beam lithography (EBL) procedure [2]. The first step of EBL is used in combination with reactive-ion etching to define the dielectric nanostructures. The second step of EBL is followed by evaporation of gold and a lift-off process, and serves to define the plasmonic elements. Between the two steps, a precision alignment procedure is performed in order to allow for the precise positioning of the gold nanostructures with respect to the silicon nanostructures.

Using this approach, we realize and optically characterize various hybrid metal-dielectric nanostructures designed to support a range of novel functionalities, including directional emission enhancement [2] and on-chip light routing.