Mid-infrared (mid-IR) detection and imaging over atmospheric transparent 3-5 μm and 8-12 μm bands are increasingly becoming important for various space, defense and civilian applications. Various kinds of microbolometers offer uncooled detection of IR radiation. However, broadband absorption of microbolometers makes them less sensitive to spectrally resolved detection of infrared radiation and the fabrication is also very tedious involving multiple complex lithography steps. In this study, we designed an optical nano-antenna array based detector with narrow frequency band of operation. The structure consists of a two-element antenna array comprised of a perforated metallic hole array coupled with an underneath disk array which trap incident radiation as dipole currents. The energy is dissipated as electron plasma loss on the hole-disk system inducing close to ~100% absorption of the incident radiation. This near perfect absorption originates from simultaneous zero crossing of real component of permittivity and permeability due to the geometrical arrangement of the two antenna elements which nullifies overall charge and current distributions, prohibiting existence of any propagating electromagnetic modes at resonance. Moreover, the continuous perforated film allows probing of the induced "micro-current" plasma loss on each nano hole-disk pair via a weak bias current. Such optical antenna design enables flexible scaling of detector response over the entire mid-infrared regime by change in the antenna dimensions. Furthermore, the development of simple nanoimprint lithography based large area optical antenna array fabrication technique facilitates formation of low cost frequency selective infrared detectors.

One of the untapped energy sources is the thermal energy available either from solar irradiance which is still not fully utilized or from the ambient heat temperature. Both resources share the nature of infrared (IR) radiation but with different range of wavelengths. The rectenna (rectifying antenna) concept is presented to harvest these IR radiations. The rectenna is simply an antenna connected to a diode. The diode has to be able to follow and rectify the ultra-fast received AC signal. This condition promotes the use of metal-insulator-metal (MIM) diodes due to their ultra-fast tunneling mechanism. The impedance matching between the diode an antenna is to be considered. The resistance practical ranges of both nano-antenna and MIM diode are generally far. The diode responsivity determines the MIM rectification capability. By building MIM diodes with multiple insulator layers the trade-off between the resistance and responsivity can be resolved. An optimization algorithm to select the qualified materials to build an MIIM diode with high responsivity and low resistance is introduced. A Ti-TiO2/ZnO-Al MIIM diode with ultra-thin oxide layers is fabricated. Also, a global optimization approach is carried out to maximize the impedance matching between the diode and the nano-antenna while improving the capacitance effect on the device’s cut-off frequency. The optimal results reveal a maximum coupling efficiency of 5.5%, a responsivity of 6.4 A/W, and a cut-off frequency of ~34 THz. A symmetric MIM metamaterial perfect absorber is introduced. The design has larger resistance than conventional nano-antennas. The near unity absorptivity is achieved through an optimization approach. A novel Chand-Bali nano-antenna that supports dual polarization and wide angle of reception is presented. The rectenna based on this nano-antenna is expected to achieve more than one magnitude of efficiency higher than ones fabricated in literature. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Dans ce travail de these, nous étudions comment des nano-structures métalliques modifient le processus d'émission spontannée d'objets fluorescents et jouent ainsi un rôle d'antenne. Ces structures supportent des modes optiques confinés aux interfaces metal-diélectrique: ce sont des modes plasmoniques.De par leur fort confinement, ces modes modifient la densité locale d'états optiques et permettent notamment d'accélérer le processus d'émission spontannée (facteur de Purcell). Nous étudions le cas d'une structure planaire metal-isolant-métal de type patch couplée à un ensemble de nanocristaux colloïdaux fluorescents. Nos mesures, soutenues par des calculs numériques, montrent une acceleration de l'émission fluorescente d'un facteur 80 ainsi qu'une augmentation de la directivité de l'émission. Nous décrivons ensuite le procedé de fabrication d'une structure patch metal-semiconducteur-métal pour laquelle la source fluorescente est un puits quantique émettant dans le proche infra-rouge. Nous montrons que l'antenne permet d'augmenter l'extraction fluorescente d'un facteur 8. Enfin, nous considérons le cas d'une structure sphérique composée d'un unique nanocristal fluorescent au centre d'une bille de silice entourée par une fine coquille métallique. Cette structure plasmonique accélère l'émission d'une facteur 10 et permet de supprimer le scintillement caractéristique de l'émission des nanocristaux. La coquille métallique permet également d'isoler chimiquement le nanocristal de l'environnement, assurant ainsi une grande photostabilité et une toxicité réduite. L'émetteur ainsi obtenu est donc un candidat prometteur pour des applications de marquage de fluorescence in-vivo. / The present work focuses on the modification of spontaneous emission of fluorescent emitters using metallic nano-structures. These structures support confined plasmonic modes that strongly increase the local density of optical states. Consequently, the plasmonic structure enhances the spontaneous decay rate of the emitter. We use both numerical simulations and experimental results to demonstrate the potential of plasmonic antennas as tools to control spontaneous emission. First, we study a metal-dielectric-metal planar structure called patch antenna. This structure is coupled to an ensemble of quantumdots emitting visible light. We show that, in the presence of the patch antenna, the fluorescent emission is accelerated by a factor 80 and that its directivity is increased. Then, we use a similar plasmonic structure coupled to a quantum well emitting in the near infrared. Using an ad hoc hyperspectral imaging setup, we show that the antenna increases the extracted light by a factor 8. Finally, we study a spherical geometry composed of a single fluorescent quantum dot at the center of a silica bead coated with a thin gold shell. This plasmonic structure

Nowadays, the increasing concern for environmental analysis and food quality control, as well as medical needs such as fast diagnosis in case of emergency events, leads to a growing need for new generations of chemical and biological sensors. These devices should have high sensitivity and reliability, perform specific detection of molecules and enable multiple parallel sensing, while being cheap, portable, fast and easy to use. Thus, a general trend tends towards bio-chemical sensors which are on-chip integrated, label-free, and compatible with standard micro-technologies. Photonic dielectric devices based on porous silicon and metallic nanostructures based on plasmon resonances are good candidates to fulfill the above requirements. Porous silicon is a biocompatible material, with a huge specific surface providing a sensitivity enhancement by several orders of magnitude compared to bulk materials; furthermore, its refractive index and thickness can be easily tuned, enabling for the realization of a large variety of photonic designs. Metallic nanostructures provide high confinement and strong field enhancement in sub-wavelength regions, leading to high sensitivities; combined with fluorescence or other sensing mechanisms such as Raman or IR spectroscopy, they have already demonstrated increased sensing potential. The realization of a hybrid device combining both elements would be highly interesting, since it could yield the advantages of both elements, and the photonic structure could shape the plasmonic resonance to develop ultrasensitive devices with narrow resonance linewidth and increased sensing depth. In this context, we realized and studied a novel hybrid photonic / plasmonic device exploiting the coupling between the surface plasmon resonance of a bowtie nano - antenna (NAs) array and the photonic modes of porous silicon (PSi) interferometer. We designed and fabricated a NAs array with resonance wavelength ~ 1.3μm on a homogeneous PSi interferometer. A thin spacing silica layer with controllable density protects the pores of PSi layer and provides a smooth surface for the fabrication of NAs. The coupling mechanisms of two elements - NA array and interferometer, are studied with 2 models, which are interferometer approach and resonator approach. The interferometer approach is focused on studying the influence of NAs array as a homogeneous layer on the fringes shift of the interferometer. For resonator approach, the coupled mode theory is applied. With these models, strong coupling between both elements are discovered: splitting. In the case of viii smaller environment variation, the hybrid device gains 5-10 fold sensitivity enhancement vs. 2 elements alone. The controllable SiO2 layer allows us to sense the index variation within PSi interferometer. This opens a route towards double parallel sensing. The development of the theoretical models under different environment is ongoing, which is expected to utilize the strong coupling for the sensing. A further investigation of the sensing potential of the hybrid device would be expected. And the 2 elements constituting the hybrid structure - the interferometer and the NA array - could be modified in order to enlarge the study to a wider family of devices with greater properties and performances. This work was performed within the framework of the program "Groups of Five Ecoles Centrales" between China Scholarship Council (CSC) and Lyon Institute of Nanotechnologies (INL, CNRS UMR 5270). The project has been supported by the Nanolyon technology platform at INL.

Aujourd'hui, la préoccupation croissante pour l'analyse environnementale et le contrôle de la qualité des aliments, ainsi que les besoins médicaux tels que le diagnostic rapide en cas de situations d'urgence, entraîne un besoin croissant de nouvelles générations de capteurs chimiques et biologiques. Ces dispositifs doivent avoir une haute sensibilité et fiabilité, ils doivent permettre une détection spécifique de molécules et une détection parallèle de différentes molécules, tout en étant bas coût, portables, rapides et faciles à utiliser. Ainsi, une tendance générale se porte sur les capteurs biochimiques intégrés sur puce, sans marqueur, et compatibles avec les procédés standard des micro-technologies. Les dispositifs diélectriques photoniques à base de silicium poreux et les nanostructures métalliques à résonances plasmoniques sont de bons candidats pour répondre aux exigences ci-dessus. Le silicium poreux est un matériau biocompatible, avec une énorme surface spécifique entrainant un gain de la sensibilité de plusieurs ordres de grandeur par rapport aux matériaux massifs ; en outre, son indice de réfraction et son épaisseur peuvent être facilement ajustés, permettant la réalisation d'une grande variété de dispositifs photoniques. Les nanostructures métalliques offrent un fort confinement et une forte amplification du champ électromagnétique dans des régions sub-longueur d'onde, ce qui conduit à des sensibilités élevées ; combinées avec d’autres mécanismes de détection comme la fluorescence, le Raman ou la spectroscopie IR, elles ont déjà démontré un gain important du potentiel pour la détection. La réalisation d'un dispositif hybride combinant ces deux éléments est très intéressant, car il peut offrir les avantages des deux éléments ; la structure photonique pourrait aussi façonner la résonance plasmonique pour le développement de dispositifs ultrasensibles à largeur de raie de résonance étroite tout en ayant une profondeur de détection accrue. Dans ce contexte, l'objectif de cette thèse est d'explorer les défis de cette solution en considérant la conception, la réalisation, la caractérisation et le potentiel de dispositifs hybrides photoniques/plasmoniques qui exploitent le couplage entre la résonance plasmonique de surface localisée d'un réseau d'antennes papillon et les modes photoniques d'un interféromètre en silicium poreux. / Nowadays, the increasing concern for environmental analysis and food quality control, as well as medical needs such as fast diagnosis in case of emergency events, leads to a growing need for new generations of chemical and biological sensors. These devices should have high sensitivity and reliability, perform specific detection of molecules and enable multiple parallel sensing, while being cheap, portable, fast and easy to use. Thus, a general trend tends towards bio-chemical sensors which are on-chip integrated, label-free, and compatible with standard micro-technologies. Photonic dielectric devices based on porous silicon and metallic nanostructures based on plasmon resonances are good candidates to fulfill the above requirements. Porous silicon is a biocompatible material, with a huge specific surface providing a sensitivity enhancement by several orders of magnitude compared to bulk materials; furthermore, its refractive index and thickness can be easily tuned, enabling for the realization of a large variety of photonic designs. Metallic nanostructures provide high confinement and strong field enhancement in sub-wavelength regions, leading to high sensitivities; combined with fluorescence or other sensing mechanisms such as Raman or IR spectroscopy, they have already demonstrated increased sensing potential. The realization of a hybrid device combining both elements would be highly interesting, since it could yield the advantages of both elements, and the photonic structure could shape the plasmonic resonance to develop ultrasensitive devices with narrow resonance linewidth and increased sensing depth. In this context, we realized and studied a novel hybrid photonic / plasmonic device exploiting the coupling between the surface plasmon resonance of a bowtie nano - antenna (NAs) array and the photonic modes of porous silicon (PSi) interferometer. We designed and fabricated a NAs array with resonance wavelength ~ 1.3μm on a homogeneous PSi interferometer. A thin spacing silica layer with controllable density protects the pores of PSi layer and provides a smooth surface for the fabrication of NAs. The coupling mechanisms of two elements - NA array and interferometer, are studied with 2 models, which are interferometer approach and resonator approach. The interferometer approach is focused on studying the influence of NAs array as a homogeneous layer on the fringes shift of the interferometer. For resonator approach, the coupled mode theory is applied. With these models, strong coupling between both elements are discovered: splitting. In the case of viii smaller environment variation, the hybrid device gains 5-10 fold sensitivity enhancement vs. 2 elements alone. The controllable SiO2 layer allows us to sense the index variation within PSi interferometer. This opens a route towards double parallel sensing. The development of the theoretical models under different environment is ongoing, which is expected to utilize the strong coupling for the sensing. A further investigation of the sensing potential of the hybrid device would be expected. And the 2 elements constituting the hybrid structure – the interferometer and the NA array – could be modified in order to enlarge the study to a wider family of devices with greater properties and performances. This work was performed within the framework of the program “Groups of Five Ecoles Centrales” between China Scholarship Council (CSC) and Lyon Institute of Nanotechnologies (INL, CNRS UMR 5270). The project has been supported by the Nanolyon technology platform at INL.