Abstract-Graphene-based crack lithography for high-throughput fabrication of terahertz metamaterials

Sejeong Won, Hyun-June Jung, Dasom Kim, Sang-Hun Lee, DoVan Lam, Hyeon-Don Kim, Kwang-Seop Kim, Seung-Mo Lee, Minah Seo, Dai-Sik Kim, Hak-Joo Lee, Jae-Hyun Kim,



https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S000862231931142X

Terahertz (THz) nanoantennas have significant potential for versatile applications in THz spectroscopy because of their capability for strong electromagnetic field localization. Electron-beam lithography or focused ion beam machining is typically employed to fabricate nanoantenna structures. These nanolithography methods present limitations in the widespread utilization of THz nanoantennas because of their high cost and low productivity. In this work, we proposed graphene-based crack lithography as a high throughput fabrication method for nanoantenna structures. A double-layer graphene interface was introduced to enable independent control of the nanoantenna dimensions and provide graphene-based nanoantenna structures. We analyzed the underlying mechanism of graphene-based cracking and developed an analytical model governing the geometric parameters of the fabricated nanostructures. As a vital application of the fabricated nanoantenna structures, we demonstrated the highly sensitive detection of d-Glucose molecules. Graphene-based crack lithography can provide a cost-effective method for generating nanoantenna structures with the desired characteristics and can accelerate the development of practical applications of electromagnetic metamaterials.

Abstract-Enhanced terahertz conductivity in ultra-thin gold film deposited onto (3-mercaptopropyl) trimethoxysilane (MPTMS)-coated Si substrates

Youjin Lee, Dasom Kim, Jeeyoon Jeong, Jugyoung Kim, Volodymyr Shmid, Oleg Korotchenkov, Parinda Vasa, Young-Mi Bahk,  Dai-Sik Kim

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-51085-0

Various material properties change considerably when material is thinned down to nanometer thicknesses. Accordingly, researchers have been trying to obtain homogeneous thin films with nanometer thickness but depositing homogeneous few nanometers thick gold film is challenging as it tends to form islands rather than homogenous film. Recently, studies have revealed that treating the substrate with an organic buffer, (3-mercaptopropyl) trimethoxysilane (MPTMS) enables deposition of ultra-thin gold film having thickness as low as 5 nm. Different aspects of MPTMS treatment for ultra-thin gold films like its effect on the structure and optical properties at visible wavelengths have been investigated. However, the effect of the MPTMS treatment on electrical conductivity of ultra-thin gold film at terahertz frequency remains unexplored. Here, we measure the complex conductivity of nanometer-thick gold films deposited onto an MPTMS-coated silicon substrate using terahertz time-domain spectroscopy. Following the MPTMS treatment of the substrate, the conductivity of the films was found to increase compared to those deposited onto uncoated substrate for gold films having the thickness less than 11 nm. We observed 5-fold enhancement in the conductivity for a 7 nm-thick gold film. We also demonstrate the fabrication of nanoslot-antenna arrays in 8.2-nm-thick gold films. The nanoslot-antenna with MPTMS coating has resonance at around 0.5 THz with an electric field enhancement of 44, whereas the nanoslot-antenna without MPTMS coating does not show resonant properties. Our results demonstrate that gold films deposited onto MPTMS-coated silicon substrates are promising advanced materials for fabricating ultra-thin terahertz plasmonic devices.

Abstract-Active Thermal Control of 5 nm Gap Terahertz Antennas

Hyeong Seok Yun  Jeeyoon Jeong,   Dasom Kim,   Dai‐Sik Kim,

https://www.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/adom.201800856

Metallic nanostructures are combined with various active materials for electrical, optical, and thermal modulations of their optical properties. In particular, for the thermal modulation, deformation of metallic nanostructures at high temperatures limits the applications to relatively low temperatures, where thermal expansion of metals is negligible. Here, a unique regime is reported where terahertz (THz) waves transmitting through 5 nm wide slot antennas can be significantly modulated via controlled thermal expansion of metals without active materials. The normalized amplitude is modulated by 20% and the resonant frequency by 22% at an elevated temperature of 150 °C, indicating a decrease in the gap width by 50%. The extreme width‐to‐length ratio of the THz slot antennas compensates the small thermal expansion coefficient of metals, enabling the gap width to be considerably changed. COMSOL simulation and coupled‐mode method (CMM) calculation quantitatively support the experimental data. This works suggests a new possibility of thermally active metallic nanostructures.

Abstract-Giant field enhancements in ultrathin nanoslots above 1 terahertz

Dasom Kim, Jeeyoon Jeong, Geunchang Choi, Young-Mi Bahk, Taehee Kang, Dukhyung Lee, Bidhek Thusa, Dai-Sik Kim,

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acsphotonics.8b00151?journalCode=apchd5

Strong demand for plasmonic devices with an enormously enhanced electric field and desired resonance frequencies has led to extensive investigations of metallic slot structures. While strong field enhancement can be achieved by reducing the width of the slot, the effect of the gap surface plasmon limits the maximum achievable field enhancement at higher frequencies. Specifically, the effect of the gap surface plasmon becomes stronger as the gap width decreases and strongly suppresses the transmission while causing a red-shift of the resonance. Here, we overcome these issues and realize strong field enhancements at higher frequencies, by managing the metal thickness of the nanoslots. We show that as the nanoslots become as thin as 10 nm, they show a giant electric field enhancement of up to 7600. Moreover, the resonances are strongly blue-shifted to above 1 THz from 0.33 THz. Our work provides a novel route to achieving high field enhancements at desired frequencies, as well as a means by which to characterize the slot as the gap-sensitive or substrate-sensitive type