A Comparative Study of Nanowire Arrays for Maximum Power Transmission

Abstract

In this chapter, we present a comparative study of nanowire arrays for the purpose of transmitting electromagnetic energy to long distances with minimum loss. Silver nanowires at an infrared frequency are considered as a case study, using an accurate simulation environment based on the surface-integral equations and the multilevel fast multipole algorithm (MLFMA). Reliable numerical results are obtained by considering arrays as three-dimensional structures with finite sizes in all dimensions. Nanowires with different cross sections are compared in alternative array configurations to assess and compare their transmission properties. While there are no significantly varying performances for the arrays of few elements, large discrepancies occur as the number of nanowires increases. We show that arrays involving nanowires with hexagonal cross sections in hexagonal arrangements can provide significantly better power transmissions in comparison to others. We also present the superiority of a particular case, where the nanowires and gaps between them, both with hexagonal cross sections, are equally distributed, leading to a honeycomb structure. This type of structures demonstrates high-quality transmissions that can be useful in diverse application areas, such as optical coupling, subwavelength imaging, and energy harvesting.

Design, Optimization, and Analyses of Nano-Optical Couplers Consisting of Nanocubes to Construct Efficient Nanowire Transmission Systems

“…Using the plasmonic properties of metals at optical frequencies, nanowires are excellent tools to efficiently transmit electromagnetic power across long distances with respect to wavelength [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]. However, as in all transmission systems, their capabilities can be dramatically deteriorated due to physical deformations and defects.…”

Efficient and Accurate Electromagnetic Analysis of Three-Dimensional Nano-Optical Structures

“…In addition, plasmonic behaviors of metals at optical frequencies need accurate computations of short-distance interactions, as well as rigorous applications of boundary conditions at interfaces. Three-dimensional surface integral equations that are based on the direct application of the Maxwell's equations are suitable for formulating nano-optical structures [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14], without resorting the infinity assumptions. On the other hand, direct solutions of surface formulations via the method of moments lead to large matrix equations due to the required dense discretizations of fine details with respect to wavelength.…”

Solution box: SOLBOX-08

“…As the technology in this area develops, nanowires with improved geometric properties [8] -such as regularity, cross-sectional preciseness, and surface smoothness -become available, further expanding their usage. Naturally, electromagnetic simulations ofnanowires [9][10][11], especially using their three-dimensional full-wave models, are essential to studying and understanding these important structures, as well as to designing them. In this issue of Solution Box, an optimization problem involving a nanowire transmission line to be improved by a coupler is presented (SOLBOX-08).…”