Heavily doped silicon: A potential replacement of conventional plasmonic metals

Abstract

The plasmonic property of heavily doped p-type silicon is studied here. Although most of the plasmonic devices use metal–insulator–metal (MIM) waveguide in order to support the propagation of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs), metals that possess a number of challenges in loss management, polarization response, nanofabrication etc. On the other hand, heavily doped p-type silicon shows similar plasmonic properties like metals and also enables us to overcome the challenges possessed by metals. For numerical simulation, heavily doped p-silicon is mathematically modeled and the theoretically obtained relative permittivity is compared with the experimental value. A waveguide is formed with the p-silicon-air interface instead of the metal–air interface. Formation and propagation of SPPs similar to MIM waveguides are observed.

Technologies and applications of silicon-based micro-optical electromechanical systems: A brief review

“…Compared with stainless steel, single-crystalline Si has a higher breaking strength and Knoop hardness, lower density and approximate elastic moduli [23] . The mechanical quality factor of single-crystalline Si is high, and the hysteresis and creep are extremely small, because of which it has excellent mechanical stability [24] . Polycrystalline Si comprises many single-crystalline particles that are arranged and oriented in a disorderly manner, and it is typically fabricated on a substrate via a thin-film process.…”

“…Isotropic etching is mainly used to generate patterns on Si and to remove damaged Si surfaces. The most commonly used isotropic etching agent for Si is a HNA (hydrofluoric acid, nitric acid, and glacial acetic acid) mixed solution [24] . Anisotropic etching of Si is a popular etching method in Si-based bulk micromachining technology, and it is used to fabricate high- [21] .…”

“…precision 3D structures [23] . Typical anisotropic etching agents include KOH and EPW, among others, and they have different corrosion rates for different crystal planes of Si [24] . Typical dry etching methods are sputter etching, plasma etching, ion beam etching, reactive-ion etching, and deep reactive-ion etching (DRIE).…”

Microstructure Dictates the Behavior of Plasmons in Nanostructured Ag-Cu Alloy Films

“…Concurrently, localized SPs have been used for enhancing the performance of photodetectors, , catalysis, , information transfer, and improving the efficiency of solar cells. , From a materials perspective, strong plasmon resonances are supported by materials exhibiting a negative real part and a small imaginary part of the permittivity. Traditionally noble metals (silver, gold, and copper) are well-known plasmonic materials that exhibit SP resonances at optical frequencies. , Alternative materials like Al, Si, Ge, GaAs, InP, doped ZnO, and ITO have been used to excite plasmons in various spectral ranges. − Recall that the plasmon resonance can be controlled by tuning the dielectric permittivity (ε) of materials. In these materials, the ε is tuned by controlling the grain size and the surface roughness of the structures. − Recently, noble metal alloys have drawn attention as suitable plasmonic materials in the visible range because of an additional handle of composition which can be used to tune the permittivity .…”