Terahertz Nanoscopy of Plasmonic Resonances with a Quantum Cascade Laser

Degl'Innocenti, Riccardo and Wallis, Robert and Wei, Binbin and Xiao, Long and Kindness, Stephen J. and Mitrofanov, Oleg and Braeuninger-Weimer, Philipp and Hofmann, Stephan and Beere, Harvey E. and Ritchie, David A. (2017) Terahertz Nanoscopy of Plasmonic Resonances with a Quantum Cascade Laser. ACS Photonics, 4 (9). pp. 2150-2157. ISSN 2330-4022

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Abstract

We present a terahertz (THz) scattering near-field optical microscope (s-SNOM) based on a quantum cascade laser implemented as both source and detector in a self-mixing scheme utilizing resonant quartz tuning forks as a sensitive nanopositioning element. The homemade s-SNOM, based on a resonant tuning fork and metallic tip, operates in tapping mode with a spatial resolution of ?78 nm. The quantum cascade laser is realized from a bound-to-continuum active region design with a central emission of ?2.85 THz, which has been lens-coupled in order to maximize the feedback into the laser cavity. Accordingly, the spatial resolution corresponds to >?/1000. The s-SNOM has been used to investigate a bidimensional plasmonic photonic crystal and to observe the optical resonant modes supported by coupled plasmonic planar antennas, showing remarkable agreement with the theoretical predictions. The compactness, unique sensitivity, and fast acquisition capability of this approach make the proposed s-SNOM a unique tool for solid-state investigations and biomedical imaging.

Item Type:
Journal Article
Journal or Publication Title:
ACS Photonics
Additional Information:
This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in ACS Photonics, copyright © American Chemical Society after peer review and technical editing by the publisher. To access the final edited and published work see http://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsphotonics.7b00687
Uncontrolled Keywords:
/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/2500/2504
Subjects:
?? near-field microscopyphotonic crystalsplasmonicsquantum cascade laserself-mixing detectionterahertzelectronic, optical and magnetic materialsbiotechnologyatomic and molecular physics, and opticselectrical and electronic engineering ??
ID Code:
89267
Deposited By:
Deposited On:
15 Dec 2017 14:52
Refereed?:
Yes
Published?:
Published
Last Modified:
09 Mar 2024 00:37