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Evaluating Plasmonic Transport in Current-carrying Silver Nanowires
Published on: December 11, 2013
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Evaluating plasmonic transport in current-carrying silver nanowires.
Mingxia Song1, Arnaud Stolz, Douguo Zhang
1Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire Carnot de Bourgogne CNRS-UMR 6303, Université de Bourgogne.
Journal of Visualized Experiments : Jove
|January 1, 2014
Summary
Researchers developed a method to electrically contact silver nanowires for plasmonics. Electrical terminals did not impede plasmon flow, but current caused damage, limiting plasmonic circuitry performance.
Area of Science:
- Nanotechnology
- Materials Science
- Optoelectronics
Background:
- Plasmonics enables simultaneous optical and electrical signal transport on a single platform.
- Metal nanowires are key components for creating dense routing networks in plasmonic devices.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a protocol for electrically contacting individual silver nanowires for plasmonic applications.
- To investigate the impact of electrical contacts and current on surface plasmon polariton propagation in nanowires.
Main Methods:
- Chemically synthesized silver nanowires were randomly distributed on a glass substrate.
- Electron-beam lithography was used to define electrode patterns after precise nanowire localization.
- Cr/Au electrodes were fabricated via thermal evaporation and chemical lift-off.
- Surface plasmon excitation and characterization were performed using leakage radiation microscopy.
Main Results:
- A reliable protocol for electrically contacting individual silver nanowires was established.
- Electrical terminals were shown to not interfere with plasmon propagation.
- Current-induced morphological deterioration of nanowires was observed to significantly degrade surface plasmon flow.
Conclusions:
- The developed method allows for electrical access to silver nanowires for plasmonic studies.
- Intrinsic limitations of plasmonic circuitry arise from current-induced nanowire damage.
- Combining electrical transport analysis with surface plasmon leakage radiation microscopy is crucial for understanding plasmonic device performance.
