Highly Selective CMOS-Compatible Mid-Infrared Thermal Emitter/Detector Slab Design Using Optical Tamm-States

Area of Science:

• Photonics and Plasmonics
• Nanotechnology
• Materials Science

Background:

• Tamm plasmons enable resonant light-matter interactions.
• Selective thermal emitters are crucial for sensing and optoelectronics.
• On-chip integration requires CMOS-compatible fabrication.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and evaluate a novel selective thermal emitter based on Tamm plasmons.
• To enable monolithic on-chip integration using CMOS-compatible processes.
• To target mid-infrared absorption sensing applications, exemplified by CO₂ detection.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a silicon slab structure instead of traditional 1D layers.
• Employed genetic-algorithm optimization combined with finite-element and transfer-matrix methods.
• Investigated resonant absorption and emittance properties.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated resonant absorption for slab-guided modes.
• Achieved emittance up to 90% at the target wavelength (4.26 µm for CO₂).
• Showcased tunability of emittance based on silicon slab height.

Conclusions:

• The proposed Tamm plasmon structure is suitable for selective thermal emission.
• The design is compatible with CMOS fabrication for on-chip applications.
• The device can also function as an efficient absorber by modifying dimensions or materials.