Enhanced light emission from gap plasmons in nano-strip MIM tunnel junctions. (18th August 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Kishen, Saurabh; Tapar, Jinal; Emani, Naresh Kumar
• Is Part Of: Journal of optics. Volume 22:Number 9(2020)
• Publication Date: 2020-08-18
• Subjects: gap plasmon -- inelastic electron tunneling -- lattice resonance; Optics -- Periodicals; 535.05
• DOI: 10.1088/2040-8986/ababe7
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2040-8978

Abstract

Abstract: Electrical excitation of light using inelastic electron tunneling is a promising approach for the realization of ultra-compact on-chip optical sources with high modulation bandwidth. However, the practical implementation of these nanoscale light sources presents a challenge due to the low electron-to-photon transduction efficiencies. Here, we investigate designs for the enhancement of light generation and out-coupling in a periodic Ag-SiO2 -Ag tunnel junction due to inelastic electron tunneling. The structure presents a unique advantage of a simple fabrication procedure as compared to the other reported structures. We achieve a resonant enhancement in the local density of optical states up to three orders of magnitude over vacuum for the periodic metal-insulator-metal tunnel junction. By efficiently coupling the gap plasmon mode and the lattice resonance, an enhanced radiative efficiency of ∼0.53 was observed, 30% higher as compared to the uncoupled structure.