On optical-absorption peaks in a nonhomogeneous dielectric material over a two-dimensional metallic surface-relief grating

Faiz Ahmad; Tom H. Anderson; Benjamin J. Civiletti; Peter B. Monk; Akhlesh Lakhtakia

doi:10.1117/12.2274142

30 August 2017 On optical-absorption peaks in a nonhomogeneous dielectric material over a two-dimensional metallic surface-relief grating

Faiz Ahmad, Tom H. Anderson, Benjamin J. Civiletti, Peter B. Monk, Akhlesh Lakhtakia

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 10356, Nanostructured Thin Films X; 103560I (2017) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2274142
Event: SPIE Nanoscience + Engineering, 2017, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

The rigorous coupled-wave approach (RCWA) was used to calculate the optical absorption in a dielectric material deposited over a two-dimensional (2D) metallic surface-relief grating. The dielectric material was taken to be nonhomogeneous in the direction normal to the mean plane of the grating. The grating was chosen to comprise hillocks on a square grid. On illumination by a monochromatic plane waves, the chosen structure should support the excitation of two types of guided-wave modes: surface-plasmon-polariton (SPP) waves and waveguide modes (WGMs). Two cases were considered: (i) a 1D photonic crystal made from layers of silicon oxynitrides of differing composition, and (ii) a tandem solar cell comprising three amorphous-silicon p-i-n junctions. Optical absorption was studied in relation to the direction of propagation, polarization state, and the free-space wavelength of the incident plane wave. Several but not all absorptance peaks were correlated with the excitations of SPP-wave modes and WGMs predicted by the solutions of the underlying canonical boundary-value problems for guided-wave propagation. Some peaks of useful absorptances in the solar cell were also predicted by solutions of the canonical problems.

Citation Download Citation

Faiz Ahmad, Tom H. Anderson, Benjamin J. Civiletti, Peter B. Monk, and Akhlesh Lakhtakia "On optical-absorption peaks in a nonhomogeneous dielectric material over a two-dimensional metallic surface-relief grating", Proc. SPIE 10356, Nanostructured Thin Films X, 103560I (30 August 2017); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2274142

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