We present a new material platform for uncooled bolometric infrared detection, consisting of a composite membrane of carbon nanotubes and a non-conductive, volume phase-change polymer. Devices using this platform have achieved temperature coefficients of resistance (TCR) in excess of - 40%/K at 300 K, an order of magnitude larger than commercial materials.
Nanoparticles and nanostructures with plasmonic resonances are currently being employed to
enhance the efficiency of solar cells. Ag stripe arrays have been shown theoretically to enhance the
short-circuit current of thin silicon layers. Such Ag stripes are combined with 200 nm long and 60
nm wide “teeth”, which act as nanoantennas, and form vertical rectifying metal-insulator-metal
(MIM) nanostructures on metallic substrates coated with thin oxides, such as Nb/NbOx films. We
characterize experimentally and theoretically the visible and near-infrared spectra of these “stripeteeth”
arrays, which act as microantenna arrays for energy harvesting and detection, on silicon
substrates. Modeling the stripe-teeth arrays predicts a substantial net a.c. voltage across the MIM
diode, even when the stripe-teeth microrectenna arrays are illuminated at normal incidence.
EO/IR Sensors and imagers using nanostructure based materials are being developed for a variety
of Defense Applications. In this paper, we will discuss recent modeling effort and the
experimental work under way for development of next generation carbon nanostructure based
infrared detectors and arrays. We will discuss detector concepts that will provide next generation
high performance, high frame rate, and uncooled nano-bolometer for MWIR and LWIR bands.
The critical technologies being developed include carbon nanostructure growth, characterization,
optical and electronic properties that show the feasibility for IR detection. Experimental results on
CNT nanostructures will be presented. We will discuss the path forward to demonstrate
enhanced IR sensitivity and larger arrays.
Silicon emission in and out resonant coupling with a high Q optical mode is studied in a microdisk cavity with
emissive W-centers. Results show that the W-centers photoluminescence intensity in a silicon microdisk is one order of
magnitude higher than that in the substrate. It exhibits a maximum when emission line and cavity mode frequencies are
matched.
Next Generation EO/IR focal plane arrays using nanostructure materials are being developed for a variety
of Defense Applications including Unattended Ground Sensor Applications. Several different
nanomaterials are being evaluated for these applications. These include ZnO nanowires that have
demonstrated large signal to noise ratio as a wide band gap nanostructure material in the UV band.
Similarly, the work is under way using Carbon Nanotubes (CNT) for a high speed detector and focal plane
array as bolometer for IR bands of interest, which can be implemented for the unattended ground sensor
applications.
In this paper, we will discuss the sensor design and model predicting performance of an EO/IR focal plane
array that can cover the UV to IR bands of interest. The model can provide a robust means for comparing
performance of the EO/IR FPA's and Sensors that can operate in the UV, Visible-NIR (0.4-1.8 μm), SWIR
(2.0-2.5 μm), MWIR (3-5 μm), and LWIR bands (8-14 μm). This sensor model can be used as a tool for
predicting performance of nanostructure arrays under development. We will also discuss our results on
growth and characterization of ZnO/MgZnO nanowires and CNT's for the next generation sensor
applications.
Arrays of "nanorectennas" consist of diode-coupled nanoantennas with plasmonic resonances in the visible/near-infrared
(vis/nir) regime, and are expected to convert vis/nir radiative power into useful direct current. We study plasmonic
resonances in large format (~ 1 mm2 area) arrays, consisting of electron beam-patterned horizontal (e.g., parallel to the substrate) Ag lines patterned on ultrathin (< 20 nm) tunneling barriers (NiO, NbOx, and other oxides). Our e-beam fabrication technique is scalable to large dimensions, and allows us to easily probe different antenna dimensions. These
tunneling barriers, located on a metallic ground plane, rectify the alternating current generated in the nanoantenna at
resonance. We measure the plasmonic resonances in these nanoantennas, and find good agreement with modeling,
which also predicts that the electric field driving the electrons into the ground plane (and therefore the rectification
efficiency) is considerably enhanced at resonance. Various metal-insulator-metal tunneling diodes, incorporating the
afore-mentioned barrier layers and different metals for the ground plane, are experimentally characterized and compared
to our conduction model. We observe ~ 1 mV signals from NiO-based nanorectenna arrays illuminated by 532 nm and
1064 nm laser pulses, and discuss the origin of these signals.
EO/IR Sensors and imagers using nanostructure based materials are being developed for a variety of Defense
Applications. In this paper, we will discuss recent modeling effort and the experimental work under way for
development of next generation carbon nanostructure based infrared detectors and arrays. We will discuss
detector concepts that will provide next generation high performance, high frame rate, and uncooled nanobolometer
for MWIR and LWIR bands. The critical technologies being developed include carbon
nanostructure growth, characterization, optical and electronic properties that show the feasibility for IR
detection. Experimental results on CNT nanostructures will be presented. We will discuss the path forward to
demonstrate enhanced IR sensitivity and larger arrays.
Next Generation EO/IR focal plane arrays using nanostructure materials are being developed for a variety
of Defense Applications including Unattended Ground Sensor Applications. Several different
nanomaterials are being evaluated for these applications. These include ZnO nanowires that have
demonstrated large signal to noise ratio as a wide band gap nanostructure material in the UV band.
Similarly, the work is under way using Carbon Nanotubes (CNT) for a high speed detector and focal plane
array as bolometer for IR bands of interest, which can be implemented for the unattended ground sensor
applications.
In this paper, we will discuss the sensor design and model predicting performance of an EO/IR focal plane
array that can cover the UV to IR bands of interest. The model can provide a robust means for comparing
performance of the EO/IR FPA's and Sensors that can operate in the UV, Visible-NIR (0.4-1.8μ), SWIR
(2.0-2.5μ), MWIR (3-5μ), and LWIR bands (8-14μ). This model can be used as a tool for predicting
performance of nanostructure arrays under development. We will also discuss our results on growth and
characterization of ZnO nanowires and CNT's for the next generation sensor applications. Several
approaches for compact energy harvesting using nanostructures will be discussed.
Arrays of "nanorectennas", consisting of nanodiode-coupled nanoantennas, are of interest for converting
visible/near-infrared (vis/nir) light into useful direct current. For efficient energy conversion, the
nanoantenna array must have a high absorbance (for different polarizations and angles of incidence) and a
large fill factor; i.e., the nanoantennas must be tightly packed together. We fabricate hexagonal, close-packed
(~ 100 nm nearest neighbor separation), large area (~ 1 cm2) arrays of vertical (e.g., perpendicular
to the substrate) Au nanowires (length < 1 μm) on Si, by electrochemically depositing gold into a porous
aluminum oxide template (a potentially inexpensive process scalable to large dimensions). Coupling of
these nanowires causes a considerable blue-shift of the plasmonic resonance of a single Au nanowire when
illuminated by p-polarized light from the infrared to the blue-green portion of the visible spectrum (similar
to the s polarization resonance), enabling a nanorectenna with tuned response in the vis/nir regime, whose
absorption is roughly polarization-independent and relatively insensitive to angle of incidence. We measure
the off-normal reflectivity of these arrays, compare with simulations, and present experimental data on
rectification and power generation in the attached Au-Si Schottky nanodiodes.
Next Generation EO/IR focal plane arrays using nanostructure materials are being developed for a variety of Defense Applications including Unattended Ground Sensor Applications. These include ZnO nanowires that have demonstrated large signal to noise ratio as a wide band gap nanostructure material in the UV band. Similarly, the work is under way using Carbon Nanotubes (CNT) for a high speed detector and focal plane array as bolometer for IR bands of interest, which can be implemented for the unattended ground
sensor applications.
In this paper, we will discuss the sensor design and model predicting performance of an EO/IR focal plane array that can cover the UV to IR bands of interest. The model can provide a robust means for comparing performance of the EO/IR FPA's and Sensors that can operate in the UV, Visible-NIR (0.4-1.8μ), SWIR (2.0-2.5μ), MWIR (3-5μ), and LWIR bands (8-14μ). This model can be used as a tool for predicting performance of nanostructure arrays under development. We will also discuss our results on growth and
characterization of ZnO nanowires and CNT's for the next generation sensor applications.
EO/IR Sensors and imagers using nanostructure based materials are being developed for a variety
of Defense Applications. In this paper, we will discuss recent modeling effort and the
experimental work under way for development of next generation carbon nanostructure based
infrared detectors and arrays. We will discuss detector concepts that will provide next generation
high performance, high frame rate, and uncooled nano-bolometer for MWIR and LWIR bands.
The critical technologies being developed include carbon nanostructure growth, characterization,
optical and electronic properties that show the feasibility for IR detection. Experimental results on
CNT nanostructures will be presented. We will discuss the path forward to demonstrate
enhanced IR sensitivity and larger arrays.
There is renewed interest in using rectennas (consisting of an antenna coupled to a rectifying diode) for energy conversion applications. Progress in nanofabrication has enabled nanoscale devices to be fabricated, such that "nanoantennas" exist that resonate at visible/near-infrared (vis/nir) wavelengths, and ultrafast "nanodiodes" exist that can rectify vis/nir frequencies (above 1014 Hz). Photon energies are so high at these frequencies that existing theories of diode responsivity may not apply, justifying new simulations and experiments. We present modeling and experiments of nanoantenna-coupled nanodiodes, such as metal-insulator-metal structures, and discuss how our findings influence models of energy conversion in these structures. We simulate and measure the properties of potential nanorectennas such as gold nanowires on ultrathin insulators.
Access to the requested content is limited to institutions that have purchased or subscribe to SPIE eBooks.
You are receiving this notice because your organization may not have SPIE eBooks access.*
*Shibboleth/Open Athens users─please
sign in
to access your institution's subscriptions.
To obtain this item, you may purchase the complete book in print or electronic format on
SPIE.org.
INSTITUTIONAL Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.
PERSONAL Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.