This paper studies the use of Microsphere Photolithography (MPL) as an alternative to Focused Ion Beam milling or e-beam lithography to pattern plasmonic fiber-optic based sensors. In the MPL approach, silica microspheres are self-assembled to form a Hexagonal Close-Packed (HCP) array on top of a layer of photoresist. The microspheres serve as an optical element and focus collimated UV radiation to an array of photonic jets inside the photoresist layer. The exposed region is dependent on the angle of incidence of the UV radiation which facilitates hierarchical patterning. Pattern transfer can be accomplished using either etching or lift-off with the size of the features dependent on the exposure dose. While low-cost and very scalable, the use of MPL influences the design and performance of the fiber probe in several ways. Specifically, the entire cleaved face is patterned without alignment to the fiber core and any defects in the self-assembled microsphere lattice are transferred to the surface. This paper presents the low-cost fabrication of Extraordinary Optical Transmission (EOT) type plasmonic fiber-optic based sensors. The sensors consist of a thin aluminum film on the cleaved face of single mode optical fiber, perforated with a HCP hole-array. At resonance, Extraordinary Optical Transmission (EOT), decreases the reflection from the fiber tip. The conditions for resonance are dependent on the local environment surrounding the fiber tip and the resonant wavelength can be used to measure the index of refraction of a liquid. Experiments show that viable sensors can be created with MPL. The reflection spectra of the sensors was measured in various concentrations of sugar water with a measured sensitivity of 8.33 mg/mL/nm. These results are compared to simulation results which provides a sensitivity analysis of the sensors.
Microsphere Photolithography (MPL) uses an array of self-assembled microspheres as optical elements. Flood illumination is focused to a photonic jet by each microsphere. Simulation and experiments show that photonic jet can be as small as λ/3, with collimation of more than a wavelength. This provides significant potential for pattern transfer of sub-micron patterns over large-areas and offers an inexpensive alternative to direct-write techniques such as e-beam lithography or two-photon absorption. This has applications such as SERS and SEIRA templates as well as metasurfaces to control radiation heat transfer. For these applications, the underlying substrate is important for the device performance and often presents a considerable index-contrast with the photoresist. The substrate significantly affects the behavior of the photonic jet and changes the necessary dose, minimum feature size, and morphology of the exposed area.
This paper explores the effects of the substrate on the process. Numerical models using commercial (HFSS) frequency-domain Finite Element Method (FEM) is used to simulate the interaction of light with the microsphere/photoresist/substrate. The distribution of the electric field is used to predict the exposure curve for the process. In general, metals and high index materials cause significant standing waves in the photoresist which modifies the hole morphology and ultimate feature size. These predictions are compared to i-line illuminated experiments with SEM measured hole dimensions for aluminum, germanium, and glass substrates. The objective of the paper is to establish design rules for the process which can be incorporated into the device design.
This paper describes the low-cost, scalable fabrication of 2D metasurface LWIR broadband polarized emitter/absorber. A Frequency Selective Surface (FSS) type design consisting of dipole antenna elements is designed for resonance in the 7.5-13 μm band. Frequency-domain Finite Element Method (FEM) is used to optimize the design with ellipsometrically measured properties. The design is synthesized to be broadband by creating a multiple cavities and by hybridizing the dipole modes with phonon resonances in a germanium/silica dielectric which separates metallic elements from a continuous ground plane. While IR metasurfaces can be readily realized using direct-write nanofabrication techniques such as E-Beam Lithography, or Focus-Ion Beam milling, or two-photon lithography, these technologies are cost-prohibitive for large areas. This paper explores the Microsphere Photolithography (MPL) technique to fabricate these devices. MPL uses arrays of self-assembled microspheres as optical elements, with each sphere focusing flood illumination to a sub-wavelength photonic jet in the photoresist. Because the illumination can be controlled over larger scales (several μm resolutions) using a conventional mask, the technique facilitates very low cost hierarchical patterning with sub-400 nm feature sizes. The paper demonstrates the fabrication of metasurfaces over 15 cm2 and are measured using FTIR and imaged with a thermal camera.
Frequency Selective Surfaces (FSS) are periodic array of sub-wavelength antenna elements. They allow the absorptance
and reflectance of a surface to be engineered with respect to wavelength, polarization and angle-of-incidence. This paper
applies this technique to microbolometers for uncooled infrared sensing applications. Both narrowband and broadband
near perfect absorbing surfaces are synthesized and applied engineer the response of microbolometers. The paper
focuses on simple FSS geometries (hexagonal close packed disk arrays) that can be fabricated using conventional
lithographic tools for use at thermal infrared wavelengths (feature sizes > 1 μm). The affects of geometry and material
selection for this geometry is described in detail. In the microbolometer application, the FSS controls the absorption
rather than a conventional Fabry-Perot cavity and this permits an improved thermal design. A coupled full wave
electromagnetic/transient thermal model of the entire microbolometer is presented and analyzed using the finite element
method. The absence of the cavity also permits more flexibility in the design of the support arms/contacts. This
combined modeling permits prediction of the overall device sensitivity, time-constant and the specific detectivity.
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