NANOPHOTONICS Three main categories: Nanoscale confinement of matter Nanoscale confinement of light Nanoscale photonic/electronic processes

Photons and Electrons in nanoscale Although they look very different (one is particle and the other is a wave) classically, they are very similar in nano(quantum) scale. Both can be described by waves (optical and electron microscope). This is because both Maxwell and Schrdinger equations can be put into a very similar form (eigen value equation) resulting in very similar result.

Foundation of Nanophotonics
Photon-Electron Interaction and Similarity

Basic equations describing propagation of photons in dielectrics have some similarities to propagation of electrons in crystals Similarities between Photons and Electrons Wavelength of Light,

Wavelength of Electrons,

Light Interaction with Matter

Maxwells Equations

D =

D = Electric flux density E = Electric field vector

= charge density

B = Magnetic flux density H = Magnetic field vector J = current density

Constitutive Relations
Constitutive relations relate flux density to polarization of a medium
When P is proportional to E

Electric

D = 0E + P(E) = E 0 = Dielectric constant of vacuum = 8.85 10-12C2N-1m-2 [F/m] = Material dependent dielectric constant

Total electric flux density = Flux from external E-field + flux due to material polarization Magnetic B = 0H + M(H) Magnetic polarization vector 0= permeability of free space = 4x10-7H/m we will focus on materials for which M=0 B = 0H

The Wave Equation

Curl equations: Changing E field results in changing H field results in changing E field.

Goal: Derive a wave equation: Solution: Waves propagating with a (phase) velocity v

Step 1: Obtain a partial differential equation that depends only on E Apply curl on both side of a)

Step 2: Substitute b) into a)

D = 0 E + P

wave equation

Comparing

Vector identity: E= 0 when 1)= 0 2)(r) does not vary significantly within a distance

Linear, Homogeneous, and Isotropic Media P linearly proportional to E: P = 0E

is a scalar constant called the electric susceptibility

Define relative dielectric constant as: r = 1 +

In anisotropic media P and E are not necessarily parallel:

In non-linear media:

Dispersion Relation
Dispersion relation: = (k) Derived from wave equation Substitute:

Result:

Group velocity:

Phase velocity:

Maxwells Equations for Light Eigen value Wave Equation:

For plane wave

Describes the allowed frequencies of light

Schrodingers Eigen value Equation for Electrons

Describes allowed energies of electrons

Free Space Solutions Photon Plane Wave:

Electron Plane Wave:

Interaction Potential in a Medium: Propagation of Light affected by the Dielectric Medium (refractive index)

Propagation of Electrons affected by Coulomb Potential

Wave vectors and Dispersion

Free space propagation of both electrons and photons can be described by plane waves. Momentum for both electrons and photons, p = (h/2)k For Photons, k = (2/) while for electrons, k = (2/h)mv For Photons, Energy E = pc =(h/2)kc while for electrons,

Their differences are: Electron has nonzero rest mass; photon does not. Electrons generate a scalar field while the photons are vector fields (light is polarized). Electrons possess spin, and thus their distribution is described by FermiDirac statistics. For this reason, they are also called fermions.(Pauliexclusion principle) Photons have no spin, and their distribution is described by BoseEinstein statistics. For this reason, photons are called bosons. (They like to stay at the same energy level) Electrons bear a charge while the charge of photons is zero Electron can be localized indefinitely while photons can not

Electron Quantum Confinement Quantum-confined materials are structures which are constrained to nanoscale lengths in 1, 2, or all 3 dimensions. The length along which there is quantum confinement must be smaller than de Broglie wavelength of electrons for thermal energies in the medium. Thermal Energy, E=

De Broglie Wavelength, For T = 10 K, the calculated deB in GaAs is 162 nm for electrons and 62 nm for holes For effective quantum-confinement, one or more dimensions must be less than 10 nm. Artificially created structures with quantum confinement on 1, 2, or 3 dimensions are called, - Quantum Wells, - Quantum Wires and - Quantum Dots respectively.

Photon Confinement Confinement of Light results in field variations similar to the confinement of electron in a potential Well. For light, the analogue of a potential well is a region of high refractive index bounded by a region of lower refractive-index.

Electrons confine to much smaller area then photons

(A) Electric field distribution for TE modes n = 0, 1, 2 in a planar waveguide with one-dimensional confinement of photons. (B) Wavefunction for quantum levels n = 1, 2, 3 for an electron in a onedimensional box.

Particle in an infinite well

Particle trapped in an infinitely deep onedimensional potential well with a specific dimension Observations Energy is quantized, even the lowest energy level has a positive value and not zero The probability of finding the particle is restricted to the respective energy levels only and not in-between Classical E-p curve is continuous. In quantum mechanics, p = k with k = n/l where n = 1, 2, 3 etc. En = 2k2/2m = n2 2 2/2ml2 In fact the negative values are not counted since the probability of finding the electrons in n=1 and n=-1 is the same and also E is the same at these values When l is large, energies at En and En+1 move closer to each other => energy is continuous in classical systems.

Particle in a finite well

In the case of a finite well, possible solutions also outside the well

If (E-V) positive, allowed solutions with real k if (E-V) negative (outside the well), k is immaginary evanescent solutions: finite probability (decreasing) of finding electrons just outside the well |x|>a/2 (tunneling). Increasing probability with E (and n)

Particle in a finite well

Observations The wave functions are not zero at the boundaries as in the infinite potential well Allowed particle energies depend on the well depth Finite well energy levels < corresponding infinite well energy levels The deeper the finite well, the better the infinite well approximation for the low lying energy values Quantum mechanical tunnelling possible Quantum mechanical reflection possible at E>V0

a) Shallow well with single allowed level b) Increase of allowed levels c) Comparison of the finite-well (solid line) and infinite well (dashed line) energies

Particle in a spherically symmetric potential

nl roots of the spherical Bessel functions

For l=0 the result converges to the case of a one-dimensional box

nl (l=0) = n

1. particle in infinite 1D square well - particle confined, different solutions possible (sine/cosine) - wavefunction zero at well boundary - particles had zero point energy: lowest possible state has finite energy - spacing between energy levels increases with increasing n - infinite number of allowed modes 2. particle in finite depth 1D square well - wavefunction nonzero at well edge - finite number of allowed modes - energy levels slightly modified 3. particle in a 3D infinite spherical square potential well - three quantum numbers required to describe wavefunction (n,l,m) - infinite number of modes 4. particle in 3D Coulomb binding potential - discrete bound levels - energy spacing decreases as principal quantum number increases