Cathodoluminescence study of silver and gold lamellar gratings

Janardan Nath; Casey Schwarz; Yuqing Lin; Evan Smith; R. E. Peale; L. Chernyak; Walter R. Buchwald; Jane Lee

doi:10.1117/12.884162

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13 May 2011 Cathodoluminescence study of silver and gold lamellar gratings

Janardan Nath, Casey Schwarz, Yuqing Lin, Evan Smith, R. E. Peale, L. Chernyak, Walter R. Buchwald, Jane Lee

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Proceedings Volume 8031, Micro- and Nanotechnology Sensors, Systems, and Applications III; 80312V (2011) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.884162
Event: SPIE Defense, Security, and Sensing, 2011, Orlando, Florida, United States

Abstract

Cathodo-luminescence spectroscopy is performed on silver and gold lamellar gratings of period 7.5 or 20 microns for a range of grating amplitudes from 0.1 to 4.6 microns. The overall emission spectrum consists of a 400 nm wide band centered at ~600 nm which depends little on the grating amplitude, metal, or e-beam energy. For the larger grating amplitudes the emission spectrum is periodically modulated as a function of wavelength. Both the strength of the emission envelop and the depth and phase of the modulation depend on grating orientation with respect to the light collection axis, the distance of the excitation spot from the grating, and the distance between the grating and the collection optics. The modulation can be explained as interference of surface emission from grating bars and grooves. The origin of the emission remains unclear, as mechanisms of electron collision with image charge, transition radiation, surface contamination, and inverse photo-electron effect all fail to explain the observed spectrum. This work is relevant to the interpretation of cathodoluminescence studies of surface plasmons on structured metals for nano-photonic applications.

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Janardan Nath, Casey Schwarz, Yuqing Lin, Evan Smith, R. E. Peale, L. Chernyak, Walter R. Buchwald, and Jane Lee "Cathodoluminescence study of silver and gold lamellar gratings", Proc. SPIE 8031, Micro- and Nanotechnology Sensors, Systems, and Applications III, 80312V (13 May 2011); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.884162

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