Ultrathin Semiconductor Superabsorbers from the Visible to the Near-Infrared

The design of ultrathin semiconducting materials that achieve broadband absorption is a long-sought-after goal of crucial importance for optoelectronic applications. To date, attempts to tackle this problem consisted either of the use of strong—but narrowband—or broader—but moderate—light-trapping m...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Molet, Pau, García Pomar, Juan Luis, Matricardi, Cristiano, Garriga Bacardi, Miquel, Alonso Carmona, M. Isabel, Mihi, Agustín
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2018
País:España
Institución:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/159029
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/159029
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Broadband absorption
Nanostructuring
Photonic crystal
Soft lithography
Descripción
Sumario:The design of ultrathin semiconducting materials that achieve broadband absorption is a long-sought-after goal of crucial importance for optoelectronic applications. To date, attempts to tackle this problem consisted either of the use of strong—but narrowband—or broader—but moderate—light-trapping mechanisms. Here, a strategy that achieves broadband optimal absorption in arbitrarily thin semiconductor materials for all energies above their bandgap is presented. This stems from the strong interplay between Brewster modes, sustained by judiciously nanostructured thin semiconductors on metal films, and photonic crystal modes. Broadband near-unity absorption in Ge ultrathin films is demonstrated, which extends from the visible to the Ge bandgap in the near-infrared and is robust against angle of incidence variation. The strategy follows an easy and scalable fabrication route enabled by soft nanoimprinting lithography, a technique that allows seamless integration in many optoelectronic fabrication procedures.