Understanding light trapping by resonant coupling to guided modes and the importance of the mode profile

We present a simple conceptual model describing the absorption enhancement provided by diffraction gratings due to resonant coupling to guided modes in a multi-layered structure. In doing so, we provide insight into why certain guided modes are more strongly excited than others and demonstrate that...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Beck, Fiona J., Stavrinadis, Alexandros, Lasanta, Tania, Szczepanick, John-Paul, Konstantatos, Gerasimos
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2016
País:España
Institución:Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)
Repositorio:UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/90723
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2117/90723
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Optics
light trapping
Òptica
Descripción
Sumario:We present a simple conceptual model describing the absorption enhancement provided by diffraction gratings due to resonant coupling to guided modes in a multi-layered structure. In doing so, we provide insight into why certain guided modes are more strongly excited than others and demonstrate that the spatial overlap of the mode profile with the grating is important. The model is verified by comparison to optical simulations and experimental measurements. We fabricate metal nanoparticle gratings integrated as back contacts in solution-processed PbS colloidal quantum dot photodiodes. The measured photocurrent at the target wavelength is enhanced by 250%, with reference to planar devices, due to resonant coupling to guided modes with strong spatial overlap with the gratings. In comparison, resonant coupling to weakly overlapping modes results in a 25% increase at the same wavelength.