Plasmonic behavior of III-V semiconductors in far-infrared and terahertz range

• Main Authors: Jan Chochol, Kamil Postava, Michael Čada, Mathias Vanwolleghem, Martin Mičica, Lukáš Halagačka, Jean-François Lampin, Jaromír Pištora
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: SpringerOpen 2017-05-01
• Series: Journal of the European Optical Society-Rapid Publications
• Subjects: Surface plasmons; Semiconductor materials; Magneto-optical materials; THz-TDS; FTIR
• Online Access: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s41476-017-0044-x

Abstract Background In this article, III-V semiconductors are proposed as materials for far-infrared and terahertz plasmonic applications. We suggest criteria to estimate appropriate spectral range for each material including tuning by fine doping and magnetic field. Methods Several single-crystal wafer samples (n,p-doped GaAs, n-doped InP, and n,p-doped and undoped InSb) are characterized using reflectivity measurement and their optical properties are described using the Drude-Lorentz model, including magneto-optical anisotropy. Results The optical parameters of III-V semiconductors are presented. Moreover, strong magnetic modulation of permittivity was demonstrated on the undoped InSb crystal wafer in the terahertz spectral range. Description of this effect is presented and the obtained parameters are compared with a Hall effect measurement. Conclusion Analyzing the phonon/free carrier contribution to the permittivity of the samples shows their possible use as plasmonic materials; the surface plasmon properties of semiconductors in the THz range resemble those of noble metals in the visible and near infrared range and their properties are tunable by either doping or magnetic field.