The Role of Optical Phonon Confinement in the Infrared Dielectric Response of III-V SuperlatticesShow others and affiliations
2024 (English)In: Advanced Materials, ISSN 0935-9648, E-ISSN 1521-4095, Vol. 36, no 3, article id 2305106Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Polar dielectrics are key materials of interest for infrared (IR) nanophotonic applications due to their ability to host phonon-polaritons that allow for low-loss, subdiffractional control of light. The properties of phonon-polaritons are limited by the characteristics of optical phonons, which are nominally fixed for most "bulk" materials. Superlattices composed of alternating atomically thin materials offer control over crystal anisotropy through changes in composition, optical phonon confinement, and the emergence of new modes. In particular, the modified optical phonons in superlattices offer the potential for so-called crystalline hybrids whose IR properties cannot be described as a simple mixture of the bulk constituents. To date, however, studies have primarily focused on identifying the presence of new or modified optical phonon modes rather than assessing their impact on the IR response. This study focuses on assessing the impact of confined optical phonon modes on the hybrid IR dielectric function in superlattices of GaSb and AlSb. Using a combination of first principles theory, Raman, FTIR, and spectroscopic ellipsometry, the hybrid dielectric function is found to track the confinement of optical phonons, leading to optical phonon spectral shifts of up to 20 cm-1. These results provide an alternative pathway toward designer IR optical materials. Optical phonons are known to become confined when the size of the host crystal approaches atomic limits. This confinement offers a unique yet underexplored pathway toward the modification and design of optical phonons in tailored atomic-scale devices. This study sheds light on the criteria for, and ramifications of phonon confinement, paving the way for designer phonon applications.image
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
WILEY-V C H VERLAG GMBH , 2024. Vol. 36, no 3, article id 2305106
Keywords [en]
confinement; infrared; phonons; spectroscopy
National Category
Atom and Molecular Physics and Optics
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-200396DOI: 10.1002/adma.202305106ISI: 001111794800001PubMedID: 38039437OAI: oai:DiVA.org:liu-200396DiVA, id: diva2:1830898
Note
Funding Agencies|Office of Naval Research; National Science Foundation [NSF-DMR-1904793.]; Department of Energy - Basic Energy Sciences [DE-FG02-09ER46554]; National Science Foundation (NSF) [DMR 1808715, OIA-2044049]; Air Force Office of Scientific Research [FA9550-18-1-0360, FA9550-19-S-0003, FA9550-21-1-0259]; Knut and Alice Wallenbergs Foundation; J.A. Woollam Foundation; National Science Foundation, Division of Materials Research [1904760]; National Science Foundation Major Research Instrumentation [1828141, UD-CHARM]; National Science Foundation MRSEC [DMR-2011824, DE-AC05-00OR22725]; Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy [DE-AC02-05CH11231, GBMF8048]; Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation; DOE Office of Science by Argonne National Laboratory [DE-AC02-06CH11357]; [N00014-22-1-2035]
2024-01-242024-01-242024-10-10Bibliographically approved