4.2. Rectangular
Four rectangular studies have been carried out for the 20 nm thickness design, shown in
Figure 2a, and the 50 nm thickness design, shown in
Figure 2b, for silver, aluminium, gold and copper.
For a rectangular nanoantenna with a 20 nm thickness, it is possible to observe that there is field confinement and concentration in the slits since the incident electric field on the sides of the nanoantenna is reflected into the slit area, thus causing field concentration and a confinement effect in this area. Therefore, in probe 1, most curves are a perfect replica of the slit, i.e., the field peaks on the slit, and decrease considerably at the end of the slit. However, at certain wavelengths, the metallic antenna does not fully reflect the electric field and may even transmit it. This phenomenon occurs near the resonance wavelengths, giving rise to electric field peaks in probe 1, where one would expect to have continuously decreasing values, as seen in
Figure 4,
Figure 5,
Figure 6 and
Figure 7.
For silver, represented in
Figure 4, the largest peaks are reached for wavelengths between 500 and 650 nm, and the largest peak is reached for a wavelength of 550 nm with a field value of 4.13 ×
V/m. It is, therefore, still lower than the field obtained for silicon. Additionally, it should be noted that, for an incident field of 700 nm, the electric field presents peaks near the slit boundaries, a pattern that is unique for the frequencies studied, present in
Figure 4c, repeating the pattern in the nanoantenna with smaller values. As for the field integral, at a wavelength of 600 nm it reaches its maximum equal to 9.29 ×
. The results for all frequencies studied can be found in the
Appendix A,
Table A1 for probe 1,
Table A2 for the second probe, and
Table A3 for probe 3. Comparing the values relative to probe 1, probe 2, and probe 3, the electric field and field integral have all progressively decreased as the distance from the antennas grows, most likely meaning the electric field has been absorbed by the semiconductor.
Aluminium, on the other hand, present in
Figure 5, has its only resonance frequency in the UV spectrum, at 119 nm, and although at this wavelength, the absorbed field is small, it is still possible to observe transmission through the antenna. Interestingly, for the larger wavelengths, the electric field norm pattern maintains the maximum values practically constant at the slit, in contrast with the antenna area, which experiences a greater number of peaks, where the maximums are greater, and the minimums are lower, i.e., the electric field norm showcases a greater oscillation in values. For this structure, with a thickness of 20 nm, the maximum electric field norm value is 3.47 ×
V/m for a 500 nm incident wavelength, and the maximum integral is 5.97 ×
for a 650 nm wavelength. The results for all frequencies studied can be found in
Appendix A Table A4,
Table A5 and
Table A6 for probes 1, 2, and 3, respectively. From the values in these tables, it is possible to conclude that for a rectangular geometry with 20 nm thickness for the aluminium antenna, the electric field and its integral decrease from the first probe to the second and from the second to the third, conveying the absorption of the electric field by silicon.
On the other hand, the gold antenna reaches a maximum electric field of 4.00 ×
V/m and field integral of 9.87 ×
at a 600 nm wavelength, being the design of 20 nm thickness that has a maximum at the largest wavelength, as represented in
Figure 6c. In
Figure 6b, for wavelengths near the resonance wavelength 536 nm, from 450 to 700 nm, the field on the antenna area is transmitted due to extraordinary optical transmission (EOT). The results for all frequencies studied can be found in
Table A7 for probe 1,
Table A8 for probe 2, and
Table A9 for probe 3. As the distance from the slit grows, the electric field and its integral decrease for this gold nanoantenna, implying the absorption by the semiconductor of the electric field.
Lastly, in
Figure 7, for the wavelengths between 450 and 700 nm, it can be seen that transmission through the metal occurred, and this increased as the wavelength approached the resonance at 526 nm, reaching a maximum field norm of 3.97 ×
at 550 nm and a maximum field integral of 9.33 ×
at 600 nm. It is, therefore, still lower than the field obtained for silicon.
The results for all frequencies studied can be found in
Table A10,
Table A11, and
Table A12 for probe 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Comparing the values relative to probe 1, probe 2, and probe 3, the electric field and field integral all progressively decreased as the distance from the antennas increased, most likely meaning the electric field was absorbed by the semiconductor.
Compared with the originally considered silicon cell, for a rectangular nanoantenna with a thickness of 20 nm, there were no improvements in terms of electric field enhancement.
Thereafter, for a nanoantenna of 50 nm thickness, the same metals were simulated, yielding
Figure 8,
Figure 9,
Figure 10 and
Figure 11. In this case, for Ag and Al, the electric field maximum maintained the same wavelength, in contrast to Au and Cu. The generic shape of the radiation pattern remains somewhat similar. The biggest difference is that the new maximum values are all greater than the 20 nm values and superior to the original silicon cell field obtained.
In such circumstances, Ag reaches a maximum electric field, , of 7.22 × V/m for a wavelength, , of 550 nm, greater than the stand-alone silicon cell electric field maximum value, . However, the integral of the electric field along the probe, , 8.16 × is smaller than that of the stand-alone Silicon cell, .
Figure 8 shows that in (a) in the UV region, the radiation pattern follows the typical pattern for the shadow zone, except at 350 nm, which again is near the resonance wavelength, and it has an analogous shape to the resonance wavelength, 355 nm, in (d). Whereas, in (c), in the slit, there are two peaks in the slit region, and for 700 nm, there are also two peaks in the antenna region. The results for all wavelengths studied can be found in
Table A1,
Table A2, and
Table A3, for probes 1, 2, and 3, respectively. The electric field intensity norm decreases from probe 1 to 2 and from probe 2 to 3. On the other hand, the field integral for wavelengths from 550 to 650 nm increases from probe 1 to 2, which means that the electric field from additional optical paths can propagate into the plane of the probe, not indicating a necessary increase in the peak electric field obtained for that frequency. For the aluminium antenna, there is a greater field concentration evident in the slit area at 500 nm, in
Figure 9b, where the
is 7.95 ×
V/m. However, similarly to silver, the
is lower than
, it is 7.74 ×
at 600 nm. Unlike the 20 nm structure, the peaks in the antenna region start appearing earlier, not as pronounced, at around 500 nm, remaining below 2 ×
V/m. In
Figure 9c, the peaks are more pronounced, with an approximate value of 3 ×
V/m at 650 nm. The results for all wavelengths studied can be found in
Table A4,
Table A5, and
Table A6, for probes 1, 2, and 3, respectively. From probe 1 to 2, and from probe to 2 to 3, both the electric field and integral decrease as the silicon absorbs the electric field.
It is noticeable in
Figure 10c that the double peaks in the slit seem to also appear for the gold nanoantenna, at 650 and 700 nm, similar to silver, leading to an
of 5.94 ×
V/m at 650 nm, and a maximum
of 8.02 ×
at 600 nm. Even though gold has a resonance at 536 nm and around that wavelength, it is evident that the transmission through the metal is more significant, and it is still insufficient to produce a greater electric field or electric field integral in the slit. The results for all wavelengths studied can be found in
Table A7,
Table A8, and
Table A9, for probes 1, 2, and 3, respectively.
In comparison, probe 2 has smaller values of the electric field and integral than probe 1, except for the wavelengths of 650 and 700 nm, for which the field integral increases, meaning that for the equivalent frequencies, the electric field propagates inside the semiconductor through additional optical paths into the probes’ plane and does not result in a necessary increase in the maximum electric field. From probe 2 to 3, both the electric field intensity and integral decrease as the silicon absorbs the electric field.
Finally, for copper, the is 6.09 × V/m, and the maximum is 7.65 × at 600 nm.
As with silver and gold, in
Figure 11, copper shows two peaks for wavelengths between 600 and 700 nm at the slit. Since the design is thicker, there is more antenna side area, which results in more reflected radiation.
Moreso, for wavelengths near the resonance at 526 nm, the maximum electric field remains relatively unchanged and is even lower in some cases due to the thicker sheet of metal decreasing the transmission through it. The results for all wavelengths studied can be found in
Table A10,
Table A11, and
Table A12, for probes 1, 2, and 3, respectively. From probe 1 to 2, both the electric field and integral decrease, except at wavelengths of 600 and 650 nm, where the field integral increases. In contrast, from probe 2 to 3 for all wavelengths, the electric field intensity and integral both decrease.
In an effort to increase transmission through the metal structures, two metals were combined.
4.3. Circular Nanostructure
The circular design is introduced in order to try to improve both the electric field concentration and also the value of the field integral. The types of simulated structures are presented in
Figure 2c,d. The slit consists of the outline of two consecutive circles, resembling a triangular shape with rounded sides. This arrangement may lead to more field reflection from the side of the antennas since the circles are only tangent to the semiconductor, in contrast to the rectangular antennas, which were entirely in contact with the top of the semiconductor.
Starting by the antenna with a 100 nm radius, it is evident that for certain frequencies, the electric field present in the silicon perfectly replicates the aperture described above, just as in
Figure 12 for a wavelength of 123 nm; although there is a small electric field at this wavelength, it perfectly illustrates the shadow zone because the triangular shape with rounded sides is evident. The other frequencies generally have a similar pattern. In addition, in the visible zone, the slits interfere with each other’s field, sometimes creating “shadows” where the field has local minimums, whereas at other wavelengths, it has maximums, for example, the 600 vs. 300 nm curve. In fact, for the visible wavelengths in
Figure 12b,c, the electric field maximum peaks are achieved under the metal zone, while for UV, it is in the slit region, i.e., (c) and (d).
For the circular antenna with a 100 nm radius, the maximum electric field achieved for silver is 6.77 ×
V/m, with an integral of the field 1.48 ×
at 700 nm. Both of these are greater than the values for the silicon cell without a nanostructure. The results for all frequencies studied can be found in the tables in
Appendix A. From probe 1 to probe 2, there is an increase in the electric field intensity for 600 and 650 nm wavelengths and a decrease in its integral. From probe 2 to probe 3, there is an increase in the electric field intensity at 700 nm wavelength reaching a value as high as 6.82 ×
V/m, even higher than in probe 1, while it decreases for the remaining wavelengths. This might indicate that this geometry and material are capable of inducing a long-distance field concentration on the silicon.
Figure 13 represents the electric field intensity along probe 1 for aluminium. The highest electric field attained is 5.78 ×
V/m and an integral of 1.43 ×
at 700 nm, representing an improvement from the basic cell. The results of the studied wavelengths can be found in
Table A4,
Table A5, and
Table A6 for probes 1, 2, and 3, respectively. From probes 1 to 2, for wavelengths between 600 and 700 nm, the electric field intensity increases, and it keeps increasing for 700 nm in probe 3, reaching 6.18 ×
V/m in the third probe. As for the electric field integral, it decreases from probe to probe. The electric field intensity for gold is illustrated in
Figure 14, showing that the best electric field achieved is 6.17 ×
V/m at 700 nm with a field integral of 1.42 ×
, once again showing improvement in terms of both quantities. For the studied wavelengths, the results studied can be found in
Table A7 for probe 1,
Table A8 for probe 2, and
Table A9 for probe 3. From probes 1 to 2, the electric field intensity increases for wavelengths between 500 and 650 nm, while the field integral decreases. In contrast, from probes 2 to 3, both quantities decrease except for a wavelength of 700 nm in which the intensity increases reaching 6.45 ×
V/m.
Lastly, copper yields an electric field curve illustrated in
Figure 15, achieving an intensity as high as 6.49 ×
V/m and an integral of 1.45 ×
at 700 nm, making it the second highest intensity reached with the circular structure with a 100 nm radius. For the studied wavelengths, the results studied can be found in
Table A10 for probe 1,
Table A11 for probe 2, and
Table A12 for probe 3. The electric field intensity increases for wavelengths ranging from 500 to 650 nm, from probe 1 to 2, while the integral decreases. At 700 nm from probe 2 to 3, the intensity increases, yet for the remaining wavelengths, it decreases, and so does the integral.
Now, moving on to the circular nanoantenna with a 200 nm radius, the electric field intensity characteristics at probe 1 is in
Figure 16,
Figure 17,
Figure 18 and
Figure 19. Even though the radius increased, the displacement between the centre of the circles is maintained, which leads to an overall smaller aperture. For this structure, all of the metals showed improvements in electric field intensity over the simple silicon cell. For silver, the maximum electric field strength achieved is about 5.78 ×
V/m for a wavelength of 700 nm, with a field integral of 1.40 ×
, the highest value achieved for this geometry. The results of the studied wavelengths can be found in
Table A1,
Table A2, and
Table A3 for probes 1, 2, and 3, respectively. The electric field intensity increases from probe 1 to probe 2 for particular wavelengths, such as 500, 600, and 700 nm, despite the field integral decreasing for all wavelengths. As for probe 3, both the electric field intensity and integral have decreased, alluding to the absorption of the electric field by the semiconductor material.
Now for gold, the highest field attained is approximately 5.46 ×
V/m, with a 1.29 ×
integral, for a wavelength of 700 nm. The results of the studied wavelengths can be found in
Table A7,
Table A8, and
Table A9 for probes 1, 2, and 3, respectively. For the range of wavelengths between 500 and 650 nm, the electric field intensity increases from probe 1 to probe 2, yet the field integral always decreases. At 700 nm, the intensity also increases for the third probe, while the integral decreases for all wavelengths.
For copper, the electric field peak is similar to gold, and even at the same wavelength, it is 5.45 ×
V/m, with a 1.33 ×
integral. The results of the studied wavelengths can be found in
Table A10,
Table A11, and
Table A12 for probes 1, 2, and 3, respectively. For the range of wavelengths between 500 and 700 nm, the electric field intensity increases from probe 1 to probe 2; however, the field integral always decreases. In the third probe at 700 nm, the intensity also increases, while the integral decreases for all wavelengths.
Even though aluminium does show an improvement in the maximum electric field, being 4.49 ×
V/m, the integral does not, as it falls just under the basic Si cell with a value of 1.20 ×
, for a 600 nm wavelength. The results of the studied wavelengths can be found in
Table A4,
Table A5, and
Table A6 for probes 1, 2, and 3, respectively. For the range of wavelengths between 550 and 700 nm, the electric field intensity increases from probe 1 to probe 2, contrary to the field integral, which always decreases. At 700 nm, the intensity also increases for the third probe, while the integral decreases for all wavelengths.
4.4. Triangular Nanostructure
In this section, the triangular design is introduced, the simulated structures are present in
Figure 2e,f.
Starting with the triangular structure with a base of 100 nm, all the distinct metal structures offer an enhancement of electric field values, but none in terms of the field integral. This might be due to the aperture’s trapezoidal shape, where the smaller base of 250 nm is the top of the semiconductor, and its legs are the contour of the triangular antennas, resulting in the reflection of the electric field into the air instead of the semiconductor. For the 200 nm base structure, the smaller base of the trapezoid is instead 50 nm wide, that is, the slit. In the silver triangular antenna with a base of 100 nm, with an electric field intensity pattern, as seen in
Figure 20, the peak electric field intensity is 4.71 ×
V/m with an integral of 1.09 ×
at 700 nm. The results of the studied wavelengths can be found in
Table A1,
Table A2, and
Table A3 for probes 1, 2, and 3, respectively. The electric field intensity increases from probe 1 to probe 2 for a range of wavelengths, from 550 to 700 nm, despite the field integral decreasing for all wavelengths. As for probe 3, both the electric field intensity and integral have decreased, indicating the absorption of the electric field by the semiconductor material.
As for aluminium, illustrated in
Figure 21, the achieved field is higher, but the integral is lower, with values of 5.08 ×
V/m at 650 nm and 9.14 ×
at 700 nm, respectively. The results of the studied wavelengths can be found in
Table A4,
Table A5, and
Table A6 for probes 1, 2, and 3, respectively. The electric field intensity increases from probe 1 to probe 2 for a range of wavelengths, from 500 to 700 nm, despite the field integral decreasing for all wavelengths. As for probe 3, both the electric field intensity and integral have decreased, indicating the absorption of the electric field by the semiconductor material.
Gold and copper, with electric field intensity curves as seen in
Figure 22 and
Figure 23, present similar maximum values with 4.58 ×
and 4.66 ×
V/m electric field intensities and, 1.11 ×
and 1.09 ×
field integrals, respectively, at a 700 nm wavelength. The results of the studied wavelengths for gold can be found in
Table A7,
Table A8, and
Table A9 for probes 1, 2, and 3, respectively.
The electric field intensity increases from probe 1 to probe 2 for a range of wavelengths, from 550 to 700 nm, despite the field integral decreasing for all wavelengths. As for probe 3, both the electric field intensity and integral have decreased, implying the absorption of the electric field by the semiconductor material. While for copper, the results for the studied wavelengths are in
Table A10,
Table A11, and
Table A12 for probes 1, 2, and 3, respectively. The electric field intensity increases from probe 1 to probe 2 for a range of wavelengths, from 550 to 700 nm, yet the field integral decreases for all wavelengths. As for probe 3, both the electric field intensity and integral have decreased, implying the absorption of the electric field by the semiconductor material.
In conclusion, for the triangular geometry of the 100 nm base, there was an enhancement in terms of the electric field for all the distinct metals, as they all had wavelengths for which the electric field intensity was higher than that of the Silicon basic cell. In contrast, in terms of field integral, there was no improvement, as none of the different metal nanoantennas provided a larger field integral than the Si original cell, which might mean that for the triangular geometry of the 100 nm base, there are points of electric field concentration since higher values of electric field intensity are achieved, but this does not necessarily reflect a higher total electric field in the semiconductor.
As for the simulations with the triangle base of 200 nm, there was electric field enhancement relative to the cell without nanoantennas for all metals, despite having no enhancement for the field integral. The simulated silver nanoantenna yields the electric field intensity curve seen in
Figure 24. It has the maximum for a 500 nm wavelength of 5.551 ×
V/m, with a field integral of 8.86 ×
. The results of the studied wavelengths can be found in
Table A1,
Table A2, and
Table A3 for probes 1, 2, and 3, respectively. The electric field intensity increases from probe 1 to probe 2 for a range of wavelengths, from 650 to 700 nm, and the field integral increases for wavelengths between 600 and 700 nm. As for probe 3, both the electric field intensity and integral have decreased, indicating the absorption of the electric field by the semiconductor material.
Figure 25 shows the electric field along probe 1 for the Aluminium antenna. For the distinct wavelengths, it shows that the maximum electric field is 6.36 ×
V/m at 500 nm, with an integral of 5.78 ×
. The results of the studied wavelengths can be found in
Table A4,
Table A5, and
Table A6 for probes 1, 2, and 3, respectively. The electric field intensity decreases from probe 1 to probe 2 for the whole range of wavelengths. As for the field integral, it increases for wavelengths between 500 and 700 nm. In probe 3, both the electric field intensity and integral have decreased, indicating the absorption of the electric field by the semiconductor material.
Regarding
Figure 26, it is evident that the maximum electric field happens for a wavelength of 650 nm and is roughly 5.02 ×
V/m. However, the highest field integral obtained is 9.20 ×
for 600 nm. The results of the studied wavelengths can be found in
Table A7,
Table A8, and
Table A9 for probes 1, 2, and 3, respectively. The electric field intensity increases from probe 1 to probe 2 for the wavelengths between 600 and 700 nm. As for the field integral, it increases for wavelengths between 500 and 700 nm. In probe 3, both the electric field intensity and integral have decreased, indicating the absorption of the electric field by the semiconductor material.
Lastly,
Figure 27 illustrates the electric field at the first probe for copper, which peaks at 5.12 ×
V/m for a wavelength of 650 nm, whereas the field integral peaks at 8.72 ×
for a 700 nm wavelength. The results of the studied wavelengths can be found in
Table A10,
Table A11, and
Table A12 for probes 1, 2, and 3, respectively. The electric field intensity increases from probe 1 to probe 2 for the wavelengths between 600 and 700 nm. As for the field integral, it decreases for all wavelengths. In probe 3, both the electric field intensity and integral have decreased, indicating the absorption of the electric field by the semiconductor material.
While this geometry yielded no improvements for the field integral, there were improvements in the electric field intensity for all combinations, meaning while this structure enhances and concentrates the electric field intensity in certain points, it does not mean it gives rise to a higher total field in the semiconductor.