Trapping light in air with membrane metasurfaces for vibrational strong coupling

Abstract Optical metasurfaces can manipulate electromagnetic waves in unprecedented ways at ultra-thin engineered interfaces. Specifically, in the mid-infrared (mid-IR) region, metasurfaces have enabled numerous biochemical sensing, spectroscopy, and vibrational strong coupling (VSC) applications vi...

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Main Authors: Wihan Adi, Samir Rosas, Aidana Beisenova, Shovasis Kumar Biswas, Hongyan Mei, David A. Czaplewski, Filiz Yesilkoy
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2024-11-01
Series:Nature Communications
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-54284-0
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author Wihan Adi
Samir Rosas
Aidana Beisenova
Shovasis Kumar Biswas
Hongyan Mei
David A. Czaplewski
Filiz Yesilkoy
author_facet Wihan Adi
Samir Rosas
Aidana Beisenova
Shovasis Kumar Biswas
Hongyan Mei
David A. Czaplewski
Filiz Yesilkoy
author_sort Wihan Adi
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Optical metasurfaces can manipulate electromagnetic waves in unprecedented ways at ultra-thin engineered interfaces. Specifically, in the mid-infrared (mid-IR) region, metasurfaces have enabled numerous biochemical sensing, spectroscopy, and vibrational strong coupling (VSC) applications via enhanced light-matter interactions in resonant cavities. However, mid-IR metasurfaces are usually fabricated on solid supporting substrates, which degrade resonance quality factors (Q) and hinder efficient sample access to the near-field electromagnetic hotspots. Besides, typical IR-transparent substrate materials with low refractive indices, such as CaF2, NaCl, KBr, and ZnSe, are usually either water-soluble, expensive, or not compatible with low-cost mass manufacturing processes. Here, we present novel free-standing Si-membrane mid-IR metasurfaces with strong light-trapping capabilities in accessible air voids. We employ the Brillouin zone folding technique to excite tunable, high-Q quasi-bound states in the continuum (qBIC) resonances with our highest measured Q-factor of 722. Leveraging the strong field localizations in accessible air cavities, we demonstrate VSC with multiple quantities of PMMA molecules and the qBIC modes at various detuning frequencies. Our new approach of fabricating mid-IR metasurfaces into semiconductor membranes enables scalable manufacturing of mid-IR photonic devices and provides exciting opportunities for quantum-coherent light-matter interactions, biochemical sensing, and polaritonic chemistry.
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spelling doaj-art-1d822e7fdc714b339b254558d98544d22024-11-24T12:33:05ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232024-11-0115111010.1038/s41467-024-54284-0Trapping light in air with membrane metasurfaces for vibrational strong couplingWihan Adi0Samir Rosas1Aidana Beisenova2Shovasis Kumar Biswas3Hongyan Mei4David A. Czaplewski5Filiz Yesilkoy6Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison MadisonDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison MadisonDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison MadisonDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison MadisonDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison MadisonCenter for Nanoscale Materials, Argonne National LaboratoryDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison MadisonAbstract Optical metasurfaces can manipulate electromagnetic waves in unprecedented ways at ultra-thin engineered interfaces. Specifically, in the mid-infrared (mid-IR) region, metasurfaces have enabled numerous biochemical sensing, spectroscopy, and vibrational strong coupling (VSC) applications via enhanced light-matter interactions in resonant cavities. However, mid-IR metasurfaces are usually fabricated on solid supporting substrates, which degrade resonance quality factors (Q) and hinder efficient sample access to the near-field electromagnetic hotspots. Besides, typical IR-transparent substrate materials with low refractive indices, such as CaF2, NaCl, KBr, and ZnSe, are usually either water-soluble, expensive, or not compatible with low-cost mass manufacturing processes. Here, we present novel free-standing Si-membrane mid-IR metasurfaces with strong light-trapping capabilities in accessible air voids. We employ the Brillouin zone folding technique to excite tunable, high-Q quasi-bound states in the continuum (qBIC) resonances with our highest measured Q-factor of 722. Leveraging the strong field localizations in accessible air cavities, we demonstrate VSC with multiple quantities of PMMA molecules and the qBIC modes at various detuning frequencies. Our new approach of fabricating mid-IR metasurfaces into semiconductor membranes enables scalable manufacturing of mid-IR photonic devices and provides exciting opportunities for quantum-coherent light-matter interactions, biochemical sensing, and polaritonic chemistry.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-54284-0
spellingShingle Wihan Adi
Samir Rosas
Aidana Beisenova
Shovasis Kumar Biswas
Hongyan Mei
David A. Czaplewski
Filiz Yesilkoy
Trapping light in air with membrane metasurfaces for vibrational strong coupling
Nature Communications
title Trapping light in air with membrane metasurfaces for vibrational strong coupling
title_full Trapping light in air with membrane metasurfaces for vibrational strong coupling
title_fullStr Trapping light in air with membrane metasurfaces for vibrational strong coupling
title_full_unstemmed Trapping light in air with membrane metasurfaces for vibrational strong coupling
title_short Trapping light in air with membrane metasurfaces for vibrational strong coupling
title_sort trapping light in air with membrane metasurfaces for vibrational strong coupling
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-54284-0
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AT shovasiskumarbiswas trappinglightinairwithmembranemetasurfacesforvibrationalstrongcoupling
AT hongyanmei trappinglightinairwithmembranemetasurfacesforvibrationalstrongcoupling
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