Fano resonance in asymmetric-period two-dimensional plasmonic absorbers for dual-band uncooled infrared sensors (vol 55, 117105, 2016)

The spectral discrimination function of uncooled infrared (IR) sensors has significant advantages for applications such as fire detection, gas analysis, and biological analysis. We have previously demonstrated wavelength-selective uncooled IR sensors using two-dimensional plasmonic absorbers (2-D PLAs) over a wide range spanning the middle- and long-wavelength IR regions. 2-D PLAs are highly promising in terms of practical application due to the ease of fabrication and robustness for structural fluctuations. However, dual-band operation based on this concept has not yet been investigated, even though the ability to absorb in two different wavelength bands is extremely important for object recognition. Thus, a dual-band uncooled IR sensor was developed that employs Fano resonance in the plasmonic structures. To achieve dual-band detection, asymmetric periods in the orthogonal x- and y-directions were introduced into 2-D PLAs. Theoretical investigations predicted an asymmetric absorbance line shape dependent on the polarization attributed to Fano resonance. The spectral responsivity of the developed sensor demonstrated that selective detection occurred in two different wavelength bands due to polarization-dependent Fano resonance. The results obtained in this study will be applicable to the development of advanced sensors capable of multiband detection in the IR region. (C) The Authors. Published by SPIE under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.