ZnO plasmonics for telecommunications

Plasmonic resonances (kres's) at the telecommunication wavelengths of 1.3 and 1.55 mu m can be accurately produced in ZnO layers grown at 200 degrees C by pulsed laser deposition in pure Ar ambient using a ZnO target with 3 wt. % Ga2O3, and then annealed in air to produce Hall-effect-determined carrier concentrations 8.8 and 6.0 x 10(20) cm(-3), respectively. Appropriate values of concentration and Hall mobility for a desired lambda(res) can be conveniently determined from a "plasmonic resonance phase diagram," generated from the Drude equation and mobility theory. Values of lambda(res) as low as 1 mu m can be attained in ZnO. (C) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.