1
|
Occhicone A, Polito R, Michelotti F, Ortolani M, Baldassarre L, Pea M, Sinibaldi A, Notargiacomo A, Cibella S, Mattioli F, Roy P, Brubach JB, Calvani P, Nucara A. Low-Temperature Stability and Sensing Performance of Mid-Infrared Bloch Surface Waves on a One-Dimensional Photonic Crystal. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2022; 14:43853-43860. [PMID: 36106792 PMCID: PMC9523610 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.2c07894] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2022] [Accepted: 09/07/2022] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
The growing need for new and reliable surface sensing methods is arousing interest in the electromagnetic excitations of ultrathin films, i.e., to generate electromagnetic field distributions that resonantly interact with the most significant quasi-particles of condensed matter. In such a context, Bloch surface waves turned out to be a valid alternative to surface plasmon polaritons to implement high-sensitivity sensors in the visible spectral range. Only in the last few years, however, has their use been extended to infrared wavelengths, which represent a powerful tool for detecting and recognizing molecular species and crystalline structures. In this work, we demonstrate, by means of high-resolution reflectivity measurements, that a one-dimensional photonic crystal can sustain Bloch surface waves in the infrared spectral range from room temperature down to 10 K. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of infrared Bloch surface waves at cryogenic temperatures. Furthermore, by exploiting the enhancement of the surface state and the high brilliance of infrared synchrotron radiation, we demonstrate that the proposed BSW-based sensor has a sensitivity on the order of 2.9 cm-1 for each nanometer-thick ice layer grown on its surface below 150 K. In conclusion, we believe that Bloch surface wave-based sensors are a valid new class of surface mode-based sensors for applications in materials science.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Agostino Occhicone
- Department
of Basic and Applied Sciences for Engineering, Sapienza University of Rome, via A. Scarpa, 16, 00161 Roma, Italy
| | - Raffaella Polito
- Department
of Physics, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale A. Moro, 5, 00185 Roma, Italy
| | - Francesco Michelotti
- Department
of Basic and Applied Sciences for Engineering, Sapienza University of Rome, via A. Scarpa, 16, 00161 Roma, Italy
| | - Michele Ortolani
- Department
of Physics, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale A. Moro, 5, 00185 Roma, Italy
| | - Leonetta Baldassarre
- Department
of Physics, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale A. Moro, 5, 00185 Roma, Italy
| | - Marialilia Pea
- CNR-IFN, Via del Fosso
del Cavaliere, 100, 00133 Roma, Italy
| | - Alberto Sinibaldi
- Department
of Basic and Applied Sciences for Engineering, Sapienza University of Rome, via A. Scarpa, 16, 00161 Roma, Italy
| | | | - Sara Cibella
- CNR-IFN, Via del Fosso
del Cavaliere, 100, 00133 Roma, Italy
| | | | - Pascale Roy
- Synchrotron
SOLEIL, L’Orme des Merisiers,
Saint-Aubin, Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex F-91192, France
| | - Jean-Blaise Brubach
- Synchrotron
SOLEIL, L’Orme des Merisiers,
Saint-Aubin, Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex F-91192, France
| | - Paolo Calvani
- Department
of Physics, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale A. Moro, 5, 00185 Roma, Italy
| | - Alessandro Nucara
- CNR-SPIN
and Department of Physics, Sapienza University
of Rome, Piazzale A.
Moro, 5, 00185 Roma, Italy
| |
Collapse
|