Subwavelength Elements and Plasmonic Structures for Spectral Filtering

Scientists have long proposed device designs and materials to manipulate light ranging from UV to IR wavelengths, but sub-micron feature sizes and strong field confinement are often necessary. Recent research has shown that nano-scale plasmonic elements can be created to effectively couple light waves to surface electron oscillations, confining the waves and increasing light-matter interaction. This has lead to a host of unique architectures for applications such as solar cells, light emitting diodes, biosensors, and photonics.
This dissertation will focus on the design and fabrication of sub-micron plasmonic elements to filter light over a wide range of wavelengths for a variety of applications. These devices were also designed to be implemented with nanoimprint lithography, a method to create nano-scale features over large areas, which is useful in both laboratory and industry applications. By utilizing unique fabrication procedures, applications are demonstrated to block harmful UV light for space instrumentation, filter colors for next generation display technologies, and confine a broad band of IR wavelengths into a nano-structured metamaterial.