Fabrication Techniques and Modeling for Unusual Optical Systems: Near Field Phase Shift Lithography and Plasmonic Sensors

Abstract

A second dissertation topic involved exploring the field of nano-plasmonics, with a strong emphasis on sensing applications. Until recently, the development of this field has suffered from difficulties and high cost associated to the production of high quality samples. Soft lithographic techniques, including phase shift lithography and replica molding, have the potential to solve this long-standing problem if applied to the fabrication of novel plasmonic crystals. I used Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) calculations to model their optical response and to assess the sensing potential of the different configurations. Enhancements in sensitivity by a factor of 10 are predicted.