Metallic nanotrenches for terahertz studies on nano-confined molecules

초록

A pair of parallel metallic plates with nanometer-scale separations, or a 'metallic nanotrench', creates strongly enhanced electric field with uniform spatial distribution when a long wavelength radiation is incident. This property is not only useful for quantitative analysis of light-matter interactions, but also for potential electrochemical studies on nanoconfined molecules. Here, we show our progress on realizing sub-10 nm-wide metallic nanotrenches filled with various liquids to study interaction of nano-confined molecules with terahertz radiation. Large height-to-width aspect ratio and strong field enhancement of the nanotrenches enable sensitive detection of the nano-confined molecules, from which optical properties of the molecules can be determined. We demonstrate fabrication of the nanotrenches with widths as small as 2 nm, and study changes in their terahertz optical properties upon integration with various liquids. Also, we discuss anomalous optical properties of water molecules confined within sub-10 nm-wide metallic nanotrenches. © 2021 SPIE.

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