title: Direct optical measurement of light coupling into planar waveguide by plasmonic nanoparticles.
abstract: Coupling of light into a thin layer of high refractive index material by plasmonic nanoparticles has been widely studied for application in photovoltaic devices, such as thin-film solar cells. In numerous studies this coupling has been investigated through measurement of e.g. quantum efficiency or photocurrent enhancement. Here we present a direct optical measurement of light coupling into a waveguide by plasmonic nanoparticles. We investigate the coupling efficiency into the guided modes within the waveguide by illuminating the surface of a sample, consisting of a glass slide coated with a high refractive index planar waveguide and plasmonic nanoparticles, while directly measuring the intensity of the light emitted out of the waveguide edge. These experiments were complemented by transmittance and reflectance measurements. We show that the light coupling is strongly affected by thin-film interference, localized surface plasmon resonances of the nanoparticles and the illumination direction (front or rear).
authors: Department of Physics, Nanoscience Center, University of Jyväskylä, FIN-40014 Jyväskylä, Finland. antti.m.pennanen@jyu.fi
authors: Antti M
authors: AM
authors: Pennanen
authors: J Jussi
authors: JJ
authors: Toppari
mesh_terms: D003198:Computer Simulation; D017076:Computer-Aided Design; D011211:Electric Power Supplies; D004867:Equipment Design; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D012031:Refractometry / Q000295:instrumentation*; D012542:Scattering, Radiation; D012993:Solar Energy; D020349:Surface Plasmon Resonance / Q000295:instrumentation*
chemical_list: D008567:Membranes, Artificial