Propagation of surface plasmon polaritons on structures fabricated by application of focussed ion beam is investigated. Few types of structures were prepared on gold and aluminium thin films. Surface plasmon polaritons were locally excited and their transmition was studied. By focussed ion beam instrument were plasmonic resonant antennas created as well and resonance dependence on their geometry was investigated. Corresponding simulations by Finite-Dimension Time-Domain method were achieved.
A new optical apparatus for in situ monitoring of optical constants of growing (etched) thin films - substrate systems over the large surface area of the sample (ranging from 1 to 2 cm2) was designed, constructed and tested in our group. Namely, the two following devices have been designed: Firstly, InSitu-AreaSampler together with control software has been developed for analysis of an areal homogeneity of thin-film growth during its deposition (or etching). The method is based on the measurement of reflectivity of the sample at selected wavelengths of an incident light. Areal detection is assured (performed) by imaging of the surface of thin film by a CCD chip where each pixel acts as small detector in an independent way. Secondly, the InSitu-SpotSampler was developed for measurement the reflectivity of growing (etched) thin film at one spot on the sample surface but in quasi-continual range of wavelengths (UV-VIS). The results achieved show the usability of this instrument for the in situ measurements of optical constants (index of refraction n, exctinction coefficient k, thickness d) over the whole sample area (cca 1.5 × 1.5 cm2) in a quasi-real time mode. Having this feed-back it is possible to control the deposition process in a more effective way.