TRANSMISSION PHOTOELECTRON MICROSCOPY OF UV SURFACE PLASMONS EXCITED BY NORMAL & OBLIQUE OPTICAL ILLUMINATION

Abstract

THIS DISSERTATION DETAILS OUR SUCCESSFUL DEMONSTRATION OF A TECHNIQUE TO IMAGE SURFACE PLASMON POLARITONS VIA PHOTOEMISSION WITH TRANSMISSION-MODE OPTICAL EXCITATION (BOTH NORMAL AND HIGH ANGLE OFF-AXIS ILLUMINATION). OUR EXPERIMENTAL CONFIGURATION EMPLOYS PLASMON ENHANCED PHOTOEMISSION AS A CONTRAST MECHANISM AND A CUSTOM PHOTOEMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPE FOR DIRECT VISUALIZATION OF SURFACE PLASMONS WITH BOTH HIGH SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL RESOLUTION. THIS SYSTEM, COMBINED WITH OUR CUSTOM ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT ILLUMINATION MODULE HAS ENABLED THE OBSERVATION OF A RANGE OF PLASMONIC DEVICES AND PHENOMENA INCLUDING: COMPLEX INTERFERENCE PATTERNS FROM SURFACE PLASMON POLARITON INTERACTIONS ON A 2D SURFACE AS WELL AS LOCALIZED RESONANT MODES EXCITED IN SUB-WAVELENGTH APERTURES AND NANOSTRUCTURES. DESIGN ISSUES RELATED TO THE DEVELOPMENT AND PERFORMANCE OF THE ILLUMINATION MODULE, AS WELL AS THE IMAGING CAPABILITIES IT ENABLES, WILL BE DISCUSSED. EXEMPLARY PLASMONIC STRUCTURES, FABRICATED WITH THE