Surface Plasmon Based Optical Data storage Devices using Graphene Nanoholes

Abstract

We present a high-capacity optical data storage device using nanohole engraved graphene film structure. Nanoholes will work as plasmonic structure such that normally incident radiation can be coupled into surface plasmons without the use of prism-coupling based total internal reflection, as in the classical Kretschmann configuration. Simulations based on Finite Differential Time Domain (FDTD) were carried out to numerically calculate the reflectance - from different type of nano-hole structures - as a function of the localized refractive index of the media around the SPR (Surface plasmon resoanace) holes. Our calculations indicate substantially higher differential reflectance signals, on localized change of refractive index in the narrow hole plasmonic gratings, as compared to those obtained from conventional SPR-based sensing system. In this work, the simulations of the structure were done using Lumerical simulations software. Finally graphene filim –nanohole based surface resonance structures was fabricated using chemical vapour deposition and laser ablation techniques. The viability of the structure towards data storage is verified using Raman spectroscopy and UV spectroscopy