Highly absorptive thin films for integrated photonic devices

Abstract

Highly absorptive thin films serve as the active layer of a new class of photonic devices based on the strong coupling of light and matter. In order to develop these devices into a new field of integrated photonics, methods for analysis, patterning, and deposition of the active layer are necessary. This thesis develops these methods and applies them to thin films of J-aggregates grown in a layer-by-layer (LBL) process, which have been shown to have remarkable optical and morphological properties and have recently enabled the demonstration of strong coupling between light and matter in an electroluminescent device at room temperature. J-aggregate thin films are analyzed using Kramers-Kronig regression to determine their complex index of refraction, an important parameter involved in photonic device design. Additionally, a soft lithography method is demonstrated for patterning and deposition of LBL J-aggregate thin films. Together, these methods can be used to further enable integrated photonics based on the strong coupling of light and matter.