• coherent absorption
• opto-electronics
• semiconductors

MIM systems play a crucial role in the development of new technologies for electro-optic experiments and research. A key challenge in MIM systems is the optical losses caused by absorption in the metal films. However, by carefully tuning these losses, they can also be leveraged to enable novel optical responses through adjustments in device geometry and material composition.
In this work, two lossy MIM-based systems are studied: a coherent absorption (CPA) setup at visible wavelengths and a mid-infrared heterostructure operating in strong coupling between the cavity and intersubband resonances.
The CA effect enhances or suppresses absorption in a material through the interference of two coherent laser beams, and is tunable by adjusting the beams’ relative phase and intensity. Eight different samples characterized by different dielectric thicknesses were fabricated and tested in a CPA setup using a He-Ne laser.
In the mid-infrared range, MIM structures are used in conjunction with quantum metamaterials to manipulate IR lasers, particularly in fast electro-optical intensity modulators. These modulators typically operate in reflection with a patch-cavity geometry, but here, the same concept is applied to a device functioning in transmission.