Ultrafast Electronic Readout from a Plasmonic Bolometer: Hot Electron Dynamics and Polarization Imaging Applications

We have developed a grating-based plasmonic bolometer that features an optoelectronic behavior that is enhanced by plasmonic losses. In our system, optically-induced surface plasmons interact with conduction electrons in the metal, resulting in an increase in electron scattering. Thus, incident electromagnetic radiation induces a detectable change in resistance. Our ultrafast measurements show that these scattering processes occur on extremely short timescales, indicating that these detectors may prove useful for monitoring fast processes. As seen both in our simulations and measurements, the wavelength response of our device is strongly dependent on the physical dimensions of the metal grating and thus tunable in a wide range. Additionally, the polarization-dependent plasmonic response can be utilized for polarization imaging applications without polarization optics.