An integrated plasmon detector includes a top layer of material adapted to generate a plasmon when excited by a beam of light incident onto a surface of the top layer, an interface layer joined to the top layer opposite from the surface of the top layer and adapted to slow polarons emitted by the plasmon to thermal electrons, and a collector layer joined to the interface layer opposite from the top layer and adapted to collect the thermal electrons from the interface layer.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/602,117, filed Aug. 17, 2004 for "Using a Polaron Interaction Zone as an Interface to Integrate a Surface Plasmon Layer and a Semiconductor Detector" and U.S. provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/602,061, filed Aug. 17, 2004 for "Utilizing an Integrated Plasmon Detector to Measure a Metal Deposit Roughness on a Semiconductor Surface," both by David T. Wei and Axel Scherer, the disclosures of which are incorporated in their entirety herein by reference thereto. This application is filed on the same day as U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/205,782, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,297,966, for "Utilizing an Integrated Plasmon Detector to Measure a Metal Deposit Roughness on a Semiconductor Surface", also incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
