Emission and Transmission Properties of a Doubly Resonant 3D Nanodisk Yagi-Uda Antenna for Wireless Optical Communications

In this paper, a novel doubly resonant three-dimensional (3D) nanodisk Yagi-Uda antenna, conceived for realizing wireless optical links within electronic circuits, is proposed. The prominent emitting properties of this nanoantenna have been deeply investigated both in the near and far field through a useful comparison with a more traditional 3D nanorod Yagi-Uda antenna. The behavior of the nanodisk antenna, both configured as a single nanoantenna and arranged in planar arrays, have been illustrated, emphasizing its improved performances with relation to crucial aspects as directional features, wavelength bands of operation, frequency tuning, and polarization influence on radiation. In particular, the single nanodisk antenna has been accurately designed to enhance the transmission feature in the near field at the wavelengths lambda=1.3 and lambda=1.55 mu m. Also, the emission pattern of the array of nanodisk antennas has been properly tailored to ensure high peaks of directivity and narrow beam width in those ranges. Hence, efficient unidirectional angle patterns have been shaped for any operation wavelength and dimensions of the array, reaching extremely effective outcomes for a 3x3 array, which exhibits a maximum of directivity of 19 and 17.6 and -3 dB points at 18 degrees and 21 degrees for lambda=1.3 and lambda=1.55 mu m, respectively.