Research Article Vol. 4, No.

11 / 15 Nov 2021 / OSA Continuum 2970

Bowtie nanoantenna driven by a Yagi-Uda

nanoantenna: a device for plasmon-enhanced
light matter interactions
N ITIN G UPTA AND A NUJ D HAWAN *
Department of Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Hauz Khas, New Delhi,
110016, India
* Corresponding author: adhawan@ee.iitd.ac.in

Abstract: We propose a plasmonic device, based on the combination of a Yagi-Uda nanoantenna

and a bowtie nanoantenna, that can enable on-chip implementation of plasmon-enhanced
light-matter interaction processes such as surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), surface-
enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy, and plasmon-enhanced fluorescence. In this device,
a localized source is employed to excite the Yagi-Uda nanoantenna, which in turn drives the
bowtie nanoantenna. We employ finite difference time domain (FDTD) method to perform
numerical simulations to obtain radiation characteristics of the Yagi-Uda nanoantenna as well as
the electric field enhancements in the vicinity of the bowtie nanoantenna excited by the Yagi-Uda
nanoantenna. We find that for a wavelength of 785 nm, an electric field enhancement of ∼ 196
can be achieved in between the arms of the bow-tie nanoantenna even when the minimum gap
between nanostructures is as large as 10 nm. It is found that this electric field enhancement is
significantly large when compared with the maximum electric field enhancement (∼ 11) obtained
for direct excitation of the bowtie nanoantenna by a point source or with the maximum electric
field enhancement (∼ 34) obtained for plane wave excitation of the bowtie nanoantenna. As
the electromagnetic enhancement of SERS can be approximated to be the fourth power of the
electric field enhancement, SERS electromagnetic enhancement of ∼ 1.5 × 109 is achieved for
the bow-tie nanoantennas excited by the Yagi-Uda nanoantennas, even when the minimum gap
between the arms of the bow-tie nanoantenna is as large as 10 nm. We also analyze the effect of
various geometrical parameters of the nanoantennas and show that the maximum electric field
enhancement at a given wavelength can only be obtained when both the Yagi-Uda nanoantenna
and the bowtie nanoantenna are resonant at that wavelength. Moreover, we calculate the electric
field enhancements at different near-infrared wavelengths. Employing the proposed device, an
electric field enhancement of ∼ 945 is obtained at a wavelength of 1500 nm resulting in a SERS
electromagnetic enhancement factor as high as ∼ 8 × 1011 , even when the minimum gap between
nanostructures is as large as 10 nm.

© 2021 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreement

1. Introduction
Plasmonic nanoantennas have attracted enormous interest in the last decade due to the promising
applications based on these nanoantennas such as photodetection, solar cells, sensing, and
integrated optical devices [1]. Several plasmonic nanoantennas such as nanorod [2], bowtie
[3,4], log-periodic [5], and Yagi-Uda [6] nanoantennas have been extensively studied. Plasmonic
nanoantennas can function both in excitation mode (receiving mode) as well as in emission
mode (transmitting mode) [7]. In the excitation mode, when nanoantennas are excited by a beam
of light, the incident field induces the collective oscillations of electrons in the nanoantennas
known as localized surface plasmons (LSPs). This leads to the localization and enhancement of
the electromagnetic fields around the nanoantennas in certain regions called hotspots. In the
emission mode, plasmonic nanoantennas are excited by point sources, such as quantum emitters,

#430824 https://doi.org/10.1364/OSAC.430824
Journal © 2021 Received 18 May 2021; revised 8 Jul 2021; accepted 14 Jul 2021; published 15 Nov 2021
 Research Article Vol. 4, No. 11 / 15 Nov 2021 / OSA Continuum 2971

by placing them in the vicinity of the plasmonic nanoantennas. Then, nanoantennas help the
point source to radiate into the far-field. In the emission mode (i.e. the transmitting mode), the
radiation pattern of the point source can be significantly altered through the nanoantenna modes
[8]. Though nanoantennas can be used in excitation mode as well as emission mode, majority of
them function well in excitation mode. However, the Yagi-Uda nanoantenna has extensively been
studied in emission mode as it exhibits excellent directive properties in emission mode [6].
A typical Yagi-Uda nanoantenna comprises a feed element, a reflector, and three directors. Feed
element is actively excited by the point source, whereas the reflector and directors are passively
excited by the feed element. The constructive interference in one direction and destructive
interference in the other directions between the radiation from all elements results in directional
emission of the radiation [9]. Therefore, the main focus of the research community has been to
study the directive properties of the Yagi-Uda nanoantennas [6,10–13]. Various configurations
of Yagi-Uda nanoantennas have been explored to analyze and improve the directive properties
of the Yagi-Uda nanoantennas [13–16]. In addition to the directive properties of the Yagi-Uda
nanoantennas, the excitation rate and the emission rate of a quantum emitter, which is coupled to
the near-field of resonant feed element of the Yagi-Uda antenna, is also enhanced [17].
One of the challenges while dealing with Yagi-Uda nanoantennas is to excite the feed element
locally without illuminating the other elements of the Yagi–Uda nanoantenna. Local excitation of
feed element can be achieved by placing a point source such as quantum dot in the vicinity of the
resonant feed element of the Yagi-Uda nanoantenna [10]. The quantum dots in the vicinity of the
feed element can be excited by focusing a laser beam through an objective lens or by employing a
tapered waveguide such as a tapered optical fiber. Other methods such as titled feed element
[12], plasmon-enhanced photoluminescence from feed element itself [18], and electrical driven
feed element [19] have been explored successfully to excite the feed element locally. Moreover,
there are other methods to locally generate light, such as using carbon nanotubes [20,21], using
scanning tunneling microscopes [22,23], and employing inelastic electron tunnelling in optical
nanoantennas [24,25]. With significant scientific advancements in areas such as local generation
of light, nanoscale fabrication, and precise positioning control, the need for advanced on-chip
applications based on Yagi-Uda nanoantennas is highly anticipated. One such application has
been theoretically proposed in Ref. [26]. Moreover, the Yagi-Uda nanoantennas were directly
employed in photodetection, resulting in fourfold improvement in the efficiency of a photodetector
[27].
In this paper, we propose a device that can enable on-chip implementation of plasmon-
enhanced light-matter interaction processes such as surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)
[28], plasmon-enhanced fluorescence [29], surface-enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy
[30]. The different plasmonic nanostructures employed for plasmon-enhanced light-matter
interaction processes require an external source to excite the plasmonic nanostructures. In order
to develop on-chip SERS sensing platforms, plasmonic nanoantennas have also been excited
through evanescent fields of dielectric waveguides by fabricating them on top of the dielectric
waveguides. We demonstrate for the first time that a Yagi-Uda nanoantenna can be employed to
excite a plasmonic bowtie nanoantenna. The proposed device consists of a Yagi-Uda nanoantenna
lying on the top of the substrate and a bowtie nanoantenna lying in a trench formed in the substrate
(see Fig. 1(a)). We have chosen a standard five-element Yagi-Uda nanoantenna that could be
easily fabricated on a substrate. Such nanoantennas have been fabricated in the past [10,12].
In future work, highly directive nanoantennas such as those described by Elsaid et al. [7] and
Mahmoud et al. [13] could also be employed for on-chip implementation of SERS instead of a
standard directive nanoantenna such as the five element nanoantenna on a substrate which has
been employed in our work.
When the Yagi-Uda nanoantenna is excited by a source, it radiates into the substrate towards the
directors and derives the bowtie nanoantenna. The proposed device offers flexibility in the mode
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Fig. 1. (a) Schematic of a device consisting of a bowtie nanoantenna driven by a Yagi-Uda

nanoantenna. (b) The 3D radiation pattern of the Yagi-Uda nanoantenna as a function of the
polar angle θ and the azimuthal angle Φ. The radiation pattern of the Yagi-Uda nanoantenna:
(c) as a function of Φ at θ = 48 °, in X-Y plane and (d) as a function of θ at Φ = 0°, in
X-Z plane. The depth ‘DT ’ of the trench was taken to be 400 nm. The dimensions of the
Yagi-Uda nanoantenna, for which the radiation pattern is shown, are as follow: LF = 120
nm, G1 =λ/4.4, G2 = λ/4. The length of the reflector and the directors were taken to be
1.25 and 0.9 times of the length of the feed, respectively. The height and the width of
the feed, reflector, and directors are taken to be 40 nm. The length ‘LBNA ’ of the bowtie
nanoantenna and gap ‘g’ is taken to be 180 nm and 10 nm, respectively. (e) Spatial electric
field distribution of a bowtie nanoantenna driven by a Yagi-Uda nanoantenna.

of excitation as the feed element of the Yagi-Uda nanoantenna can be excited electrically [19] as
well as optically [10,12,18]. We show that at a wavelength of 785 nm, the electromagnetic field
between the arms of the bowtie nanoantenna can be enhanced by a factor as high as ∼ 196 — even
when the minimum gap between nanostructures is as large as 10 nm — which is useful for various
applications. It is also found that this electric field enhancement is significantly large when
compared with the maximum electric field enhancement (∼ 11) obtained for direct excitation of
the bowtie nanoantenna by a point source or with the maximum electric field enhancement (∼
34) obtained for plane wave excitation of the bowtie nanoantenna.
The electric field enhancements are also calculated at near-infrared wavelengths. For the Yagi-
Uda nanoantenna driving a bowtie nanoantenna, an extremely large electric field enhancement
of ∼ 945 is obtained at a wavelength of 1500 nm, even when the minimum gap between
nanostructures is as large as 10 nm. The proposed device can be fabricated by employing methods
such as electron beam lithography, metallization, and lift off as discussed in detail in Supplement
1, Section 2.
 Research Article Vol. 4, No. 11 / 15 Nov 2021 / OSA Continuum 2973

2. Results and Discussions

Figure 1(a) shows the schematic of the device consisting of a gold Yagi-Uda nanoantenna lying
on a silica substrate and a gold bowtie nanoantenna lying in a trench in the silica substrate. The
Yagi-Uda nanoantenna consists of five elements: one feed element, one reflector, and three
directors. Finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulations, using a commercial software
called Lumerical FDTD solution, were employed to calculate the various parameters such as
resonance of different components, radiation pattern, and electric field enhancements at 785 nm
wavelength. The design optimization of the Yagi-Uda nanoantenna is carried out by calculating
the forward to backward (F/B) ratio which is the ratio of maximum electric field intensity in
the forward direction to the maximum electric field intensity in backward direction, and is
discussed in detail in Supplement 1 (Section 1, Fig. S2). The results of the optimized Yagi-Uda
nanoantennas are presented in this paper. In order to design the device, the radiation pattern of
the Yagi-Uda nanoantenna lying on a silica substrate is firstly calculated, and is shown in Fig. 1(b).
From Fig. 1(b), it can be seen that the Yagi-Uda nanoantenna radiates along its axis towards the
directors in the X-Y plane (i.e., Φ=0). A planer 2-D polar plot depicts this in a clear manner in
Fig. 1(c). This ascertains the proper functioning of Yagi-Uda nanoantenna. In addition, it is also
observed from Fig. 1(b) that the Yagi-Uda nanoantenna radiates at an angle (θ=48 °) from the
–ve z-axis i.e., towards the substrate side. The radiation pattern of the Yagi-Uda nanoantenna
in the X-Z plane towards the substrate side is separately shown in Fig. 1(d) using a semi-polar
plot. A Yagi-Uda nanoantenna — completely embedded in a dielectric medium — tends to
radiate in its plane. However, due to the asymmetric refractive index profile below and above
the Yagi-Uda nanoantenna, the radiation pattern tilts towards the –ve z-axis in the X-Z plane
[17,19]. Therefore, to excite the bowtie nanoantenna, a trench is created in the substrate, at a
distance of 50 nm from the last director, such that the radiation from the Yagi-Uda nanoantenna
can excite the bowtie nanoantenna placed in the trench. For a fixed angle θ, the depth of the
trench (and therefore, the position of bowtie nanoantenna) depends on the horizontal distance
between the bowtie nanoantenna and the Yagi-Uda nanoantenna. To keep the footprint compact,
it is desirable to place the bowtie nanoantenna close to the Yagi-Uda nanoantenna.
Therefore, first, we fix the position of the bowtie nanoantenna at a distance of 250 nm from the
last director (as this is experimentally realizable). Then, the depth of the trench is optimized
by calculating the electric field enhancements between the arms of the bowtie nanoantenna by
varying the depth of trench (see Supplement 1, Section 1, Fig. S3(a)). The spatial electric field
profile of the bowtie nanoantenna (driven by the Yagi-Uda nanoantenna) for an optimal DT is
shown in Fig. 1(e). It is observed that an electric field enhancement of ∼196 is obtained at 785
nm wavelength. The large electric field enhancement is beneficial for many applications. For
example, the SERS electromagnetic enhancement factor (EMEF) is equal to the fourth power of
the electric field enhancement [28,31]; therefore, a SERS EMEF of ∼ 109 can be obtained at 785
nm wavelength using the proposed device.
To demonstrate the advantage of employing a Yagi-Uda nanoantenna to excite the bowtie
nanoantenna, we calculate the electric field enhancement between the arms of the bowtie
nanoantenna for different excitation configurations. The spatial electric field distribution at 785
nm wavelength for the bowtie nanoantenna is shown in Fig. 2 for the following configurations:
(a) a bowtie nanoantenna excited by a point source in the absence of a Yagi-Uda nanoantenna, (b)
a bowtie nanoantenna excited by a plane wave source, and (c) a bowtie nanoantenna excited by
a Yagi-Uda nanoantenna, which is excited by a point source. When the bowtie nanoantenna is
excited by a stand-alone point source, i.e., in the absence of a Yagi-Uda nanoantenna, the electric
field enhancement obtained is ∼ 11. In the case where the bowtie nanoantenna is excited by
a plane wave source, the maximum electric field enhancement obtained is ∼ 36. Interestingly,
when the Yagi-Uda nanoantenna — whose feed element is excited by the point source — is
employed to excite the bowtie nanoantenna, the electric field can be enhanced by a factor of ∼
 Research Article Vol. 4, No. 11 / 15 Nov 2021 / OSA Continuum 2974

196. This substantial increase in the electrical field enhancement, between the arms of the bowtie
nanoantenna driven by a Yagi-Uda nanoantenna, can be attributed to the directive properties of
the Yagi-Uda nanoantenna. A stand-alone point source radiates in all directions. Therefore, a
small fraction of radiation emitted by the point source interacts with the bowtie nanoantenna.
However, when the point source is coupled to the feed element of a Yagi-Uda nanoantenna,
it radiates through the modes of the nanoantenna. Because of the directive properties of the
Yagi-Uda nanoantenna, most of the radiation is transmitted in one direction. Consequently, such
a substantial electric field enhancement is obtained.

Fig. 2. Schematic (top) and the spatial electric field distribution (bottom) of a bowtie
nanoantenna for three configurations: (a) Bowtie nanoantenna excited by a point source in the
absence of a Yagi-Uda nanoantenna, (b) Bowtie nanoantenna excited by a plane-wave source
and (c) Bowtie nanoantenna driven by a Yagi-Uda nanoantenna, which is excited by a point
source. The spatial electric field distributions were calculated at 785 nm wavelength of the
incident light. The dimensions of the Yagi-Uda nanoantenna and of the bowtie nanoantenna
are: LF = 120 nm, G1 = λ/4.4, G2 = λ/4, LR = 1.25 x LF , LD = 0.9 x LF , LBNA = 180 nm,
g = 10 nm, DT = 400 nm.

To understand the role of resonances of different components of the device proposed by us, we
calculate the electric field enhancement factor as a function of wavelength for various sizes of the
bowtie nanoantenna. The Yagi-Uda nanoantenna, which is in resonance at 785 nm wavelength, is
excited by a point source, and the electric field enhancement factor is calculated for various sizes
of a bowtie nanoantenna, as shown in Fig. 3(a). It is observed that the maximum electric field
enhancement occurs at 785 nm wavelength. This is expected because the Yagi-Uda nanoantenna
used is in resonance at 785 nm wavelength. It can also be observed that, at 785 nm wavelength,
the maximum electric field enhancement occurs for 180 nm length of the bowtie nanoantenna, as
separately shown in Fig. 3(b). This is attributed to the fact that both — the Yagi-Uda nanoantenna,
which directs the power from the point source to the bowtie nanoantenna, as well as the bowtie
nanoantenna having 180 nm length — resonate at 785 nm wavelength (see Supplement 1, Section
1, Fig. S2).
 Research Article Vol. 4, No. 11 / 15 Nov 2021 / OSA Continuum 2975

Fig. 3. (a) Electric field enhancement in the gap present between the arms of a bowtie
nanoantenna driven by a Yagi-Uda nanoantenna as a function of the wavelength, for different
length of the bowtie nanoantenna. Electric field enhancement in the gap present between
the arms of a bowtie nanoantenna driven by a Yagi-Uda nanoantenna as a function of: (b)
the length of the bowtie nanoantenna at 785 nm wavelength and (c) the length of the feed
element of the Yagi-Uda nanoantenna at 785 nm. The power radiated at 785 nm wavelength
(normalized to the maximum power radiated) at angle θ = 48° as a function of the length of
the feed element of the Yagi-Uda nanoantenna. The dimensions of the Yagi-Uda nanoantenna
and bowtie nanoantenna (unless varied) are: LF = 120 nm, G1 = λ/4.4, G2 = λ/4, LR = 1.25 x
LF , LD = 0.9 x LF , LBNA = 180 nm, g = 10 nm, DT = 400 nm.

To strengthen this fact, we calculate the electric field enhancement for various lengths of
the feed element while keeping the bowtie nanoantenna length fixed at 180 nm (which is the
resonance length of the bowtie nanoantenna for 785 nm wavelength). The results are shown in
Fig. 3(c). The maximum electric field enhancement occurs at 120 nm length of the feed element,
which is the resonance length of the feed element at 785 nm wavelength on the silica substrate.
To clarify this more, we have plotted the power (normalized to maximum power) as a function of
feed length transmitted at angle θ = 48°, as shown in Fig. 3(d) for 785 nm wavelength. It can be
observed that maximum power transmitted by the Yagi-Uda nanoantenna occurs for a feed length
of 120 nm. This indicates that maximum power from the source couples to the plasmonic mode
of feed element having a length of 120 nm, as this is the resonance feed length of the gold feed
element present on silica substrate at 785 nm wavelength. It can be concluded that the maximum
electric field enhancement is obtained only when both, the bowtie nanoantenna as well as the
Yagi-Uda nanoantenna, are in resonance with the wavelength emitted by the point source.
In addition to calculating the electric field enhancement at 785 nm wavelength, we also
calculate the maximum electric field enhancements at various near-infrared wavelengths. The
length of the feed element of the Yagi-Uda nanoantenna, the length of the bowtie nanoantenna,
 Research Article Vol. 4, No. 11 / 15 Nov 2021 / OSA Continuum 2976

and the depth of the trench are optimized at various wavelengths in the near-infrared region to
determine the highest possible electric field enhancement (see Supplement 1, Section 1, Fig. S5).
The resonance length of the feed element ‘LF ’, the resonance length of the bowtie nanoantenna
‘LBNA ’ and the optmimum depth (DT ) of the trench obtained at different wavelengths are given in
Table 1.
Table 1. Resonance length of the feed element of
the Yagi-Uda nanoantenna (LF ) and of the bowtie
nanoantenna (LBNA ) as well as the optimum depth
(DT ) of the trench calculated at different
wavelengths of the incident light
Wavelengths (nm) LF (nm) LBNA (nm) DT (nm)
800 125 200 400
900 150 250 400
1000 180 300 350
1100 210 340 350
1200 235 390 300
1300 270 440 300
1400 295 490 300
1500 320 540 250

The maximum electric field enhancement between the arms of the bowtie nanoantenna and
SERS EMEF is shown in Fig. 4(a) and Fig. 4(b), respectively, with a Yagi-Uda nanoantenna
driving the bowtie nanoantenna and without the Yagi-Uda nanoantenna. The position of the
dipole source for the Yagi-Uda nanoantenna driving the bowtie nanoantenna and without the
Yagi-Uda nanoantenna was kept the same, i.e. at a distance of 5 nm from one end of the feed
element and at the same height as the Yagi-Uda nanoantenna. It is evident from Fig. 4 that the
electric field enhancement with the Yagi-Uda nanoantenna is substantially large compared to
the electric field enhancement without the Yagi-Uda nanoantenna. Moreover, the electric field
enhancement increases at longer wavelengths and reaches up to ∼ 945 at 1500 nm wavelength.
Higher electric field enhancements at longer wavelengths can firstly be attributed to the fact that
the bowtie nanoantennas that are resonant at longer wavelengths, have larger lengths. These
bowtie nanoantennas having larger lengths produce higher electric field enhancements compared
to those of short bowtie nanoantennas (see Supplement 1, Section 1, Fig. S5(b)). Secondly, more
power is radiated by the Yagi-Uda nanoantennas in the forward direction at longer wavelengths
as compared to that at a shorter wavelengths (see Supplement 1, Section 1, Fig. S6). This can be
attributed to the fact that the Yagi-Uda nanoantennas that are resonant at larger wavelengths have
larger feed lengths, and that the nanoantennas with larger feed lengths will have better coupling
with the nanoemitters. Hence, these nanoantennas with larger feed lengths will radiate more
power in the forward direction. Therefore, more power is directed by the Yagi-Uda nanoantennas
in the forward direction for longer wavelengths. From Fig. 4(b), it can be seen that a SERS EMEF
of ∼ 8 × 1011 can be obtained (between the arms of the bowtie nanoantenna) at a wavelength of
1500 nm in the presence of a Yagi-Uda nanoantenna. The spatial electric field distribution of a
bowtie nanoantenna driven by a Yagi-Uda nanoantenna at different wavelengths is presented in
Fig. 5. It is evident from Fig. 5 that, at the resonant wavlength (∼ 1500 nm), a maximum electric
field enhancement occurs at the hotspot generated between the arms of the bowtie nanoantenna.
Research Article Vol. 4, No. 11 / 15 Nov 2021 / OSA Continuum 2977

Fig. 4. (a) Maximum electric field enhancement between the arms of the bowtie nanoantenna,
without the bowtie nanoantenna being driven by the Yagi-Uda nanoantenna (blue) and
with the bowtie nanoantenna being driven by the Yagi-Uda nanoantenna (red), for different
wavelengths of the incident light. (b) SERS EMEF calculated between the arms of the bowtie
nanoantenna, without the bowtie nanoantenna being driven by the Yagi-Uda nanoantenna
(blue) and with the bowtie nanoantenna being driven by the Yagi-Uda nanoantenna (red). The
optimized lengths of the feed elements of the Yagi-Uda nanoantennas, the optimized lengths
of the bowtie nanoantennas, as well as the depths of the trench are given in Table 1. Other
important dimensions of the device are: G1 = λ/4.4, G2 = λ/4, LR = 1.25 x LF , LD = 0.9 x
LF , g = 10 nm.

Fig. 5. Spatial electric field distribution of a bowtie nanoantenna driven by a Yagi-Uda

nanoantenna when the wavelengths of the incident light are: (a) 800 nm, (b) 900 nm, (c) 1000
nm, (d) 1100 nm, (e) 1200 nm (f) 1300 nm, (g) 1400 nm, and (h) 1500 nm wavelength. The
optimized lengths of the feed elements of the Yagi-Uda nanoantennas, the optimized lengths
of the bowtie nanoantennas, as well as the depths of the trench are given in Table 1. Other
important dimensions of the device are: G1 = λ/4.4, G2 = λ/4, LR = 1.25 x LF , LD = 0.9 x
LF , g = 10 nm.
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3. Conclusions
In conclusion, we have proposed a device in which a plasmonic bowtie nanoantenna is driven by
a Yagi-Uda nanoantenna. The propsed device can enable on-chip implementation of plasmon-
enhanced light-matter interaction processes. The FDTD method was employed to calculate the
radiation pattern of the Yagi-Uda nanoantenna and the electric field enhancements between the
arms of the bowtie nanoantenna, which is driven by the Yagi-Uda nanoantenna. We found that
the electric field, between the arms of the bowtie nanoantenna with a gap as large as 10 nm, can
be enhanced by a factor of ∼ 196 at 785 nm wavelength, leading to a SERS electromagnetic
enhancement of ∼ 1.5 × 109 . The electric field enhancement obtained using proposed device is
significantly higher compared to electric field enhancement obtained in case of direct excitation
of the bowtie nanoantenna by a point source in the absence of the Yagi-Uda nanoantenna or in
the case of direct excitation of a bowtie nanoantenna by a plane wave source. The calculation
of the electric field enhancement at 785 nm wavelength — for different lengths of a bowtie
nanoantenna and the feed element of the Yagi-Uda nanoantenna — reveals that the maximum
enhancement is obtained only when both the Yagi-Uda nanoantenna and the bowtie nanoantenna
are chosen to resonate at 785 nm wavelength. By optimizing the Yagi-Uda nanoantenna as well
as the bowtie nanoantenna at different near-infrared wavelengths, a maximum electromagnetic
field enhancement of ∼ 945 is obtained at a wavelength of 1500 nm, resulting in a SERS
electromagnetic enhancement factor of ∼ 1011 .
Funding. Defence Research and Development Organisation (RP03356G, RP03436G, RP03437G); Ministry of Human
Resource Development (RP03246G, RP03417G); Science and Engineering Research Board (RP03932G).
Acknowledgments. Above all, A. Dhawan would like to thank Lord Jesus Christ for blessing this work. A. Dhawan
would also like to thank Digital India Corporation for implementing the Visvesvaraya PhD Scheme of Ministry of
Electronics & Information Technology, Government of India.
Disclosures. The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Data availability. Data underlying the results presented in this paper are not publicly available at this time but may
be obtained from the authors upon reasonable request.
Supplemental document. See Supplement 1 for supporting content.
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