Giant plasmonic energy and momentum transfer on the nanoscale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Durach, Maxim

We have developed a general theory of the plasmonic enhancement of many-body phenomena resulting in a closed expression for the surface plasmon-dressed Coulomb interaction. It is shown that this interaction has a resonant nature. We have also demonstrated that renormalized interaction is a long-ranged interaction whose intensity is considerably increased compared to bare Coulomb interaction over the entire region near the plasmonic nanostructure. We illustrate this theory by re-deriving the mirror charge potential near a metal sphere as well as the quasistatic potential behind the so-called perfect lens at the surface plasmon (SP) frequency. The dressed interaction for an important example of a metal--dielectric nanoshell is also explicitly calculated and analyzed. The renormalization and plasmonic enhancement of the Coulomb interaction is a universal effect, which affects a wide range of many-body phenomena in the vicinity of metal nanostructures: chemical reactions, scattering between charge carriers, exciton formation, Auger recombination, carrier multiplication, etc. We have described the nanoplasmonic-enhanced Forster resonant energy transfer (FRET) between quantum dots near a metal nanoshell. It is shown that this process is very efficient near high-aspect-ratio nanoshells. We have also obtained a general expression for the force exerted by an electromagnetic field on an extended polarizable object. This expression is applicable to a wide range of situations important for nanotechnology. Most importantly, this result is of fundamental importance for processes involving interaction of nanoplasmonic fields with metal electrons. Using the obtained expression for the force, we have described a giant surface-plasmon-induced drag-effect rectification (SPIDER), which exists under conditions of the extreme nanoplasmonic confinement. Under realistic conditions in nanowires, this giant SPIDER generates rectified THz potential differences up to 10V and extremely strong electric fields up to 105--10 6 V/cm. It can serve as a powerful nanoscale source of THz radiation. The giant SPIDER opens up a new field of ultraintense THz nanooptics with wide potential applications in nanotechnology and nanoscience, including microelectronics, nanoplasmonics, and biomedicine. Additionally, the SPIDER is an ultrafast effect whose bandwidth for nanometric wires is 20 THz, which allows for detection of femtosecond pulses on the nanoscale. INDEX WORDS: Nanoplasmonics, Nanoplasmonic renormalization of Coulomb interaction, Surface-plasmon enhanced Forster energy transfer (FRET), Surface-plasmon-induced drag-effect rectification (SPIDER), Nanotechnology, Plasmonics on the nanoscale, Localized surface plasmons (LSPs), Surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs)

Analysis on vertical directional couplers with long range surface plasmons for multilayer optical routing

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Alam, B., E-mail: badrul.alam@uniroma1.it; Veroli, A.; Benedetti, A.

2016-08-28

A structure featuring vertical directional coupling of long-range surface plasmon polaritons between strip waveguides at λ = 1.55 μm is investigated with the aim of producing efficient elements that enable optical multilayer routing for 3D photonics. We have introduced a practical computational method to calculate the interaction on the bent part. This method allows us both to assess the importance of the interaction in the bent part and to control it by a suitable choice of the fabrication parameters that helps also to restrain effects due to fabrication issues. The scheme adopted here allows to reduce the insertion losses compared with othermore » planar and multilayer devices.« less

Perfect coupling of light to a periodic dielectric/metal/dielectric structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Zhengling; Li, Shiqiang; Chang, R. P. H.; Ketterson, John B.

2014-07-01

Using the finite difference time domain method, it is demonstrated that perfect coupling can be achieved between normally incident light and a periodic dielectric/metal/dielectric structure. The structure serves as a diffraction grating that excites modes related to the long range surface plasmon and short range surface plasmon modes that propagate on continuous metallic films. By optimizing the structural dimensions, perfect coupling is achieved between the incident light and these modes. A high Q of 697 and an accompanying ultrasharp linewidth of 0.8 nm are predicted for a 10 nm silver film for optimal conditions.

Integrated optical gyroscope using active Long-range surface plasmon-polariton waveguide resonator

PubMed Central

Zhang, Tong; Qian, Guang; Wang, Yang-Yang; Xue, Xiao-Jun; Shan, Feng; Li, Ruo-Zhou; Wu, Jing-Yuan; Zhang, Xiao-Yang

2014-01-01

Optical gyroscopes with high sensitivity are important rotation sensors for inertial navigation systems. Here, we present the concept of integrated resonant optical gyroscope constructed by active long-range surface plasmon-polariton (LRSPP) waveguide resonator. In this gyroscope, LRSPP waveguide doped gain medium is pumped to compensate the propagation loss, which has lower pump noise than that of conventional optical waveguide. Peculiar properties of single-polarization of LRSPP waveguide have been found to significantly reduce the polarization error. The metal layer of LRSPP waveguide is electro-optical multiplexed for suppression of reciprocal noises. It shows a limited sensitivity of ~10−4 deg/h, and a maximum zero drift which is 4 orders of magnitude lower than that constructed by conventional single-mode waveguide. PMID:24458281

Ultralow-Loss CMOS Copper Plasmonic Waveguides.

PubMed

Fedyanin, Dmitry Yu; Yakubovsky, Dmitry I; Kirtaev, Roman V; Volkov, Valentyn S

2016-01-13

Surface plasmon polaritons can give a unique opportunity to manipulate light at a scale well below the diffraction limit reducing the size of optical components down to that of nanoelectronic circuits. At the same time, plasmonics is mostly based on noble metals, which are not compatible with microelectronics manufacturing technologies. This prevents plasmonic components from integration with both silicon photonics and silicon microelectronics. Here, we demonstrate ultralow-loss copper plasmonic waveguides fabricated in a simple complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) compatible process, which can outperform gold plasmonic waveguides simultaneously providing long (>40 μm) propagation length and deep subwavelength (∼λ(2)/50, where λ is the free-space wavelength) mode confinement in the telecommunication spectral range. These results create the backbone for the development of a CMOS plasmonic platform and its integration in future electronic chips.

Self-alignment of plasmonic gold nanorods in reconfigurable anisotropic fluids for tunable bulk metamaterial applications.

PubMed

Liu, Qingkun; Cui, Yanxia; Gardner, Dennis; Li, Xin; He, Sailing; Smalyukh, Ivan I

2010-04-14

We demonstrate the bulk self-alignment of dispersed gold nanorods imposed by the intrinsic cylindrical micelle self-assembly in nematic and hexagonal liquid crystalline phases of anisotropic fluids. External magnetic field and shearing allow for alignment and realignment of the liquid crystal matrix with the ensuing long-range orientational order of well-dispersed plasmonic nanorods. This results in a switchable polarization-sensitive plasmon resonance exhibiting stark differences from that of the same nanorods in isotropic fluids. The device-scale bulk nanoparticle alignment may enable optical metamaterial mass production and control of properties arising from combining the switchable nanoscale structure of anisotropic fluids with the surface plasmon resonance properties of the plasmonic nanorods.

Novel electrostatic attraction from plasmon fluctuations

PubMed

Lau; Levine; Pincus

2000-05-01

In this Letter, we show that, at low temperatures, zero-point fluctuations of the plasmon modes of two mutually coupled 2D planar Wigner crystals give rise to a novel long-range attractive force. For the case where the distance d between two planar surfaces is large, this attractive force has an unusual power-law decay, which scales as d(-7/2), unlike other fluctuation-induced forces. Specifically, we note that its range is longer than the "standard" zero-temperature van der Waals interaction. This result may, in principle, be observed in bilayer electronic systems and provides insight into the nature of correlation effects for highly charged surfaces.

Elevated gold ellipse nanoantenna dimers as sensitive and tunable surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy substrates

DOE PAGES

Jubb, A. M.; Jiao, Y.; Eres, Gyula; ...

2016-02-15

Here we demonstrate large area arrays of elevated gold ellipse dimers with precisely controlled gaps for use as sensitive and highly controllable surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates. The significantly enhanced Raman signal observed with SERS arises from both localized and long range plasmonic effects. By controlling the geometry of a SERS substrate, in this case the size and aspect ratio of individual ellipses, the plasmon resonance can be tuned in a broad wavelength range, providing a method for designing the response of SERS substrates at different excitation wavelengths. Plasmon effects exhibited by the elevated gold ellipse dimer substrates aremore » also demonstrated and confirmed through finite difference time domain (FDTD) simulations. A plasmon resonance red shift with an increase of the ellipse aspect ratio is observed, allowing systematic control of the resulting SERS signal intensity. Optimized elevated ellipse dimer substrates with 10±2 nm gaps exhibit uniform SERS enhancement factors on the order of 10 9 for adsorbed p-mercaptoaniline molecules.« less

Controlling Propagation Properties of Surface Plasmon Polariton at Terahertz Frequency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gupta, Barun

Despite great scientific exploration since the 1900s, the terahertz range is one of the least explored regions of electromagnetic spectrum today. In the field of plasmonics, texturing and patterning allows for control over electromagnetic waves bound to the interface between a metal and the adjacent dielectric medium. The surface plasmon-polaritons (SPPs) display unique dispersion characteristics that depend upon the plasma frequency of the medium. In the long wavelength regime, where metals are highly conductive, such texturing can create an effective medium that can be characterized by an effective plasma frequency that is determined by the geometrical parameters of the surface structure. The terahertz (THz) spectral range offers unique opportunities to utilize such materials. This thesis describes a number of terahertz plasmonic devices, both passive and active, fabricated using different techniques. As an example, inkjet printing is exploited for fabricating two-dimensional plasmonic devices. In this case, we demonstrated the terahertz plasmonic structures in which the conductivity of the metallic film is varied spatially in order to further control the plasmonic response. Using a commercially available inkjet printers, in which one cartridge is filled with conductive silver ink and a second cartridge is filled with resistive carbon ink, computer generated drawings of plasmonic structures are printed in which the individual printed dots can have differing amounts of the two inks, thereby creating a spatial variation in the conductivity. The inkjet printing technique is limited to the two-dimensional structurers. In order to expand the capability of printing complex terahertz devices, which cannot otherwise be fabricated using standard fabricating techniques, we employed 3D printing techniques. 3D printing techniques using polymers to print out the complex structures. In the realm of active plasmonic devices, a wide range of innovative approaches have been developed utilizing a variety of materials. We discuss the use of SMAs for terahertz (THz) plasmonics that allows for switching between different physical geometries corresponding to different electromagnetic responses.

Surface Plasmon Polariton Resonance of Gold, Silver, and Copper Studied in the Kretschmann Geometry: Dependence on Wavelength, Angle of Incidence, and Film Thickness

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takagi, Kentaro; Nair, Selvakumar V.; Watanabe, Ryosuke; Seto, Keisuke; Kobayashi, Takayoshi; Tokunaga, Eiji

2017-12-01

Surface plasmon polariton (SPP) resonance spectra for noble metals (Au, Ag, and Cu) were comprehensively studied in the Kretschmann attenuated total reflection (ATR) geometry, in the wavelength (λ) range from 300 to 1000 nm with the angle of incidence (θ) ranging from 45 to 60° and the film thickness (d) ranging from 41 to 76 nm. The experimental plasmon resonance spectra were reproduced by a calculation that included the broadening effects as follows: (1) the imaginary part of the bulk dielectric constant, (2) the thickness-dependent radiative coupling of the SPP at the metal-air interface to the prism, (3) the lack of conservation of the wavevector parallel to the interface kx(k||) caused by the surface roughness, (4) scanning λ at a fixed θ (changing both energy and kx at the same time) over the SPP dispersion relation. For Au and Ag, the experimental results were in good agreement with the calculated results using the bulk dielectric constants, showing no film thickness dependence of the plasmon resonance energy. A method to extract the true width of the plasmon resonance from raw ATR spectra is proposed and the results are rigorously compared with those expected from the bulk dielectric function given in the literature. For Au and Ag, the width increases with energy, in agreement with that expected from the relaxation of bulk free electrons including the electron-electron interaction, but there is clear evidence of extra broadening, which is more significant for thinner films, possibly due to relaxation pathways intrinsic to plasmons near the interface. For Cu, the visibility of the plasmon resonance critically depends on the evaporation conditions, and low pressures and fast deposition rates are required. Otherwise, scattering from the surface roughness causes considerable broadening of the plasmon resonance, resulting in an apparently fixed resonance energy without clear incident angle dependence. For Cu, the observed plasmon dispersion agrees well with that expected from the bulk dielectric function even with nominal oxidation of the surface, but the widths at long wavelengths are much larger than those theoretically expected.

Single-mode surface plasmon distributed feedback lasers.

PubMed

Karami Keshmarzi, Elham; Tait, R Niall; Berini, Pierre

2018-03-29

Single-mode surface plasmon distributed feedback (DFB) lasers are realized in the near infrared using a two-dimensional non-uniform long-range surface plasmon polariton structure. The surface plasmon mode is excited onto a 20 nm-thick, 1 μm-wide metal stripe (Ag or Au) on a silica substrate, where the stripe is stepped in width periodically, forming a 1st order Bragg grating. Optical gain is provided by optically pumping a 450 nm-thick IR-140 doped PMMA layer as the top cladding, which covers the entire length of the Bragg grating, thus creating a DFB laser. Single-mode lasing peaks of very narrow linewidth were observed for Ag and Au DFBs near 882 nm at room temperature. The narrow linewidths are explained by the low spontaneous emission rate into the surface plasmon lasing mode as well as the high quality factor of the DFB structure. The lasing emission is exclusively TM polarized. Kinks in light-light curves accompanied by spectrum narrowing were observed, from which threshold pump power densities can be clearly identified (0.78 MW cm-2 and 1.04 MW cm-2 for Ag and Au DFB lasers, respectively). The Schawlow-Townes linewidth for our Ag and Au DFB lasers is estimated and very narrow linewidths are predicted for the lasers. The lasers are suitable as inexpensive, recyclable and highly coherent sources of surface plasmons, or for integration with other surface plasmon elements of similar structure.

Control of optical properties of metal-dielectric planar plasmonic nanostructures by adjusting their architecture in the case of TiAlN/Ag system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wainstein, D. L.; Vakhrushev, V. O.; Kovalev, A. I.

2017-05-01

The multilayer Ag/(Ti34Al66)N metal-insulator-metal (MIM) heterostructures with different thicknesses of individual layers varied from several to several hundred nanometers were fabricated by DC-magnetron sputtering on the surfaces of Si single crystal wafers. The coatings structure was determined by STEM. The phase composition and crystallography of individual layers were studied by X-ray diffraction. The reflection indexes were measured in the photons energies range from 1 to 5 eV, or from 1240 to 248 nm. The spectroscopy of plasmon losses and plasmon microscopy allowed us to measure the plasmons losses characteristic energies and their surface distribution. The energies of plasmons peaks and their locations are strongly depending on Ag layers thickness in the MIM nanocomposite. The surface plasmon with energy about 4 eV was observed in the middle of 20 nm Ag layer. The plasmons were localized at the metal/dielectric interface for Ag layers 5 nm and less. The reflectance spectral profiles edges positions at long and short waves are correlated with plasmons energies and features of their spatial distribution. The MIMs based on the TiAlN/Ag can find applications as optical filters, photovoltaic energy conversion devices, etc.

Ultrathin Au film on polymer surface for surface plasmon polariton waveguide application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Tong; Ji, Lanting; He, Guobing; Sun, Xiaoqiang; Wang, Fei; Zhang, Daming

2017-11-01

Formation of laterally continuous ultrathin gold films on polymer substrates is a technological challenge. In this work, the vacuum thermal evaporation method is adopted to form continuous Au films in the thickness range of 7-17 nm on polymers of Poly(methyl-methacrylate-glycidly-methacrylate) and SU-8 film surface without using the adhesion or metallic seeding layers. Absorption spectrum, scanning electron microscope and atomic force microscope images are used to characterize the Au film thickness, roughness and optical loss. The result shows that molecular-scale structure, surface energy and electronegativity have impacts on the Au film morphology on polymers. Wet chemical etching is used to fabricate 7-nm thick Au stripes embedded in polymer claddings. These long-range surface plasmon polariton waveguides demonstrate the favorable morphological configurations and cross-sectional states. Through the end-fire excitation method, propagation losses of 6-μm wide Au stripes are compared to theoretical values and analyzed from practical film status. The smooth, patternable gold films on polymer provide potential applications to plasmonic waveguides, biosensing, metamaterials and optical antennas.

Strategies for leukemic biomarker detection using long-range surface plasmon-polaritons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krupin, O.; Wang, C.; Berini, P.

2014-09-01

The suitability and use of long-range surface plasmon-polaritons for leukemic biomarker detection is discussed. A novel optical biosensor comprised of gold straight waveguides embedded in CYTOP with an etched microfluidic channel was tested for detecting leukemia in patient serum. Gold surface functionalization involved the interaction of protein G (PG) with antibodies by first adsorbing PG on bare gold and then antibodies (Immunoglobulin G, IgG). Differentiation between healthy and leukemia patients was based on the difference in ratios of Ig kappa (Igκ) and Ig lambda (Igλ) light chains in both serums. The ratio for a normal patient is ~1.4 - 2, whereas for a leukemia patient this ratio is altered. As a receptor (primary antibodies), goat anti-human anti-IgGκ and anti-IgGλ were used to functionalize the surface. Diluted normal and leukemia patient serums were tested over the aforementioned surfaces. The ratios of mass surface densities of IgGκ:IgGλ for normal serum (NS) and patient serum (PS) were found to be 1.55 and 1.92 respectively.

Localized surface plasmon enhanced photothermal conversion in Bi2Se3 topological insulator nanoflowers

PubMed Central

Guozhi, Jia; Peng, Wang; Yanbang, Zhang; Kai, Chang

2016-01-01

Localized surface plasmons (LSP), the confined collective excitations of electrons in noble metal and doped semiconductor nanostructures, enhance greatly local electric field near the surface of the nanostructures and result in strong optical response. LSPs of ordinary massive electrons have been investigated for a long time and were used as basic ingredient of plasmonics and metamaterials. LSPs of massless Dirac electrons, which could result in novel tunable plasmonic metamaterials in the terahertz and infrared frequency regime, are relatively unexplored. Here we report for first time the observation of LSPs in Bi2Se3 topological insulator hierarchical nanoflowers, which are consisted of a large number of Bi2Se3 nanocrystals. The existence of LSPs can be demonstrated by surface enhanced Raman scattering and absorbance spectra ranging from ultraviolet to near-infrared. LSPs produce an enhanced photothermal effect stimulated by near-infrared laser. The excellent photothermal conversion effect can be ascribed to the existence of topological surface states, and provides us a new way for practical application of topological insulators in nanoscale heat source and cancer therapy. PMID:27172827

Localized surface plasmon enhanced photothermal conversion in Bi2Se3 topological insulator nanoflowers.

PubMed

Guozhi, Jia; Peng, Wang; Yanbang, Zhang; Kai, Chang

2016-05-12

Localized surface plasmons (LSP), the confined collective excitations of electrons in noble metal and doped semiconductor nanostructures, enhance greatly local electric field near the surface of the nanostructures and result in strong optical response. LSPs of ordinary massive electrons have been investigated for a long time and were used as basic ingredient of plasmonics and metamaterials. LSPs of massless Dirac electrons, which could result in novel tunable plasmonic metamaterials in the terahertz and infrared frequency regime, are relatively unexplored. Here we report for first time the observation of LSPs in Bi2Se3 topological insulator hierarchical nanoflowers, which are consisted of a large number of Bi2Se3 nanocrystals. The existence of LSPs can be demonstrated by surface enhanced Raman scattering and absorbance spectra ranging from ultraviolet to near-infrared. LSPs produce an enhanced photothermal effect stimulated by near-infrared laser. The excellent photothermal conversion effect can be ascribed to the existence of topological surface states, and provides us a new way for practical application of topological insulators in nanoscale heat source and cancer therapy.

Flatland plasmonics and nanophotonics based on graphene and beyond

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Pai-Yen; Argyropoulos, Christos; Farhat, Mohamed; Gomez-Diaz, J. Sebastian

2017-04-01

In this paper, we review and discuss how the recently discovered two-dimensional (2D) Dirac materials, particularly graphene, may be utilized as new efficient platforms for excitations of propagating and localized surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) in the terahertz (THz) and mid-infrared (MIR) regions. The surface plasmon modes supported by the metallic 2D materials exhibit tunable plasmon resonances that are essential, yet missing, ingredients needed for THz and MIR photonic and optoelectronic devices. We describe how the atomically thin graphene monolayer and metamaterial structures based on it may tailor and control the spectral, spatial, and temporal properties of electromagnetic radiation. In the same frequency range, the newly unveiled nonlocal, nonlinear, and nonequilibrium electrodynamics in graphene show a variety of nonlinear and amplifying electromagnetic responses, whose potential applications are yet unexplored. With these 2D material platforms, virtually all plasmonic, optoelectronic, and nonlinear functions found in near-infrared (NIR) and visible devices can be analogously transferred to the long-wavelength regime, even with enhanced tunability and new functionalities. The spectral range from THz to MIR is particularly compelling because of the many spectral fingerprints of key chemical, gas, and biological agents, as well as a myriad of remote sensing, imaging, communication, and security applications.

Real-Time Quantum Dynamics of Long-Range Electronic Excitation Transfer in Plasmonic Nanoantennas.

PubMed

Ilawe, Niranjan V; Oviedo, M Belén; Wong, Bryan M

2017-08-08

Using large-scale, real-time, quantum dynamics calculations, we present a detailed analysis of electronic excitation transfer (EET) mechanisms in a multiparticle plasmonic nanoantenna system. Specifically, we utilize real-time, time-dependent, density functional tight binding (RT-TDDFTB) to provide a quantum-mechanical description (at an electronic/atomistic level of detail) for characterizing and analyzing these systems, without recourse to classical approximations. We also demonstrate highly long-range electronic couplings in these complex systems and find that the range of these couplings is more than twice the conventional cutoff limit considered by Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based approaches. Furthermore, we attribute these unusually long-ranged electronic couplings to the coherent oscillations of conduction electrons in plasmonic nanoparticles. This long-range nature of plasmonic interactions has important ramifications for EET; in particular, we show that the commonly used "nearest-neighbor" FRET model is inadequate for accurately characterizing EET even in simple plasmonic antenna systems. These findings provide a real-time, quantum-mechanical perspective for understanding EET mechanisms and provide guidance in enhancing plasmonic properties in artificial light-harvesting systems.

Long range surface plasmon resonance with ultra-high penetration depth for self-referenced sensing and ultra-low detection limit using diverging beam approach

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Isaacs, Sivan, E-mail: sivan.isaacs@gmail.com; Abdulhalim, Ibrahim; NEW CREATE Programme, School of Materials Science and Engineering, 1 CREATE Way, Research Wing, #02-06/08, Singapore 138602

2015-05-11

Using an insulator-metal-insulator structure with dielectric having refractive index (RI) larger than the analyte, long range surface plasmon (SP) resonance exhibiting ultra-high penetration depth is demonstrated for sensing applications of large bioentities at wavelengths in the visible range. Based on the diverging beam approach in Kretschmann-Raether configuration, one of the SP resonances is shown to shift in response to changes in the analyte RI while the other is fixed; thus, it can be used as a built in reference. The combination of the high sensitivity, high penetration depth and self-reference using the diverging beam approach in which a dark linemore » is detected of the high sensitivity, high penetration depth, self-reference, and the diverging beam approach in which a dark line is detected using large number of camera pixels with a smart algorithm for sub-pixel resolution, a sensor with ultra-low detection limit is demonstrated suitable for large bioentities.« less

Incorporation of nanovoids into metallic gratings for broadband plasmonic organic solar cells.

PubMed

Lee, Sangjun; In, Sungjun; Mason, Daniel R; Park, Namkyoo

2013-02-25

We present investigation and optimization of a newly proposed plasmonic organic solar cell geometry based on the incorporation of nanovoids into conventional rectangular backplane gratings. Hybridization of strongly localized plasmonic modes of the nanovoids with Fabry-Perot cavity modes originating from surface plasmon reflection at the grating elements is shown to significantly boost performance in the long wavelength regime. This constitutes improved broadband operation while maintaining absorption enhancements at short wavelengths derived from conventional rectangular grating. Our calculations predict a figure of merit enhancement of up to 41% compared to when the nanovoid indented grating is absent. This is a significant improvement over the previously considered rectangular grating structures, which is further shown to be maintained over the entire angular range.

Tamm-plasmon polaritons in one-dimensional photonic quasi-crystals.

PubMed

Shukla, Mukesh Kumar; Das, Ritwick

2018-02-01

We present an investigation to ascertain the existence of Tamm-plasmon-polariton-like modes in one-dimensional (1D) quasi-periodic photonic systems. Photonic bandgap formation in quasi-crystals is essentially a consequence of long-range periodicity exhibited by multilayers and, thus, it can be explained using the dispersion relation in the Brillouin zone. Defining a "Zak"-like topological phase in 1D quasi-crystals, we propose a recipe to ascertain the existence of Tamm-like photonic surface modes in a metal-terminated quasi-crystal lattice. Additionally, we also explore the conditions of efficient excitation of such surface modes along with their dispersion characteristics.

Localized surface plasmon resonance nanosensor: a high-resolution distance-dependence study using atomic layer deposition.

PubMed

Whitney, Alyson V; Elam, Jeffrey W; Zou, Shengli; Zinovev, Alex V; Stair, Peter C; Schatz, George C; Van Duyne, Richard P

2005-11-03

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is used to deposit 1-600 monolayers of Al(2)O(3) on Ag nanotriangles fabricated by nanosphere lithography (NSL). Each monolayer of Al(2)O(3) has a thickness of 1.1 A. It is demonstrated that the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) nanosensor can detect Al(2)O(3) film growth with atomic spatial resolution normal to the nanoparticle surface. This is approximately 10 times greater spatial resolution than that in our previous long-range distance-dependence study using multilayer self-assembled monolayer shells. The use of ALD enables the study of both the long- and short-range distance dependence of the LSPR nanosensor in a single unified experiment. Ag nanoparticles with fixed in-plane widths and decreasing heights yield larger sensing distances. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry, and quartz crystal microbalance measurements are used to study the growth mechanism. It is proposed that the growth of Al(2)O(3) is initiated by the decomposition of trimethylaluminum on Ag. Semiquantitative theoretical calculations were compared with the experimental results and yield excellent agreement.

Plasmonic enhancement of second-harmonic generation of dielectric layer embedded in metal-dielectric-metal structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kang, Byungjun; Imakita, Kenji; Fujii, Minoru; Hayashi, Shinji

2018-03-01

The enhancement of second-harmonic generation from a dielectric layer embedded in a metal-dielectric-metal structure upon excitation of surface plasmon polaritons is demonstrated experimentally. The metal-dielectric-metal structure consisting of a Gex(SiO2)1-x layer sandwiched by two Ag layers was prepared, and the surface plasmon polaritons were excited in an attenuated total reflection geometry. The measured attenuated total reflection spectra exhibited two reflection dips corresponding to the excitation of two different surface plasmon polariton modes. Strong second-harmonic signals were observed under the excitation of these surface plasmon polariton modes. The results demonstrate that the second-harmonic intensity of the Gex(SiO2)1-x layer is highly enhanced relative to that of the single layer deposited on a substrate. Under the excitation of one of the two surface plasmon polariton modes, the estimated enhancement factor falls in a range between 39.9 and 171, while under the excitation of the other surface plasmon polariton mode, it falls in a range between 3.96 and 84.6.

Special issue on aluminium plasmonics

DOE PAGES

Gerard, Davy; Gray, Stephen K.

2015-04-08

Plasmonics is a rapidly growing field that takes advantage of the intense and confined electromagnetic fields that appear near metallic nanostructures illuminated at frequencies near their surface plasmon resonances. As plasmonics continues to develop, it faces the need to find new materials supporting well-defined surface plasmon resonances in different frequency ranges. In the visible and near-infrared ranges the noble metals, most typically gold and silver, exhibit relatively low losses. This is why they are quite ubiquitous in plasmonics literature. However it is somewhat ironic to see that a non-noble metal, aluminium, the metal upon which surface plasmons where first evidencedmore » in the 1950s, is now reappearing after fifty years of near oblivion as one of the 'hottest' materials for plasmonics. Several reasons explain the return of aluminium to the centre stage. First, aluminium exhibits good plasmonic properties in the ultraviolet and deep ultraviolet—a spectral range where gold and silver no longer behave as metals. Second, aluminium is cheap and widely available (Al is the third most abundant element in the earth's crust), criteria of paramount importance when discussing industry-related applications. It is furthermore compatible with complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) technology. In conclusion, this is why an ever-increasing number of papers report new advances on aluminium plasmonics.« less

Special issue on aluminium plasmonics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gerard, Davy; Gray, Stephen K.

Plasmonics is a rapidly growing field that takes advantage of the intense and confined electromagnetic fields that appear near metallic nanostructures illuminated at frequencies near their surface plasmon resonances. As plasmonics continues to develop, it faces the need to find new materials supporting well-defined surface plasmon resonances in different frequency ranges. In the visible and near-infrared ranges the noble metals, most typically gold and silver, exhibit relatively low losses. This is why they are quite ubiquitous in plasmonics literature. However it is somewhat ironic to see that a non-noble metal, aluminium, the metal upon which surface plasmons where first evidencedmore » in the 1950s, is now reappearing after fifty years of near oblivion as one of the 'hottest' materials for plasmonics. Several reasons explain the return of aluminium to the centre stage. First, aluminium exhibits good plasmonic properties in the ultraviolet and deep ultraviolet—a spectral range where gold and silver no longer behave as metals. Second, aluminium is cheap and widely available (Al is the third most abundant element in the earth's crust), criteria of paramount importance when discussing industry-related applications. It is furthermore compatible with complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) technology. In conclusion, this is why an ever-increasing number of papers report new advances on aluminium plasmonics.« less

SERS study of surface plasmon resonance induced carrier movement in Au@Cu2O core-shell nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Lei; Zhang, Fan; Deng, Xin-Yu; Xue, Xiangxin; Wang, Li; Sun, Yantao; Feng, Jing-Dong; Zhang, Yongjun; Wang, Yaxin; Jung, Young Mee

2018-01-01

A plasmon induced carrier movement enhanced mechanism of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) was investigated using a charge-transfer (CT) enhancement mechanism. Here, we designed a strategy to study SERS in Au@Cu2O nanoshell nanoparticles with different shell thicknesses. Among the plasmonically coupled nanostructures, Au spheres with Cu2O shells have been of special interest due to their ultrastrong electromagnetic fields and controllable carrier transfer properties, which are useful for SERS. Au@Cu2O nanoshell nanoparticles (NPs) with shell thicknesses of 48-56 nm are synthesized that exhibit high SERS activity. This high activity originates from plasmonic-induced carrier transfer from Au@Cu2O to 4-mercaptobenzoic acid (MBA). The CT transition from the valence band (VB) of Cu2O to the second excited π-π* transition of MBA, and is of b2 electronic symmetry, which was enhanced significantly. The Herzberg-Teller selection rules were employed to predict the observed enhanced b2 symmetry modes. The system constructed in this study combines the long-range electromagnetic effect of Au NPs, localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of the Au@Cu2O nanoshell, and the CT contribution to assist in understanding the SERS mechanism based on LSPR-induced carrier movement in metal/semiconductor nanocomposites.

FDTD analysis of Aluminum/a-Si:H surface plasmon waveguides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lourenço, Paulo; Fantoni, Alessandro; Fernandes, Miguel; Vygranenko, Yuri; Vieira, Manuela

2018-02-01

The large majority of surface plasmon resonance based devices use noble metals, namely gold or silver, in their manufacturing process. These metals present low resistivity, which leads to low optical losses in the visible and near infrared spectrum ranges. Gold shows high environmental stability, which is essential for long-term operation, and silver's lower stability can be overcome through the deposition of an alumina layer, for instance. However, their high cost is a limiting factor if the intended target is large scale manufacturing. In this work, it is considered a cost-effective approach through the selection of aluminum as the plasmonic material and hydrogenated amorphous silicon instead of its crystalline counterpart. This surface plasmon resonance device relies on Fano resonance to improve its response to refractive index deviations of the surrounding environment. Fano resonance is highly sensitive to slight changes of the medium, hence the reason we incorporated this interference phenomenon in the proposed device. We report the results obtained when conducting Finite-Difference Time Domain algorithm based simulations on this metal-dielectric-metal structure when the active metal is aluminum, gold and silver. Then, we evaluate their sensitivity, detection accuracy and resolution, and the obtained results for our proposed device show good linearity and similar parameter performance as the ones obtained when using gold or silver as plasmonic materials.

Characterization of long-range plasmonic waveguides at visible to near-infrared regime

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Sheng-Ting; Lai, Chien-Chih; Sheu, Fang-Wen; Tsai, Wan-Shao

2017-12-01

Long-range surface plasmon polariton waveguides composed with thin gold stripes embedded in SU-8 polymer cladding with various stripe widths were fabricated. Material properties of the polymer cladding layer, gold thin film, and the device structures were discussed. Optical properties based on modal propagation were characterized at visible to near-infrared wavelengths. The measured propagation losses of waveguide widths from 3 to 9 μm at 633, 785, and 1550 nm are 7.5-18.8, 6.8-12.5, and 1.9-3.9 dB/mm, respectively. Guiding mode properties such as overlap integrals between the simulated and the measured fields and the polarization extinction ratios of the waveguides with different stripe widths were investigated at the telecommunication wavelength. Good accordance between the measurement and simulation results was presented.

Nonlinear optical observation of coherent acoustic Dirac plasmons in thin-film topological insulators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Glinka, Yuri D.; Babakiray, Sercan; Johnson, Trent A.; Holcomb, Mikel B.; Lederman, David

2016-09-01

Low-energy collective electronic excitations exhibiting sound-like linear dispersion have been intensively studied both experimentally and theoretically for a long time. However, coherent acoustic plasmon modes appearing in time-domain measurements are rarely observed due to Landau damping by the single-particle continua. Here we report on the observation of coherent acoustic Dirac plasmon (CADP) modes excited in indirectly (electrostatically) opposite-surface coupled films of the topological insulator Bi2Se3. Using transient second-harmonic generation, a technique capable of independently monitoring the in-plane and out-of-plane electron dynamics in the films, the GHz-range oscillations were observed without corresponding oscillations in the transient reflectivity. These oscillations were assigned to the transverse magnetic and transverse electric guided CADP modes induced by the evanescent guided Lamb acoustic waves and remained Landau undamped due to fermion tunnelling between the opposite-surface Dirac states.

Experimental verification of ‘waveguide’ plasmonics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prudêncio, Filipa R.; Costa, Jorge R.; Fernandes, Carlos A.; Engheta, Nader; Silveirinha, Mário G.

2017-12-01

Surface plasmons polaritons are collective excitations of an electron gas that occur at an interface between negative-ɛ and positive-ɛ media. Here, we report the experimental observation of such surface waves using simple waveguide metamaterials filled only with available positive-ɛ media at microwave frequencies. In contrast to optical designs, in our setup the propagation length of the surface plasmons can be rather long as low loss conventional dielectrics are chosen to avoid typical losses from negative-ɛ media. Plasmonic phenomena have potential applications in enhancing light-matter interactions, implementing nanoscale photonic circuits and integrated photonics.

Electron beam imaging and spectroscopy of plasmonic nanoantenna resonances

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vesseur, E. J. R.

2011-07-01

Nanoantennas are metal structures that provide strong optical coupling between a nanoscale volume and the far field. This coupling is mediated by surface plasmons, oscillations of the free electrons in the metal. Increasing the control over the resonant plasmonic field distribution opens up a wide range of applications of nanoantennas operating both in receiving and transmitting mode. This thesis presents how the dispersion and confinement of surface plasmons in nanoantennas are resolved and further engineered. Fabrication of nanostructures is done using focused ion beam milling (FIB) in metallic surfaces. We demonstrate that patterning in single-crystal substrates allows us to precisely control the geometry in which plasmons are confined. The nanoscale properties of the resonant plasmonic fields are resolved using a new technique developed in this thesis: angle- and polarization controlled cathodoluminescence (CL) imaging spectroscopy. The use of a tightly focused electron beam allows us to probe the optical antenna properties with deep subwavelength resolution. We show using this technique that nanoantennas consisting of 500-1200 nm long polycrystalline Au nanowires support standing plasmon waves. We directly observe the plasmon wavelengths which we use to derive the dispersion relation of guided nanowire plasmons. A 590-nm-long ridge-shaped nanoantenna was fabricated using FIB milling on a single-crystal Au substrate, demonstrating a level of control over the fabrication impossible with polycrystalline metals. CL experiments show that the ridge supports multiple-order resonances. The confinement of surface plasmons to the ridge is confirmed by boundary-element-method (BEM) calculations. The resonant modes in plasmonic whispering gallery cavities consisting of a FIB-fabricated circular groove are resolved. We find an excellent agreement between boundary element method calculations and the measured CL emission from the ring-shaped cavities. The calculations show that the ring supports resonances with increasing azimuthal or radial order. The smallest cavity fits only one wavelength in its circumference. We theoretically show that in these cavities, spontaneous emission can be enhanced over a broad spectral band due to the small modal volume of the plasmon resonances. A Purcell factor >2000 was found. We further study the mode symmetries and coupling of the ring resonances using far-field excitation, fluorescence, angle-resolved cathodoluminescence and photoelectron emission microscopy. We demonstrate spectral reshaping of emitters, mode-specific angular emission patterns, and a mode-selective excitation by incoming light, and we directly resolve the modal fields at high resolution. In the next chapter, we present metal-insulator-metal plasmon waveguides in which we engineer the dispersion to reach a refractive index of zero. Using spatially- and angle-resolved CL we directly observe the spatial mode profiles and determine the dispersion relation of plasmon modes. At the cutoff frequency, the emission pattern corresponds to that of a line dipole antenna demonstrating the entire waveguide is in phase (n=0). A strongly enhanced density of optical states is directly observed at cutoff from the enhanced CL intensity. Finally, we present 5 possible applications: a localized surface plasmon sensor, a plasmon ring laser, template stripping technique, an in-situ monitor of ionoluminescence and cathodoluminescence in a FIB system and a single-photon source.

Long-Range Self-Assembly via the Mutual Lorentz Force of Plasmon Radiation.

PubMed

Ji, Haojie; Trevino, Jacob; Tu, Raymond; Knapp, Ellen; McQuade, James; Yurkiv, Vitaliy; Mashayek, Farzad; Vuong, Luat T

2018-04-11

Long-range interactions often proceed as a sequence of hopping through intermediate, statistically favored events. Here, we demonstrate predictable mechanical dynamics of particles that arise from the Lorentz force between plasmons. Even if the radiation is weak, the nonconservative Lorentz force produces stable locations perpendicular to the plasmon oscillation; over time, distinct patterns emerge. Experimentally, linearly polarized light illumination leads to the formation of 80 nm diameter Au nanoparticle chains, perpendicularly aligned, with lengths that are orders of magnitude greater than their plasmon near-field interaction. There is a critical intensity threshold and optimal concentration for observing self-assembly.

High-energy surface and volume plasmons in nanopatterned sub-10 nm aluminum nanostructures

DOE PAGES

Hobbs, Richard G.; Manfrinato, Vitor R.; Yang, Yujia; ...

2016-06-13

In this paper, we use electron energy-loss spectroscopy to map the complete plasmonic spectrum of aluminum nanodisks with diameters ranging from 3 to 120 nm fabricated by high-resolution electron-beam lithography. Our nanopatterning approach allows us to produce localized surface plasmon resonances across a wide spectral range spanning 2–8 eV. Electromagnetic simulations using the finite element method support the existence of dipolar, quadrupolar, and hexapolar surface plasmon modes as well as centrosymmetric breathing modes depending on the location of the electron-beam excitation. In addition, we have developed an approach using nanolithography that is capable of meV control over the energy andmore » attosecond control over the lifetime of volume plasmons in these nanodisks. The precise measurement of volume plasmon lifetime may also provide an opportunity to probe and control the DC electrical conductivity of highly confined metallic nanostructures. Lastly, we show the strong influence of the nanodisk boundary in determining both the energy and lifetime of surface plasmons and volume plasmons locally across individual aluminum nanodisks, and we have compared these observations to similar effects produced by scaling the nanodisk diameter.« less

Enhancing Surface Sensing Sensitivity of Metallic Nanostructures using Blue-Shifted Surface Plasmon Mode and Fano Resonance.

PubMed

Lee, Kuang-Li; Chang, Chia-Chun; You, Meng-Lin; Pan, Ming-Yang; Wei, Pei-Kuen

2018-06-27

Improving surface sensitivities of nanostructure-based plasmonic sensors is an important issue to be addressed. Among the SPR measurements, the wavelength interrogation is commonly utilized. We proposed using blue-shifted surface plasmon mode and Fano resonance, caused by the coupling of a cavity mode (angle-independent) and the surface plasmon mode (angle-dependent) in a long-periodicity silver nanoslit array, to increase surface (wavelength) sensitivities of metallic nanostructures. It results in an improvement by at least a factor of 4 in the spectral shift as compared to sensors operated under normal incidence. The improved surface sensitivity was attributed to a high refractive index sensitivity and the decrease of plasmonic evanescent field caused by two effects, the Fano coupling and the blue-shifted resonance. These concepts can enhance the sensing capability and be applicable to various metallic nanostructures with periodicities.

Ultraviolet and visible range plasmonics in the topological insulator Bi1.5Sb0.5Te1.8Se1.2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ou, Jun-Yu; So, Jin-Kyu; Adamo, Giorgio; Sulaev, Azat; Wang, Lan; Zheludev, Nikolay I.

2014-10-01

The development of metamaterials, data processing circuits and sensors for the visible and ultraviolet parts of the spectrum is hampered by the lack of low-loss media supporting plasmonic excitations. This has driven the intense search for plasmonic materials beyond noble metals. Here we show that the semiconductor Bi1.5Sb0.5Te1.8Se1.2, also known as a topological insulator, is also a good plasmonic material in the blue-ultraviolet range, in addition to the already-investigated terahertz frequency range. Metamaterials fabricated from Bi1.5Sb0.5Te1.8Se1.2 show plasmonic resonances from 350 to 550 nm, while surface gratings exhibit cathodoluminescent peaks from 230 to 1,050 nm. The observed plasmonic response is attributed to the combination of bulk charge carriers from interband transitions and surface charge carriers of the topological insulator. The importance of our result is in the identification of new mechanisms of negative permittivity in semiconductors where visible range plasmonics can be directly integrated with electronics.

Numerical modelling of surface plasmonic polaritons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mansoor, Riyadh; AL-Khursan, Amin Habbeb

2018-06-01

Extending optoelectronics into the nano-regime seems problematic due to the relatively long wavelengths of light. The conversion of light into plasmons is a possible way to overcome this problem. Plasmon's wavelengths are much shorter than that of light which enables the propagation of signals in small size components. In this paper, a 3D simulation of surface plasmon polariton (SPP) excitation is performed. The Finite integration technique was used to solve Maxwell's equations in the dielectric-metal interface. The results show how the surface plasmon polariton was generated at the grating assisted dielectric-metal interface. SPP is a good candidate for signal confinement in small size optoelectronics which allow high density optical integrated circuits in all optical networks.

Plasmon Excitations of Multi-layer Graphene on a Conducting Substrate

PubMed Central

Gumbs, Godfrey; Iurov, Andrii; Wu, Jhao-Ying; Lin, M. F.; Fekete, Paula

2016-01-01

We predict the existence of low-frequency nonlocal plasmons at the vacuum-surface interface of a superlattice of N graphene layers interacting with conducting substrate. We derive a dispersion function that incorporates the polarization function of both the graphene monolayers and the semi-infinite electron liquid at whose surface the electrons scatter specularly. We find a surface plasmon-polariton that is not damped by particle-hole excitations or the bulk modes and which separates below the continuum mini-band of bulk plasmon modes. The surface plasmon frequency of the hybrid structure always lies below , the surface plasmon frequency of the conducting substrate. The intensity of this mode depends on the distance of the graphene layers from the conductor’s surface, the energy band gap between valence and conduction bands of graphene monolayer and, most importantly, on the number of two-dimensional layers. For a sufficiently large number of layers the hybrid structure has no surface plasmon. The existence of plasmons with different dispersion relations indicates that quasiparticles with different group velocity may coexist for various ranges of wavelengths determined by the number of layers in the superlattice. PMID:26883086

Terahertz surface plasmon-polaritons in one-dimensional graphene based Fibonacci photonic superlattices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Namdar, Abdolrahman; Feizollahi Onsoroudi, Rana; Khoshsima, Habib; Sahrai, Mostafa

2018-03-01

The surface plasmon-polaritons in one-dimensional graphene-based Fibonacci photonic superlattices in the terahertz frequency range have been theoretically investigated. Our numerical study shows that surface plasmon-polaritons can be realized in both transverse electric and transverse magnetic polarizations. It is shown that these modes are manageable by varying the quasi-periodic generation orders which play a critical role in the occurrence of surface modes. In addition, the effect of thickness of cap layer and chemical potential of graphene sheets on surface plasmon-polaritons and their electric field distribution are studied. We have verified the excitation of surface plasmon-polaritons by using the attenuated total reflection method. This inspection confirms that all the predicted surface modes in the dispersion curves are actually excitable with this method.

A Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance Sensor Using Double-Metal-Complex Nanostructures and a Review of Recent Approaches

PubMed Central

Ahn, Heesang; Song, Hyerin; Kim, Kyujung

2017-01-01

From active developments and applications of various devices to acquire outside and inside information and to operate based on feedback from that information, the sensor market is growing rapidly. In accordance to this trend, the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor, an optical sensor, has been actively developed for high-sensitivity real-time detection. In this study, the fundamentals of SPR sensors and recent approaches for enhancing sensing performance are reported. In the section on the fundamentals of SPR sensors, a brief description of surface plasmon phenomena, SPR, SPR-based sensing applications, and several configuration types of SPR sensors are introduced. In addition, advanced nanotechnology- and nanofabrication-based techniques for improving the sensing performance of SPR sensors are proposed: (1) localized SPR (LSPR) using nanostructures or nanoparticles; (2) long-range SPR (LRSPR); and (3) double-metal-layer SPR sensors for additional performance improvements. Consequently, a high-sensitivity, high-biocompatibility SPR sensor method is suggested. Moreover, we briefly describe issues (miniaturization and communication technology integration) for future SPR sensors. PMID:29301238

Aluminum nanostructures for ultraviolet plasmonics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martin, Jérôme; Khlopin, Dmitry; Zhang, Feifei; Schuermans, Silvère; Proust, Julien; Maurer, Thomas; Gérard, Davy; Plain, Jérôme

2017-08-01

An electromagnetic field is able to produce a collective oscillation of free electrons at a metal surface. This allows light to be concentrated in volumes smaller than its wavelength. The resulting waves, called surface plasmons can be applied in various technological applications such as ultra-sensitive sensing, Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy, or metal-enhanced fluorescence, to name a few. For several decades plasmonics has been almost exclusively studied in the visible region by using nanoparticles made of gold or silver as these noble metals support plasmonic resonances in the visible and near-infrared range. Nevertheless, emerging applications will require the extension of nano-plasmonics toward higher energies, in the ultraviolet range. Aluminum is one of the most appealing metal for pushing plasmonics up to ultraviolet energies. The subsequent applications in the field of nano-optics are various. This metal is therefore a highly promising material for commercial applications in the field of ultraviolet nano-optics. As a consequence, aluminum (or ultraviolet, UV) plasmonics has emerged quite recently. Aluminium plasmonics has been demonstrated efficient for numerous potential applications including non-linear optics, enhanced fluorescence, UV-Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy, optoelectronics, plasmonic assisted solid-state lasing, photocatalysis, structural colors and data storage. In this article, different preparation methods developed in the laboratory to obtain aluminum nanostructures with different geometries are presented. Their optical and morphological characterizations of the nanostructures are given and some proof of principle applications such as fluorescence enhancement are discussed.

Comparison of sensor structures for the signal amplification of surface plasmon resonance immunoassay using enzyme precipitation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Chih-Tsung; Thierry, Benjamin

2015-12-01

Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensing has been successfully applied for the label-free detection of a broad range of bioanalytes ranging from bacteria, cell, exosome, protein and nucleic acids. When it comes to the detection of small molecules or analytes found at low concentration, amplification schemes are desirable to enhance binding signals and in turn increase sensitivity. A number of SPR signal amplification schemes have been developed and validated; however, little effort has been devoted to understanding the effect of the SPR sensor structures on the amplification of binding signals and therefore on the overall sensing performance. The physical phenomenon of long-range SPR (LRSPR) relies on the propagation of coupled surface plasmonic waves on the opposite sides of a nanoscale-thick noble metal film suspended between two dielectrics with similar refractive indices. Importantly, as compared with commonly used conventional SPR (cSPR), LRSPR is not only characterized by a longer penetration depth of the plasmonic waves in the analyzed medium but also by a greater sensitivity to bulk refractive index changes. In this work, an immunoassay signal amplification platform based on horseradish peroxidase (HRP) catalyzed precipitation was utilized to investigate the sensing performance with regards to cSPR and LRSPR. The enzymatic precipitation of 3, 3'-diaminobenzidine tetrahydrochloride (DAB)/H2O2 was used to amplify SPR signals. The structure-function relationship of cSPR and LRSPR sensors is presented for both standard refractometric measurements and the enzymatic precipitation scheme. Experimental data shows that despite its inherent higher sensitivity to bulk refractive index changes and higher figure of merit, LRSPR was characterized by a lower angular sensitivity in the model enzymatic amplification scheme used here.

Surface plasmon aided high sensitive non-enzymatic glucose sensor using Au/NiAu multilayered nanowire arrays.

PubMed

Wang, Lanfang; Zhu, Weiqi; Lu, Wenbo; Qin, Xiufang; Xu, Xiaohong

2018-07-15

A novel plasmon aided non-enzymatic glucose sensor was first constructed based on the unique half-rough Au/NiAu multilayered nanowire arrays. These multilayered and half-rough nanowires provide high chemical activity and large surface area for glucose oxidation in an alkaline solution. Under visible light irradiation, the surface plasmons originated from Au part enhance the electron transfer in the vertically aligned nanowires, leading to high sensitivity and wide detection range. The resulting sensor exhibits a wide glucose detection concentration range, low detection limit, and high sensitivity for plasmon aided non-enzymatic glucose sensor. Moreover, the detection sensitivity is enhanced by almost 2 folds compared to that in the dark, which significantly enhanced the performance of Au/NiAu multilayered nanowire arrays sensor. An excellent selectivity and acceptable stability were also achieved. These results indicate that surface plasmon aided nanostructures are promising new platforms for the construction of non-enzymatic glucose sensors. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Optoelectronic devices, plasmonics, and photonics with topological insulators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Politano, Antonio; Viti, Leonardo; Vitiello, Miriam S.

2017-03-01

Topological insulators are innovative materials with semiconducting bulk together with surface states forming a Dirac cone, which ensure metallic conduction in the surface plane. Therefore, topological insulators represent an ideal platform for optoelectronics and photonics. The recent progress of science and technology based on topological insulators enables the exploitation of their huge application capabilities. Here, we review the recent achievements of optoelectronics, photonics, and plasmonics with topological insulators. Plasmonic devices and photodetectors based on topological insulators in a wide energy range, from terahertz to the ultraviolet, promise outstanding impact. Furthermore, the peculiarities, the range of applications, and the challenges of the emerging fields of topological photonics and thermo-plasmonics are discussed.

Extraordinary Effects in Quasi-Periodic Gold Nanocavities: Enhanced Transmission and Polarization Control of Cavity Modes.

PubMed

Dhama, Rakesh; Caligiuri, Vincenzo; Petti, Lucia; Rashed, Alireza R; Rippa, Massimo; Lento, Raffaella; Termine, Roberto; Caglayan, Humeyra; De Luca, Antonio

2018-01-23

Plasmonic quasi-periodic structures are well-known to exhibit several surprising phenomena with respect to their periodic counterparts, due to their long-range order and higher rotational symmetry. Thanks to their specific geometrical arrangement, plasmonic quasi-crystals offer unique possibilities in tailoring the coupling and propagation of surface plasmons through their lattice, a scenario in which a plethora of fascinating phenomena can take place. In this paper we investigate the extraordinary transmission phenomenon occurring in specifically patterned Thue-Morse nanocavities, demonstrating noticeable enhanced transmission, directly revealed by near-field optical experiments, performed by means of a scanning near-field optical microscope (SNOM). SNOM further provides an intuitive picture of confined plasmon modes inside the nanocavities and confirms that localization of plasmon modes is based on size and depth of nanocavities, while cross talk between close cavities via propagating plasmons holds the polarization response of patterned quasi-crystals. Our performed numerical simulations are in good agreement with the experimental results. Thus, the control on cavity size and incident polarization can be used to alter the intensity and spatial properties of confined cavity modes in such structures, which can be exploited in order to design a plasmonic device with customized optical properties and desired functionalities, to be used for several applications in quantum plasmonics.

Microcavity surface plasmon resonance bio-sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mosavian, Nazanin

This work discusses a miniature surface plasmon biosensor which uses a dielectric sub- micron diameter core with gold spherical shell. The shell has a subwavelength nanoaperture believed to excite stationary plasmon resonances at the biosensor's surface. The sub-micron cavity enhances the measurement sensitivity of molecules binding to the sensor surface. We used visible-range optical spectroscopy to study the wavelength shift as bio-molecules absorbed-desorbed at the shell surface. We also used Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Focused Ion Beam (FIB) ablation to study the characteristics of microcavity surface plasmon resonance sensor (MSPRS) and the inner structure formed with metal deposition and its spectrum. We found that resonances at 580 nm and 670 nm responded to bound test agents and that Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) sensor intensity could be used to differentiate between D-glucose and L-glucose. The responsiveness of the system depended upon the mechanical integrity of the metallic surface coating.

One-dimensional Tamm plasmons: Spatial confinement, propagation, and polarization properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chestnov, I. Yu.; Sedov, E. S.; Kutrovskaya, S. V.; Kucherik, A. O.; Arakelian, S. M.; Kavokin, A. V.

2017-12-01

Tamm plasmons are confined optical states at the interface of a metal and a dielectric Bragg mirror. Unlike conventional surface plasmons, Tamm plasmons may be directly excited by an external light source in both TE and TM polarizations. Here we consider the one-dimensional propagation of Tamm plasmons under long and narrow metallic stripes deposited on top of a semiconductor Bragg mirror. The spatial confinement of the field imposed by the stripe and its impact on the structure and energy of Tamm modes are investigated. We show that the Tamm modes are coupled to surface plasmons arising at the stripe edges. These plasmons form an interference pattern close to the bottom surface of the stripe that involves modification of both the energy and loss rate for the Tamm mode. This phenomenon is pronounced only in the case of TE polarization of the Tamm mode. These findings pave the way to application of laterally confined Tamm plasmons in optical integrated circuits as well as to engineering potential traps for both Tamm modes and hybrid modes of Tamm plasmons and exciton polaritons with meV depth.

Surface plasmon resonance imaging for label-free detection of foodborne pathogens and toxins

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

More rapid and efficient detection methods for foodborne pathogenic bacteria and toxins are needed to address the long assay time and limitations in multiplex capacity. Surface plasmon resonance imaging (SPRi) is an emerging optical technique, which allows for rapid and label-free screening of multi...

Sensitivity enhancement of a surface plasmon resonance sensor using porous metamaterial layers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cherifi, Abdellatif; Bouhafs, Benamar

2017-12-01

In this work, the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) device with two porous left handed metamaterial (LHM) layers separated by an insulator gap, is investigated. The effect of the insulator gap thickness and its refractive index (RI) on the angular response of the device is analyzed. The results show that the sensitivity of the SPR sensor is enhanced compared to the standard SPR sensors. Here, the multilayer structure is probed with 738 nm-wavelength, and electromagnetic properties of active porous LHM layers are described from the effective medium theory (EMT). Furthermore, in the increase of the porosity from 0 to 0.6, the designed nanocavity exhibits a fundamental SPR mode long-range (LR) type and it can be of interest in high-performance SPR sensing.

Description of plasmon-like band in silver clusters: the importance of the long-range Hartree-Fock exchange in time-dependent density-functional theory simulations.

PubMed

Rabilloud, Franck

2014-10-14

Absorption spectra of Ag20 and Ag55(q) (q = +1, -3) nanoclusters are investigated in the framework of the time-dependent density functional theory in order to analyse the role of the d electrons in plasmon-like band of silver clusters. The description of the plasmon-like band from calculations using density functionals containing an amount of Hartree-Fock exchange at long range, namely, hybrid and range-separated hybrid (RSH) density functionals, is in good agreement with the classical interpretation of the plasmon-like structure as a collective excitation of valence s-electrons. In contrast, using local or semi-local exchange functionals (generalized gradient approximations (GGAs) or meta-GGAs) leads to a strong overestimation of the role of d electrons in the plasmon-like band. The semi-local asymptotically corrected model potentials also describe the plasmon as mainly associated to d electrons, though calculated spectra are in fairly good agreement with those calculated using the RSH scheme. Our analysis shows that a portion of non-local exchange modifies the description of the plasmon-like band.

Surface Plasmon Resonance: A Versatile Technique for Biosensor Applications

PubMed Central

Nguyen, Hoang Hiep; Park, Jeho; Kang, Sebyung; Kim, Moonil

2015-01-01

Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) is a label-free detection method which has emerged during the last two decades as a suitable and reliable platform in clinical analysis for biomolecular interactions. The technique makes it possible to measure interactions in real-time with high sensitivity and without the need of labels. This review article discusses a wide range of applications in optical-based sensors using either surface plasmon resonance (SPR) or surface plasmon resonance imaging (SPRI). Here we summarize the principles, provide examples, and illustrate the utility of SPR and SPRI through example applications from the biomedical, proteomics, genomics and bioengineering fields. In addition, SPR signal amplification strategies and surface functionalization are covered in the review. PMID:25951336

Long range surface plasmons on asymmetric suspended thin film structures for biosensing applications.

PubMed

Min, Qiao; Chen, Chengkun; Berini, Pierre; Gordon, Reuven

2010-08-30

We show that long-range surface plasmons (LRSPs) are supported in a physically asymmetric thin film structure, consisting of a low refractive index medium on a metal slab, supported by a high refractive index dielectric layer (membrane) over air, as a suspended waveguide. For design purposes, an analytic formulation is derived in 1D yielding a transcendental equation that ensures symmetry of the transverse fields of the LRSP within the metal slab by constraining its thicknesses and that of the membrane. Results from the formulation are in quantitative agreement with transfer matrix calculations for a candidate slab waveguide consisting of an H(2)O-Au-SiO(2)-air structure. Biosensor-relevant figures of merit are compared for the asymmetric and symmetric structures, and it is found that the asymmetric structure actually improves performance, despite higher losses. The finite difference method is also used to analyse metal stripes providing 2D confinement on the structure, and additional constraints for non-radiative LRSP guiding thereon are discussed. These results are promising for sensors that operate with an aqueous solution that would otherwise require a low refractive index-matched substrate for the LRSP.

Subwavelength InSb-based Slot wavguides for THz transport: concept and practical implementations.

PubMed

Ma, Youqiao; Zhou, Jun; Pištora, Jaromír; Eldlio, Mohamed; Nguyen-Huu, Nghia; Maeda, Hiroshi; Wu, Qiang; Cada, Michael

2016-12-07

Seeking better surface plasmon polariton (SPP) waveguides is of critical importance to construct the frequency-agile terahertz (THz) front-end circuits. We propose and investigate here a new class of semiconductor-based slot plasmonic waveguides for subwavelength THz transport. Optimizations of the key geometrical parameters demonstrate its better guiding properties for simultaneous realization of long propagation lengths (up to several millimeters) and ultra-tight mode confinement (~λ 2 /530) in the THz spectral range. The feasibility of the waveguide for compact THz components is also studied to lay the foundations for its practical implementations. Importantly, the waveguide is compatible with the current complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) fabrication technique. We believe the proposed waveguide configuration could offer a potential for developing a CMOS plasmonic platform and can be designed into various components for future integrated THz circuits (ITCs).

Silicon Based Mid Infrared SiGeSn Heterostructure Emitters and Detectors

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-05-16

have investigated the surface plasmon enhancement of the GeSn p-i-n photodiode using gold metal nanostructures. We have conducted numerical...simulation of the plasmonic structure of 2D nano-hole array to tune the surface plasmon resonance into the absorption range of the GeSn active layer. Such a...diode can indeed be enhanced with the plasmonic structure on top. Within the time span of this project, we have completed one iteration of the process

Fermi arc plasmons in Weyl semimetals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Justin C. W.; Rudner, Mark S.

2017-11-01

In the recently discovered Weyl semimetals, the Fermi surface may feature disjoint, open segments—the so-called Fermi arcs—associated with topological states bound to exposed crystal surfaces. Here we show that the collective dynamics of electrons near such surfaces sharply departs from that of a conventional three-dimensional metal. In magnetic systems with broken time reversal symmetry, the resulting Fermi arc plasmons (FAPs) are chiral, with dispersion relations featuring open, hyperbolic constant frequency contours. As a result, a large range of surface plasmon wave vectors can be supported at a given frequency, with corresponding group velocity vectors directed along a few specific collimated directions. Fermi arc plasmons can be probed using near-field photonics techniques, which may be used to launch highly directional, focused surface plasmon beams. The unusual characteristics of FAPs arise from the interplay of bulk and surface Fermi arc carrier dynamics and give a window into the unusual fermiology of Weyl semimetals.

Highly doped InP as a low loss plasmonic material for mid-IR region.

PubMed

Panah, M E Aryaee; Takayama, O; Morozov, S V; Kudryavtsev, K E; Semenova, E S; Lavrinenko, A V

2016-12-12

We study plasmonic properties of highly doped InP in the mid-infrared (IR) range. InP was grown by metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) with the growth conditions optimized to achieve high free electron concentrations by doping with silicon. The permittivity of the grown material was found by fitting the calculated infrared reflectance spectra to the measured ones. The retrieved permittivity was then used to simulate surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) propagation on flat and structured surfaces, and the simulation results were verified in direct experiments. SPPs at the top and bottom interfaces of the grown epilayer were excited by the prism coupling. A high-index Ge hemispherical prism provides efficient coupling conditions of SPPs on flat surfaces and facilitates acquiring their dispersion diagrams. We observed diffraction into symmetry-prohibited diffraction orders stimulated by the excitation of surface plasmon-polaritons in a periodically structured epilayer. Characterization shows good agreement between the theory and experimental results and confirms that highly doped InP is an effective plasmonic material aiming it for applications in the mid-IR wavelength range.

Plasmonic colour generation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kristensen, Anders; Yang, Joel K. W.; Bozhevolnyi, Sergey I.; Link, Stephan; Nordlander, Peter; Halas, Naomi J.; Mortensen, N. Asger

2017-01-01

Plasmonic colours are structural colours that emerge from resonant interactions between light and metallic nanostructures. The engineering of plasmonic colours is a promising, rapidly emerging research field that could have a large technological impact. We highlight basic properties of plasmonic colours and recent nanofabrication developments, comparing technology-performance indicators for traditional and nanophotonic colour technologies. The structures of interest include diffraction gratings, nanoaperture arrays, thin films, and multilayers and structures that support Mie resonances and whispering-gallery modes. We discuss plasmonic colour nanotechnology based on localized surface plasmon resonances, such as gap plasmons and hybridized disk-hole plasmons, which allow for colour printing with sub-diffraction resolution. We also address a range of fabrication approaches that enable large-area printing and nanoscale lithography compatible with complementary metal-oxide semiconductor technologies, including nanoimprint lithography and self-assembly. Finally, we review recent developments in dynamically reconfigurable plasmonic colours and in the laser-induced post-processing of plasmonic colour surfaces.

Optically Tunable Chiral Plasmonic Guest-Host Cellulose Films Weaved with Long-range Ordered Silver Nanowires.

PubMed

Chu, Guang; Wang, Xuesi; Chen, Tianrui; Gao, Jianxiong; Gai, Fangyuan; Wang, Yu; Xu, Yan

2015-06-10

Plasmonic materials with large chiroptical activity at visible wavelength have attracted considerable attention due to their potential applications in metamaterials. Here we demonstrate a novel guest-host chiral nematic liquid crystal film composed of bulk self-co-assembly of the dispersed plasmonic silver nanowires (AgNWs) and cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs). The AgNWs-CNCs composite films show strong plasmonic optical activities, that are dependent on the chiral photonic properties of the CNCs host medium and orientation of the guest AgNWs. Tunable chiral distribution of the aligned anisotropic AgNWs with long-range order is obtained through the CNCs liquid crystal mediated realignment. The chiral plasmonic optical activity of the AgNWs-CNCs composite films can be tuned by changing the interparticle electrostatic repulsion between the CNCs nanorods and AgNWs. We also observe an electromagnetic energy transfer phenomena among the plasmonic bands of AgNWs, due to the modulation of the photonic band gap of the CNCs host matrix. This facile approach for fabricating chiral macrostructured plasmonic materials with optically tunable property is of interest for a variety of advanced optics applications.

Nonsymmorphic symmetry-protected topological modes in plasmonic nanoribbon lattices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yong-Liang; Wu, Raymond P. H.; Kumar, Anshuman; Si, Tieyan; Fung, Kin Hung

2018-04-01

Using a dynamic eigenresponse theory, we study the topological edge plasmon modes in dispersive plasmonic lattices constructed by unit cells of multiple nanoribbons. In dipole approximation, the bulk-edge correspondence in the lattices made of dimerized unit cell and one of its square-root daughter with nonsymmorphic symmetry are demonstrated. Calculations with consideration of dynamic long-range effects and retardation are compared to those given by nearest-neighbor approximations. It is shown that nonsymmorphic symmetry opens up two symmetric gaps where versatile topological edge plasmon modes are found. Unprecedented spectral shifts of the edge states with respect to the zero modes due to long-range coupling are found. The proposed ribbon structure is favorable to electrical gating and thus could serve as an on-chip platform for electrically controllable subwavelength edge states at optical wavelengths. Our eigenresponse approach provides a powerful tool for the radiative topological mode analysis in strongly coupled plasmonic lattices.

Ultra-wideband surface plasmonic Y-splitter.

PubMed

Gao, Xi; Zhou, Liang; Yu, Xing Yang; Cao, Wei Ping; Li, Hai Ou; Ma, Hui Feng; Cui, Tie Jun

2015-09-07

We present an ultra-wideband Y-splitter based on planar THz plasmonic metamaterials, which consists of a straight waveguide with composite H-shaped structure and two branch waveguides with H-shaped structure. The spoof surface plasmonic polaritons (SSPPs) supported by the straight waveguide occupy the similar dispersion relation and mode characteristic to the ones confined by the branch waveguides. Attributing to these features, the two branch waveguides can equally separate the SSPPs wave propagating along the straight plasmonic waveguide to form a 3dB power divider in an ultra-wideband frequency range. To verify the functionality and performance of the proposed Y-splitter, we scaled down the working frequency to microwave and implemented microwave experiments. The tested device performances have clearly validated the functionality of our designs. It is believed to be applicable for future plasmonic circuit in microwave and THz ranges.

Dielectric-loaded plasmonic waveguide in the visible spectral range

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Melentiev, P. N.; Kuzin, A. A.; Balykin, V. I.; Ignatov, A. I.; Merzlikin, A. M.

2017-12-01

Dielectric-loaded surface plasmon-polariton waveguides (DLSPPWs) are a practically valuable type of plasmonic waveguide. The properties of DLSPPWs at telecommunication wavelengths have been studied in detail. However, the efficient optical excitation of DLSPPWs in the visible spectral range has still not been realized. In this work, we present the results of our experimental investigations of DLSPPWs in the visible spectral range. In addition, a new configuration for the excitation and detection of the DLSPPW mode has been proposed and realized. The propagation of plasmon wave up to a distance of 45 µm in the DLSPPW has been demonstrated.

Interaction of surface plasmon polaritons and acoustic waves inside an acoustic cavity.

PubMed

Khokhlov, Nikolai; Knyazev, Grigoriy; Glavin, Boris; Shtykov, Yakov; Romanov, Oleg; Belotelov, Vladimir

2017-09-15

In this Letter, we introduce an approach for manipulation of active plasmon polaritons via acoustic waves at sub-terahertz frequency range. The acoustic structures considered are designed as phononic Fabry-Perot microresonators where mirrors are presented with an acoustic superlattice and the structure's surface, and a plasmonic grating is placed on top of the acoustic cavity so formed. It provides phonon localization in the vicinity of the plasmonic grating at frequencies within the phononic stop band enhancing phonon-light interaction. We consider phonon excitation by shining a femtosecond laser pulse on the plasmonic grating. Appropriate theoretical model was used to describe the acoustic process caused by the pump laser pulse in the GaAs/AlAs-based acoustic cavity with a gold grating on top. Strongest modulation is achieved upon excitation of propagating surface plasmon polaritons and hybridization of propagating and localized plasmons. The relative changes in the optical reflectivity of the structure are more than an order of magnitude higher than for the structure without the plasmonic film.

Polarization-dependent plasmonic splitter based on low-loss polymer optical materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qian, Guang; Fu, Xing-Chang; Zhang, Li-Jiang; Liu, Yi-Ran; Zhao, Ning; Zhang, Tong

2018-01-01

A polarization-dependent optical beam splitter consisting of a straight long-range surface plasmon polariton (LRSPP) waveguide and an S-bend polymer waveguide was designed, fabricated and measured in this paper. At the splitting section, the two different waveguides are vertically coupled. The measurenment results show that the splitter operated in dual-channel mode at TM polarization, and single-channel mode at TE polarization. In addition, the polymer waveguide and LRSPP waveguide in the splitter exhibit low propagation loss of 0.51 dB/cm and 1.7 dB/cm, respectively. The hybrid beam splitter has wide potential applications in three dimensional (3D) multilayer photonic integrated circuits (PICs).

Interaction of surface plasmon polaritons in heavily doped GaN microstructures with terahertz radiation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Melentev, G. A., E-mail: gamelen@spbstu.ru; Shalygin, V. A.; Vorobjev, L. E.

2016-03-07

We present the results of experimental and theoretical studies of the surface plasmon polariton excitations in heavily doped GaN epitaxial layers. Reflection and emission of radiation in the frequency range of 2–20 THz including the Reststrahlen band were investigated for samples with grating etched on the sample surface, as well as for samples with flat surface. The reflectivity spectrum for p-polarized radiation measured for the sample with the surface-relief grating demonstrates a set of resonances associated with excitations of different surface plasmon polariton modes. Spectral peculiarities due to the diffraction effect have been also revealed. The characteristic features of themore » reflectivity spectrum, namely, frequencies, amplitudes, and widths of the resonance dips, are well described theoretically by a modified technique of rigorous coupled-wave analysis of Maxwell equations. The emissivity spectra of the samples were measured under epilayer temperature modulation by pulsed electric field. The emissivity spectrum of the sample with surface-relief grating shows emission peaks in the frequency ranges corresponding to the decay of the surface plasmon polariton modes. Theoretical analysis based on the blackbody-like radiation theory well describes the main peculiarities of the observed THz emission.« less

Polarization-independent actively tunable colour generation on imprinted plasmonic surfaces

PubMed Central

Franklin, Daniel; Chen, Yuan; Vazquez-Guardado, Abraham; Modak, Sushrut; Boroumand, Javaneh; Xu, Daming; Wu, Shin-Tson; Chanda, Debashis

2015-01-01

Structural colour arising from nanostructured metallic surfaces offers many benefits compared to conventional pigmentation based display technologies, such as increased resolution and scalability of their optical response with structure dimensions. However, once these structures are fabricated their optical characteristics remain static, limiting their potential application. Here, by using a specially designed nanostructured plasmonic surface in conjunction with high birefringence liquid crystals, we demonstrate a tunable polarization-independent reflective surface where the colour of the surface is changed as a function of applied voltage. A large range of colour tunability is achieved over previous reports by utilizing an engineered surface which allows full liquid crystal reorientation while maximizing the overlap between plasmonic fields and liquid crystal. In combination with imprinted structures of varying periods, a full range of colours spanning the entire visible spectrum is achieved, paving the way towards dynamic pixels for reflective displays. PMID:26066375

Bioplasmonic Alloyed Nanoislands Using Dewetting of Bilayer Thin Films.

PubMed

Kang, Minhee; Ahn, Myeong-Su; Lee, Youngseop; Jeong, Ki-Hun

2017-10-25

Unlike monometallic materials, bimetallic plasmonic materials offer extensive benefits such as broadband tuning capability or high environmental stability. Here we report a broad range tuning of plasmon resonance of alloyed nanoislands by using solid-state dewetting of gold and silver bilayer thin films. Thermal dewetting after successive thermal evaporation of thin metal double-layer films readily forms AuAg-alloyed nanoislands with a precise composition ratio. The complete miscibility of alloyed nanoislands results in programmable tuning of plasmon resonance wavelength in a broadband visible range. Such extraordinary tuning capability opens up a new direction for plasmonic enhancement in biophotonic applications such as surface-enhanced Raman scattering or plasmon-enhanced fluorescence.

Self-organized colloidal quantum dots and metal nanoparticles for plasmon-enhanced intermediate-band solar cells.

PubMed

Mendes, Manuel J; Hernández, Estela; López, Esther; García-Linares, Pablo; Ramiro, Iñigo; Artacho, Irene; Antolín, Elisa; Tobías, Ignacio; Martí, Antonio; Luque, Antonio

2013-08-30

A colloidal deposition technique is presented to construct long-range ordered hybrid arrays of self-assembled quantum dots and metal nanoparticles. Quantum dots are promising for novel opto-electronic devices but, in most cases, their optical transitions of interest lack sufficient light absorption to provide a significant impact in their implementation. A potential solution is to couple the dots with localized plasmons in metal nanoparticles. The extreme confinement of light in the near-field produced by the nanoparticles can potentially boost the absorption in the quantum dots by up to two orders of magnitude.In this work, light extinction measurements are employed to probe the plasmon resonance of spherical gold nanoparticles in lead sulfide colloidal quantum dots and amorphous silicon thin-films. Mie theory computations are used to analyze the experimental results and determine the absorption enhancement that can be generated by the highly intense near-field produced in the vicinity of the gold nanoparticles at their surface plasmon resonance.The results presented here are of interest for the development of plasmon-enhanced colloidal nanostructured photovoltaic materials, such as colloidal quantum dot intermediate-band solar cells.

Tailoring plasmonic properties of gold nanohole arrays for surface-enhanced Raman scattering

PubMed Central

Zheng, Peng; Cushing, Scott K.; Suri, Savan; Wu, Nianqiang

2015-01-01

The wide plasmonic tuning range of nanotriangle and nanohole array patterns fabricated by nanosphere lithography makes them promising in surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) sensors. Unfortunately, it is challenging to optimize these patterns for SERS sensing because their optical response is a complex mixture of localized and propagating surface plasmons. In this paper, transmission and reflection measurements are combined with finite difference time domain simulations to identify and separate each plasmonic mode, discerning which resonance leads to the electromagnetic field enhancement. The SERS enhancement is found to be dominated by the absorption, which is shifted from the transmission and reflection dips usually used as tuning points, and by the ‘gap’ defects formed within the pattern. These effects have different spectral and geometric dependences, forming two optimization curves which can be used to predict the best performance for a given excitation wavelength. The developed model is verified with experimental SERS measurements for several nanohole sizes and periodicities, and then used to give optimal fabrication parameters for a range of measurement conditions. The results will promote the application of two-dimensional plasmonic nanoarrays in SERS sensors. PMID:25586930

Surface Plasmon Polaritons at the Boundary of a Graphene-Based Thin-Layer Medium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Evseev, D. A.; Sementsov, D. I.

2018-03-01

Properties of surface plasmon polaritons of the TM type at the interface of an isotropic insulator and a periodic graphene-insulator structure have been investigated. It is established that the presence of graphene in this structure allows one to obtain (in certain frequency ranges) negative effective permittivity and implement the condition for the existence of a surface wave that is practically unabsorbed. The influence of the graphene content in the structure on the characteristics of plasmon polaritons (in particular, the possibility of their significant slowing-down) is demonstrated.

Surface plasmon induced direct detection of long wavelength photons.

PubMed

Tong, Jinchao; Zhou, Wei; Qu, Yue; Xu, Zhengji; Huang, Zhiming; Zhang, Dao Hua

2017-11-21

Millimeter and terahertz wave photodetectors have long been of great interest due to a wide range of applications, but they still face challenges in detection performance. Here, we propose a new strategy for the direct detection of millimeter and terahertz wave photons based on localized surface-plasmon-polariton (SPP)-induced non-equilibrium electrons in antenna-assisted subwavelength ohmic metal-semiconductor-metal (OMSM) structures. The subwavelength OMSM structure is used to convert the absorbed photons into localized SPPs, which then induce non-equilibrium electrons in the structure, while the antenna increases the number of photons coupled into the OMSM structure. When the structure is biased and illuminated, the unidirectional flow of the SPP-induced non-equilibrium electrons forms a photocurrent. The energy of the detected photons is determined by the structure rather than the band gap of the semiconductor. The detection scheme is confirmed by simulation and experimental results from the devices, made of gold and InSb, and a room temperature noise equivalent power (NEP) of 1.5 × 10 -13 W Hz -1/2 is achieved.

Self-assembly and nanosphere lithography for large-area plasmonic patterns on graphene.

PubMed

Lotito, Valeria; Zambelli, Tomaso

2015-06-01

Plasmonic structures on graphene can tailor its optical properties, which is essential for sensing and optoelectronic applications, e.g. for the enhancement of photoresponsivity of graphene photodetectors. Control over their structural and, hence, spectral properties can be attained by using electron beam lithography, which is not a viable solution for the definition of patterns over large areas. For the fabrication of large-area plasmonic nanostructures, we propose to use self-assembled monolayers of nanospheres as a mask for metal evaporation and etching processes. An optimized approach based on self-assembly at air/water interface with a properly designed apparatus allows the attainment of monolayers of hexagonally closely packed patterns with high long-range order and large area coverage; special strategies are devised in order to protect graphene against damage resulting from surface treatment and further processing steps such as reactive ion etching, which could potentially impair graphene properties. Therefore we demonstrate that nanosphere lithography is a cost-effective solution to create plasmonic patterns on graphene. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon nitride photonic crystals for improved-performance surface electromagnetic wave biosensors.

PubMed

Sinibaldi, Alberto; Descrovi, Emiliano; Giorgis, Fabrizio; Dominici, Lorenzo; Ballarini, Mirko; Mandracci, Pietro; Danz, Norbert; Michelotti, Francesco

2012-10-01

We exploit the properties of surface electromagnetic waves propagating at the surface of finite one dimensional photonic crystals to improve the performance of optical biosensors with respect to the standard surface plasmon resonance approach. We demonstrate that the hydrogenated amorphous silicon nitride technology is a versatile platform for fabricating one dimensional photonic crystals with any desirable design and operating in a wide wavelength range, from the visible to the near infrared. We prepared sensors based on photonic crystals sustaining either guided modes or surface electromagnetic waves, also known as Bloch surface waves. We carried out for the first time a direct experimental comparison of their sensitivity and figure of merit with surface plasmon polaritons on metal layers, by making use of a commercial surface plasmon resonance instrument that was slightly adapted for the experiments. Our measurements demonstrate that the Bloch surface waves on silicon nitride photonic crystals outperform surface plasmon polaritons by a factor 1.3 in terms of figure of merit.

Surface-plasmon distributed-feedback quantum cascade lasers operating pulsed, room temperature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bousseksou, A.; Chassagneux, Y.; Coudevylle, J. R.; Colombelli, R.; Sirtori, C.; Patriarche, G.; Beaudoin, G.; Sagnes, I.

2009-08-01

We report distributed-feedback surface-plasmon quantum cascade lasers operating at λ ≈7.6μm. The distributed feedback is obtained by the sole patterning of the top metal contact on a surface plasmon waveguide. Single mode operation with more than 30dB side mode suppression ratio is obtained in pulsed mode and at room temperature. A careful experimental study confirms that by varying the grating duty cycle, one can reduce the waveguide losses with respect to standard, unpatterned surface-plasmon devices. This allows one to reduce the laser threshold current of more than a factor of 2 in the 200-300K temperature range. This approach may lead to a fabrication technology for midinfrared distributed-feedback lasers based on a very simple processing.

Sensing the temperature influence on plasmonic field of metal nanoparticles by photoluminescence of fullerene C{sub 60} in layered C{sub 60}/Au system

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yeshchenko, Oleg A., E-mail: yes@univ.kiev.ua; Bondarchuk, Illya S.; Kozachenko, Viktor V.

2015-04-21

Influence of temperature on the plasmonic field in the temperature range of 78–278 K was studied employing surface plasmon enhanced photoluminescence from the fullerene C{sub 60} thin film deposited on 2D array of Au nanoparticles. It was experimentally found that temperature dependence of plasmonic enhancement factor of C{sub 60} luminescence decreases monotonically with the temperature increase. Influence of temperature on plasmonic enhancement factor was found to be considerably stronger when the frequency of surface plasmon absorption band of Au nanoparticles and the frequency of fullerene luminescence band are in resonance. Electron-phonon scattering and thermal expansion of Au nanoparticles were considered asmore » two competing physical mechanisms of the temperature dependence of plasmonic field magnitude. The calculations revealed significant prevalence of the electron-phonon scattering. The temperature induced increase in the scattering rate leads to higher plasmon damping that causes the decrease in the magnitude of plasmonic field.« less

Anisotropic Dispersion and Partial Localization of Acoustic Surface Plasmons on an Atomically Stepped Surface: Au(788)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smerieri, M.; Vattuone, L.; Savio, L.; Langer, T.; Tegenkamp, C.; Pfnür, H.; Silkin, V. M.; Rocca, M.

2014-10-01

Understanding acoustic surface plasmons (ASPs) in the presence of nanosized gratings is necessary for the development of future devices that couple light with ASPs. We show here by experiment and theory that two ASPs exist on Au(788), a vicinal surface with an ordered array of monoatomic steps. The ASPs propagate across the steps as long as their wavelength exceeds the terrace width, thereafter becoming localized. Our investigation identifies, for the first time, ASPs coupled with intersubband transitions involving multiple surface-state subbands.

Aluminium plasmonics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gerard, Davy; Gray, Stephen K.

In this study, we present an overview of 'aluminium plasmonics', i.e. the study of both fundamental and practical aspects of surface plasmon excitations in aluminium structures, in particular thin films and metal nanoparticles. After a brief introduction noting both some recent and historical contributions to aluminium plasmonics, we discuss the optical properties of aluminium and aluminium nanostructures and highlight a few selected studies in a host of areas ranging from fluorescence to data storage.

Aluminium plasmonics

DOE PAGES

Gerard, Davy; Gray, Stephen K.

2014-12-15

In this study, we present an overview of 'aluminium plasmonics', i.e. the study of both fundamental and practical aspects of surface plasmon excitations in aluminium structures, in particular thin films and metal nanoparticles. After a brief introduction noting both some recent and historical contributions to aluminium plasmonics, we discuss the optical properties of aluminium and aluminium nanostructures and highlight a few selected studies in a host of areas ranging from fluorescence to data storage.

Multiplexed imaging surface plasmon resonance (iSPR) biosensor assay for the detection of Fusarium toxins in wheat

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Certain Fusarium species (F. graminearum and F. verticilloides in particular) infest grains and can produce a wide range of fungal (myco)-toxins, causing huge economic losses worldwide. A reproducible and sensitive imaging surface plasmon resonance (iSPR) assay was developed and validated for three ...

Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance with Five-Branched Gold Nanostars in a Plastic Optical Fiber for Bio-Chemical Sensor Implementation

PubMed Central

Cennamo, Nunzio; D'Agostino, Girolamo; Donà, Alice; Dacarro, Giacomo; Pallavicini, Piersandro; Pesavento, Maria; Zeni, Luigi

2013-01-01

In this paper a refractive index sensor based on localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) in a Plastic Optical Fiber (POF), is presented and experimentally tested. LSPR is achieved exploiting five-branched gold nanostars (GNS) obtained using Triton X-100 in a seed-growth synthesis. They have the uncommon feature of three localized surface plasmon resonances. The strongest LSPRs fall in two ranges, one in the 600–900 nm range (LSPR 2) and the other one in the 1,100–1,600 nm range (LSPR 3), both sensible to refractive index changes. Anyway, due to the extremely strong attenuation (>102 dB/m) of the employed POF in the 1,100–1,600 nm range, only LSPR 2 will be exploited for refractive index change measurements, useful for bio-chemical sensing applications, as a proof of principle of the possibility of realizing a compact, low cost and easy-to-use GNS based device. PMID:24172284

Localized surface plasmon resonance with five-branched gold nanostars in a plastic optical fiber for bio-chemical sensor implementation.

PubMed

Cennamo, Nunzio; D'Agostino, Girolamo; Donà, Alice; Dacarro, Giacomo; Pallavicini, Piersandro; Pesavento, Maria; Zeni, Luigi

2013-10-29

In this paper a refractive index sensor based on localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) in a Plastic Optical Fiber (POF), is presented and experimentally tested. LSPR is achieved exploiting five-branched gold nanostars (GNS) obtained using Triton X-100 in a seed-growth synthesis. They have the uncommon feature of three localized surface plasmon resonances. The strongest LSPRs fall in two ranges, one in the 600-900 nm range (LSPR 2) and the other one in the 1,100-1,600 nm range (LSPR 3), both sensible to refractive index changes. Anyway, due to the extremely strong attenuation (>10(2) dB/m) of the employed POF in the 1,100-1,600 nm range, only LSPR 2 will be exploited for refractive index change measurements, useful for bio-chemical sensing applications, as a proof of principle of the possibility of realizing a compact, low cost and easy-to-use GNS based device.

Low threshold optical bistability in one-dimensional gratings based on graphene plasmonics.

PubMed

Guo, Jun; Jiang, Leyong; Jia, Yue; Dai, Xiaoyu; Xiang, Yuanjiang; Fan, Dianyuan

2017-03-20

Optical bistability of graphene surface plasmon is investigated numerically, using grating coupling method at normal light incidence. The linear surface plasmon resonance is strongly dependent on Femi-level of graphene, hence it can be tuned in a large wavelength range. Due to the field enhancement of graphene surface plasmon resonance and large third-order nonlinear response of graphene, a low-threshold optical hysteresis has been observed. The threshold value with 20MW/cm² and response time with 1.7ps have been verified. Especially, it is found that this optical bistability phenomenon is angular insensitivity for near 15° incident angle. The threshold of optical bistability can be further lowered to 0.5MW/cm² by using graphene nanoribbons, and the response time is also shorten to 800fs. We believe that our results will find potential applications in bistable devices and all-optical switching from mid-IR to THz range.

Optical properties of single infrared resonant circular microcavities for surface phonon polaritons.

PubMed

Wang, Tao; Li, Peining; Hauer, Benedikt; Chigrin, Dmitry N; Taubner, Thomas

2013-11-13

Plasmonic antennas are crucial components for nano-optics and have been extensively used to enhance sensing, spectroscopy, light emission, photodetection, and others. Recently, there is a trend to search for new plasmonic materials with low intrinsic loss at new plasmon frequencies. As an alternative to metals, polar crystals have a negative real part of permittivity in the Reststrahlen band and support surface phonon polaritons (SPhPs) with weak damping. Here, we experimentally demonstrate the resonance of single circular microcavities in a thin gold film deposited on a silicon carbide (SiC) substrate in the mid-infrared range. Specifically, the negative permittivity of SiC leads to a well-defined, size-tunable SPhP resonance with a Q factor of around 60 which is much higher than those in surface plasmon polariton (SPP) resonators with similar structures. These infrared resonant microcavities provide new possibilities for widespread applications such as enhanced spectroscopy, sensing, coherent thermal emission, and infrared photodetectors among others throughout the infrared frequency range.

Surface Plasmon States in Inhomogeneous Media at Critical and Subcritical Metal Concentrations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Seal, Katyayani; Genov, Dentcho A.

Semicontinuous metal-dielectric films are composed of a wide range of metal clusters of various geometries—sizes as well as structures. This ensures that at any given wavelength of incident radiation, clusters exist in the film that will respond resonantly, akin to resonating nanoantennas, resulting in the broad optical response (absorption) that is a characteristic of semicontinuous films. The physics of the surface plasmon states that are supported by such systems is complex and can involve both localized and propagating plasmons. This chapter describes near-field experimental and numerical studies of the surface plasmon states in semicontinuous films at critical and subcritical metalmore » concentrations and evaluates the local field intensity statistics to discuss the interplay between various eigenmodes.« less

Performance Improvement of Polymer Solar Cells by Surface-Energy-Induced Dual Plasmon Resonance.

PubMed

Yao, Mengnan; Shen, Ping; Liu, Yan; Chen, Boyuan; Guo, Wenbin; Ruan, Shengping; Shen, Liang

2016-03-09

The surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect of metal nanoparticles (MNPs) is effectively applied on polymer solar cells (PSCs) to improve power conversion efficiency (PCE). However, universality of the reported results mainly focused on utilizing single type of MNPs to enhance light absorption only in specific narrow wavelength range. Herein, a surface-energy-induced dual MNP plasmon resonance by thermally evaporating method was presented to achieve the absorption enhancement in wider range. The differences of surface energy between silver (Ag), gold (Au), and tungsten trioxide (WO3) compared by contact angle images enable Ag and Au prefer to respectively aggregate into isolated islands rather than films at the initial stage of the evaporation process, which was clearly demonstrated in the atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurement. The sum of plasmon-enhanced wavelength range induced by both Ag NPs (350-450 nm) and Au NPs (450-600 nm) almost cover the whole absorption spectra of active layers, which compatibly contribute a significant efficiency improvement from 4.57 ± 0.16 to 6.55 ± 0.12% compared to the one without MNPs. Besides, steady state photoluminescence (PL) measurements provide strong evidence that the SPR induced by the Ag-Au NPs increase the intensity of light absorption. Finally, ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) reveals that doping Au and Ag causes upper shift of both the work function and valence band of WO3, which is directly related to hole collection ability. We believe the surface-energy-induced dual plasmon resonance enhancement by simple thermally evaporating technique might pave the way toward higher-efficiency PSCs.

Midinfrared Surface Plasmons in Carbon Nanotube Plasmonic Metasurface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Afinogenov, Boris I.; Kopylova, Daria S.; Abrashitova, Ksenia A.; Bessonov, Vladimir O.; Anisimov, Anton S.; Dyakov, Sergey A.; Gippius, Nikolay A.; Gladush, Yuri G.; Fedyanin, Andrey A.; Nasibulin, Albert G.

2018-02-01

We report an experimental observation of the midinfrared surface plasmon excited in a carbon nanotube plasmonic metasurface. The absorption of a 400-nm-thick single-walled carbon nanotube film perforated with laser-drilled subwavelength holes arranged in a 2D lattice is resonantly enhanced by 75% as compared with the unstructured film. The enhancement of absorption has a resonant behavior associated with the excitation of the surface plasmon and occurs at the wavelengths around 15 μ m for the lattice period of 10 μ m . The spectral position and the magnitude of the resonance are controlled entirely by the structure geometry and can be tuned in a broad range. We demonstrate that periodic patterning can be applied to tailor the bolometric performance of carbon nanotube thin films. Namely, the voltage response of the metasurface is enhanced by 100% at the wavelength of the plasmon resonance as compared with the unstructured film. We discuss mechanisms of the enhancement and compare experimental results with the finite-difference time-domain and scattering-matrix method simulations.

Nanoporous Gold Nanocomposites as a Versatile Platform for Plasmonic Engineering and Sensing

PubMed Central

Zhao, Fusheng; Zeng, Jianbo; Shih, Wei-Chuan

2017-01-01

Plasmonic metal nanostructures have shown great potential in sensing applications. Among various materials and structures, monolithic nanoporous gold disks (NPGD) have several unique features such as three-dimensional (3D) porous network, large surface area, tunable plasmonic resonance, high-density hot-spots, and excellent architectural integrity and environmental stability. They exhibit a great potential in surface-enhanced spectroscopy, photothermal conversion, and plasmonic sensing. In this work, interactions between smaller colloidal gold nanoparticles (AuNP) and individual NPGDs are studied. Specifically, colloidal gold nanoparticles with different sizes are loaded onto NPGD substrates to form NPG hybrid nanocomposites with tunable plasmonic resonance peaks in the near-infrared spectral range. Newly formed plasmonic hot-spots due to the coupling between individual nanoparticles and NPG disk have been identified in the nanocomposites, which have been experimentally studied using extinction and surface-enhanced Raman scattering. Numerical modeling and simulations have been employed to further unravel various coupling scenarios between AuNP and NPGDs. PMID:28657586

Alpha-fetoprotein detection by using a localized surface plasmon coupled fluorescence fiber-optic biosensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, Ying-Feng; Chen, Ran-Chou; Li, Ying-Chang; Yu, Chih-Jen; Hsieh, Bao-Yu; Chou, Chien

2007-11-01

Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) detection by using a localized surface plasmon coupled fluorescence (LSPCF) fiber-optic biosensor is setup and experimentally demonstrated. It is based on gold nanoparticle (GNP) and coupled with localized surface plasmon wave on the surface of GNP. In this experiment, the fluorophores are labeled on anti-AFP which are bound to protein A conjugated GNP. Thus, LSPCF is excited with high efficiency in the near field of localized surface plasmon wave. Therefore, not only the sensitivity of LSPCF biosensor is enhanced but also the specific selectivity of AFP is improved. Experimentally, the ability of real time measurement in the range of AFP concentration from 0.1ng/ml to 100ng/ml was detected. To compare with conventional methods such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) or radioimmunoassay (RIA), the LSPCF fiber-optic biosensor performs higher or comparable detection sensitivity, respectively.

Photonic Crystal Fiber-Based Surface Plasmon Resonance Sensor with Selective Analyte Channels and Graphene-Silver Deposited Core

PubMed Central

Rifat, Ahmmed A.; Mahdiraji, G. Amouzad; Chow, Desmond M.; Shee, Yu Gang; Ahmed, Rajib; Adikan, Faisal Rafiq Mahamd

2015-01-01

We propose a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor based on photonic crystal fiber (PCF) with selectively filled analyte channels. Silver is used as the plasmonic material to accurately detect the analytes and is coated with a thin graphene layer to prevent oxidation. The liquid-filled cores are placed near to the metallic channel for easy excitation of free electrons to produce surface plasmon waves (SPWs). Surface plasmons along the metal surface are excited with a leaky Gaussian-like core guided mode. Numerical investigations of the fiber’s properties and sensing performance are performed using the finite element method (FEM). The proposed sensor shows maximum amplitude sensitivity of 418 Refractive Index Units (RIU−1) with resolution as high as 2.4 × 10−5 RIU. Using the wavelength interrogation method, a maximum refractive index (RI) sensitivity of 3000 nm/RIU in the sensing range of 1.46–1.49 is achieved. The proposed sensor is suitable for detecting various high RI chemicals, biochemical and organic chemical analytes. Additionally, the effects of fiber structural parameters on the properties of plasmonic excitation are investigated and optimized for sensing performance as well as reducing the sensor’s footprint. PMID:25996510

Acoustically-driven surface and hyperbolic plasmon-phonon polaritons in graphene/h-BN heterostructures on piezoelectric substrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fandan, R.; Pedrós, J.; Schiefele, J.; Boscá, A.; Martínez, J.; Calle, F.

2018-05-01

Surface plasmon polaritons in graphene couple strongly to surface phonons in polar substrates leading to hybridized surface plasmon-phonon polaritons (SPPPs). We demonstrate that a surface acoustic wave (SAW) can be used to launch propagating SPPPs in graphene/h-BN heterostructures on a piezoelectric substrate like AlN, where the SAW-induced surface modulation acts as a dynamic diffraction grating. The efficiency of the light coupling is greatly enhanced by the introduction of the h-BN film as compared to the bare graphene/AlN system. The h-BN interlayer not only significantly changes the dispersion of the SPPPs but also enhances their lifetime. The strengthening of the SPPPs is shown to be related to both the higher carrier mobility induced in graphene and the coupling with h-BN and AlN surface phonons. In addition to surface phonons, hyperbolic phonons polaritons (HPPs) appear in the case of multilayer h-BN films leading to hybridized hyperbolic plasmon-phonon polaritons (HPPPs) that are also mediated by the SAW. These results pave the way for engineering SAW-based graphene/h-BN plasmonic devices and metamaterials covering the mid-IR to THz range.

Two-dimensional quasistatic stationary short range surface plasmons in flat nanoprisms.

PubMed

Nelayah, J; Kociak, M; Stéphan, O; Geuquet, N; Henrard, L; García de Abajo, F J; Pastoriza-Santos, I; Liz-Marzán, L M; Colliex, C

2010-03-10

We report on the nanometer scale spectral imaging of surface plasmons within individual silver triangular nanoprisms by electron energy loss spectroscopy and on related discrete dipole approximation simulations. A dependence of the energy and intensity of the three detected modes as function of the edge length is clearly identified both experimentally and with simulations. We show that for experimentally available prisms (edge lengths ca. 70 to 300 nm) the energies and intensities of the different modes show a monotonic dependence as function of the aspect ratio of the prisms. For shorter or longer prisms, deviations to this behavior are identified thanks to simulations. These modes have symmetric charge distribution and result from the strong coupling of the upper and lower triangular surfaces. They also form a standing wave in the in-plane direction and are identified as quasistatic short range surface plasmons of different orders as emphasized within a continuum dielectric model. This model explains in simple terms the measured and simulated energy and intensity changes as function of geometric parameters. By providing a unified vision of surface plasmons in platelets, such a model should be useful for engineering of the optical properties of metallic nanoplatelets.

High-order modes of spoof surface plasmonic wave transmission on thin metal film structure.

PubMed

Liu, Xiaoyong; Feng, Yijun; Zhu, Bo; Zhao, Junming; Jiang, Tian

2013-12-16

Recently, conformal surface plasmon (CSP) structure has been successfully proposed that could support spoof surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) on corrugated metallic strip with ultrathin thickness [Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 110, 40-45 (2013)]. Such concept provides a flexible, conformal, and ultrathin wave-guiding element, very promising for application of plasmonic devices, and circuits in the frequency ranging from microwave to mid-infrared. In this work, we investigated the dispersions and field patterns of high-order modes of spoof SPPs along CSP structure of thin metal film with corrugated edge of periodic array of grooves, and carried out direct measurement on the transmission spectrum of multi-band of surface wave propagation at microwave frequency. It is found that the mode number and mode bands are mainly determined by the depth of the grooves, providing a way to control the multi-band transmission spectrum. We have also experimentally verified the high-order mode spoof SPPs propagation on curved CSP structure with acceptable bending loss. The multi-band propagation of spoof surface wave is believed to be applicable for further design of novel planar devices such as filters, resonators, and couplers, and the concept can be extended to terahertz frequency range.

The facile fabrication of tunable plasmonic gold nanostructure arrays using microwave plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hsu, Chuen-Yuan; Huang, Jing-Wen; Gwo, Shangjr; Lin, Kuan-Jiuh

2010-01-01

Fabrication of isolated noble metal nanoparticles embedded in transparent substrates is the fasting growing demand for innovative plasmonic technologies. Here we report a simple and effective methodology for the preparation of highly stable plasmonic nanoparticles embedded in a glass surface. Size-controllable (10-70 nm) Au nanoparticles were rapidly prepared when subjected to the home-microwave plasma. Accordingly, the optical extinction maximum of the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) can be systematically tuned in the range 532-586 nm. We find that the plasmonic structures are exceedingly stable toward immersion in ethanol solvents and pass successfully the adhesive tape test, which makes our system highly promising for efficient transmission-LSPR nanosensors. Besides, the attractive features of substrate-bound plasmonic nanostructures include its low cost, versatility, robustness, reusability and a promising ability to make a multi-arrayed LSPR biochip.

Experimental study of surface plasmon-phonon polaritons in GaAs-based microstructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Galimov, A. I.; Shalygin, V. A.; Moldavskaya, M. D.; Panevin, V. Yu; Melentyev, G. A.; Artemyev, A. A.; Firsov, D. A.; Vorobjev, L. E.; Klimko, G. V.; Usikova, A. A.; Komissarova, T. A.; Sedova, I. V.; Ivanov, S. V.

2018-03-01

Optical properties of a heavily-doped GaAs epitaxial layer with a regular grating at its surface have been experimentally investigated in the terahertz spectral range. Reflectivity spectra for the layer with a profiled surface drastically differ from those for the as-grown epilayer with a planar surface. For s-polarized radiation, this difference is totally caused by the electromagnetic wave diffraction at the grating. For p-polarized radiation, additional resonant dips arise due to excitation of surface plasmon-phonon polaritons. Terahertz radiation emission under significant electron heating in an applied pulsed electric field has also been studied. Polarization measurements revealed pronounced peaks related to surface plasmon-phonon polariton resonances of the first and second order in the emission spectra.

The effect of beam pre-bunching on the excitation of terahertz plasmons in a parallel plane guiding system

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sharma, Suresh C.; Malik, Pratibha

2015-04-15

The excitation of terahertz (THz) plasmons by a pre-bunched relativistic electron beam propagating in a parallel plane semiconducting guiding system is studied. It is found that the n-InSb semiconductor strongly supports the confined surface plasmons in the terahertz frequency range. The growth rate and efficiency of the THz surface plasmons increase linearly with modulation index and show the largest value as modulation index approaches unity. Moreover, the growth rate of the instability scales as one-third power of the beam density and inverse one-third power of the THz radiation frequency.

Direct Visualization of Planar Assembly of Plasmonic Nanoparticles Adjacent to Electrodes in Oscillatory Electric Fields.

PubMed

Ferrick, Adam; Wang, Mei; Woehl, Taylor J

2018-05-29

Electric field-directed assembly of colloidal nanoparticles (NPs) has been widely adopted for fabricating functional thin films and nanostructured surfaces. While first-order electrokinetic effects on NPs are well-understood in terms of classical models, effects of second-order electrokinetics that involve induced surface charge are still poorly understood. Induced charge electroosmotic phenomena, such as electrohydrodynamic (EHD) flow, have long been implicated in electric field-directed NP assembly with little experimental basis. Here, we use in situ dark-field optical microscopy and plasmonic NPs to directly observe the dynamics of planar assembly of colloidal NPs adjacent to a planar electrode in low-frequency (<1 kHz) oscillatory electric fields. We exploit the change in plasmonic NP color resulting from interparticle plasmonic coupling to visualize the assembly dynamics and assembly structure of silver NPs. Planar assembly of NPs is unexpected because of strong electrostatic repulsion between NPs and indicates that there are strong attractive interparticle forces oriented perpendicular to the electric field direction. A parametric investigation of the voltage- and frequency-dependent phase behavior reveals that planar NP assembly occurs over a narrow frequency range below which irreversible ballistic deposition occurs. Two key experimental observations are consistent with EHD flow-induced NP assembly: (1) NPs remain mobile during assembly and (2) electron microscopy observations reveal randomly close-packed planar assemblies, consistent with strong interparticle attraction. We interpret planar assembly in terms of EHD fluid flow and develop a scaling model that qualitatively agrees with the measured phase regions. Our results are the first direct in situ observations of EHD flow-induced NP assembly and shed light on long-standing unresolved questions concerning the formation of NP superlattices during electric field-induced NP deposition.

Ultra-sensing with slit-enhanced infrared spectroscopy (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mayerhöfer, Thomas G.; Knipper, Richard; Hübner, Uwe; Cialla-May, Dana; Weber, Karina; Popp, Jürgen

2017-02-01

Infrared spectroscopy enables the label-free detection of structure specific fingerprints of analytes. The sensitivity of corresponding methods can strongly be enhanced by attaching analytes on plasmonic active surfaces. We introduce a slit array metamaterial perfect absorber (SAMPA) [1] consisting of a dielectric layer sandwiched between two Au layers of which the upper layer is perforated with a periodic array of slits. This structure combines the principle of Extraordinary Optical Transmission (more light is transmitted through a hole than is incident on its surface) with that of Perfect Absorption (reflectance and transmittance are virtually zero). Accordingly, within the slights the electric fields are strongly enhanced and light-matter interaction is correspondingly greatly amplified. Thus, already small concentrations of analytes down to a monolayer can be detected and identified by their spectral fingerprints with a standard mid-infrared spectrometer. Closely related to the SAMPAs are plasmonic slit absorbers, which simply consist of slit arrays in thin gold layers deposited on a layer of Si3N4.[2] These slit arrays operate like unstructured gold layers if the incident light is polarized parallel to the long slit axes. In contrast, for light polarized perpendicular to the long slit axis, the plasmon is excited. By the introduction of a second slit, which is rotated relative to the first slit, both principal polarization states excite plasmon resonances which can be made to differ in wavelength. As a consequence, the operating wavelength range of this slit array can be tuned by adjusting the polarization state of the incoming light. [1] Mayerhöfer, T.G., et al.. ACS Photonics, 2015. 2(11): p. 1567-1575. [2] Knipper, R., et. al., in preparation.

Integrated fiber-coupled launcher for slow plasmon-polariton waves.

PubMed

Della Valle, Giuseppe; Longhi, Stefano

2012-01-30

We propose and numerically demonstrate an integrated fiber-coupled launcher for slow surface plasmon-polaritons. The device is based on a novel plasmonic mode-converter providing efficient power transfer from the fast to the slow modes of a metallic nanostripe. Total coupling efficiency with standard single-mode fiber approaching 30% (including ohmic losses) has been numerically predicted for a 25-µm long gold-based device operating at 1.55 µm telecom wavelength.

Radiation of the high-order plasmonic modes of large gold nanospheres excited by surface plasmon polaritons.

PubMed

Chen, Jing-Dong; Xiang, Jin; Jiang, Shuai; Dai, Qiao-Feng; Tie, Shao-Long; Lan, Sheng

2018-05-17

Large metallic nanoparticles with sizes comparable to the wavelength of light are expected to support high-order plasmon modes exhibiting resonances in the visible to near infrared spectral range. However, the radiation behavior of high-order plasmon modes, including scattering spectra and radiation patterns, remains unexplored. Here, we report on the first observation and characterization of the high-order plasmon modes excited in large gold nanospheres by using the surface plasmon polaritons generated on the surface of a thin gold film. The polarization-dependent scattering spectra were measured by inserting a polarization analyzer in the collection channel and the physical origins of the scattering peaks observed in the scattering spectra were clearly identified. More interestingly, the radiation of electric quadrupoles and octupoles was resolved in both frequency and spatial domains. In addition, the angular dependences of the radiation intensity for all plasmon modes were extracted by fitting the polarization-dependent scattering spectra with multiple Lorentz line shapes. A significant enhancement of the electric field was found in the gap plasmon modes and it was employed to generate hot-electron intraband luminescence. Our findings pave the way for exploiting the high-order plasmon modes of large metallic nanoparticles in the manipulation of light radiation and light-matter interaction.

Long-Range Capture and Delivery of Water-Dispersed Nano-objects by Microbubbles Generated on 3D Plasmonic Surfaces.

PubMed

Tantussi, Francesco; Messina, Gabriele C; Capozza, Rosario; Dipalo, Michele; Lovato, Laura; De Angelis, Francesco

2018-05-22

The possibility of investigating small amounts of molecules, moieties, or nano-objects dispersed in solution constitutes a central step for various application areas in which high sensitivity is necessary. Here, we show that the rapid expansion of a water bubble can act as a fast-moving net for molecules or nano-objects, collecting the floating objects in the surrounding medium in a range up to 100 μm. Thanks to an engineered 3D patterning of the substrate, the collapse of the bubble could be guided toward a designed area of the surface with micrometric precision. Thus, a locally confined high density of particles is obtained, ready for evaluation by most optical/spectroscopic detection schemes. One of the main relevant strengths of the long-range capture and delivery method is the ability to increase, by a few orders of magnitude, the local density of particles with no changes in their physiological environment. The bubble is generated by an ultrafast IR laser pulse train focused on a resonant plasmonic antenna; due to the excitation process, the technique is trustworthy and applicable to biological samples. We have tested the reliabilities of the process by concentrating highly dispersed fluorescence molecules and fluorescent beads. Lastly, as an ultimate test, we have applied the bubble clustering method on nanosized exosome vesicles dispersed in water; due to the clustering effect, we were able to effectively perform Raman spectroscopy on specimens that were otherwise extremely difficult to measure.

A novel optical-fiber based surface plasmon resonance sensing architecture and its application to gastric cancer diagnostics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Francois, Alexandre; Boehm, Jonathan; Penno, Megan; Hoffmann, Peter; Monro, Tanya M.

2011-05-01

The management of threats such as pandemics and explosives, and of health and the environment requires the rapid deployment of highly sensitive detection tools. Sensors based on Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) allow rapid, labelfree, highly sensitive detection, and indeed this phenomenon underpins the only label-free optical biosensing technology that is available commercially. In these sensors, the existence of surface plasmons is inferred indirectly from absorption features that correspond to the coupling of light to the surface plasmon. Although SPR is not intrinsically a radiative process, under certain conditions the surface plasmon can itself couple to the local photon states, and emit light. Here we show for the first time that by collecting and characterising this re-emitted light, it is possible to realise new SPR sensing architectures that are more compact, versatile and robust than existing approaches. It is applicable to a range of SPR geometries, including optical fibres. As an example, this approach has been used to demonstrate the detection of a protein identified as a being a biomarker for cancer.

Surface plasmon-enhanced photovoltaic device

DOEpatents

Kostecki, Robert; Mao, Samuel

2014-10-07

Photovoltaic devices are driven by intense photoemission of "hot" electrons from a suitable nanostructured metal. The metal should be an electron source with surface plasmon resonance within the visible and near-visible spectrum range (near IR to near UV (about 300 to 1000 nm)). Suitable metals include silver, gold, copper and alloys of silver, gold and copper with each other. Silver is particularly preferred for its advantageous opto-electronic properties in the near UV and visible spectrum range, relatively low cost, and simplicity of processing.

Surface plasmon resonance sensing in gaseous media with optical fiber gratings.

PubMed

González-Vila, Álvaro; Ioannou, Andreas; Loyez, Médéric; Debliquy, Marc; Lahem, Driss; Caucheteur, Christophe

2018-05-15

Surface plasmon resonance excitation with optical fiber gratings has been typically studied in aqueous solutions. This work describes the procedure to excite a plasmon wave in gaseous media and perform refractive index measurements in these environments. Grating photo-inscription with 193 nm excimer laser radiation allows us to obtain slightly tilted fiber Bragg gratings exhibiting a cladding mode resonance comb along several hundreds of nanometers. Their refractive index sensitive range extends from gases to liquids, so operation in both media is compared. We demonstrate that the thickness of the metal coating required for surface plasmon excitation in gases is roughly one third of the one usually used for liquids. The developed platforms exhibit a temperature insensitive response of 78 nm/RIU when tested with different gases.

Silver Film Surface Modification by Ion Bombardment Decreases Surface Plasmon Resonance Absorption.

PubMed

Fryauf, David M; Diaz Leon, Juan J; Phillips, Andrew C; Kobayashi, Nobuhiko P

2017-05-10

Silver thin films covered with dielectric films serving as protective coatings are desired for telescope mirrors, but durable coatings have proved elusive. As part of an effort to develop long-lived protected-silver mirrors, silver thin films were deposited by electron beam evaporation using a physical vapor deposition system at the University of California Observatories Astronomical Coatings Lab. The silver films were later covered with a stack of dielectric films utilizing silicon nitride and titanium dioxide deposited by ion-assisted electron beam evaporation to fabricate protected mirrors. In-situ argon ion bombardment was introduced after silver deposition and prior to the deposition of dielectric films to assess its effects on the performance of the mirrors. We found that ion bombardment of the silver influenced surface morphology and reflectivity, and these effects correlated with time between silver deposition and ion bombardment. The overall reflectivity at wavelengths in the range of 350-800 nm was found to improve due to ion bombardment, which was qualitatively interpreted as a result of decreased surface plasmon resonance coupling. We suggest that the observed decrease in coupling is caused by silver grain boundary pinning due to ion bombardment suppressing silver surface diffusion, forming smoother silver-dielectric interfaces.

Tailoring optical metamaterials to tune the atom-surface Casimir-Polder interaction.

PubMed

Chan, Eng Aik; Aljunid, Syed Abdullah; Adamo, Giorgio; Laliotis, Athanasios; Ducloy, Martial; Wilkowski, David

2018-02-01

Metamaterials are fascinating tools that can structure not only surface plasmons and electromagnetic waves but also electromagnetic vacuum fluctuations. The possibility of shaping the quantum vacuum is a powerful concept that ultimately allows engineering the interaction between macroscopic surfaces and quantum emitters such as atoms, molecules, or quantum dots. The long-range atom-surface interaction, known as Casimir-Polder interaction, is of fundamental importance in quantum electrodynamics but also attracts a significant interest for platforms that interface atoms with nanophotonic devices. We perform a spectroscopic selective reflection measurement of the Casimir-Polder interaction between a Cs(6P 3/2 ) atom and a nanostructured metallic planar metamaterial. We show that by engineering the near-field plasmonic resonances of the metamaterial, we can successfully tune the Casimir-Polder interaction, demonstrating both a strong enhancement and reduction with respect to its nonresonant value. We also show an enhancement of the atomic spontaneous emission rate due to its coupling with the evanescent modes of the nanostructure. Probing excited-state atoms next to nontrivial tailored surfaces is a rigorous test of quantum electrodynamics. Engineering Casimir-Polder interactions represents a significant step toward atom trapping in the extreme near field, possibly without the use of external fields.

Photocurrent enhancement of graphene photodetectors by photon tunneling of light into surface plasmons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maleki, Alireza; Cumming, Benjamin P.; Gu, Min; Downes, James E.; Coutts, David W.; Dawes, Judith M.

2017-10-01

We demonstrate that surface plasmon resonances excited by photon tunneling through an adjacent dielectric medium enhance the photocurrent detected by a graphene photodetector. The device is created by overlaying a graphene sheet over an etched gap in a gold film deposited on glass. The detected photocurrents are compared for five different excitation wavelengths, ranging from {λ }0=570 {{nm}} to {λ }0=730 {{nm}}. Although the device is not optimized, the photocurrent excited with incident p-polarized light (which excites resonant surface plasmons) is significantly amplified in comparison with that for s-polarized light (without surface plasmon resonances). We observe that the photocurrent is greater for shorter wavelengths (for both s- and p-polarizations) with increased photothermal current. Position-dependent Raman spectroscopic analysis of the optically-excited graphene photodetector indicates the presence of charge carriers in the graphene near the metallic edge. In addition, we show that the polarity of the photocurrent reverses across the gap as the incident light spot moves across the gap. Graphene-based photodetectors offer a simple architecture which can be fabricated on dielectric waveguides to exploit the plasmonic photocurrent enhancement of the evanescent field. Applications for these devices include photodetection, optical sensing and direct plasmonic detection.

Long-range propagation of plasmon and phonon polaritons in hyperbolic-metamaterial waveguides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Babicheva, Viktoriia E.

2017-12-01

We study photonic multilayer waveguides that include layers of materials and metamaterials with a hyperbolic dispersion (HMM). We consider the long-range propagation of plasmon and phonon polaritons at the dielectric-HMM interface in different waveguide geometries (single boundary or different layers of symmetric cladding). In contrast to the traditional analysis of geometrical parameters, we make an emphasis on the optical properties of constituent materials: solving dispersion equations, we analyze how dielectric and HMM permittivities affect propagation length and mode size of waveguide eigenmodes. We derive figures of merit that should be used for each waveguide in a broad range of permittivity values as well as compare them with plasmonic waveguides. We show that the conventional plasmonic quality factor, which is the ratio of real to imaginary parts of permittivity, is not applicable to the case of waveguides with complex structure. Both telecommunication wavelengths and mid-infrared spectral ranges are of interest considering recent advances in van der Waals materials, such as hexagonal boron nitride. We evaluate the performance of the waveguides with hexagonal boron nitride in the range where it possesses hyperbolic dispersion (wavelength 6.3-7.3 μm), and we show that these waveguides with natural hyperbolic properties have higher propagation lengths than metal-based HMM waveguides.

Effective plasmonic mode-size converter.

PubMed

Park, Hae-Ryeong; Park, Jong-Moon; Kim, Min-su; Ju, Jung Jin; Son, Jung-Han; Lee, Myung-Hyun

2011-10-24

Plasmonic mode-size converters (PMSCs) for long-range surface plasmon polaritons (LR-SPPs) at the wavelength of 1.55 μm are presented. The PMSC is composed of an insulator-metal-insulator waveguide (IMI-W), a laterally tapered insulator-metal-insulator-metal-insulator waveguide (LT-IMIMI-W), and an IMIMI-W in series. The mode-intensity sizes of the LR-SPPs for the IMI-W and the IMIMI-W were not only calculated using a finite element method but were also experimentally measured. The propagation losses of the IMI-W and the IMIMI-W as well as the coupling losses between them were analyzed by the cut-back method to investigate the effect of LT-IMIMI-Ws. By using the PMSC with a ~27 ° angled LT-IMIMI-W, the coupling loss between a polarization-maintaining fiber and a 3 μm-wide IMIMI-W was reduced by ~3.4 dB. Moreover, the resulting mode-intensity in the output of the PMSC was squeezed to ~35% of the mode-intensity in the input IMI-W. The PMSC may be potentially useful for bridging micro- to nano-plasmonic integrated circuits. © 2011 Optical Society of America

Dispersion of surface plasmon polaritons on metal wires in the terahertz frequency range.

PubMed

Wang, Kanglin; Mittleman, Daniel M

2006-04-21

We report the experimental and theoretical study of the dispersive behavior of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) on cylindrical metal surfaces in the terahertz frequency range. Time-domain measurements of terahertz SPPs propagating on metal wires reveal a unique structure that is inconsistent with a simple extrapolation of the high frequency portion of the dispersion diagram for SPPs on a planar metal surface, and also distinct from that of SPPs on metal nanowires observed at visible and near-infrared frequencies. The results are consistent with a numerical solution of Maxwell's equations, showing that the dispersive behavior of SPPs on a cylindrical metal surface at terahertz frequencies is quite different from that of SPPs on a flat surface. These findings indicate the increasing importance of skin effects for SPPs in the terahertz range, as well as the enhancement of such effects on curved surfaces.

Plasmonics of magnetic and topological graphene-based nanostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuzmin, Dmitry A.; Bychkov, Igor V.; Shavrov, Vladimir G.; Temnov, Vasily V.

2018-02-01

Graphene is a unique material in the study of the fundamental limits of plasmonics. Apart from the ultimate single-layer thickness, its carrier concentration can be tuned by chemical doping or applying an electric field. In this manner, the electrodynamic properties of graphene can be varied from highly conductive to dielectric. Graphene supports strongly confined, propagating surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) in a broad spectral range from terahertz to mid-infrared frequencies. It also possesses a strong magneto-optical response and thus provides complimentary architectures to conventional magneto-plasmonics based on magneto-optically active metals or dielectrics. Despite a large number of review articles devoted to plasmonic properties and applications of graphene, little is known about graphene magneto-plasmonics and topological effects in graphene-based nanostructures, which represent the main subject of this review. We discuss several strategies to enhance plasmonic effects in topologically distinct closed surface landscapes, i.e. graphene nanotubes, cylindrical nanocavities and toroidal nanostructures. A novel phenomenon of the strongly asymmetric SPP propagation on chiral meta-structures and the fundamental relations between structural and plasmonic topological indices are reviewed.

Wide-range tuning of the surface plasmon resonance of silver/gold core shell and alloyed nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hubenthal, Frank; Ziegler, Torsten; Hendrich, Christian; Träger, Frank

2004-03-01

For many applications like surface enhanced Raman scattering in which the optical field enhancement associated with surface plasmon excitation is exploited, tunability of this collective resonance over a wide range is required. For this purpose we have prepared Ag/Au core shell and Ag/Au alloyed nanoparticles with different shell thicknesses and different percentages of the two metals. The nanoparticles were made by subsequent deposition of Ag and Au atoms on dielectric substrates followed by diffusion and nucleation or heat treatment. Depending on the Au shell thickness the plasmon frequency can be tuned, e.g. from 2.8 eV (442 nm) to 2.1 eV (590 nm). Annealing of the core-shell nanoparticles causes a shift of the resonance frequency to 2.6 eV. Theoretical modelling allows us to attribute this observation to the production of alloyed nanoparticles. Possible application of the Ag/Au nanoparticles will be discussed.

Out-of-Plane Designed Soft Metasurface for Tunable Surface Plasmon Polariton.

PubMed

Liu, Xin; Huang, Zhao; Zhu, Chengkai; Wang, Li; Zang, Jianfeng

2018-02-14

Reliable and repeatable tunability gives functional diversity for reconfigurable plasmonics devices, while reversible and large mechanical deformation enabled by soft materials provides a new way for the global or partial regulation of metadevices. Here, we demonstrate a soft metasurface with an out-of-plane design for tuning the energy of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) bloch wave using theory, simulation, and experiments. Our metasurface is composed of two-layered gold nanoribbon arrays (2GNRs) on a soft substrate. The out-of-plane coupling mechanism is systematically analyzed in terms of separation height effect. Moreover, by harnessing mechanical deformation, continuously tunable plasmonic resonance has been achieved in the visible and near-infrared ranges. We further studied the angle-dependent reflection spectra of our metastructure. Compared with its planar counterpart, our soft and two-layered metastructure exhibits diverse tunability and significant field enhancement by out-of-plane interactions. Our approach in designing soft metasurface with out-of-plane structures can be extended to more-complex photonic devices and finds prominent applications such as biosensing, high-density plasmonic circuits, surface-enhanced luminescence, and surface-enhanced Raman scattering.

Plasmonic trapping potentials for cold atoms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mildner, Matthias; Horrer, Andreas; Fleischer, Monika; Zimmermann, Claus; Slama, Sebastian

2018-07-01

This paper reports on conceptual and experimental work towards the realization of plasmonic surface traps for cold atoms. The trapping mechanism is based on the combination of a repulsive and an attractive potential generated by evanescent light waves that are plasmonically enhanced. The strength of enhancement can be locally manipulated via the thickness of a metal nanolayer deposited on top of a dielectric substrate. Thus, in principle the trapping geometry can be predefined by the metal layer design. We present simulations of a plasmonic lattice potential using a gold grating with sinusoidally modulated thickness. Experimentally, a first plasmonic test structure is presented and characterized. Furthermore, the surface potential landscape is detected by reflecting ultracold atom clouds from the test structure revealing the influence of both evanescent waves. A parameter range is identified where stable traps can be expected.

Polymer/silica hybrid integration waveguide Bragg grating based on surface plasmon polaritons.

PubMed

Tian, Liang; Wang, Fei; Wu, Yuanda; Sun, Xiaoqiang; Yi, Yunji; Zhang, Daming

2018-05-01

We proposed a device composed of a Bragg grating and a long-range surface plasmon polariton waveguide. The waveguide is formed by embedding a thin Au stripe in negative UV photoresist (SU-8 2005). The corrugated grating structure is created on a silica substrate using contact lithography and inductively coupled plasma etching, which is transferred onto the SU-8 2005 film by a spin coating process, producing a periodic modulation of refractive index along the waveguide. We achieve a transmission peak with an extinction ratio of 17 dB and a 3-dB bandwidth of 0.9 nm at a wavelength of 1575.2 nm. We achieve a reflection peak with a side-mode suppression ratio of 9.7 dB, a 3-dB bandwidth of 0.9 nm at a wavelength of 1575.2 nm when the heating electrode isn't working. The shift of the reflection peak with heating power over the range 0-6 mW is approximately 2.9 nm. This thermal dependence exhibits an average slope of -0.48  nm/mW.

Graded nanowell arrays: a fine plasmonic "library" with an adjustable spectral range.

PubMed

Xue, Peihong; Ye, Shunsheng; Su, Hongyang; Wang, Shuli; Nan, Jingjie; Chen, Xingchi; Ruan, Weidong; Zhang, Junhu; Cui, Zhanchen; Yang, Bai

2017-05-25

We present an effective approach for fabricating graded plasmonic arrays based on ordered micro-/nanostructures with a geometric gradient. Ag nanowell arrays with graded geometric parameters were fabricated and systematically investigated. The order of the graded plasmonic arrays is generated by colloidal lithography, while the geometric gradient is the result of inclined reactive ion etching. The surface plasmon resonance (SPR) peaks were measured at different positions, which move gradually along the Ag nanowell arrays with a geometric gradient. Such micro-/nanostructure arrays with graded and integrated SPR peaks can work as a fine plasmonic "library" (FPL), and the spectral range can be controlled using a "coarse adjustment knob" (lattice constant) and a "fine adjustment knob" (pore diameter). Additionally, the spectral resolution of the FPL is high, which benefits from the high value of the full height/full width at half-maximum and the small step size of the wavelength shift (0.5 nm). Meanwhile, the FPL could be effectively applied as a well-defined model to verify the plasmonic enhancement in surface enhanced Raman scattering. As the FPL is an integrated optical material with graded individual SPR peaks, it can not only be a theoretical model for fundamental research, but also has great potential in high-throughput screening of optical materials, multiplex sensors, etc.

Nanoscale on-chip all-optical logic parity checker in integrated plasmonic circuits in optical communication range

PubMed Central

Wang, Feifan; Gong, Zibo; Hu, Xiaoyong; Yang, Xiaoyu; Yang, Hong; Gong, Qihuang

2016-01-01

The nanoscale chip-integrated all-optical logic parity checker is an essential core component for optical computing systems and ultrahigh-speed ultrawide-band information processing chips. Unfortunately, little experimental progress has been made in development of these devices to date because of material bottleneck limitations and a lack of effective realization mechanisms. Here, we report a simple and efficient strategy for direct realization of nanoscale chip-integrated all-optical logic parity checkers in integrated plasmonic circuits in the optical communication range. The proposed parity checker consists of two-level cascaded exclusive-OR (XOR) logic gates that are realized based on the linear interference of surface plasmon polaritons propagating in the plasmonic waveguides. The parity of the number of logic 1s in the incident four-bit logic signals is determined, and the output signal is given the logic state 0 for even parity (and 1 for odd parity). Compared with previous reports, the overall device feature size is reduced by more than two orders of magnitude, while ultralow energy consumption is maintained. This work raises the possibility of realization of large-scale integrated information processing chips based on integrated plasmonic circuits, and also provides a way to overcome the intrinsic limitations of serious surface plasmon polariton losses for on-chip integration applications. PMID:27073154

Nanoscale on-chip all-optical logic parity checker in integrated plasmonic circuits in optical communication range.

PubMed

Wang, Feifan; Gong, Zibo; Hu, Xiaoyong; Yang, Xiaoyu; Yang, Hong; Gong, Qihuang

2016-04-13

The nanoscale chip-integrated all-optical logic parity checker is an essential core component for optical computing systems and ultrahigh-speed ultrawide-band information processing chips. Unfortunately, little experimental progress has been made in development of these devices to date because of material bottleneck limitations and a lack of effective realization mechanisms. Here, we report a simple and efficient strategy for direct realization of nanoscale chip-integrated all-optical logic parity checkers in integrated plasmonic circuits in the optical communication range. The proposed parity checker consists of two-level cascaded exclusive-OR (XOR) logic gates that are realized based on the linear interference of surface plasmon polaritons propagating in the plasmonic waveguides. The parity of the number of logic 1s in the incident four-bit logic signals is determined, and the output signal is given the logic state 0 for even parity (and 1 for odd parity). Compared with previous reports, the overall device feature size is reduced by more than two orders of magnitude, while ultralow energy consumption is maintained. This work raises the possibility of realization of large-scale integrated information processing chips based on integrated plasmonic circuits, and also provides a way to overcome the intrinsic limitations of serious surface plasmon polariton losses for on-chip integration applications.

Plasmon-polaritonic bands in sequential doped graphene superlattices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramos-Mendieta, Felipe; Palomino-Ovando, Martha; Hernández-López, Alejandro; Fuentecilla-Cárcamo, Iván

Doped graphene has the extraordinary quality of supporting two types of surface excitations that involve electric charges (the transverse magnetic surface plasmons) or electric currents (the transverse electric modes). We have studied numerically the collective modes that result from the coupling of surface plasmons in doped graphene multilayers. By use of structured supercells with fixed dielectric background and inter layer separation, we found a series of plasmon-polaritonic bands of structure dependent on the doping sequence chosen for the graphene sheets. Periodic and quasiperiodic sequences for the graphene chemical potential have been studied. Our results show that transverse magnetic bands exist only in the low frequency regime but transverse electric bands arise within specific ranges of higher frequencies. Our calculations are valid for THz frequencies and graphene sheets with doping levels between 0.1 eV and 1.2 eV have been considered. AHL and IFC aknowledge fellowship support from CONACYT México.

A Stable Plasmonic Cu@Cu2 O/ZnO Heterojunction for Enhanced Photocatalytic Hydrogen Generation.

PubMed

Lou, Yongbing; Zhang, Yake; Cheng, Lin; Chen, Jinxi; Zhao, Yixin

2018-05-09

The localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) effect has been widely utilized in photocatalysis, but most reported LSPR materials are based on noble metals of gold or silver with high chemical stability. Plasmonic copper nanoparticles that exhibit an LSPR absorbance at 600 nm are promising for many applications, such as photocatalysis. Unfortunately, plasmonic copper nanoparticles are affected by serious surface oxidation in air. Herein, a novel lollipop-shaped Cu@Cu 2 O/ZnO heterojunction nanostructure was designed, for the first time, to stabilize the plasmonic Cu core by decorating Cu@Cu 2 O core-shell structures with ZnO nanorods. This Cu@Cu 2 O/ZnO nanostructure exhibited significantly enhanced stability than that of regular Cu@Cu 2 O, which accounted for the remarkably enhanced photocatalytic H 2 evolution rate through water splitting, relative to pristine ZnO nanorods, over an extended wavelength range due to the plasmonic Cu core. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Optimization of top coupling grating for very long wavelength QWIP based on surface plasmon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Guodong; Shen, Junling; Liu, Xiaolian; Ni, Lu; Wang, Saili

2017-09-01

The relative coupling efficiency of two-dimensional (2D) grating based on surface plasmon for very long wavelength quantum well infrared detector is analyzed by using the three-dimensional finite-difference time domain (3D-FDTD) method algorithm. The relative coupling efficiency with respect to the grating parameters, such as grating pitch, duty ratio, and grating thickness, is analyzed. The calculated results show that the relative coupling efficiency would reach the largest value for the 14.5 μm incident infrared light when taking the grating pitch as 4.4 μm, the duty ratio as 0.325, and the grating thickness as 0.07 μm, respectively.

Revealing the subfemtosecond dynamics of orbital angular momentum in nanoplasmonic vortices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spektor, G.; Kilbane, D.; Mahro, A. K.; Frank, B.; Ristok, S.; Gal, L.; Kahl, P.; Podbiel, D.; Mathias, S.; Giessen, H.; Meyer zu Heringdorf, F.-J.; Orenstein, M.; Aeschlimann, M.

2017-03-01

The ability of light to carry and deliver orbital angular momentum (OAM) in the form of optical vortices has attracted much interest. The physical properties of light with a helical wavefront can be confined onto two-dimensional surfaces with subwavelength dimensions in the form of plasmonic vortices, opening avenues for thus far unknown light-matter interactions. Because of their extreme rotational velocity, the ultrafast dynamics of such vortices remained unexplored. Here we show the detailed spatiotemporal evolution of nanovortices using time-resolved two-photon photoemission electron microscopy. We observe both long- and short-range plasmonic vortices confined to deep subwavelength dimensions on the scale of 100 nanometers with nanometer spatial resolution and subfemtosecond time-step resolution. Finally, by measuring the angular velocity of the vortex, we directly extract the OAM magnitude of light.

Plasmonic resonances in hybrid systems of aluminum nanostructured arrays and few layer graphene within the UV-IR spectral range

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

González-Campuzano, R.; Saniger, J. M.; Mendoza, D.

2017-11-01

The size-controllable and ordered Al nanocavities and nanodomes arrays were synthesized by electrochemical anodization of aluminum using phosphoric acid, citric acid and mixture both acids. Few layer graphene (FLG) was transferred directly on top of Al nanostructures and their morphology were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy. The interaction between FLG and the plasmonic properties of Al nanostructures arrays were investigated based on specular reflectivity in the ultraviolet-visible-infrared range and Raman spectroscopy. We found that their optical reflectivity was dramatically reduced as compared with unstructured Al. At the same time pronounced reflectivity dips were detectable in the 200-896 nm wavelength range, which were ascribed to plasmonic resonances. The plasmonic properties of these nanostructures do not exhibit evident changes by the presence of FLG in the UV-vis range of the electromagnetic spectrum. By contrast, the surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy of FLG was observed in nanocavities and nanodomes structures that result in an intensity increase of the characteristic G and 2D bands of FLG induced by the plasmonic properties of Al nanostructures.

Resonances of nanoparticles with poor plasmonic metal tips

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ringe, Emilie; Desantis, Christopher J.; Collins, Sean M.; Duchamp, Martial; Dunin-Borkowski, Rafal E.; Skrabalak, Sara E.; Midgley, Paul A.

2015-11-01

The catalytic and optical properties of metal nanoparticles can be combined to create platforms for light-driven chemical energy storage and enhanced in-situ reaction monitoring. However, the heavily damped plasmon resonances of many catalytically active metals (e.g. Pt, Pd) prevent this dual functionality in pure nanostructures. The addition of catalytic metals at the surface of efficient plasmonic particles thus presents a unique opportunity if the resonances can be conserved after coating. Here, nanometer resolution electron-based techniques (electron energy loss, cathodoluminescence, and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy) are used to show that Au particles incorporating a catalytically active but heavily damped metal, Pd, sustain multiple size-dependent localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPRs) that are narrow and strongly localized at the Pd-rich tips. The resonances also couple with a dielectric substrate and other nanoparticles, establishing that the full range of plasmonic behavior is observed in these multifunctional nanostructures despite the presence of Pd.

Room-temperature Synthesis of Amorphous Molybdenum Oxide Nanodots with Tunable Localized Surface Plasmon Resonances.

PubMed

Zhu, Chuanhui; Xu, Qun; Ji, Liang; Ren, Yumei; Fang, Mingming

2017-12-05

Two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors have recently emerged as a remarkable class of plasmonic alternative to conventional noble metals. However, tuning of their plasmonic resonances towards different wavelengths in the visible-light region with physical or chemical methods still remains challenging. In this work, we design a simple room-temperature chemical reaction route to synthesize amorphous molybdenum oxide (MoO 3-x ) nanodots that exhibit strong localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPR) in the visible and near-infrared region. Moreover, tunable plasmon resonances can be achieved in a wide range with the changing surrounding solvent, and accordingly the photoelectrocatalytic activity can be optimized with the varying LSPR peaks. This work boosts the light-matter interaction at the nanoscale and could enable photodetectors, sensors, and photovoltaic devices in the future. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Dry Sintering Meets Wet Silver-Ion "Soldering": Charge-Transfer Plasmon Engineering of Solution-Assembled Gold Nanodimers From Visible to Near-Infrared I and II Regions.

PubMed

Fang, Lingling; Wang, Yueliang; Liu, Miao; Gong, Ming; Xu, An; Deng, Zhaoxiang

2016-11-07

Achieving highly tunable and localized surface plasmon resonance up to near infrared (NIR) regions is a key target in nanoplasmonics. In particular, a self-assembly process capable of producing highly uniform and solution-processable nanomaterials with tailor-made plasmonic properties is lacking. We herein address this problem through a conjunctive use of wet Ag + soldering and dry thermal sintering to produce nanodimer-derived structures with precisely engineered charge-transfer plasmon (CTP). The sintered dimers are water soluble, featuring gradually shifted CTP spanning an 800 nm wavelength range (up to NIR II). Upon silica removal, the products are grafted by DNA to offer surface functionality. This process is also adaptable to DNA-linked AuNP dimers toward plasmonic meta-materials via DNA-guided soldering and sintering. © 2016 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Smart textile plasmonic fiber dew sensors.

PubMed

Esmaeilzadeh, Hamid; Rivard, Maxime; Arzi, Ezatollah; Légaré, François; Hassani, Alireza

2015-06-01

We propose a novel Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR)-based sensor that detects dew formation in optical fiber-based smart textiles. The proposed SPR sensor facilitates the observation of two phenomena: condensation of moisture and evaporation of water molecules in air. This sensor detects dew formation in less than 0.25 s, and determines dew point temperature with an accuracy of 4%. It can be used to monitor water layer depth changes during dew formation and evaporation in the range of a plasmon depth probe, i.e., 250 nm, with a resolution of 7 nm. Further, it facilitates estimation of the relative humidity of a medium over a dynamic range of 30% to 70% by measuring the evaporation time via the plasmon depth probe.

Wavelength-multiplexing surface plasmon holographic microscopy.

PubMed

Zhang, Jiwei; Dai, Siqing; Zhong, Jinzhan; Xi, Teli; Ma, Chaojie; Li, Ying; Di, Jianglei; Zhao, Jianlin

2018-05-14

Surface plasmon holographic microscopy (SPHM), which combines surface plasmon microscopy with digital holographic microscopy, can be applied for amplitude- and phase-contrast surface plasmon resonance (SPR) imaging. In this paper, we propose an improved SPHM with the wavelength multiplexing technique based on two laser sources and a common-path hologram recording configuration. Through recording and reconstructing the SPR images at two wavelengths simultaneously employing the improved SPHM, tiny variation of dielectric refractive index in near field is quantitatively monitored with an extended measurement range while maintaining the high sensitivity. Moreover, imaging onion tissues is performed to demonstrate that the detection sensitivities of two wavelengths can compensate for each other in SPR imaging. The proposed wavelength-multiplexing SPHM presents simple structure, high temporal stability and inherent capability of phase curvature compensation, as well as shows great potentials for further applications in monitoring diverse dynamic processes related with refractive index variations and imaging biological tissues with low-contrast refractive index distributions in the near field.

Mining the Salivary Proteome with Grating-Coupled Surface Plasmon Resonance Imaging and Surface Plasmon Coupled Emission Microarrays

PubMed Central

Molony, Ryan D.; Rice, James M.; Yuk, Jongseol; Shetty, Vivek; Dey, Dipak; Lawrence, David A.; Lynes, Michael A.

2012-01-01

Biological indicators have numerous and widespread utility in personalized medicine, but the measurement of these indicators also pose many technological and practical challenges. Blood/plasma has typically been used as the sample source with which to measure these indicators, but the invasiveness associated with procurement of samples has led to increased interest in saliva as an attractive alternative. However, there are unique issues associated with the measurement of saliva biomarkers. These issues are compounded by the imperfect correlation between saliva and plasma with respect to biomarker profiles. In this manuscript, we address the technical challenges associated with saliva biomarker quantification describe a high-content microarray assay that employs both grating-coupled surface plasmon resonance imaging surface plasmon coupled emission modalities in a highly sensitive assay that has a large dynamic range. This powerful approach provides the tools to map the proteome of saliva, which in turn should greatly enhance the utility of salivary biomarker profiles in personalized medicine. PMID:22896008

Influence of surface plasmon resonance of Sn nanoparticles and nanosheets on the photoluminescence and Raman spectra of SnS quantum dots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Warrier, Anita R.; Gandhimathi, R.

2018-04-01

We report on enhancement of photoluminescence of SnS quantum dots by embedding them in a mesh of Sn nanostructures. SnS quantum dots with band gap ˜2.7 eV are embedded in a mesh of Sn nanostructures, that are synthesized from tin chloride solution using sodium borohydride as reducing agent. The synthesized Sn nanostructures have a morphology dependent, tunable surface plasmon resonance ranging from UV region (295 nm) to visible region (400 nm) of the electromagnetic spectrum. In the SnS-Sn nanohybrids, the excitons are strongly coupled with plasmons leading to a shift in the excitonic binding energy (˜ 400 meV). Due to the influence of Sn nanoparticles on the SnS quantum dots, the photoluminescence and Raman line intensity is enhanced by an order of ˜103 The enhancement is more pronounced for Sn nanosheets due to the large surface area and visible light surface plasmon resonance.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Akhter, Perveen; Huang, Mengbing, E-mail: mhuang@albany.edu; Spratt, William

Plasmonic effects associated with metal nanostructures are expected to hold the key to tailoring light emission/propagation and harvesting solar energy in materials including single crystal silicon which remains the backbone in the microelectronics and photovoltaics industries but unfortunately, lacks many functionalities needed for construction of advanced photonic and optoelectronics devices. Currently, silicon plasmonic structures are practically possible only in the configuration with metal nanoparticles or thin film arrays on a silicon surface. This does not enable one to exploit the full potential of plasmonics for optical engineering in silicon, because the plasmonic effects are dominant over a length of ∼50 nm,more » and the active device region typically lies below the surface much beyond this range. Here, we report on a novel method for the formation of silver nanoparticles embedded within a silicon crystal through metal gettering from a silver thin film deposited at the surface to nanocavities within the Si created by hydrogen ion implantation. The refractive index of the Ag-nanostructured layer is found to be 3–10% lower or higher than that of silicon for wavelengths below or beyond ∼815–900 nm, respectively. Around this wavelength range, the optical extinction values increase by a factor of 10–100 as opposed to the pure silicon case. Increasing the amount of gettered silver leads to an increased extinction as well as a redshift in wavelength position for the resonance. This resonance is attributed to the surface plasmon excitation of the resultant silver nanoparticles in silicon. Additionally, we show that the profiles for optical constants in silicon can be tailored by varying the position and number of nanocavity layers. Such silicon crystals with embedded metal nanostructures would offer novel functional base structures for applications in silicon photonics, optoelectronics, photovoltaics, and plasmonics.« less

EDITORIAL: Gems in nanoscience Gems in nanoscience

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Demming, Anna

2011-04-01

In 1902 R M Wood published the paper 'On a remarkable case of uneven distribution of light in a diffraction grating spectrum' [1]. As was true of so much of his work, interest in his observations took flight, inspiring extensive research into associated new optical phenomena. What is now known as Wood's anomaly has been described as the result of excitations of oscillations in the conducting electron plasma, or 'plasmons'. These quasiparticles have become increasingly attractive to researchers, perhaps less for the dazzling colours they impart to glitzy gemstones over their potential to facilitate medical imaging, as well as integrated optics [2] and the transfer of information and energy at dimensions below the diffraction limit. Excitation of surface plasmons provides a means of enhancing optical near fields, thus empowering a range of signal detecting applications. A range of innovative techniques have been implemented to probe surface plasmon resonances. The evolution of plasmon resonance energy and mean free path as particle dimensions increase from nanostructures to bulk matter has been monitored through ellipsometry, thus providing an insight into the plasmon polariton coupling [3]. Electron energy loss experiments have also proved a valuable tool for mapping surface plasmons with a spatial resolution an order of magnitude better than can be achieved with scanning near-field optical microscopes [4]. The exploitation of surface plasmons is primed to aid advances in medical imaging, diagnosis and therapy. Researchers in the US have developed a protein-enabled strategy to fabricate quantum dot nanoarrays where an increase in surface-plasmon-enhanced fluorescence of up to a factor of 15 has been achieved [5]. Understanding and dexterity in manipulating these enhancements has reached a high level of sophistication, and researchers in London have demonstrated the ability to increase the fluorescence enhancement by a factor of 4 and the decay rate by a factor of almost 30 by tuning the localised surface plasmon resonance of silver particle arrays to the emission wavelength of a locally situated fluorophore [6]. In the US and Belarus researchers have collaborated to investigate the potential of plasmonic nanobubbles, generated by laser activated nanoparticles, for combined diagnostics, therapy, and therapy guidance. Such nanobubbles can be optically tracked in the body, and their rapid expansion and collapse provides a localised mechanical impact on cells that can disrupt the cell membrane [7]. Surface plasmon polaritons at nanostructures allow highly local control of light, which has a range of uses in electronic devices. Photovoltaics researchers in the US and the Netherlands have demonstrated enhanced short circuit current densities compared to cells having flat or randomly textured back contacts using nanostructured plasmonic back contacts, which maximise the interaction with the light [8]. Progress in optoelectronics is another area where surface plasmon polaritons are playing an increasingly important role [9]. In this issue, researchers at the Institut des Sciences Molé culaire d'Orsay demonstrate that it is possible to excite propagating surface plasmon polaritons with a scanning tunnelling microscope, and detect them [2]. Their work also investigates the nature of the excited plasmons and how the intensities of the propagating surface plasmon polaritons and the localized plasmon emission can be enhanced by factors of 2 and 20 respectively by using a silver tip instead of a tungsten one. Wisdom may be worth more than silver and gold, but a little silver and gold can contribute a lot to unearthing new wisdom at the nanoscale. References [1] Wood R M 1902 Nanotechnology 18 296 [2] Wang T, Boer-Duchemin E, Zhang Y, Comtet G and Dujardin G 2011 Nanotechnology 22 175201 [3] Oates T W H and Mücklich A 2005 Nanotechnology 16 2606 [4] Bosman M, Keast V J, Watanabe M, Maaroof A I and Cortie M B 2007 Nanotechnology 18 165505 [5] Zin M T, Leong K, Wong N-Y, Ma H, Sarikaya M and Jen A K-Y 2009 Nanotechnology 20 015305 [6] Cade N I, Ritman-Meer T, Kwakwa K A and Richards D 2009 Nanotechnology 20 285201 [7] Lukianova-Hleb E Y, Hanna E Y, Hafner J H and Lapotko D O 2010 Nanotechnology 21 085102 [8] Ferry V E, Verschuuren M A, Li H B T, Verhagen E, Walters R J, Schropp R E I, Atwater H A, and Polman A 2010 Optics Express 18 A237-45 [9] Maier S A 2006 IEEE J. Sel. Top. Quantum Electron. 12 1671-7

Remote activation and detection of up-converted luminescence via surface plasmon polaritons propagating in a silver nanowire.

PubMed

Prymaczek, A; Cwierzona, M; Grzelak, J; Kowalska, D; Nyk, M; Mackowski, S; Piatkowski, D

2018-06-27

In this paper, we demonstrate remote activation and detection of the 2-photon up-conversion luminescence via surface plasmon polaritons propagating in a long silver nanowire. The hybrid nanostructure was assembled by locally depositing a submicron droplet of nanocrystal-containing colloidal solution on one of the ends of the metallic nanowire. When - using a classic confocal microscope - the second end of the nanowire, without the nanocrystals, is illuminated with infrared laser light, we observe strong emission from the same end. Therefore, it indicates that surface plasmon polaritons activated with infrared light at the second end of the nanowire propagate along it and can excite nanocrystals in the droplet at the opposite end. Subsequently, the excited nanocrystals up-convert the energy and by launching surface plasmon polaritons can guide the up-converted luminescence back to the starting point. The emergence of this effect is much more pronounced for a laser polarized along the nanowire. The spectral and temporal character of this emission reveals strong interactions between surface plasmon polaritons and electronic states of the nanocrystals. The details of local and non-local aspects of the effects of remote excitation and guiding of energy in a silver nanowire are elucidated using a unique experimental setup, based on two microscope objectives for spatial separation and control of both excitation and emission beams.

Solar energy conversion with tunable plasmonic nanostructures for thermoelectric devices.

PubMed

Xiong, Yujie; Long, Ran; Liu, Dong; Zhong, Xiaolan; Wang, Chengming; Li, Zhi-Yuan; Xie, Yi

2012-08-07

The photothermal effect in localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) should be fully utilized when integrating plasmonics into solar technologies for improved light absorption. In this communication, we demonstrate that the photothermal effect of silver nanostructures can provide a heat source for thermoelectric devices for the first time. The plasmonic band of silver nanostructures can be facilely manoeuvred by tailoring their shapes, enabling them to interact with photons in different spectral ranges for the efficient utilization of solar light. It is anticipated that this concept can be extended to design a photovoltaic-thermoelectric tandem cell structure with plasmonics as mediation for light harvesting.

Surface plasmons for doped graphene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bordag, M.; Pirozhenko, I. G.

2015-04-01

Within the Dirac model for the electronic excitations of graphene, we calculate the full polarization tensor with finite mass and chemical potential. It has, besides the (00)-component, a second form factor, which must be accounted for. We obtain explicit formulas for both form factors and for the reflection coefficients. Using these, we discuss the regions in the momentum-frequency plane where plasmons may exist and give numeric solutions for the plasmon dispersion relations. It turns out that plasmons exist for both, transverse electric and transverse magnetic polarizations over the whole range of the ratio of mass to chemical potential, except for zero chemical potential, where only a TE plasmon exists.

Manipulating surface-plasmon-polariton launching with quasi-cylindrical waves.

PubMed

Sun, Chengwei; Chen, Jianjun; Yao, Wenjie; Li, Hongyun; Gong, Qihuang

2015-06-10

Launching the free-space light to the surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) in a broad bandwidth is of importance for the future plasmonic circuits. Based on the interference of the pure SPP component, the bandwidths of the unidirectional SPP launching is difficult to be further broadened. By greatly manipulating the SPP intensities with the quasi-cylindrical waves (Quasi-CWs), an ultra-broadband unidirectional SPP launcher is experimentally realized in a submicron asymmetric slit. In the nano-groove of the asymmetric slit, the excited Quasi-CWs are not totally damped, and they can be scattered into the SPPs along the metal surface. This brings additional interference and thus greatly manipulates the SPP launching. Consequently, a broadband unidirectional SPP launcher is realized in the asymmetric slit. More importantly, it is found that this principle can be extended to the three-dimensional subwavelength plasmonic waveguide, in which the excited Quasi-CWs in the aperture could be effectively converted to the tightly guided SPP mode along the subwavelength plasmonic waveguide. In the large wavelength range from about 600 nm to 1300 nm, the SPP mode mainly propagates to one direction along the plasmonic waveguide, revealing an ultra-broad (about 700 nm) operation bandwidth of the unidirectional SPP launching.

Preparation and SERS performance of Au NP/paper strips based on inkjet printing and seed mediated growth: The effect of silver ions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weng, Guojun; Yang, Yue; Zhao, Jing; Zhu, Jian; Li, Jianjun; Zhao, Junwu

2018-04-01

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) has been widely used in biomedical sensing with the advantages of high sensitivity and label-free. However, the fabrication of SERS substrates with good Raman activity, reproducibility, and low cost is still under development in practical applications. This paper presents a practicable method for fabricating Au NP/paper strips by using inkjet printing and seed mediated growth. Small gold seed synthesized by borohydride reduction was used as ink and printed on the filter paper. The printed gold seed grew in situ in the growth solution and formed the gold nanoparticle (Au NP)/paper strips. The fabricated paper strip was characterized by diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The diffuse reflectance spectra indicated that the Au NP/paper strips had two local surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) peaks: the short one at around 540 nm and the long one located in the range of 640-840 nm. And the long LSPR peak firstly shifted to red then to blue with the increased concentrations of silver ions in growth solution. From the SEM images, the shape of grown Au NPs was diverse, including sphere, rod, ellipsoid, dimer, trimer, and big aggregates. We thought the short peak came from the LSPR of nanospheres and the transvers LSPR of rod and ellipsoid like particles, while the long peak mainly came from the plasmonic coupling of dimer along the inter-particle axis. The obtained Au NP/paper strip with the long peak located around 650 nm had the highest SERS activity, which could be attributed to the plasmon resonance induced local field enhancement and nanogap effect. Also, the SERS performance results indicated the printed SERS strips exhibited satisfied uniformity and stability, demonstrating the potential of Au NP/paper strip in real-world applications.

Cascaded exciton energy transfer in a monolayer semiconductor lateral heterostructure assisted by surface plasmon polariton.

PubMed

Shi, Jinwei; Lin, Meng-Hsien; Chen, I-Tung; Mohammadi Estakhri, Nasim; Zhang, Xin-Quan; Wang, Yanrong; Chen, Hung-Ying; Chen, Chun-An; Shih, Chih-Kang; Alù, Andrea; Li, Xiaoqin; Lee, Yi-Hsien; Gwo, Shangjr

2017-06-26

Atomically thin lateral heterostructures based on transition metal dichalcogenides have recently been demonstrated. In monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides, exciton energy transfer is typically limited to a short range (~1 μm), and additional losses may be incurred at the interfacial regions of a lateral heterostructure. To overcome these challenges, here we experimentally implement a planar metal-oxide-semiconductor structure by placing a WS 2 /MoS 2 monolayer heterostructure on top of an Al 2 O 3 -capped Ag single-crystalline plate. We find that the exciton energy transfer range can be extended to tens of microns in the hybrid structure mediated by an exciton-surface plasmon polariton-exciton conversion mechanism, allowing cascaded exciton energy transfer from one transition metal dichalcogenides region supporting high-energy exciton resonance to a different transition metal dichalcogenides region in the lateral heterostructure with low-energy exciton resonance. The realized planar hybrid structure combines two-dimensional light-emitting materials with planar plasmonic waveguides and offers great potential for developing integrated photonic and plasmonic devices.Exciton energy transfer in monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides is limited to short distances. Here, Shi et al. fabricate a planar metal-oxide-semiconductor structure and show that exciton energy transfer can be extended to tens of microns, mediated by an exciton-surface-plasmon-polariton-exciton conversion mechanism.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kirschner, Matthew S.; Ding, Wendu; Li, Yuxiu

In this study, we demonstrate that coherent acoustic phonons derived from plasmonic nanoparticles can modulate electronic interactions with proximal excitonic molecular species. A series of gold bipyramids with systematically varied aspect ratios and corresponding localized surface plasmon resonance energies, functionalized with a J-aggregated thiacarbocyanine dye molecule, produce two hybridized states that exhibit clear anti-crossing behavior with a Rabi splitting energy of 120 meV. In metal nanoparticles, photoexcitation generates coherent acoustic phonons that cause oscillations in the plasmon resonance energy. In the coupled system, these photo-generated oscillations alter the metal nanoparticle’s energetic contribution to the hybridized system and, as a result,more » change the coupling between the plasmon and exciton. We demonstrate that such modulations in the hybridization is consistent across a wide range of bipyramid ensembles. We also use Finite-Difference Time Domain calculations to develop a simple model describing this behavior. Lastly, such oscillatory plasmonic-excitonic nanomaterials (OPENs) offer a route to manipulate and dynamically-tune the interactions of plasmonic/excitonic systems and unlock a range of potential applications.« less

Graphene-Based Long-Period Fiber Grating Surface Plasmon Resonance Sensor for High-Sensitivity Gas Sensing

PubMed Central

Wei, Wei; Nong, Jinpeng; Zhang, Guiwen; Tang, Linlong; Jiang, Xiao; Chen, Na; Luo, Suqin; Lan, Guilian; Zhu, Yong

2016-01-01

A graphene-based long-period fiber grating (LPFG) surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor is proposed. A monolayer of graphene is coated onto the Ag film surface of the LPFG SPR sensor, which increases the intensity of the evanescent field on the surface of the fiber and thereby enhances the interaction between the SPR wave and molecules. Such features significantly improve the sensitivity of the sensor. The experimental results demonstrate that the sensitivity of the graphene-based LPFG SPR sensor can reach 0.344 nm%−1 for methane, which is improved 2.96 and 1.31 times with respect to the traditional LPFG sensor and Ag-coated LPFG SPR sensor, respectively. Meanwhile, the graphene-based LPFG SPR sensor exhibits excellent response characteristics and repeatability. Such a SPR sensing scheme offers a promising platform to achieve high sensitivity for gas-sensing applications. PMID:28025483

Polarization independent asymmetric light absorption in plasmonic nanostructure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Franco Rêgo, Davi; Rodriguez-Esquerre, Vitaly Felix

2017-08-01

The directional dependency of the optical coefficients, such as absorbance and reflectance, of a periodic hole plasmonic structure is numerically simulated and investigated. The tridimensional structure, which is composed of a metallic thin layer on a semiconductor matrix, is polarization independent and exhibits wide angle tolerance. It is found that the optical coefficients of the simulated structure have strong dependency to the radii of the holes due to cavity modes resonance and surface plasmon resonance. Simulations were carried out using gold and silver, varying the holes radii ranging from 40 to 70nm, as well as its depth, from 30 to 60nm of the metallic thin layer and from 100 to 200nm of the semiconductor matrix. A maximum contrast ratio of a unit was obtained. The resonant modes excited in the structure and excitation of surface plasmon polaritons in the metallic side illumination favors absorption, which explains the asymmetric behavior. We also investigate the structure's fabrication sensitivity by randomizing the generation of center of the holes in a supercell. These findings are significant for a diverse range of applications, ranging from optical integrated circuits to solar and thermovoltaics energy harvesting.

Observation and Manipulation of Visible Edge Plasmons in Bi2Te3 Nanoplates.

PubMed

Lu, Xiaowei; Hao, Qunqing; Cen, Mengjia; Zhang, Guanhua; Sun, Julong; Mao, Libang; Cao, Tun; Zhou, Chuanyao; Jiang, Peng; Yang, Xueming; Bao, Xinhe

2018-05-09

Noble metals, like Ag and Au, are the most intensively studied plasmonic materials in the visible range. Plasmons in semiconductors, however, are usually believed to be in the infrared wavelength region due to the intrinsic low carrier concentrations. Herein, we observe the edge plasmon modes of Bi 2 Te 3 , a narrow-band gap semiconductor, in the visible spectral range using photoemission electron microscopy (PEEM). The Bi 2 Te 3 nanoplates excited by 400 nm femtosecond laser pulses exhibit strong photoemission intensities along the edges, which follow a cos 4 dependence on the polarization state of incident beam. Because of the phase retardation effect, plasmonic response along different edges can be selectively exited. The thickness-dependent photoemission intensities exclude the spin-orbit induced surface states as the origin of these plasmonic modes. Instead, we propose that the interband transition-induced nonequilibrium carriers might play a key role. Our results not only experimentally demonstrate the possibility of visible plasmons in semiconducting materials but also open up a new avenue for exploring the optical properties of topological insulator materials using PEEM.

Phonon-Driven Oscillatory Plasmonic Excitonic Nanomaterials

DOE PAGES

Kirschner, Matthew S.; Ding, Wendu; Li, Yuxiu; ...

2017-12-01

In this study, we demonstrate that coherent acoustic phonons derived from plasmonic nanoparticles can modulate electronic interactions with proximal excitonic molecular species. A series of gold bipyramids with systematically varied aspect ratios and corresponding localized surface plasmon resonance energies, functionalized with a J-aggregated thiacarbocyanine dye molecule, produce two hybridized states that exhibit clear anti-crossing behavior with a Rabi splitting energy of 120 meV. In metal nanoparticles, photoexcitation generates coherent acoustic phonons that cause oscillations in the plasmon resonance energy. In the coupled system, these photo-generated oscillations alter the metal nanoparticle’s energetic contribution to the hybridized system and, as a result,more » change the coupling between the plasmon and exciton. We demonstrate that such modulations in the hybridization is consistent across a wide range of bipyramid ensembles. We also use Finite-Difference Time Domain calculations to develop a simple model describing this behavior. Lastly, such oscillatory plasmonic-excitonic nanomaterials (OPENs) offer a route to manipulate and dynamically-tune the interactions of plasmonic/excitonic systems and unlock a range of potential applications.« less

Colorimetric determination of Timolol concentration based on localized surface plasmon resonance of silver nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amirjani, Amirmostafa; Bagheri, Mozhgan; Heydari, Mojgan; Hesaraki, Saeed

2016-09-01

In this work, a rapid and simple colorimetric method based on the surface plasmon resonance of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) was developed for the detection of the drug Timolol. The method used is based on the interaction of Timolol with the surface of the as-synthesized AgNPs, which promotes aggregation of the nanoparticles. This aggregation exploits the surface plasmon resonance through the electric dipole-dipole interaction and coupling among the agglomerated particles, hence bringing forth distinctive changes in the spectra as well as the color of colloidal silver. UV-vis spectrophotometery was used to monitor the changes of the localized surface plasmon resonance of AgNPs at wavelengths of 400 and 550 nm. The developed colorimetric sensor has a wide dynamic range of 1.0 × 10-7 M-1.0 × 10-3 M for detection of Timolol with a low detection limit of 1.2 × 10-6 M. The proposed method was successfully applied for the determination of Timolol concentration in ophthalmic eye-drop solution with a response time lower than 40 s.

Theory of energy and power flow of plasmonic waves on single-walled carbon nanotubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moradi, Afshin

2017-10-01

The energy theorem of electrodynamics is extended so as to apply to the plasmonic waves on single-walled carbon nanotubes which propagate parallel to the axial direction of the system and are periodic waves in the azimuthal direction. Electronic excitations on the nanotube surface are modeled by an infinitesimally thin layer of free-electron gas which is described by means of the linearized hydrodynamic theory. General expressions of energy and power flow associated with surface waves are obtained by solving Maxwell and hydrodynamic equations with appropriate boundary conditions. Numerical results for the transverse magnetic mode show that energy, power flow, and energy transport velocity of the plasmonic waves strongly depend on the nanotube radius in the long-wavelength region.

Tunability of the dielectric function of heavily doped germanium thin films for mid-infrared plasmonics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frigerio, Jacopo; Ballabio, Andrea; Isella, Giovanni; Sakat, Emilie; Pellegrini, Giovanni; Biagioni, Paolo; Bollani, Monica; Napolitani, Enrico; Manganelli, Costanza; Virgilio, Michele; Grupp, Alexander; Fischer, Marco P.; Brida, Daniele; Gallacher, Kevin; Paul, Douglas J.; Baldassarre, Leonetta; Calvani, Paolo; Giliberti, Valeria; Nucara, Alessandro; Ortolani, Michele

2016-08-01

Heavily doped semiconductor thin films are very promising for application in mid-infrared plasmonic devices because the real part of their dielectric function is negative and broadly tunable in the 5 to 50 μ m wavelength range at least. In this work, we investigate the electrodynamics of heavily n -type-doped germanium epilayers at infrared frequencies beyond the assumptions of the Drude model. The films are grown on silicon and germanium substrates, are in situ doped with phosphorous in the 1017 to 1019 cm-3 range, then screened plasma frequencies in the 100 to 1200 cm-1 range were observed. We employ infrared spectroscopy, pump-probe spectroscopy, and dc transport measurements to determine the tunability of the plasma frequency. Although no plasmonic structures have been realized in this work, we derive estimates of the decay time of mid-infrared plasmons and of their figures of merit for field confinement and for surface plasmon propagation. The average electron scattering rate increases almost linearly with excitation frequency, in agreement with quantum calculations based on a model of the ellipsoidal Fermi surface at the conduction band minimum of germanium accounting for electron scattering with optical phonons and charged impurities. Instead, we found weak dependence of plasmon losses on neutral impurity density. In films where a transient plasma was generated by optical pumping, we found significant dependence of the energy relaxation times in the few-picosecond range on the static doping level of the film, confirming the key but indirect role played by charged impurities in energy relaxation. Our results indicate that underdamped mid-infrared plasma oscillations are attained in n -type-doped germanium at room temperature.

Development of a Surface Plasmon Resonance n-dodecane Vapor Sensor

PubMed Central

Aguirre, Narcizo Muñoz; Pérez, Lilia Martínez; Colín, Jose Alfredo; Buenrostro-Gonzalez, Eduardo

2007-01-01

Using a high density polyethylene thin film over gold layer, a Surface Plasmon Resonance sensor for detecting n-dodecane vapor is developed. Preliminary results will be presented, showing that samples in the range of a few hundred ppm(V) of n-dodecane vapor in butane gas can be sensed. Also, studying the response as a function of time, it is demonstrated that the sensing process is quickly reversible. PMID:28903207

Strongly Confined Spoof Surface Plasmon Polaritons Waveguiding Enabled by Planar Staggered Plasmonic Waveguides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ye, Longfang; Xiao, Yifan; Liu, Yanhui; Zhang, Liang; Cai, Guoxiong; Liu, Qing Huo

2016-12-01

We demonstrate a novel route to achieving highly efficient and strongly confined spoof surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) waveguides at subwavelength scale enabled by planar staggered plasmonic waveguides (PSPWs). The structure of these new waveguides consists of an ultrathin metallic strip with periodic subwavelength staggered double groove arrays supported by a flexible dielectric substrate, leading to unique staggered EM coupling and waveguiding phenomenon. The spoof SPP propagation properties, including dispersion relations and near field distributions, are numerically investigated. Furthermore, broadband coplanar waveguide (CPW) to planar staggered plasmonic waveguide (PSPW) transitions are designed to achieve smooth momentum matching and highly efficient spoof SPP mode conversion. By applying these transitions, a CPW-PSPW-CPW structure is designed, fabricated and measured to verify the PSPW’s propagation performance at microwave frequencies. The investigation results show the proposed PSPWs have excellent performance of deep subwavelength spoof SPPs confinement, long propagation length and low bend loss, as well as great design flexibility to engineer the propagation properties by adjusting their geometry dimensions and material parameters. Our work opens up a new avenue for development of various advanced planar integrated plasmonic devices and circuits in microwave and terahertz regimes.

Strongly Confined Spoof Surface Plasmon Polaritons Waveguiding Enabled by Planar Staggered Plasmonic Waveguides.

PubMed

Ye, Longfang; Xiao, Yifan; Liu, Yanhui; Zhang, Liang; Cai, Guoxiong; Liu, Qing Huo

2016-12-05

We demonstrate a novel route to achieving highly efficient and strongly confined spoof surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) waveguides at subwavelength scale enabled by planar staggered plasmonic waveguides (PSPWs). The structure of these new waveguides consists of an ultrathin metallic strip with periodic subwavelength staggered double groove arrays supported by a flexible dielectric substrate, leading to unique staggered EM coupling and waveguiding phenomenon. The spoof SPP propagation properties, including dispersion relations and near field distributions, are numerically investigated. Furthermore, broadband coplanar waveguide (CPW) to planar staggered plasmonic waveguide (PSPW) transitions are designed to achieve smooth momentum matching and highly efficient spoof SPP mode conversion. By applying these transitions, a CPW-PSPW-CPW structure is designed, fabricated and measured to verify the PSPW's propagation performance at microwave frequencies. The investigation results show the proposed PSPWs have excellent performance of deep subwavelength spoof SPPs confinement, long propagation length and low bend loss, as well as great design flexibility to engineer the propagation properties by adjusting their geometry dimensions and material parameters. Our work opens up a new avenue for development of various advanced planar integrated plasmonic devices and circuits in microwave and terahertz regimes.

Optical absorption of suspended graphene based metal plasmonic grating in the visible range

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, Y. X.; Chen, B. B.; Yang, J. B.; He, X.; Huang, J.; Zhang, J. J.; Zhang, Z. J.

2018-05-01

We employ finite-difference time-domain ( FDTD) method and Raman spectroscopy to study the properties of graphene, which is suspended on a gold/SiO2/Si grating structure with different trench depth of SiO2 layer. The absorption enhancement of suspended graphene and plasmonic resonance of metal grating are investigated in the visible range using 2D FDTD method. Moreover, it is found that the intensity of the Raman features depends very sensitively on the trench depth of SiO2 layer. Raman enhancement in our experiments is attributed to the enhanced optical absorption of graphene by near-field coupling based metal plasmonic grating. The enhanced absorption of suspended graphene modulated by localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) offers a potential application for opto-electromechanical devices.

Dynamical class of a two-dimensional plasmonic Dirac system.

PubMed

Silva, Érica de Mello

2015-10-01

A current goal in plasmonic science and technology is to figure out how to manage the relaxational dynamics of surface plasmons in graphene since its damping constitutes a hinder for the realization of graphene-based plasmonic devices. In this sense we believe it might be of interest to enlarge the knowledge on the dynamical class of two-dimensional plasmonic Dirac systems. According to the recurrence relations method, different systems are said to be dynamically equivalent if they have identical relaxation functions at all times, and such commonality may lead to deep connections between seemingly unrelated physical systems. We employ the recurrence relations approach to obtain relaxation and memory functions of density fluctuations and show that a two-dimensional plasmonic Dirac system at long wavelength and zero temperature belongs to the same dynamical class of standard two-dimensional electron gas and classical harmonic oscillator chain with an impurity mass.

Plasmonic Nanostructures for Nano-Scale Bio-Sensing

PubMed Central

Chung, Taerin; Lee, Seung-Yeol; Song, Eui Young; Chun, Honggu; Lee, Byoungho

2011-01-01

The optical properties of various nanostructures have been widely adopted for biological detection, from DNA sequencing to nano-scale single molecule biological function measurements. In particular, by employing localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR), we can expect distinguished sensing performance with high sensitivity and resolution. This indicates that nano-scale detections can be realized by using the shift of resonance wavelength of LSPR in response to the refractive index change. In this paper, we overview various plasmonic nanostructures as potential sensing components. The qualitative descriptions of plasmonic nanostructures are supported by the physical phenomena such as plasmonic hybridization and Fano resonance. We present guidelines for designing specific nanostructures with regard to wavelength range and target sensing materials. PMID:22346679

Super-Coulombic atom–atom interactions in hyperbolic media

PubMed Central

Cortes, Cristian L.; Jacob, Zubin

2017-01-01

Dipole–dipole interactions, which govern phenomena such as cooperative Lamb shifts, superradiant decay rates, Van der Waals forces and resonance energy transfer rates, are conventionally limited to the Coulombic near-field. Here we reveal a class of real-photon and virtual-photon long-range quantum electrodynamic interactions that have a singularity in media with hyperbolic dispersion. The singularity in the dipole–dipole coupling, referred to as a super-Coulombic interaction, is a result of an effective interaction distance that goes to zero in the ideal limit irrespective of the physical distance. We investigate the entire landscape of atom–atom interactions in hyperbolic media confirming the giant long-range enhancement. We also propose multiple experimental platforms to verify our predicted effect with phonon–polaritonic hexagonal boron nitride, plasmonic super-lattices and hyperbolic meta-surfaces as well. Our work paves the way for the control of cold atoms above hyperbolic meta-surfaces and the study of many-body physics with hyperbolic media. PMID:28120826

Super-Coulombic atom-atom interactions in hyperbolic media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cortes, Cristian L.; Jacob, Zubin

2017-01-01

Dipole-dipole interactions, which govern phenomena such as cooperative Lamb shifts, superradiant decay rates, Van der Waals forces and resonance energy transfer rates, are conventionally limited to the Coulombic near-field. Here we reveal a class of real-photon and virtual-photon long-range quantum electrodynamic interactions that have a singularity in media with hyperbolic dispersion. The singularity in the dipole-dipole coupling, referred to as a super-Coulombic interaction, is a result of an effective interaction distance that goes to zero in the ideal limit irrespective of the physical distance. We investigate the entire landscape of atom-atom interactions in hyperbolic media confirming the giant long-range enhancement. We also propose multiple experimental platforms to verify our predicted effect with phonon-polaritonic hexagonal boron nitride, plasmonic super-lattices and hyperbolic meta-surfaces as well. Our work paves the way for the control of cold atoms above hyperbolic meta-surfaces and the study of many-body physics with hyperbolic media.

Silver nanoparticles with planar twinned defects: effect of halides for precise tuning of plasmon resonance maxima from 400 to >900 nm.

PubMed

Cathcart, Nicole; Frank, Andrew J; Kitaev, Vladimir

2009-12-14

We studied effects of halides on morphology of planar twinned silver nanoparticles and demonstrated application of these effects to precisely tune silver surface plasmon resonance maxima in a broad vis-NIR range using a reliable two-stage modification protocol.

3D vertical nanostructures for enhanced infrared plasmonics.

PubMed

Malerba, Mario; Alabastri, Alessandro; Miele, Ermanno; Zilio, Pierfrancesco; Patrini, Maddalena; Bajoni, Daniele; Messina, Gabriele C; Dipalo, Michele; Toma, Andrea; Proietti Zaccaria, Remo; De Angelis, Francesco

2015-11-10

The exploitation of surface plasmon polaritons has been mostly limited to the visible and near infrared range, due to the low frequency limit for coherent plasmon excitation and the reduction of confinement on the metal surface for lower energies. In this work we show that 3D--out of plane--nanostructures can considerably increase the intrinsic quality of the optical output, light confinement and electric field enhancement factors, also in the near and mid-infrared. We suggest that the physical principle relies on the combination of far field and near field interactions between neighboring antennas, promoted by the 3D out-of-plane geometry. We first analyze the changes in the optical behavior, which occur when passing from a single on-plane nanostructure to a 3D out-of-plane configuration. Then we show that by arranging the nanostructures in periodic arrays, 3D architectures can provide, in the mid-IR, a much stronger plasmonic response, compared to that achievable with the use of 2D configurations, leading to higher energy harvesting properties and improved Q-factors, with bright perspective up to the terahertz range.

Dark-field-based observation of single-nanoparticle dynamics on a supported lipid bilayer for in situ analysis of interacting molecules and nanoparticles.

PubMed

Lee, Young Kwang; Kim, Sungi; Nam, Jwa-Min

2015-01-12

Observation of single plasmonic nanoparticles in reconstituted biological systems allows us to obtain snapshots of dynamic processes between molecules and nanoparticles with unprecedented spatiotemporal resolution and single-molecule/single-particle-level data acquisition. This Concept is intended to introduce nanoparticle-tethered supported lipid bilayer platforms that allow for the dynamic confinement of nanoparticles on a two-dimensional fluidic surface. The dark-field-based long-term, stable, real-time observation of freely diffusing plasmonic nanoparticles on a lipid bilayer enables one to extract a broad range of information about interparticle and molecular interactions throughout the entire reaction period. Herein, we highlight important developments in this context to provide ideas on how molecular interactions can be interpreted by monitoring dynamic behaviors and optical signals of laterally mobile nanoparticles. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Densely packed aluminum-silver nanohelices as an ultra-thin perfect light absorber

PubMed Central

Jen, Yi-Jun; Huang, Yu-Jie; Liu, Wei-Chih; Lin, Yueh Weng

2017-01-01

Metals have been formed into nanostructures to absorb light with high efficiency through surface plasmon resonances. An ultra-thin plasmonic structure that exhibits strong absorption over wide ranges of wavelengths and angles of incidence is sought. In this work, a nearly perfect plasmonic nanostructure is fabricated using glancing angle deposition. The difference between the morphologies of obliquely deposited aluminum and silver nanohelices is exploited to form a novel three-dimensional structure, which is an aluminum-silver nanohelix array on a pattern-free substrate. With a thickness of only 470 nm, densely distributed nanohelices support rod-to-rod localized surface plasmons for broadband and polarization-independent light extinction. The extinctance remains high over wavelengths from 400 nm to 2000 nm and angles of incidence from 0° to 70°. PMID:28045135

Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance as a Biosensing Platform for Developing Countries

PubMed Central

Hammond, Jules L.; Bhalla, Nikhil; Rafiee, Sarah D.; Estrela, Pedro

2014-01-01

The discovery of the phenomena known as localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) has provided the basis for many research areas, ranging from materials science to biosensing. LSPR has since been viewed as a transduction platform that could yield affordable, portable devices for a multitude of applications. This review aims to outline the potential applications within developing countries and the challenges that are likely to be faced before the technology can be effectively employed. PMID:25587417

Near infrared light induced plasmonic hot hole transfer at a nano-heterointerface.

PubMed

Lian, Zichao; Sakamoto, Masanori; Matsunaga, Hironori; Vequizo, Junie Jhon M; Yamakata, Akira; Haruta, Mitsutaka; Kurata, Hiroki; Ota, Wataru; Sato, Tohru; Teranishi, Toshiharu

2018-06-13

Localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR)-induced hot-carrier transfer is a key mechanism for achieving artificial photosynthesis using the whole solar spectrum, even including the infrared (IR) region. In contrast to the explosive development of photocatalysts based on the plasmon-induced hot electron transfer, the hole transfer system is still quite immature regardless of its importance, because the mechanism of plasmon-induced hole transfer has remained unclear. Herein, we elucidate LSPR-induced hot hole transfer in CdS/CuS heterostructured nanocrystals (HNCs) using time-resolved IR (TR-IR) spectroscopy. TR-IR spectroscopy enables the direct observation of carrier in a LSPR-excited CdS/CuS HNC. The spectroscopic results provide insight into the novel hole transfer mechanism, named plasmon-induced transit carrier transfer (PITCT), with high quantum yields (19%) and long-lived charge separations (9.2 μs). As an ultrafast charge recombination is a major drawback of all plasmonic energy conversion systems, we anticipate that PITCT will break the limit of conventional plasmon-induced energy conversion.

Manipulating surface-plasmon-polariton launching with quasi-cylindrical waves

PubMed Central

Sun, Chengwei; Chen, Jianjun; Yao, Wenjie; Li, Hongyun; Gong, Qihuang

2015-01-01

Launching the free-space light to the surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) in a broad bandwidth is of importance for the future plasmonic circuits. Based on the interference of the pure SPP component, the bandwidths of the unidirectional SPP launching is difficult to be further broadened. By greatly manipulating the SPP intensities with the quasi-cylindrical waves (Quasi-CWs), an ultra-broadband unidirectional SPP launcher is experimentally realized in a submicron asymmetric slit. In the nano-groove of the asymmetric slit, the excited Quasi-CWs are not totally damped, and they can be scattered into the SPPs along the metal surface. This brings additional interference and thus greatly manipulates the SPP launching. Consequently, a broadband unidirectional SPP launcher is realized in the asymmetric slit. More importantly, it is found that this principle can be extended to the three-dimensional subwavelength plasmonic waveguide, in which the excited Quasi-CWs in the aperture could be effectively converted to the tightly guided SPP mode along the subwavelength plasmonic waveguide. In the large wavelength range from about 600 nm to 1300 nm, the SPP mode mainly propagates to one direction along the plasmonic waveguide, revealing an ultra-broad (about 700 nm) operation bandwidth of the unidirectional SPP launching. PMID:26061592

Nanoengineered Plasmonic Hybrid Systems for Bio-nanotechnology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leong, Kirsty

Plasmonic hybrid systems are fabricated using a combination of lithography and layer-by-layer directed self-assembly approaches to serve as highly sensitive nanosensing devices. This layer-by-layer directed self-assembly approach is utilized as a hybrid methodology to control the organization of quantum dots (QDs), nanoparticles, and biomolecules onto inorganic nanostructures with site-specific attachment and functionality. Here, surface plasmon-enhanced nanoarrays are fabricated where the photoluminescence of quantum dots and conjugated polymer nanoarrays are studied. This study was performed by tuning the localized surface plasmon resonance and the distance between the emitter and the metal surface using genetically engineered polypeptides as binding agents and biotin-streptavidin binding as linker molecules. In addition, these nanoarrays were also chemically modified to support the immobilization and label-free detection of DNA using surface enhanced Raman scattering. The surface of the nanoarrays was chemically modified using an acridine containing molecule which can act as an intercalating agent for DNA. The self-assembled monolayer (SAM) showed the ability to immobilize and intercalate DNA onto the surface. This SAM system using surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) serves as a highly sensitive methodology for the immobilization and label-free detection of DNA applicable into a wide range of bio-diagnostic platforms. Other micropatterned arrays were also fabricated using a combination of soft lithography and surface engineering. Selective single cell patterning and adhesion was achieved through chemical modifications and surface engineering of poly(dimethylsiloxane) surface. The surface of each microwell was functionally engineered with a SAM which contained an aldehyde terminated fused-ring aromatic thiolated molecule. Cells were found to be attracted and adherent to the chemically modified microwells. By combining soft lithography and surface engineering, a simple methodology produced single cell arrays on biocompatible substrates. Thus the design of plasmonic devices relies heavily on the nature of the plasmonic interactions between nanoparticles in the devices which can potentially be fabricated into lab-on-a-chip devices for multiplex sensing capabilities.

An autonomous photosynthetic device in which all charge carriers derive from surface plasmons.

PubMed

Mubeen, Syed; Lee, Joun; Singh, Nirala; Krämer, Stephan; Stucky, Galen D; Moskovits, Martin

2013-04-01

Solar conversion to electricity or to fuels based on electron-hole pair production in semiconductors is a highly evolved scientific and commercial enterprise. Recently, it has been posited that charge carriers either directly transferred from the plasmonic structure to a neighbouring semiconductor (such as TiO₂) or to a photocatalyst, or induced by energy transfer in a neighbouring medium, could augment photoconversion processes, potentially leading to an entire new paradigm in harvesting photons for practical use. The strong dependence of the wavelength at which the local surface plasmon can be excited on the nanostructure makes it possible, in principle, to design plasmonic devices that can harvest photons over the entire solar spectrum and beyond. So far, however, most such systems show rather small photocatalytic activity in the visible as compared with the ultraviolet. Here, we report an efficient, autonomous solar water-splitting device based on a gold nanorod array in which essentially all charge carriers involved in the oxidation and reduction steps arise from the hot electrons resulting from the excitation of surface plasmons in the nanostructured gold. Each nanorod functions without external wiring, producing 5 × 10(13) H₂ molecules per cm(2) per s under 1 sun illumination (AM 1.5 and 100 mW cm(-2)), with unprecedented long-term operational stability.

Plasmonics and SERS activity of post-transition metal nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bezerra, A. G.; Machado, T. N.; Woiski, T. D.; Turchetti, D. A.; Lenz, J. A.; Akcelrud, L.; Schreiner, W. H.

2018-05-01

Nanoparticles of the post-transition metals, In, Sn, Pb, and Bi, and of the metalloid Sb were produced by laser ablation synthesis in solution (LASiS) and tested for localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPR) and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). The nanoparticles were characterized by UV-Vis optical absorption, dynamic light scattering (DLS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Several organic and biological molecules were tested, and SERS activity was demonstrated for all tested nanoparticles and molecules. The Raman enhancement factor for each nanoparticle class and molecule was experimentally determined. The search for new plasmonic nanostructures is important mainly for life sciences-related applications and this study expands the range of SERS active systems.

Long-Wavelength Infrared Surface Plasmons on Ga-Doped ZnO Films Excited via 2D Hole Arrays for Extraordinary Optical Transmission (Preprint)

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-10-01

Express 1, 1090-1099 (2011). [16] Soref, R., Peale, R. E., and Buchwald, W., “Longwave plasmonics on doped silicon and silicides ,” Opt. Express 16, 6507...Soref, R., Drehman, A., and Buchwald, W.R., “IR permittivities for silicides and doped silicon,” J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 27, 730-734 (2010). [19] Ginn

Coupling of individual quantum emitters to channel plasmons.

PubMed

Bermúdez-Ureña, Esteban; Gonzalez-Ballestero, Carlos; Geiselmann, Michael; Marty, Renaud; Radko, Ilya P; Holmgaard, Tobias; Alaverdyan, Yury; Moreno, Esteban; García-Vidal, Francisco J; Bozhevolnyi, Sergey I; Quidant, Romain

2015-08-07

Efficient light-matter interaction lies at the heart of many emerging technologies that seek on-chip integration of solid-state photonic systems. Plasmonic waveguides, which guide the radiation in the form of strongly confined surface plasmon-polariton modes, represent a promising solution to manipulate single photons in coplanar architectures with unprecedented small footprints. Here we demonstrate coupling of the emission from a single quantum emitter to the channel plasmon polaritons supported by a V-groove plasmonic waveguide. Extensive theoretical simulations enable us to determine the position and orientation of the quantum emitter for optimum coupling. Concomitantly with these predictions, we demonstrate experimentally that 42% of a single nitrogen-vacancy centre emission efficiently couples into the supported modes of the V-groove. This work paves the way towards practical realization of efficient and long distance transfer of energy for integrated solid-state quantum systems.

Imaging slit-coupled surface plasmon polaritons using conventional optical microscopy.

PubMed

Mehfuz, R; Chowdhury, F A; Chau, K J

2012-05-07

We develop a technique that now enables surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) coupled by nano-patterned slits in a metal film to be detected using conventional optical microscopy with standard objective lenses. The crux of this method is an ultra-thin polymer layer on the metal surface, whose thickness can be varied over a nanoscale range to enable controllable tuning of the SPP momentum. At an optimal layer thickness for which the SPP momentum matches the momentum of light emerging from the slit, the SPP coupling efficiency is enhanced about six times relative to that without the layer. The enhanced efficiency results in distinctive and bright plasmonic signatures near the slit visible by naked eye under an optical microscope. We demonstrate how this capability can be used for parallel measurement through a simple experiment in which the SPP propagation distance is extracted from a single microscope image of an illuminated array of nano-patterned slits on a metal surface. We also use optical microscopy to image the focal region of a plasmonic lens and obtain results consistent with a previously-reported results using near-field optical microscopy. Measurement of SPPs near a nano-slit using conventional and widely-available optical microscopy is an important step towards making nano-plasmonic device technology highly accessible and easy-to-use.

Highly sensitive protein detection using a plasmonic field effect transistor (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shokri-Kojori, Hossein; Ji, Yiwen; Han, Xu; Paik, Younghun; Braunschweig, Adam; Kim, Sung Jin

2016-03-01

Localized surface Plasmon Resonance (LSPR) is a nanoscale phenomenon which presents strong resonance associated with noble metal nanostructures. This plasmon resonance based technology enables highly sensitive detection for chemical and biological applications. Recently, we have developed a plasmon field effect transistor (FET) that enables direct plasmonic-to-electric signal conversion with signal amplification. The plasmon FET consists of back-gated field effect transistor incorporated with gold nanoparticles on top of the FET channel. The gold nanostructures are physically separated from transistor electrodes and can be functionalized for a specific biological application. In this presentation, we report a successful demonstration of a model system to detect Con A proteins using Carbohydrate linkers as a capture molecule. The plasmon FET detected a very low concentration of Con A (0.006 mg/L) while it offers a wide dynamic range of 0.006-50 mg/L. In this demonstration, we used two-color light sources instead of a bulky spectrometer to achieve high sensitivity and wide dynamic range. The details of two-color based differential measurement method will be discussed. This novel protein-based sensor has several advantages such as extremely small size for point-of-care system, multiplexing capability, no need of complex optical geometry.

Surface-plasmon-assisted electron pair formation in strong electromagnetic field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kroó, N.; Rácz, P.; Varró, S.

2014-03-01

In this work the strong electromagnetic field of femtosecond Ti:Sa lasers was used to excite surface plasmon oscillations (SPOs) in gold films at room temperature in the Kretschmann geometry. Experimental investigations were carried out using a surface plasmon near field scanning tunneling microscope, measuring its response to excitation at SPO hot spots on the gold surface. Furthermore, the spectra of photoelectrons, liberated by multiplasmon absorption, have also been measured by a time-of-flight spectrometer. In both cases new type of anomalies in both the STM and electron TOF signals have been measured in the same laser intensity range. The existence of these anomalies may be qualitatively understood, by using the intensity-dependent expression for the effective electron-electron scattering potential, derived earlier in a different context. In this theoretical work an effective attraction potential has been predicted in the presence of strong inhomogeneous radiation fields.

Plasmonic resonances in ordered and disordered aluminum nanocavities arrays.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Campuzano, R. G.; Mendoza, D.

2017-01-01

Nanocavities arrays were synthesized by electrochemical anodization of aluminum using oxalic and phosphoric acids as electrolytes. The morphology and topography of these structures were evaluated by SEM and AFM. Plasmonic properties of Al cavities arrays with different ordering and dimensions were analysed based on specular reflectivity. Al cavities arrays fabricated with phosphoric acid dramatically reduced the optical reflectivity as compared with unstructured Al. At the same time pronounced reflectivity dips were detectable in the 300nm-400nm range, which were ascribed to (0,1) plasmonic mode, and also a colored appearance in the samples is noticeably depending on the observation angle. These changes are not observed in samples made with oxalic acid and this fact was explained, based on a theoretical model, in terms that the surface plasmons are excited far in the UV range.

Probing the symmetry of the potential of localized surface plasmon resonances with phase-shaped electron beams.

PubMed

Guzzinati, Giulio; Béché, Armand; Lourenço-Martins, Hugo; Martin, Jérôme; Kociak, Mathieu; Verbeeck, Jo

2017-04-12

Plasmonics, the science and technology of the interaction of light with metallic objects, is fundamentally changing the way we can detect, generate and manipulate light. Although the field is progressing swiftly, thanks to the availability of nanoscale manufacturing and analysis methods, fundamental properties such as the plasmonic excitations' symmetries cannot be accessed directly, leading to a partial, sometimes incorrect, understanding of their properties. Here we overcome this limitation by deliberately shaping the wave function of an electron beam to match a plasmonic excitations' symmetry in a modified transmission electron microscope. We show experimentally and theoretically that this offers selective detection of specific plasmon modes within metallic nanoparticles, while excluding modes with other symmetries. This method resembles the widespread use of polarized light for the selective excitation of plasmon modes with the advantage of locally probing the response of individual plasmonic objects and a far wider range of symmetry selection criteria.

Surface scattering plasmon resonance fibre sensors: demonstration of rapid influenza A virus detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Franςois, A.; Boehm, J.; Oh, S. Y.; Kok, T.; Monro, T. M.

2011-06-01

The management of threats such as pandemics and explosives, and of health and the environment requires the rapid deployment of highly sensitive detection tools. Sensors based on Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) allow rapid, labelfree, highly sensitive detection, and indeed this phenomenon underpins the only label-free optical biosensing technology that is available commercially. In these sensors, the existence of surface plasmons is inferred indirectly from absorption features that correspond to the coupling of light to the surface plasmon. Although SPR is not intrinsically a radiative process, under certain conditions the surface plasmon can itself couple to the local photon states, and emit light as first described byKretschmann. Here we show that by collecting and characterising this re-emitted light, it is possible to realise new SPR sensing architectures that are more compact, versatile and robust than existing approaches. This approach addresses existing practical limitations associated with current SPR technologies, including bulk, cost and calibration. It is applicable to a range of SPR geometries, including optical fibres, planar waveguides and prism configurations, and is in principle capable of detecting multiple analytes simultaneously. Moreover, this technique allows to combine SPR sensing and fluorescence sensing into a single platform which has never been demonstrated before and consequently use these two methods for a more reliable diagnostic. As an example, this approach has been used to demonstrate the rapid detection of the seasonal influenza virus.

Surface plasmon resonance sensor based on photonic crystal fiber filled with gold-silica-gold multilayer nanoshells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Baolin; Lu, Ying; Yang, Xianchao; Yao, Jianquan

2017-12-01

We present a surface plasmon resonance sensor based on photonic crystal fiber filled with gold-silica-gold (GSG) multilayer nanoshells for measurement of the refractive index of liquid analyte. The GSG multilayer nanoshells, composed of a silica-coated gold nanosphere surrounded by a gold shell layer, are designed to be the functional material of the sensor because of their attractive optical properties. Two resonant peaks are obtained due to the hybridization of nanosphere plasmon modes and nanoshell plasmon modes. It is demonstrated that the resonant wavelength of the two peaks can be precisely tuned in 560-716 nm and 849-2485 nm, respectively, by varying the structural parameters of the GSG multilayer nanoshells in a compact, sub-200 nm size range. The excellent spectral tunability makes the sensor attractive in a wide range of applications, especially in biosensing in near-infrared region. Furthermore, the influences of the parameters on the performance of the sensor are systematically simulated and discussed. It is observed that the spectral sensitivities of 1894.3 nm/RIU and 3011.4 nm/RIU can be achieved respectively by the two resonant peaks in the sensing range of 1.33-1.38. The existence of two loss peaks also provides the possibility to realize self-reference in the sensing process.

Plasmonic Manipulation of Light for Sensing and Photovoltaic Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sobhani Khakestar, Heidar

Plasmonics is a successful new field of science and technology that exploits the exclusive optical properties of metallic nanostructures to manipulate and concentrate light at nano-meter length scales. When light hits the surface of gold or silver nanoparticles it can excite collective oscillations of the conduction electrons called surface plasmons. This surface plasmon undergoes two damping processes; it can decay into photon and reemit the plasmon energy as scattered energy or decay into electron-hole pair with the excitation energy equal to the energy of the plasmon resonance, known as absorption. This high energy electron subsequently undergoes into the carrier multiplication and eventually scatters into the electrons with lower energy. We used Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) and Finite-Element Method (Comsol) to design nanoscale structures to act as nanoantenna for light harvesting and consequently manipulating radiative and absorption properties of them for Sensing and Photovoltaic applications. To manipulate near and far field we designed our structures in a way that the bright and dark plasmon modes overlap and couple to each other. This process is called Fano resonance and introduces a transparency window in the far-field spectra. At the same time it increases the near-field enhancement. We applied the changes in near-field and far-field to SERS (Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy) and LSPR (Localized Surface plasmon Resonance) shift for sensing purposes. We modeled Fano resonances with classical harmonic oscillator and reproduced the same feature with a simple equation of motion. We used this model to replicate scattering spectra from different geometries and explain the cathodoluminescence results obtained from nanoscale gold clusters structure. All of these nanoantenna optical properties and applications are due to the reemission ability of the plasmon energy to the vacuum and confining optical field, but the plasmon energy can decay into a high energy carrier rather than radiation. Photons coupled into metallic nanoantenna excite resonant plasmons, which can decay into energetic, hot electrons injected over a potential barrier at the nanoantenna-semiconductor interface, resulting in a photocurrent. We design a device which the range of its potential applications is extremely diverse. As silicon based detector capable of detecting sub-band gap photons, this device could be used in photovoltaic devices to harvest solar energy. Plasmon generated hot electrons can be used in photocatalytic dissociation of H2 molecules at the room temperature as well. The hot electrons in their higher energy states can populate the antibonding orbital of H2 molecules adsorbed on the metal surface and thus trigger the H2 molecule dissociation. The goal is to demonstrate the high efficiency of metallic photocatalytic systems by detecting the formation of HD molecules from the individual dissociation of two isotopes, H2 and D2. At the end we introduce lightning rod effect in metallic nanostructures and investigated the relation between the geometry properties of micrometer rod antennas and the electromagnetic field enhancement induced due to the lightning rod effect. At long wavelength, metals behave like perfect equipotential conductors and all the field enhancement results from the drop of potentials across the junctions between individual nanoparticles. This phenomenon is called lightning rod effect. By designing proper geometry we were able to utilize this effect to obtain enough electromagnetic enhancements in MIR region of spectrum to observe SEIRA signals from few hemoglobin molecules. Our simulation shows that the field enhancement obtained from this antenna does not depend sensitively on wavelength which is another advantage for SEIRA spectroscopy. We offered an analytical model to explore the coupling between the hemoglobin molecules and the Efield. We used this model to study the location effect of the molecule on the reflection signal. This technique allows us to detect the vibrational mode of molecules such as Hemoglobin in the real time and study their changes when the molecules are exposed to different environmental circumstances.

Plasmonic excitation-assisted optical and electric enhancement in ultra-thin solar cells: the influence of nano-strip cross section

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sabaeian, Mohammad, E-mail: sabaiean@scu.ac.ir; Heydari, Mehdi; Ajamgard, Narges

The effects of Ag nano-strips with triangle, rectangular and trapezoid cross sections on the optical absorption, generation rate, and short-circuit current density of ultra-thin solar cells were investigated. By putting the nano-strips as a grating structure on the top of the solar cells, the waveguide, surface plasmon polariton (SPP), and localized surface plasmon (LSP) modes, which are excited with the assistance of nano-strips, were evaluated in TE and TM polarizations. The results show, firstly, the TM modes are more influential than TE modes in optical and electrical properties enhancement of solar cell, because of plasmonic excitations in TM mode. Secondly,more » the trapezoid nano-strips reveal noticeable impact on the optical absorption, generation rate, and short-circuit current density enhancement than triangle and rectangular ones. In particular, the absorption of long wavelengths which is a challenge in ultra-thin solar cells is significantly improved by using Ag trapezoid nano-strips.« less

Dispersion characteristics of plasmonic waveguides for THz waves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Markides, Christos; Viphavakit, Charusluk; Themistos, Christos; Komodromos, Michael; Kalli, Kyriacos; Quadir, Anita; Rahman, Azizur

2013-05-01

Today there is an increasing surge in Surface Plasmon based research and recent studies have shown that a wide range of plasmon-based optical elements and techniques have led to the development of a variety of active switches, passive waveguides, biosensors, lithography masks, to name just a few. The Terahertz (THz) frequency region of the electromagnetic spectrum is located between the traditional microwave spectrum and the optical frequencies, and offers a significant scientific and technological potential in many fields, such as in sensing, in imaging and in spectroscopy. Waveguiding in this intermediate spectral region is a major challenge. Amongst the various THz waveguides suggested, the metal-clad waveguides supporting surface plasmon modes waves and specifically hollow core structures, coated with insulating material are showing the greatest promise as low-loss waveguides for their use in active components and as well as passive waveguides. The H-field finite element method (FEM) based full-vector formulation is used to study the vectorial modal field properties and the complex propagation characteristics of Surface Plasmon modes of a hollow-core dielectric coated rectangular waveguide structure. Additionally, the finite difference time domain (FDTD) method is used to estimate the dispersion parameters and the propagation loss of the rectangular waveguide.

Tamm-plasmon and surface-plasmon hybrid-mode based refractometry in photonic bandgap structures.

PubMed

Das, Ritwick; Srivastava, Triranjita; Jha, Rajan

2014-02-15

The transverse magnetic (TM) polarized hybrid modes formed as a consequence of coupling between Tamm plasmon polariton (TM-TPP) mode and surface plasmon polariton (SPP) mode exhibit interesting dispersive features for realizing a highly sensitive and accurate surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor. We found that the TM-TPP modes, formed at the interface of distributed Bragg reflector and metal, are strongly dispersive as compared to SPP modes at optical frequencies. This causes an appreciably narrow interaction bandwidth between TM-TPP and SPP modes, which leads to highly accurate sensing. In addition, appropriate tailoring of dispersion characteristics of TM-TPP as well as SPP modes could ensure high sensitivity of a novel SPR platform. By suitably designing the Au/TiO₂/SiO₂-based geometry, we propose a TM-TPP/SPP hybrid-mode sensor and achieve a sensitivity ≥900  nm/RIU with high detection accuracy (≥30  μm⁻¹) for analyte refractive indices varying between 1.330 and 1.345 in 600-700 nm wavelength range. The possibility to achieve desired dispersive behavior in any spectral band makes the sensing configuration an extremely attractive candidate to design sensors depending on the availability of optical sources.

Broadband and broadangle SPP antennas based on plasmonic crystals with linear chirp.

PubMed

Bouillard, J-S; Vilain, S; Dickson, W; Wurtz, G A; Zayats, A V

2012-01-01

Plasmonic technology relies on the coupling of light to surface electromagnetic modes on smooth or structured metal surfaces. While some applications utilise the resonant nature of surface polaritons, others require broadband characteristics. We demonstrate unidirectional and broadband plasmonic antennas with large acceptance angles based on chirped plasmonic gratings. Near-field optical measurements have been used to visualise the excitation of surface plasmon polaritons by such aperiodic structures. These weakly aperiodic plasmonic crystals allow the formation of a trapped rainbow-type effect in a two-dimensional geometry as surface polaritons of different frequencies are coherently excited in different locations over the plasmonic structure. Both the crystal's finite size and the finite lifetime of plasmonic states are crucial for the generation of broadband surface plasmon polaritons. This approach presents new opportunities for building unidirectional, broadband and broad-angle plasmonic couplers for sensing purposes, information processing, photovoltaic applications and shaping and manipulating ultrashort optical pulses.

Broadband and broadangle SPP antennas based on plasmonic crystals with linear chirp

PubMed Central

Bouillard, J.-S; Vilain, S.; Dickson, W.; Wurtz, G. A.; Zayats, A. V.

2012-01-01

Plasmonic technology relies on the coupling of light to surface electromagnetic modes on smooth or structured metal surfaces. While some applications utilise the resonant nature of surface polaritons, others require broadband characteristics. We demonstrate unidirectional and broadband plasmonic antennas with large acceptance angles based on chirped plasmonic gratings. Near-field optical measurements have been used to visualise the excitation of surface plasmon polaritons by such aperiodic structures. These weakly aperiodic plasmonic crystals allow the formation of a trapped rainbow-type effect in a two-dimensional geometry as surface polaritons of different frequencies are coherently excited in different locations over the plasmonic structure. Both the crystal's finite size and the finite lifetime of plasmonic states are crucial for the generation of broadband surface plasmon polaritons. This approach presents new opportunities for building unidirectional, broadband and broad-angle plasmonic couplers for sensing purposes, information processing, photovoltaic applications and shaping and manipulating ultrashort optical pulses. PMID:23170197

Tunable dual-band graphene-based infrared reflectance filter.

PubMed

Goldflam, Michael D; Ruiz, Isaac; Howell, Stephen W; Wendt, Joel R; Sinclair, Michael B; Peters, David W; Beechem, Thomas E

2018-04-02

We experimentally demonstrated an actively tunable optical filter that controls the amplitude of reflected long-wave-infrared light in two separate spectral regions concurrently. Our device exploits the dependence of the excitation energy of plasmons in a continuous and unpatterned sheet of graphene on the Fermi-level, which can be controlled via conventional electrostatic gating. The filter enables simultaneous modification of two distinct spectral bands whose positions are dictated by the device geometry and graphene plasmon dispersion. Within these bands, the reflected amplitude can be varied by over 15% and resonance positions can be shifted by over 90 cm -1 . Electromagnetic simulations verify that tuning arises through coupling of incident light to graphene plasmons by a grating structure. Importantly, the tunable range is determined by a combination of graphene properties, device structure, and the surrounding dielectrics, which dictate the plasmon dispersion. Thus, the underlying design shown here is applicable across a broad range of infrared frequencies.

Plasmonic Fiber Optic Refractometric Sensors: From Conventional Architectures to Recent Design Trends

PubMed Central

Klantsataya, Elizaveta; Jia, Peipei; Ebendorff-Heidepriem, Heike; Monro, Tanya M.; François, Alexandre

2016-01-01

Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) fiber sensor research has grown since the first demonstration over 20 year ago into a rich and diverse field with a wide range of optical fiber architectures, plasmonic coatings, and excitation and interrogation methods. Yet, the large diversity of SPR fiber sensor designs has made it difficult to understand the advantages of each approach. Here, we review SPR fiber sensor architectures, covering the latest developments from optical fiber geometries to plasmonic coatings. By developing a systematic approach to fiber-based SPR designs, we identify and discuss future research opportunities based on a performance comparison of the different approaches for sensing applications. PMID:28025532

Cholera toxin binding affinity and specificity for gangliosides determined by surface plasmon resonance

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kuziemko, G.M.; Stroh, M.; Stevens, R.C.

1996-05-21

The present study determines the affinity of cholera toxin for the ganglioside series GM1, GM2, GM3, GD1A, GD1B, GT1B, asialo GM1, globotriosyl ceramide, and lactosyl ceramide using real time biospecific interaction analysis (surface plasmon resonance, SPR). SPR shows that cholera toxin preferably binds to gangliosides in the following sequence: GM1 > GM2 > GD1A > GM3 > GT1B > GD1B > asialo-GM1. The measured binding affinity of cholera toxin for the ganglioside sequence ranges from 4.61 {times} 10{sup {minus}12} M for GM1 to 1.88 {times} 10{sup {minus}10} M for asialo GM1. The picomolar values obtained by surface plasmon resonance aremore » similar to K{sub d} values determined with whole-cell binding assays. Both whole-cell assays ans SPR measurements on synthetic membranes are higher than free solution measurements by several orders of magnitude. This difference may be caused by the effects of avidity and charged lipid head-groups, which may play a major role in the binding between cholera toxin, the receptor, and the membrane surface. The primary difference between free solution binding studies and surface plasmon resonance studies is that the latter technique is performed on surfaces resembling the cell membrane. Surface plasmon resonance has the further advantage of measuring apparent kinetic association and dissociation rates in real time, providing direct information about binding events at the membrane surface. 34 refs., 8 figs., 2 tabs.« less

Focusing short-wavelength surface plasmons by a plasmonic mirror.

PubMed

Ogut, Erdem; Yanik, Cenk; Kaya, Ismet Inonu; Ow-Yang, Cleva; Sendur, Kursat

2018-05-01

Emerging applications in nanotechnology, such as superresolution imaging, ultra-sensitive biomedical detection, and heat-assisted magnetic recording, require plasmonic devices that can generate intense optical spots beyond the diffraction limit. One of the important drawbacks of surface plasmon focusing structures is their complex design, which is significant for ease of integration with other nanostructures and fabrication at low cost. In this study, a planar plasmonic mirror without any nanoscale features is investigated that can focus surface plasmons to produce intense optical spots having lateral and vertical dimensions of λ/9.7 and λ/80, respectively. Intense optical spots beyond the diffraction limit were produced from the plasmonic parabolic mirror by exciting short-wavelength surface plasmons. The refractive index and numerical aperture of the plasmonic parabolic mirror were varied to excite short-wavelength surface plasmons. Finite-element method simulations of the plasmonic mirror and scanning near-field optical microscopy experiments have shown very good agreement.

Quantitative Single-Molecule Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering by Optothermal Tuning of DNA Origami-Assembled Plasmonic Nanoantennas.

PubMed

Simoncelli, Sabrina; Roller, Eva-Maria; Urban, Patrick; Schreiber, Robert; Turberfield, Andrew J; Liedl, Tim; Lohmüller, Theobald

2016-11-22

DNA origami is a powerful approach for assembling plasmonic nanoparticle dimers and Raman dyes with high yields and excellent positioning control. Here we show how optothermal-induced shrinking of a DNA origami template can be employed to control the gap sizes between two 40 nm gold nanoparticles in a range from 1 to 2 nm. The high field confinement achieved with this optothermal approach was demonstrated by detection of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) signals from single molecules that are precisely placed within the DNA origami template that spans the nanoparticle gap. By comparing the SERS intensity with respect to the field enhancement in the plasmonic hot-spot region, we found good agreement between measurement and theory. Our straightforward approach for the fabrication of addressable plasmonic nanosensors by DNA origami demonstrates a path toward future sensing applications with single-molecule resolution.

Nanopillar Optical Antenna Avalanche Detectors

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-08-30

tuning and hybridization of the optical absorption via Surface Plasmon Polariton Bloch Waves (SPP-BWs) and Localized Surface Plasmon Resonances (LSPRs...of the optical absorption via Surface Plasmon Polariton Bloch Waves (SPP-BWs) and Localized Surface Plasmon Resonances (LSPRs) will be discussed...Surface Plasmon Polariton Bloch wave (SPP-BW) 36, 40. Also, resonant-field enhancement occurs in bounded metallic/dielectric structures that support

Parallel-processing with surface plasmons, a new strategy for converting the broad solar spectrum

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderson, L. M.

1982-01-01

A new strategy for efficient solar-energy conversion is based on parallel processing with surface plasmons: guided electromagnetic waves supported on thin films of common metals like aluminum or silver. The approach is unique in identifying a broadband carrier with suitable range for energy transport and an inelastic tunneling process which can be used to extract more energy from the more energetic carriers without requiring different materials for each frequency band. The aim is to overcome the fundamental 56-percent loss associated with mismatch between the broad solar spectrum and the monoenergetic conduction electrons used to transport energy in conventional silicon solar cells. This paper presents a qualitative discussion of the unknowns and barrier problems, including ideas for coupling surface plasmons into the tunnels, a step which has been the weak link in the efficiency chain.

Synthesis, characterization and multifunctional properties of plasmonic Ag-TiO2 nanocomposites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prakash, Jai; Kumar, Promod; Harris, R. A.; Swart, Chantel; Neethling, J. H.; Janse van Vuuren, A.; Swart, H. C.

2016-09-01

We report on the synthesis of multifunctional Ag-TiO2 nanocomposites and their optical, physio-chemical, surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) and antibacterial properties. A series of Ag-TiO2 nanocomposites were synthesized by sol-gel technique and characterized by x-ray diffraction, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersed x-ray analysis, photoluminescence, UV-vis, x-ray photoelectron and Raman spectroscopy and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller method. The Ag nanoparticles (NPs) (7-20 nm) were found to be uniformly distributed around and strongly attached to TiO2 NPs. The novel optical responses of the nanocomposites are due to the strong electric field from the localized surface plasmon (LSP) excitation of the Ag NPs and decreased recombination of photo-induced electrons and holes at Ag-TiO2 interface providing potential materials for photocatalysis. The nanocomposites show enhancement in the SERS signals of methyl orange (MO) molecules with increasing Ag content attributed to the long-range electromagnetic enhancement from the excited LSP of the Ag NPs. To further understand the SERS activity, molecular mechanics and molecular dynamics simulations were used to study the geometries and SERS enhancement of MO adsorbed onto Ag-TiO2 respectively. Simulation results indicate that number of ligands (MO) that adsorb onto the Ag NPs as well as binding energy per ligand increases with increasing NP density and molecule-to-surface orientation is mainly flat resulting in strong bond strength between MO and Ag NP surface and enhanced SERS signals. The antimicrobial activity of the Ag-TiO2 nanocomposites was tested against the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus and enhanced antibacterial effect was observed with increasing Ag content explained by contact killing action mechanism. These results foresee promising applications of the plasmonic metal-semiconductor based nano-biocomposites for both chemical and biological samples.

Magneto-optical microcavity with Au plasmonic layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mikhailova, T. V.; Lyashko, S. D.; Tomilin, S. V.; Karavainikov, A. V.; Prokopov, A. R.; Shaposhnikov, A. N.; Berzhansky, V. N.

2017-11-01

Optical and Faraday rotation spectra of magneto-optical microcavity coated with Au plasmonic layer of gradient thickness were investigated theoretically and experimentally. It was shown that the Tamm plasmon-polaritons mode forms near the long-wavelength edge of photonic band gap. The presence of Au coating of thickness of 90.4 nm increase the Faraday rotation at Tamm plasmon-polaritons and cavity resonances in 1.3 and 7 times, respectively. By transfer matrix method it were found that the incorporation of SiO2 buffer layer with a thickness in the range from 155 to 180 nm between microcavity and Au coating leads to the strong coupling between cavity mode and Tamm plasmon-polaritons. In this case, one or two resonances arise in the vicinity of the cavity mode depending on the thickness of plasmonic layer. The Faraday rotation for coupled mode in twice less than the value of rotation for single cavity mode.

Synthesis of generalized surface plasmon beams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martinez-Niconoff, G.; Munoz-Lopez, J.; Martinez-Vara, P.

2009-08-01

Surface plasmon modes can be considered as the analogous to plane waves for homogeneous media. The extension to partially coherent surface plasmon beams is obtained by means of the incoherent superposition of the interference between surface plasmon modes whose profile is controlled associating a probability density function to the structural parameters implicit in their representation. We show computational simulations for cosine, Bessel, gaussian and dark hollow surface plasmon beams.

Marrying Excitons and Plasmons in Monolayer Transition-Metal Dichalcogenides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Van Tuan, Dinh; Scharf, Benedikt; Žutić, Igor; Dery, Hanan

2017-10-01

Just as photons are the quanta of light, plasmons are the quanta of orchestrated charge-density oscillations in conducting media. Plasmon phenomena in normal metals, superconductors, and doped semiconductors are often driven by long-wavelength Coulomb interactions. However, in crystals whose Fermi surface is comprised of disconnected pockets in the Brillouin zone, collective electron excitations can also attain a shortwave component when electrons transition between these pockets. In this work, we show that the band structure of monolayer transition-metal dichalcogenides gives rise to an intriguing mechanism through which shortwave plasmons are paired up with excitons. The coupling elucidates the origin for the optical sideband that is observed repeatedly in monolayers of WSe2 and WS2 but not understood. The theory makes it clear why exciton-plasmon coupling has the right conditions to manifest itself distinctly only in the optical spectra of electron-doped tungsten-based monolayers.

Magnetic activity of surface plasmon resonance using dielectric magnetic materials fabricated on quartz glass substrate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Narushima, Kazuki; Ashizawa, Yoshito; Brachwitz, Kerstin; Hochmuth, Holger; Lorenz, Michael; Grundmann, Marius; Nakagawa, Katsuji

2016-07-01

The magnetic activity of surface plasmons in Au/MFe2O4 (M = Ni, Co, and Zn) polycrystalline bilayer films fabricated on a quartz glass substrate was studied for future magnetic sensor applications using surface plasmon resonance. The excitation of surface plasmons and their magnetic activity were observed in all investigated Au/MFe2O4 films. The magnetic activity of surface plasmons of the polycrystalline Au/NiFe2O4 film was larger than those of the other polycrystalline Au/MFe2O4 films, the epitaxial NiFe2O4 film, and metallic films. The large magnetic activity of surface plasmons of the polycrystalline film is controlled by manipulating surface plasmon excitation conditions and magnetic properties.

A phased antenna array for surface plasmons

PubMed Central

Dikken, Dirk Jan W.; Korterik, Jeroen P.; Segerink, Frans B.; Herek, Jennifer L.; Prangsma, Jord C.

2016-01-01

Surface plasmon polaritons are electromagnetic waves that propagate tightly bound to metal surfaces. The concentration of the electromagnetic field at the surface as well as the short wavelength of surface plasmons enable sensitive detection methods and miniaturization of optics. We present an optical frequency plasmonic analog to the phased antenna array as it is well known in radar technology and radio astronomy. Individual holes in a thick gold film act as dipolar emitters of surface plasmon polaritons whose phase is controlled individually using a digital spatial light modulator. We show experimentally, using a phase sensitive near-field microscope, that this optical system allows accurate directional emission of surface waves. This compact and flexible method allows for dynamically shaping the propagation of plasmons and holds promise for nanophotonic applications employing propagating surface plasmons. PMID:27121099

Optical microfiber-loaded surface plasmonic TE-pass polarizer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Youqiao; Farrell, Gerald; Semenova, Yuliya; Li, Binghui; Yuan, Jinhui; Sang, Xinzhu; Yan, Binbin; Yu, Chongxiu; Guo, Tuan; Wu, Qiang

2016-04-01

We propose a novel optical microfiber-loaded plasmonic TE-pass polarizer consisting of an optical microfiber placed on top of a silver substrate and demonstrate its performance both numerically by using the finite element method (FEM) and experimentally. The simulation results show that the loss in the fundamental TE mode is relatively low while at the same time the fundamental TM mode suffers from a large metal dissipation loss induced by excitation of the microfiber-loaded surface plasmonic mode. The microfiber was fabricated using the standard microheater brushing-tapering technique. The measured extinction ratio over the range of the C-band wavelengths is greater than 20 dB for the polarizer with a microfiber diameter of 4 μm, which agrees well with the simulation results.

Precisely Size-Tunable Monodisperse Hairy Plasmonic Nanoparticles via Amphiphilic Star-Like Block Copolymers.

PubMed

Chen, Yihuang; Yoon, Young Jun; Pang, Xinchang; He, Yanjie; Jung, Jaehan; Feng, Chaowei; Zhang, Guangzhao; Lin, Zhiqun

2016-12-01

In situ precision synthesis of monodisperse hairy plasmonic nanoparticles with tailored dimensions and compositions by capitalizing on amphiphilic star-like diblock copolymers as nanoreactors are reported. Such hairy plasmonic nanoparticles comprise uniform noble metal nanoparticles intimately and perpetually capped by hydrophobic polymer chains (i.e., "hairs") with even length. Interestingly, amphiphilic star-like diblock copolymer nanoreactors retain the spherical shape under reaction conditions, and the diameter of the resulting plasmonic nanoparticles and the thickness of polymer chains situated on the surface of the nanoparticle can be readily and precisely tailored. These hairy nanoparticles can be regarded as hard/soft core/shell nanoparticles. Notably, the polymer "hairs" are directly and permanently tethered to the noble metal nanoparticle surface, thereby preventing the aggregation of nanoparticles and rendering their dissolution in nonpolar solvents and the homogeneous distribution in polymer matrices with long-term stability. This amphiphilic star-like block copolymer nanoreactor-based strategy is viable and robust and conceptually enables the design and synthesis of a rich variety of hairy functional nanoparticles with new horizons for fundamental research on self-assembly and technological applications in plasmonics, catalysis, energy conversion and storage, bioimaging, and biosensors. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Nanoplasmonic lenses for bacteria sorting (Presentation Recording)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Xiangchao; Yanik, Ahmet A.

2015-08-01

We demonstrate that patches of two dimensional arrays of circular plasmonic nanoholes patterned on gold-titanium thin film enables subwavelength focusing of visible light in far field region. Efficient coupling of the light with the excited surface plasmon at metal dielectric interface results in strong light transmission. As a result, surface plasmon plays an important role in the far field focusing behavior of the nanohole-aperture patches device. Furthermore, the focal length of the focused beam was found to be predominantly dependent on the overall size of the patch, which is in good agreement with that calculated by Rayleigh-Sommerfield integral formula. The focused light beam can be utilized to separate bio-particles in the dynamic range from 0.1 μm to 1 μm through mainly overcoming the drag force induced by fluid flow. In our proposed model, focused light generated by our plasmonic lenses will push the larger bio-particles in size back to the source of fluid flow and allow the smaller particles to move towards the central aperture of the patch. Such a new kind of plasmonic lenses open up possibility of sorting bacterium-like particles with plasmonic nanolenses, and also represent a promising tool in the field of virology.

UV-active plasmons in alkali and alkaline-earth intercalated graphene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Despoja, V.; Marušić, L.

2018-05-01

The interband π and π +σ plasmons in pristine graphene and the Dirac plasmon in doped graphene are not applicable, since they are broad or weak, and weakly couple to an external longitudinal or electromagnetic probe. Therefore, the ab initio density functional theory is used to demonstrate that the chemical doping of the graphene by the alkali or alkaline-earth atoms dramatically changes the poor graphene excitation spectrum in the ultraviolet frequency range (4-10 eV). Four prominent modes are detected. Two of them are the intralayer plasmons with square-root dispersion, characteristic of the two-dimensional modes. The remaining two are the interlayer plasmons, very strong in the long-wavelength limit but damped for larger wave vectors. The optical absorption calculations show that the interlayer plasmons are both optically active, which makes these materials suitable for small-organic-molecule sensing. This is particularly intriguing because the optically active two-dimensional plasmons have not been detected in other materials.

Looking towards label-free biomolecular interaction analysis in a high-throughput format: a review of new surface plasmon resonance technologies.

PubMed

Boozer, Christina; Kim, Gibum; Cong, Shuxin; Guan, Hannwen; Londergan, Timothy

2006-08-01

Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensors have enabled a wide range of applications in which researchers can monitor biomolecular interactions in real time. Owing to the fact that SPR can provide affinity and kinetic data, unique features in applications ranging from protein-peptide interaction analysis to cellular ligation experiments have been demonstrated. Although SPR has historically been limited by its throughput, new methods are emerging that allow for the simultaneous analysis of many thousands of interactions. When coupled with new protein array technologies, high-throughput SPR methods give users new and improved methods to analyze pathways, screen drug candidates and monitor protein-protein interactions.

Driving Chemical Reactions in Plasmonic Nanogaps with Electrohydrodynamic Flow.

PubMed

Thrift, William J; Nguyen, Cuong Q; Darvishzadeh-Varcheie, Mahsa; Zare, Siavash; Sharac, Nicholas; Sanderson, Robert N; Dupper, Torin J; Hochbaum, Allon I; Capolino, Filippo; Abdolhosseini Qomi, Mohammad Javad; Ragan, Regina

2017-11-28

Nanoparticles from colloidal solution-with controlled composition, size, and shape-serve as excellent building blocks for plasmonic devices and metasurfaces. However, understanding hierarchical driving forces affecting the geometry of oligomers and interparticle gap spacings is still needed to fabricate high-density architectures over large areas. Here, electrohydrodynamic (EHD) flow is used as a long-range driving force to enable carbodiimide cross-linking between nanospheres and produces oligomers exhibiting sub-nanometer gap spacing over mm 2 areas. Anhydride linkers between nanospheres are observed via surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy. The anhydride linkers are cleavable via nucleophilic substitution and enable placement of nucleophilic molecules in electromagnetic hotspots. Atomistic simulations elucidate that the transient attractive force provided by EHD flow is needed to provide a sufficient residence time for anhydride cross-linking to overcome slow reaction kinetics. This synergistic analysis shows assembly involves an interplay between long-range driving forces increasing nanoparticle-nanoparticle interactions and probability that ligands are in proximity to overcome activation energy barriers associated with short-range chemical reactions. Absorption spectroscopy and electromagnetic full-wave simulations show that variations in nanogap spacing have a greater influence on optical response than variations in close-packed oligomer geometry. The EHD flow-anhydride cross-linking assembly method enables close-packed oligomers with uniform gap spacings that produce uniform SERS enhancement factors. These results demonstrate the efficacy of colloidal driving forces to selectively enable chemical reactions leading to future assembly platforms for large-area nanodevices.

Achieving Weak Light Response with Plasmonic Nanogold-Decorated Organic Phototransistors.

PubMed

Luo, Xiao; Du, Lili; Liang, Yuanlong; Zhao, Feiyu; Lv, Wenli; Xu, Kun; Wang, Ying; Peng, Yingquan

2018-05-09

Weak light response of organic photodetectors has fascinating potentials in fields of modern science and technology. However, their photoresponsivity is hindered by poor photocarrier excitation and transport. Decorating active-layer surface with plasmonic nanometals is considered a viable strategy to address this issue. Here, we demonstrate a plasmonic nanogold decorated organic phototransistor achieving remarkable enhancement of photoresponsivity. Meanwhile, the photoresponsive range is broadened by 4 orders of magnitude. The proposed design is substantiated by a schematic energy level model combined with theoretical simulation analysis, enabling the development of the advanced optoelectronics.

Growth of copper phthalocyanine rods on Au plasmon electrodes through micelle disruption methods.

PubMed

Chen, Wei-Hung; Ko, Wen-Yin; Chen, Ying-Shiou; Cheng, Ching-Yuan; Chan, Chi-Ming; Lin, Kuan-Jiuh

2010-02-16

To improve the efficiency of the photocurrent conversion process, we have utilized copper phthalocyanine (CuPc) rods, which are capable of enhancing the interfacial area of electron transport and plasmonic gold nanoparticles (Au NPs), which can increase the separation and photogeneration of excitons, to produce a more effective system. In-plane horizontal CuPc rods, with diameters ranging from 0.2 to 1.5 microm, were electrodeposited onto the surface of plasmonic (Au NP) monolayers predeposited onto ITO substrates through electrolytic micelle disruption (EMD) methods.

Designing a multicolor long range nanoscopic ruler for the imaging of heterogeneous tumor cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chavva, Suhash Reddy; Viraka Nellore, Bhanu Priya; Pramanik, Avijit; Sinha, Sudarson Sekhar; Jones, Stacy; Ray, Paresh Chandra

2016-07-01

Tumor heterogeneity is one of the biggest challenges in cancer treatment and diagnosis. A multicolor optical ruler is essential to address the heterogeneous tumor cell complexity. Driven by this need, the current article reports the design of a multicolor long range nanoscopic ruler for screening tumor heterogeneity by accurately identifying epithelial cells and cancer stem cells (CSCs) simultaneously. A nanoscopic surface energy transfer (NSET) ruler has been developed using blue fluorescence polymer dots (PDs) and red fluorescence gold cluster dots (GCDs) as multicolor fluorescence donor and plasmonic gold nanoparticle (GNP) acts as an excellent acceptor. Reported experimental results demonstrated that the multicolor nanoscopic ruler's working window is above 35 nm distances, which is more than three times farther than that of Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) distance limit. Theoretical modeling using Förster dipole-dipole coupling and dipole to nanoparticle surface energy transfer have been used to discuss the possible mechanism for multicolor nanoscopic ruler's long-range capability. Using RNA aptamers that are specific for the target cancer cells, experimental data demonstrate that the nanoscopic ruler can be used for screening epithelial and CSCs simultaneously from a whole blood sample with a detection capability of 10 cells per mL. Experimental data show that the nanoscopic ruler can distinguish targeted cells from non-targeted cells.

Three-dimensional plasmonic chiral tetramers assembled by DNA origami.

PubMed

Shen, Xibo; Asenjo-Garcia, Ana; Liu, Qing; Jiang, Qiao; García de Abajo, F Javier; Liu, Na; Ding, Baoquan

2013-05-08

Molecular chemistry offers a unique toolkit to draw inspiration for the design of artificial metamolecules. For a long time, optical circular dichroism has been exclusively the terrain of natural chiral molecules, which exhibit optical activity mainly in the UV spectral range, thus greatly hindering their significance for a broad range of applications. Here we demonstrate that circular dichroism can be generated with artificial plasmonic chiral nanostructures composed of the minimum number of spherical gold nanoparticles required for three-dimensional (3D) chirality. We utilize a rigid addressable DNA origami template to precisely organize four nominally identical gold nanoparticles into a three-dimensional asymmetric tetramer. Because of the chiral structural symmetry and the strong plasmonic resonant coupling between the gold nanoparticles, the 3D plasmonic assemblies undergo different interactions with left and right circularly polarized light, leading to pronounced circular dichroism. Our experimental results agree well with theoretical predictions. The simplicity of our structure geometry and, most importantly, the concept of resorting on biology to produce artificial photonic functionalities open a new pathway to designing smart artificial plasmonic nanostructures for large-scale production of optically active metamaterials.

Plasmonic colorimetric sensors based on etching and growth of noble metal nanoparticles: Strategies and applications.

PubMed

Zhang, Zhiyang; Wang, Han; Chen, Zhaopeng; Wang, Xiaoyan; Choo, Jaebum; Chen, Lingxin

2018-08-30

Plasmonic colorimetric sensors have emerged as a powerful tool in chemical and biological sensing applications due to the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) extinction in the visible range. Among the plasmonic sensors, the most famous sensing mode is the "aggregation" plasmonic colorimetric sensor which is based on plasmon coupling due to nanoparticle aggregation. Herein, this review focuses on the newly-developing plasmonic colorimetric sensing mode - the etching or the growth of metal nanoparticles induces plasmon changes, namely, "non-aggregation" plasmonic colorimetric sensor. This type of sensors has attracted increasing interest because of their exciting properties of high sensitivity, multi-color changes, and applicability to make a test strip. Of particular interest, the test strip by immobilization of nanoparticles on the substrate can avoid the influence of nanoparticle auto-aggregation and increase the simplicity in storage and use. Although there are many excellent reviews available that describe the advance of plasmonic sensors, limited attention has been paid to the plasmonic colorimetric sensors based on etching or growth of metal nanoparticles. This review highlights recent progress on strategies and application of "non-aggregation" plasmonic colorimetric sensors. We also provide some personal insights into current challenges associated with "non-aggregation" plasmonic colorimetric sensors and propose future research directions. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A high figure of merit localized surface plasmon sensor based on a gold nanograting on the top of a gold planar film

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Zu-Yin; Wang, Li-Na; Hu, Hai-Feng; Li, Kang-Wen; Ma, Xun-Peng; Song, Guo-Feng

2013-10-01

We investigate the sensitivity and figure of merit (FOM) of a localized surface plasmon (LSP) sensor with gold nanograting on the top of planar metallic film. The sensitivity of the localized surface plasmon sensor is 317 nm/RIU, and the FOM is predicted to be above 8, which is very high for a localized surface plasmon sensor. By employing the rigorous coupled-wave analysis (RCWA) method, we analyze the distribution of the magnetic field and find that the sensing property of our proposed system is attributed to the interactions between the localized surface plasmon around the gold nanostrips and the surface plasmon polarition on the surface of the gold planar metallic film. These findings are important for developing high FOM localized surface plasmon sensors.

Thermally generated metals for plasmonic coloring and surface-enhanced Raman sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Zhenping; Chen, Jian; Liu, Guiqiang; Wang, Yan; Liu, Yi; Tang, Li; Liu, Zhengqi

2018-03-01

Spectral coloring glass and its application on the surface-enhanced Raman scattering are demonstrated experimentally via a simple and moderate heat-treating of the top ultrathin gold film to create discrete nanoparticles, which can produce localized surface plasmon resonances and strong plasmonic near-field coupling effects. Ultrathin metal films with a wide range of thicknesses are investigated by different heat-treatment processes. The annealed metal films have been demonstrated with a series of spectral coloring responses. Moreover, the microscopy images of the metal film structures confirm the formation of distinct geometry features in these operation procedures. Densely packed nanoparticles are observed for the ultrathin metal film with the single-digit level of thickness. With increasing the film thickness over 10 nm, metallic clusters and porous morphologies can be obtained. Importantly, the metallic resonators can provide enhanced Raman scattering with the detection limit down to 10 - 7 molL - 1 of Rhodamine 6G molecules due to the excitation of plasmon resonances and strong near-field coupling effects. These features hold great potential for large-scale and low-cost production of colored glass and Raman substrate.

Spoof Surface Plasmon Polaritons Power Divider with large Isolation.

PubMed

Zhou, Shiyan; Lin, Jing-Yu; Wong, Sai-Wai; Deng, Fei; Zhu, Lei; Yang, Yang; He, Yejun; Tu, Zhi-Hong

2018-04-13

Periodic corrugated metal structure is designed to support and propagate spoof surface plasmon polaritons (SSPPs) wave in the microwave frequencies. In this paper, firstly a plasmonic waveguide consisting of oval-ring shaped cells is proposed with the performance of high transmission efficiency in a wide frequency range. The coplanar waveguides (CPWs) with 50 Ω impedance are adopted to feed the energies or extract signals at both ends of the plasmonic waveguide. Then a well-isolated power divider is constructed based on the SSPPs waveguides aiming to equally split the energy of the SSPPs wave into two equal parts. The stepped-impedances are co-designed with the three input/output ports of the power divider to achieve the impedance-matching between the SSPPs waveguides and the coplanar waveguides. Besides, a single resistor is placed in the middle of two symmetrical half oval-rings to realize the isolation between the two output ports over the spectrum of 4.5-7.5 GHz. Finally, both plasmonic waveguide and the power divider are fabricated and tested to verify the predicted characteristics.

Terahertz plasmonic lasers with narrow beams and large tunability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jin, Yuan; Wu, Chongzhao; Reno, John L.; Kumar, Sushil

2017-02-01

Plasmonic lasers generate coherent long-range or localized surface-plasmon-polaritons (SPPs), where the SPP mode exists at the interface of the metal (or a metallic nanoparticle) and a dielectric. Metallic-cavities sup- porting SPP modes are also utilized for terahertz quantum-cascade lasers (QCLs). Due to subwavelength apertures, plasmonic lasers have highly divergent radiation patterns. Recently, we theoretically and experimentally demonstrated a new technique for implementing distributed-feedback (DFB), which is termed as an antenna- feedback scheme, to establish a hybrid SPP mode in the surrounding medium of a plasmonic laser's cavity with a large wavefront. This technique allows such lasers to radiate in narrow beams without requirement of any specific design considerations for phase-matching. Experimental demonstration is done for terahertz QCLs that show beam-divergence as small as 4-degrees. The antenna-feedback scheme has a characteristic feature in that refractive-index of the laser's surrounding medium affects its radiative frequency in the same vein as refractive- index of the cavity. Hence, any perturbations in the refractive-index of the surrounding medium could lead to large modulation in the laser's emission frequency. Along this line, we report 57 GHz reversible, continuous, and mode-hop-free tuning of such QCLs operating at 78 K based on post-process deposition/etching of a dielectric on an already mounted QCL chip. This is the largest tuning range achieved for terahertz QCLs when operating much above the temperature of liquid-Helium. We review the aforementioned experimental results and discuss methods to increase optical power output from terahertz QCLs with antenna-feedback. Peak power output of 13 mW is realized for a 3.3 THz QCL operating in a Stirling cooler at 54 K. A new dual-slit photonic structure based on antenna-feedback scheme is proposed to further improve output power as well as provide enhanced tunability.

On-fiber plasmonic interferometer for multi-parameter sensing

DOE PAGES

Zhang, Zhijian; Chen, Yongyao; Liu, Haijun; ...

2015-01-01

We demonstrate a novel miniature multi-parameter sensing device based on a plasmonic interferometer fabricated on a fiber facet in the optical communication wavelength range. This device enables the coupling between surface plasmon resonance and plasmonic interference in the structure, which are the two essential mechanisms for multi-parameter sensing. We experimentally show that these two mechanisms have distinctive responses to temperature and refractive index, rendering the device the capability of simultaneous temperature and refractive index measurement on an ultra-miniature form factor. A high refractive index sensitivity of 220 nm per refractive index unit (RIU) and a high temperature sensitivity of –60more » pm/ °C is achieved with our device.« less

Relative humidity sensor based on surface plasmon resonance of D-shaped fiber with polyvinyl alcohol embedding Au grating

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yan, Haitao; Han, Daofu; Li, Ming; Lin, Bo

2017-01-01

This paper presents the design, fabrication, and characterization of a D-shaped fiber coated with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) embedding an Au grating-based relative humidity (RH) sensor. The Au grating is fabricated on a D-shaped fiber to match the wave-vector and excite the surface plasmon, and the PVA is embedded in the Au grating as a sensitive cladding film. The refractive index of PVA changes with the ambient humidity. Measurements in a controlled environment show that the RH sensor can achieve a sensitivity of 5.4 nm per relative humidity unit in the RH range from 0% to 70% RH. Moreover, the surface plasmon resonance can be realized and used for RH sensing at the C band of optical fiber communication instead of the visible light band due to the metallic grating microstructure on the D-shaped fiber.

Infrared absorption spectroscopy and sensing of protein monolayers using high performance enhancing substrates and a mobile phone (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dana, Aykutlu; Ayas, Sencer; Bakan, Gokhan; Ozgur, Erol; Guner, Hasan; Celebi, Kemal

2016-09-01

Infrared absorption spectroscopy has greatly benefited from the electromagnetic field enhancement offered by plasmonic surfaces. However, because of the localized nature of plasmonic fields, such field enhancements are limited to nm-scale volumes. Here, we demonstrate that a relatively small, but spatially-uniform field enhancement can yield a superior infrared detection performance compared to the plasmonic field enhancement exhibited by optimized infrared nanoantennas. A specifically designed CaF2/Al thin film surface is shown to enable observation of stronger vibrational signals from the probe material, with wider bandwidth and a deeper spatial extent of the field enhancement as compared to optimized plasmonic surfaces. It is demonstrated that the surface structure presented here can enable chemically specific and label-free detection of organic monolayers using surface enhanced infrared spectroscopy. Also, a low cost hand held infrared absorption measurement setup is demonstrated using a miniature bolometric sensor and a mobile phone. A specifically designed grating in combination with an IR light source yields an IR spectrometer covering 7-12 um range, with about 100 cm-1 resolution. Combining the enhancing substrates with the spectroscopy setup, low cost, high sensitivity mobile infrared sensing is enabled. The results have implications in homeland security and environmental monitoring as well as chemical analysis.

Localized spoof surface plasmon resonances at terahertz range

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Lin; Xu, Mengjian; Zang, Xiaofei; Peng, Yan; Zhu, Yiming

2016-11-01

The influence of the inner disk radius r, the filling ratio α, numbers of sectors N, and the gap g on transmission response for corrugated metallic disk (CMD) with single C-shaped resonator(CSR) has been fully studied. The results indicate that varying parameters r can efficiently excite the higher order spoof localized surface plasmon modes in corrugated metallic disk. The relationship between the bright dipole and dark multipolar resonances presents the possibility of high Q dark resonances excitation. All results may be of great interest for diverse applications.

A fast and accurate surface plasmon resonance system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Espinosa Sánchez, Y. M.; Luna Moreno, D.; Noé Arias, E.; Garnica Campos, G.

2012-10-01

In this work we propose a Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) system driven by Labview software which produces a fast, simple and accuracy measurements of samples. The system takes 2000 data in a range of 20 degrees in 20 seconds and 0.01 degrees of resolution. All the information is sent from the computer to the microcontroller as an array of bytes in hexadecimal format to be analyzed. Besides to using the system in SPR measurement is possible to make measurement of the critic angle, and Brewster angle using the Abeles method.

Generation of spin currents by surface plasmon resonance

PubMed Central

Uchida, K.; Adachi, H.; Kikuchi, D.; Ito, S.; Qiu, Z.; Maekawa, S.; Saitoh, E.

2015-01-01

Surface plasmons, free-electron collective oscillations in metallic nanostructures, provide abundant routes to manipulate light–electron interactions that can localize light energy and alter electromagnetic field distributions at subwavelength scales. The research field of plasmonics thus integrates nano-photonics with electronics. In contrast, electronics is also entering a new era of spintronics, where spin currents play a central role in driving devices. However, plasmonics and spin-current physics have so far been developed independently. Here we report the generation of spin currents by surface plasmon resonance. Using Au nanoparticles embedded in Pt/BiY2Fe5O12 bilayer films, we show that, when the Au nanoparticles fulfill the surface-plasmon-resonance conditions, spin currents are generated across the Pt/BiY2Fe5O12 interface. This spin-current generation cannot be explained by conventional heating effects, requiring us to introduce nonequilibrium magnons excited by surface-plasmon-induced evanescent electromagnetic fields in BiY2Fe5O12. This plasmonic spin pumping integrates surface plasmons with spin-current physics, opening the door to plasmonic spintronics. PMID:25569821

Light-matter Interactions in Semiconductors and Metals: From Nitride Optoelectronics to Quantum Plasmonics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Narang, Prineha

This thesis puts forth a theory-directed approach coupled with spectroscopy aimed at the discovery and understanding of light-matter interactions in semiconductors and metals. The first part of the thesis presents the discovery and development of Zn-IV nitride materials. The commercial prominence in the optoelectronics industry of tunable semiconductor alloy materials based on nitride semiconductor devices, specifically InGaN, motivates the search for earth-abundant alternatives for use in efficient, high-quality optoelectronic devices. II-IV-N2 compounds, which are closely related to the wurtzite-structured III-N semiconductors, have similar electronic and optical properties to InGaN namely direct band gaps, high quantum efficiencies and large optical absorption coefficients. The choice of different group II and group IV elements provides chemical diversity that can be exploited to tune the structural and electronic properties through the series of alloys. The first theoretical and experimental investigation of the ZnSnxGe1--xN2 series as a replacement for III-nitrides is discussed here. The second half of the thesis shows ab-initio calculations for surface plasmons and plasmonic hot carrier dynamics. Surface plasmons, electromagnetic modes confined to the surface of a conductor-dielectric interface, have sparked renewed interest because of their quantum nature and their broad range of applications. The decay of surface plasmons is usually a detriment in the field of plasmonics, but the possibility to capture the energy normally lost to heat would open new opportunities in photon sensors, energy conversion devices and switching. A theoretical understanding of plasmon-driven hot carrier generation and relaxation dynamics in the ultrafast regime is presented here. Additionally calculations for plasmon-mediated upconversion as well as an energy-dependent transport model for these non-equilibrium carriers are shown. Finally, this thesis gives an outlook on the potential of non-equilibrium phenomena in metals and semiconductors for future light-based technologies.

Plasmon polaritons in cubic lattices of spherical metallic nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lamowski, Simon; Mann, Charlie-Ray; Hellbach, Felicitas; Mariani, Eros; Weick, Guillaume; Pauly, Fabian

2018-03-01

We theoretically investigate plasmon polaritons in cubic lattices of spherical metallic nanoparticles. The nanoparticles, each supporting triply-degenerate localized surface plasmons, couple through the Coulomb dipole-dipole interaction, giving rise to collective plasmons that extend over the whole metamaterial. The latter hybridize with photons forming plasmon polaritons, which are the hybrid light-matter eigenmodes of the system. We derive general analytical expressions to evaluate both plasmon and plasmon-polariton dispersions and the corresponding eigenstates. These are obtained within a Hamiltonian formalism, which takes into account retardation effects in the dipolar interaction between the nanoparticles and considers the dielectric properties of the nanoparticles as well as their surrounding. Within this model we predict polaritonic splittings in the near-infrared to the visible range of the electromagnetic spectrum that depend on polarization, lattice symmetry, and wave-vector direction. Finally, we show that the predictions of our model are in excellent quantitative agreement with conventional finite-difference frequency-domain simulations, but with the advantages of analytical insight and significantly reduced computational cost.

Probing the symmetry of the potential of localized surface plasmon resonances with phase-shaped electron beams

PubMed Central

Guzzinati, Giulio; Béché, Armand; Lourenço-Martins, Hugo; Martin, Jérôme; Kociak, Mathieu; Verbeeck, Jo

2017-01-01

Plasmonics, the science and technology of the interaction of light with metallic objects, is fundamentally changing the way we can detect, generate and manipulate light. Although the field is progressing swiftly, thanks to the availability of nanoscale manufacturing and analysis methods, fundamental properties such as the plasmonic excitations' symmetries cannot be accessed directly, leading to a partial, sometimes incorrect, understanding of their properties. Here we overcome this limitation by deliberately shaping the wave function of an electron beam to match a plasmonic excitations' symmetry in a modified transmission electron microscope. We show experimentally and theoretically that this offers selective detection of specific plasmon modes within metallic nanoparticles, while excluding modes with other symmetries. This method resembles the widespread use of polarized light for the selective excitation of plasmon modes with the advantage of locally probing the response of individual plasmonic objects and a far wider range of symmetry selection criteria. PMID:28401942

Active molecular plasmonics: tuning surface plasmon resonances by exploiting molecular dimensions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Kai; Leong, Eunice Sok Ping; Rukavina, Michael; Nagao, Tadaaki; Liu, Yan Jun; Zheng, Yuebing

2015-06-01

Molecular plasmonics explores and exploits the molecule-plasmon interactions on metal nanostructures to harness light at the nanoscale for nanophotonic spectroscopy and devices. With the functional molecules and polymers that change their structural, electrical, and/or optical properties in response to external stimuli such as electric fields and light, one can dynamically tune the plasmonic properties for enhanced or new applications, leading to a new research area known as active molecular plasmonics (AMP). Recent progress in molecular design, tailored synthesis, and self-assembly has enabled a variety of scenarios of plasmonic tuning for a broad range of AMP applications. Dimension (i.e., zero-, two-, and threedimensional) of the molecules on metal nanostructures has proved to be an effective indicator for defining the specific scenarios. In this review article, we focus on structuring the field of AMP based on the dimension of molecules and discussing the state of the art of AMP. Our perspective on the upcoming challenges and opportunities in the emerging field of AMP is also included.

Sensitive singular-phase optical detection without phase measurements with Tamm plasmons.

PubMed

Boriskina, Svetlana V; Tsurimaki, Yoichiro

2018-06-06

Spectrally-tailored interactions of light with material interfaces offer many exciting applications in sensing, photo-detection, and optical energy conversion. In particular, complete suppression of light reflectance at select frequencies accompanied by sharp phase variations in the reflected signal forms the basis for the development of ultra-sensitive singular-phase optical detection schemes such as Brewster and surface plasmon interferometry. However, both the Brewster effect and surface-plasmon-mediated absorption on planar interfaces are limited to one polarization of the incident light and oblique excitation angles, and may have limited bandwidth dictated by the material dielectric index and plasma frequency. To alleviate these limitations, we design narrow-band super-absorbers composed of plasmonic materials embedded into dielectric photonic nanostructures with topologically-protected interfacial Tamm plasmon states. These structures have planar geometry and do not require nanopatterning to achieve perfect absorption of both polarizations of the incident light in a wide range of incident angles, including the normal incidence. Their absorption lines are tunable across a very broad spectral range via engineering of the photon bandstructure of the dielectric photonic nanostructures to achieve reversal of the geometrical phase across the interface with the plasmonic absorber. We outline the design strategy to achieve perfect absorptance in Tamm structures with dissipative losses via conjugate impedance matching. We further demonstrate via modeling how these structures can be engineered to support sharp asymmetric amplitude resonances, which can be used to improve the sensitivity of optical sensors in the amplitude-only detection scheme that does not require use of bulky and expensive ellipsometry equipment.

Sensitive singular-phase optical detection without phase measurements with Tamm plasmons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boriskina, Svetlana V.; Tsurimaki, Yoichiro

2018-06-01

Spectrally-tailored interactions of light with material interfaces offer many exciting applications in sensing, photo-detection, and optical energy conversion. In particular, complete suppression of light reflectance at select frequencies accompanied by sharp phase variations in the reflected signal forms the basis for the development of ultra-sensitive singular-phase optical detection schemes such as Brewster and surface plasmon interferometry. However, both the Brewster effect and surface-plasmon-mediated absorption on planar interfaces are limited to one polarization of the incident light and oblique excitation angles, and may have limited bandwidth dictated by the material dielectric index and plasma frequency. To alleviate these limitations, we design narrow-band super-absorbers composed of plasmonic materials embedded into dielectric photonic nanostructures with topologically-protected interfacial Tamm plasmon states. These structures have planar geometry and do not require nanopatterning to achieve perfect absorption of both polarizations of the incident light in a wide range of incident angles, including the normal incidence. Their absorption lines are tunable across a very broad spectral range via engineering of the photon bandstructure of the dielectric photonic nanostructures to achieve reversal of the geometrical phase across the interface with the plasmonic absorber. We outline the design strategy to achieve perfect absorptance in Tamm structures with dissipative losses via conjugate impedance matching. We further demonstrate via modeling how these structures can be engineered to support sharp asymmetric amplitude resonances, which can be used to improve the sensitivity of optical sensors in the amplitude-only detection scheme that does not require use of bulky and expensive ellipsometry equipment.

Terahertz plasmon and surface-plasmon modes in hollow nanospheres

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

We present a theoretical study of the electronic subband structure and collective electronic excitation associated with plasmon and surface plasmon modes in metal-based hollow nanosphere. The dependence of the electronic subband energy on the sample parameters of the hollow nanosphere is examined. We find that the subband states with different quantum numbers l degenerate roughly when the outer radius of the sphere is r2 ≥ 100 nm. In this case, the energy spectrum of a sphere is mainly determined by quantum number n. Moreover, the plasmon and surface plasmon excitations can be achieved mainly via inter-subband transitions from occupied subbands to unoccupied subbands. We examine the dependence of the plasmon and surface-plasmon frequencies on the shell thickness d and the outer radius r2 of the sphere using the standard random-phase approximation. We find that when a four-state model is employed for calculations, four branches of the plasmon and surface plasmon oscillations with terahertz frequencies can be observed, respectively. PMID:23092121

In vivo detection of SERS-encoded plasmonic nanostars in human skin grafts and live animal models.

PubMed

Register, Janna K; Fales, Andrew M; Wang, Hsin-Neng; Norton, Stephen J; Cho, Eugenia H; Boico, Alina; Pradhan, Sulolit; Kim, Jason; Schroeder, Thies; Wisniewski, Natalie A; Klitzman, Bruce; Vo-Dinh, Tuan

2015-11-01

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)-active plasmonic nanomaterials have become a promising agent for molecular imaging and multiplex detection. Among the wide variety of plasmonics-active nanoparticles, gold nanostars offer unique plasmon properties that efficiently induce strong SERS signals. Furthermore, nanostars, with their small core size and multiple long thin branches, exhibit high absorption cross sections that are tunable in the near-infrared region of the tissue optical window, rendering them efficient for in vivo spectroscopic detection. This study investigated the use of SERS-encoded gold nanostars for in vivo detection. Ex vivo measurements were performed using human skin grafts to investigate the detection of SERS-encoded nanostars through tissue. We also integrated gold nanostars into a biocompatible scaffold to aid in performing in vivo spectroscopic analyses. In this study, for the first time, we demonstrate in vivo SERS detection of gold nanostars using small animal (rat) as well as large animal (pig) models. The results of this study establish the usefulness and potential of SERS-encoded gold nanostars for future use in long-term in vivo analyte sensing.

Functionalization of nanostructured gold substrates with chiral chromophores for SERS applications: The case of 5-Aza[5]helicene.

PubMed

Zanchi, Chiara; Lucotti, Andrea; Cancogni, Damiano; Fontana, Francesca; Trusso, Sebastiano; Ossi, Paolo M; Tommasini, Matteo

2018-05-31

Nanostructured gold thin films can be fabricated by controlled pulsed laser deposition to get efficient sensors, with uniform morphology and optimized plasmon resonance, to be employed as plasmonic substrates in surface enhanced Raman scattering spectroscopy. By attaching 5-aza[5]helicen-6-yl-6-hexanethiol to such gold nanostructures, used in a previous work for label-free drug sensing with biomedical purposes, we successfully prepared functionalized substrates with remarkable surface enhanced Raman scattering activity. The long-term motivation is to develop probes for drug detection at low concentrations, where sensitivity to specific chiral targets is required. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Surface Plasmon-Assisted Solar Energy Conversion.

PubMed

Dodekatos, Georgios; Schünemann, Stefan; Tüysüz, Harun

2016-01-01

The utilization of localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) from plasmonic noble metals in combination with semiconductors promises great improvements for visible light-driven photocatalysis, in particular for energy conversion. This review summarizes the basic principles of plasmonic photocatalysis, giving a comprehensive overview about the proposed mechanisms for enhancing the performance of photocatalytically active semiconductors with plasmonic devices and their applications for surface plasmon-assisted solar energy conversion. The main focus is on gold and, to a lesser extent, silver nanoparticles in combination with titania as semiconductor and their usage as active plasmonic photocatalysts. Recent advances in water splitting, hydrogen generation with sacrificial organic compounds, and CO2 reduction to hydrocarbons for solar fuel production are highlighted. Finally, further improvements for plasmonic photocatalysts, regarding performance, stability, and economic feasibility, are discussed for surface plasmon-assisted solar energy conversion.

A new perspective on plasmonics: Confinement and propagation length of surface plasmons for different materials and geometries [A new perspective on materials for plasmonics

DOE PAGES

Dastmalchi, Babak; Tassin, Philippe; Koschny, Thomas; ...

2015-09-21

Surface-plasmon polaritons are electromagnetic waves propagating on the surface of a metal. Thanks to subwavelength confinement, they can concentrate optical energy on the micrometer or even nanometer scale, enabling new applications in bio-sensing, optical interconnects, and nonlinear optics, where small footprint and strong field concentration are essential. The major obstacle in developing plasmonic applications is dissipative loss, which limits the propagation length of surface plasmons and broadens the bandwidth of surface-plasmon resonances. Here, a new analysis of plasmonic materials and geometries is presented which fully considers the tradeoff between propagation length and degree of confinement. It is based on amore » two-dimensional analysis of two independent figures of merit and the analysis is applied to relevant plasmonic materials, e.g., noble metals, aluminum, silicon carbide, doped semiconductors, graphene, etc. Furthermore, the analysis provides guidance on how to improve the performance of any particular plasmonic application and substantially eases the selection of the plasmonic material.« less

Active Plasmonics: Principles, Structures, and Applications.

PubMed

Jiang, Nina; Zhuo, Xiaolu; Wang, Jianfang

2018-03-28

Active plasmonics is a burgeoning and challenging subfield of plasmonics. It exploits the active control of surface plasmon resonance. In this review, a first-ever in-depth description of the theoretical relationship between surface plasmon resonance and its affecting factors, which forms the basis for active plasmon control, will be presented. Three categories of active plasmonic structures, consisting of plasmonic structures in tunable dielectric surroundings, plasmonic structures with tunable gap distances, and self-tunable plasmonic structures, will be proposed in terms of the modulation mechanism. The recent advances and current challenges for these three categories of active plasmonic structures will be discussed in detail. The flourishing development of active plasmonic structures opens access to new application fields. A significant part of this review will be devoted to the applications of active plasmonic structures in plasmonic sensing, tunable surface-enhanced Raman scattering, active plasmonic components, and electrochromic smart windows. This review will be concluded with a section on the future challenges and prospects for active plasmonics.

Sub-diffraction Imaging via Surface Plasmon Decompression

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-06-08

of the local wavelength of a surface plasmon polariton supported by two adjoining curved metal surfaces. The views, opinions and/or findings...adiabatic decompression of the local wavelength of a surface plasmon polariton supported by two adjoining curved metal surfaces. Conference Name...diffraction imaging based on a process of adiabatic decompression of the local wavelength of a surface plasmon polariton supported by two adjoining curved

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Honda, Mitsuhiro; Saito, Yuika, E-mail: yuika@ap.eng.osaka-u.ac.jp; Kawata, Satoshi

We report plasmonic nanoparticle enhanced photocatalysis on titanium dioxide (TiO{sub 2}) in the deep-UV range. Aluminum (Al) nanoparticles fabricated on TiO{sub 2} film increases the reaction rate of photocatalysis by factors as high as 14 under UV irradiation in the range of 260–340 nm. The reaction efficiency has been determined by measuring the decolorization rate of methylene blue applied on the TiO{sub 2} substrate. The enhancement of photocatalysis shows particle size and excitation wavelength dependence, which can be explained by the surface plasmon resonance of Al nanoparticles.

Tunable dual-band graphene-based infrared reflectance filter

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Goldflam, Michael D.; Ruiz, Isaac; Howell, Stephen W.

Here, we experimentally demonstrated an actively tunable optical filter that controls the amplitude of reflected long-wave-infrared light in two separate spectral regions concurrently. Our device exploits the dependence of the excitation energy of plasmons in a continuous and unpatterned sheet of graphene on the Fermi-level, which can be controlled via conventional electrostatic gating. The filter enables simultaneous modification of two distinct spectral bands whose positions are dictated by the device geometry and graphene plasmon dispersion. Within these bands, the reflected amplitude can be varied by over 15% and resonance positions can be shifted by over 90 cm –1. Electromagnetic simulationsmore » verify that tuning arises through coupling of incident light to graphene plasmons by a grating structure. Importantly, the tunable range is determined by a combination of graphene properties, device structure, and the surrounding dielectrics, which dictate the plasmon dispersion. Thus, the underlying design shown here is applicable across a broad range of infrared frequencies.« less

Tunable dual-band graphene-based infrared reflectance filter

DOE PAGES

Goldflam, Michael D.; Ruiz, Isaac; Howell, Stephen W.; ...

2018-03-23

Here, we experimentally demonstrated an actively tunable optical filter that controls the amplitude of reflected long-wave-infrared light in two separate spectral regions concurrently. Our device exploits the dependence of the excitation energy of plasmons in a continuous and unpatterned sheet of graphene on the Fermi-level, which can be controlled via conventional electrostatic gating. The filter enables simultaneous modification of two distinct spectral bands whose positions are dictated by the device geometry and graphene plasmon dispersion. Within these bands, the reflected amplitude can be varied by over 15% and resonance positions can be shifted by over 90 cm –1. Electromagnetic simulationsmore » verify that tuning arises through coupling of incident light to graphene plasmons by a grating structure. Importantly, the tunable range is determined by a combination of graphene properties, device structure, and the surrounding dielectrics, which dictate the plasmon dispersion. Thus, the underlying design shown here is applicable across a broad range of infrared frequencies.« less

Giant Faraday Rotation of High-Order Plasmonic Modes in Graphene-Covered Nanowires.

PubMed

Kuzmin, Dmitry A; Bychkov, Igor V; Shavrov, Vladimir G; Temnov, Vasily V

2016-07-13

Plasmonic Faraday rotation in nanowires manifests itself in the rotation of the spatial intensity distribution of high-order surface plasmon polariton (SPP) modes around the nanowire axis. Here we predict theoretically the giant Faraday rotation for SPPs propagating on graphene-coated magneto-optically active nanowires. Upon the reversal of the external magnetic field pointing along the nanowire axis some high-order plasmonic modes may be rotated by up to ∼100° on the length scale of about 500 nm at mid-infrared frequencies. Tuning the carrier concentration in graphene by chemical doping or gate voltage allows for controlling SPP-properties and notably the rotation angle of high-order azimuthal modes. Our results open the door to novel plasmonic applications ranging from nanowire-based Faraday isolators to the magnetic control in quantum-optical applications.

Charge carrier dynamics and surface plasmon interaction in gold nanorod-blended organic solar cell

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rana, Aniket; Gupta, Neeraj; Lochan, Abhiram; Sharma, G. D.; Chand, Suresh; Kumar, Mahesh; Singh, Rajiv K.

2016-08-01

The inclusion of plasmonic nanoparticles into organic solar cell enhances the light harvesting properties that lead to higher power conversion efficiency without altering the device configuration. This work defines the consequences of the nanoparticle overloading amount and energy transfer process between gold nanorod and polymer (active matrix) in organic solar cells. We have studied the hole population decay dynamics coupled with gold nanorods loading amount which provides better understanding about device performance limiting factors. The exciton and plasmon together act as an interacting dipole; however, the energy exchange between these two has been elucidated via plasmon resonance energy transfer (PRET) mechanism. Further, the charge species have been identified specifically with respect to their energy levels appearing in ultrafast time domain. The specific interaction of these charge species with respective surface plasmon resonance mode, i.e., exciton to transverse mode of oscillation and polaron pair to longitudinal mode of oscillations, has been explained. Thus, our analysis reveals that PRET enhances the carrier population density in polymer via non-radiative process beyond the concurrence of a particular plasmon resonance oscillation mode and polymer absorption range. These findings give new insight and reveal specifically the factors that enhance and control the performance of gold nanorods blended organic solar cells. This work would lead in the emergence of future plasmon based efficient organic electronic devices.

Charge carrier dynamics and surface plasmon interaction in gold nanorod-blended organic solar cell

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rana, Aniket; Lochan, Abhiram; Chand, Suresh

The inclusion of plasmonic nanoparticles into organic solar cell enhances the light harvesting properties that lead to higher power conversion efficiency without altering the device configuration. This work defines the consequences of the nanoparticle overloading amount and energy transfer process between gold nanorod and polymer (active matrix) in organic solar cells. We have studied the hole population decay dynamics coupled with gold nanorods loading amount which provides better understanding about device performance limiting factors. The exciton and plasmon together act as an interacting dipole; however, the energy exchange between these two has been elucidated via plasmon resonance energy transfer (PRET)more » mechanism. Further, the charge species have been identified specifically with respect to their energy levels appearing in ultrafast time domain. The specific interaction of these charge species with respective surface plasmon resonance mode, i.e., exciton to transverse mode of oscillation and polaron pair to longitudinal mode of oscillations, has been explained. Thus, our analysis reveals that PRET enhances the carrier population density in polymer via non-radiative process beyond the concurrence of a particular plasmon resonance oscillation mode and polymer absorption range. These findings give new insight and reveal specifically the factors that enhance and control the performance of gold nanorods blended organic solar cells. This work would lead in the emergence of future plasmon based efficient organic electronic devices.« less

Hot carrier dynamics in plasmonic transition metal nitrides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Habib, Adela; Florio, Fred; Sundararaman, Ravishankar

2018-06-01

Extraction of non-equilibrium hot carriers generated by plasmon decay in metallic nano-structures is an increasingly exciting prospect for utilizing plasmonic losses, but the search for optimum plasmonic materials with long-lived carriers is ongoing. Transition metal nitrides are an exciting class of new plasmonic materials with superior thermal and mechanical properties compared to conventional noble metals, but their suitability for plasmonic hot carrier applications remains unknown. Here, we present fully first principles calculations of the plasmonic response, hot carrier generation and subsequent thermalization of all group IV, V and VI transition metal nitrides, fully accounting for direct and phonon-assisted transitions as well as electron–electron and electron–phonon scattering. We find the largest frequency ranges for plasmonic response in ZrN, HfN and WN, between those of gold and silver, while we predict strongest absorption in the visible spectrum for the VN, NbN and TaN. Hot carrier generation is dominated by direct transitions for most of the relevant energy range in all these nitrides, while phonon-assisted processes dominate only below 1 eV plasmon energies primarily for the group IV nitrides. Finally, we predict the maximum hot carrier lifetimes to be around 10 fs for group IV and VI nitrides, a factor of 3–4 smaller than noble metals, due to strong electron–phonon scattering. However, we find longer carrier lifetimes for group V nitrides, comparable to silver for NbN and TaN, while exceeding 100 fs (twice that of silver) for VN, making them promising candidates for efficient hot carrier extraction.

Copper plasmonics and catalysis: role of electron-phonon interactions in dephasing localized surface plasmons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Qi-C.; Ding, Yuchen; Goodman, Samuel M.; H. Funke, Hans; Nagpal, Prashant

2014-10-01

Copper metal can provide an important alternative for the development of efficient, low-cost and low-loss plasmonic nanoparticles, and selective nanocatalysts. However, poor chemical stability and lack of insight into photophysics and plasmon decay mechanisms has impeded study. Here, we use smooth conformal ALD coating on copper nanoparticles to prevent surface oxidation, and study dephasing time for localized surface plasmons on different sized copper nanoparticles. Using dephasing time as a figure of merit, we elucidate the role of electron-electron, electron-phonon, impurity, surface and grain boundary scattering on the decay of localized surface plasmon waves. Using our quantitative analysis and different temperature dependent measurements, we show that electron-phonon interactions dominate over other scattering mechanisms in dephasing plasmon waves. While interband transitions in copper metal contributes substantially to plasmon losses, tuning surface plasmon modes to infrared frequencies leads to a five-fold enhancement in the quality factor. These findings demonstrate that conformal ALD coatings can improve the chemical stability for copper nanoparticles, even at high temperatures (>300 °C) in ambient atmosphere, and nanoscaled copper is a good alternative material for many potential applications in nanophotonics, plasmonics, catalysis and nanoscale electronics.Copper metal can provide an important alternative for the development of efficient, low-cost and low-loss plasmonic nanoparticles, and selective nanocatalysts. However, poor chemical stability and lack of insight into photophysics and plasmon decay mechanisms has impeded study. Here, we use smooth conformal ALD coating on copper nanoparticles to prevent surface oxidation, and study dephasing time for localized surface plasmons on different sized copper nanoparticles. Using dephasing time as a figure of merit, we elucidate the role of electron-electron, electron-phonon, impurity, surface and grain boundary scattering on the decay of localized surface plasmon waves. Using our quantitative analysis and different temperature dependent measurements, we show that electron-phonon interactions dominate over other scattering mechanisms in dephasing plasmon waves. While interband transitions in copper metal contributes substantially to plasmon losses, tuning surface plasmon modes to infrared frequencies leads to a five-fold enhancement in the quality factor. These findings demonstrate that conformal ALD coatings can improve the chemical stability for copper nanoparticles, even at high temperatures (>300 °C) in ambient atmosphere, and nanoscaled copper is a good alternative material for many potential applications in nanophotonics, plasmonics, catalysis and nanoscale electronics. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c4nr04719b

Generation of ultra-wideband achromatic Airy plasmons on a graphene surface.

PubMed

Guan, Chunying; Yuan, Tingting; Chu, Rang; Shen, Yize; Zhu, Zheng; Shi, Jinhui; Li, Ping; Yuan, Libo; Brambilla, Gilberto

2017-02-01

Tunable ultra-wideband achromatic plasmonic Airy beams are demonstrated on graphene surfaces. Surface plasmonic polaritons are excited using diffractive gratings. The phase and amplitude of plasmonic waves on the graphene surface are determined by the relative position between the grating arrays and the duty ratio of the grating unit cell, respectively. The transverse acceleration and nondiffraction properties of plasmonic waves are observed. The achromatic Airy plasmons with identical acceleration trajectory at different excited frequencies can be achieved by tuning dynamically the Fermi energy of graphene without reoptimizing the grating structures. The proposed devices may find applications in photonics integrations and surface optical manipulation.

Surface-plasmon enhanced photodetection at communication band based on hot electrons

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wu, Kai; Zhan, Yaohui, E-mail: yhzhan@suda.edu.cn, E-mail: xfli@suda.edu.cn; Wu, Shaolong

2015-08-14

Surface plasmons can squeeze light into a deep-subwavelength space and generate abundant hot electrons in the nearby metallic regions, enabling a new paradigm of photoconversion by the way of hot electron collection. Unlike the visible spectral range concerned in previous literatures, we focus on the communication band and design the infrared hot-electron photodetectors with plasmonic metal-insulator-metal configuration by using full-wave finite-element method. Titanium dioxide-silver Schottky interface is employed to boost the low-energy infrared photodetection. The photodetection sensitivity is strongly improved by enhancing the plasmonic excitation from a rationally engineered metallic grating, which enables a strong unidirectional photocurrent. With a five-stepmore » electrical simulation, the optimized device exhibits an unbiased responsivity of ∼0.1 mA/W and an ultra-narrow response band (FWHM = 4.66 meV), which promises to be a candidate as the compact photodetector operating in communication band.« less

Realizing structural color generation with aluminum plasmonic V-groove metasurfaces

DOE PAGES

Wang, Wei; Rosenmann, Daniel; Czaplewski, David A.; ...

2017-08-14

The structural color printing based on all-aluminum plasmonic V-groove metasurfaces is demonstrated under both bright field and dark field illumination conditions. A broad visible color range is realized with the plasmonic V-groove arrays etched on aluminum surface by simply varying the groove depth while keeping the groove period as a constant. Polarization dependent structural color printing is further achieved with interlaced V-groove arrays along both the horizontal and vertical directions. Furthermore, these results pave the way towards the use of all-aluminum structural color printing platform for many practical applications such as security marking and information storage.

Nano-polarization-converter based on magnetic plasmon resonance excitation in an L-shaped slot antenna.

PubMed

Yang, Jing; Zhang, Jiasen

2013-04-08

We propose a nano-polarization-converter made of a resonant L-shaped slot antenna in a gold film and study its optical properties using the finite-difference time-domain method. Phase retardation between the fast and slow axes of the nano-polarization-converter originates from the simultaneous excitation of both single-surface first-order magnetic plasmon resonance mode and second-order magnetic plasmon resonance mode at the working wavelength. By adjusting the size of the slot antenna, which is still much smaller than the wavelength, the working wavelength can be tuned within a large wavelength range.

Realizing structural color generation with aluminum plasmonic V-groove metasurfaces

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wang, Wei; Rosenmann, Daniel; Czaplewski, David A.

The structural color printing based on all-aluminum plasmonic V-groove metasurfaces is demonstrated under both bright field and dark field illumination conditions. A broad visible color range is realized with the plasmonic V-groove arrays etched on aluminum surface by simply varying the groove depth while keeping the groove period as a constant. Polarization dependent structural color printing is further achieved with interlaced V-groove arrays along both the horizontal and vertical directions. Furthermore, these results pave the way towards the use of all-aluminum structural color printing platform for many practical applications such as security marking and information storage.

Hydrogen peroxide and glucose concentration measurement using optical fiber grating sensors with corrodible plasmonic nanocoatings

PubMed Central

Zhang, Xuejun; Wu, Ze; Liu, Fu; Fu, Qiangqiang; Chen, Xiaoyong; Xu, Jian; Zhang, Zhaochuan; Huang, Yunyun; Tang, Yong; Guo, Tuan; Albert, Jacques

2018-01-01

We propose and demonstrate hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and glucose concentration measurements using a plasmonic optical fiber sensor. The sensor utilizes a tilted fiber Bragg grating (TFBG) written in standard single mode communication fiber. The fiber is over coated with an nm-scale film of silver that supports surface plasmon resonances (SPRs). Such a tilted grating SPR structure provides a high density of narrow spectral resonances (Q-factor about 105) that overlap with the broader absorption band of the surface plasmon waves in the silver film, thereby providing an accurate tool to measure small shifts of the plasmon resonance frequencies. The H2O2 to be detected acts as an oxidant to etch the silver film, which has the effect of gradually decreasing the SPR attenuation. The etching rate of the silver film shows a clear relationship with the H2O2 concentration so that monitoring the progressively increasing attenuation of a selected surface plasmon resonance over a few minutes enables us to measure the H2O2 concentration with a limit of detection of 0.2 μM. Furthermore, the proposed method can be applied to the determination of glucose in human serum for a concentration range from 0 to 12 mM (within the physiological range of 3-8 mM) by monitoring the H2O2 produced by an enzymatic oxidation process. The sensor does not require accurate temperature control because of the inherent temperature insensitivity of TFBG devices referenced to the core mode resonance. A gold mirror coated on the fiber allows the sensor to work in reflection, which will facilitate the integration of the sensor with a hypodermic needle for in vitro measurements. The present study shows that Ag-coated TFBG-SPR can be applied as a promising type of sensing probe for optical detection of H2O2 and glucose detection in human serum. PMID:29675315

Hydrogen peroxide and glucose concentration measurement using optical fiber grating sensors with corrodible plasmonic nanocoatings.

PubMed

Zhang, Xuejun; Wu, Ze; Liu, Fu; Fu, Qiangqiang; Chen, Xiaoyong; Xu, Jian; Zhang, Zhaochuan; Huang, Yunyun; Tang, Yong; Guo, Tuan; Albert, Jacques

2018-04-01

We propose and demonstrate hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) and glucose concentration measurements using a plasmonic optical fiber sensor. The sensor utilizes a tilted fiber Bragg grating (TFBG) written in standard single mode communication fiber. The fiber is over coated with an nm-scale film of silver that supports surface plasmon resonances (SPRs). Such a tilted grating SPR structure provides a high density of narrow spectral resonances (Q-factor about 10 5 ) that overlap with the broader absorption band of the surface plasmon waves in the silver film, thereby providing an accurate tool to measure small shifts of the plasmon resonance frequencies. The H 2 O 2 to be detected acts as an oxidant to etch the silver film, which has the effect of gradually decreasing the SPR attenuation. The etching rate of the silver film shows a clear relationship with the H 2 O 2 concentration so that monitoring the progressively increasing attenuation of a selected surface plasmon resonance over a few minutes enables us to measure the H 2 O 2 concentration with a limit of detection of 0.2 μM. Furthermore, the proposed method can be applied to the determination of glucose in human serum for a concentration range from 0 to 12 mM (within the physiological range of 3-8 mM) by monitoring the H 2 O 2 produced by an enzymatic oxidation process. The sensor does not require accurate temperature control because of the inherent temperature insensitivity of TFBG devices referenced to the core mode resonance. A gold mirror coated on the fiber allows the sensor to work in reflection, which will facilitate the integration of the sensor with a hypodermic needle for in vitro measurements. The present study shows that Ag-coated TFBG-SPR can be applied as a promising type of sensing probe for optical detection of H 2 O 2 and glucose detection in human serum.

Compact nanomechanical plasmonic phase modulators [Ultracompact nano-mechanical plasmonic phase modulators

DOE PAGES

Dennis, B. S.; Haftel, M. I.; Czaplewski, D. A.; ...

2015-03-30

Highly confined optical energy in plasmonic devices is advancing miniaturization in photonics. However, for mode sizes approaching ≈10 nm, the energy increasingly shifts into the metal, raising losses and hindering active phase modulation. Here, we propose a nanoelectromechanical phase-modulation principle exploiting the extraordinarily strong dependence of the phase velocity of metal–insulator–metal gap plasmons on dynamically variable gap size. We experimentally demonstrate a 23-μm-long non-resonant modulator having a 1.5π rad range, with 1.7 dB excess loss at 780 nm. Analysis shows that by simultaneously decreasing the gap, length and width, an ultracompact-footprint π rad phase modulator can be realized. This ismore » achieved without incurring the extra loss expected for plasmons confined in a decreasing gap, because the increasing phase-modulation strength from a narrowing gap offsets rising propagation losses. Here, such small, high-density electrically controllable components may find applications in optical switch fabrics and reconfigurable plasmonic optics.« less

Smaller to larger biomolecule detection using a lab-built surface plasmon resonance based instrument

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lukose, J.; Kulal, V.; Chidangil, S.; Sinha, R. K.

2016-10-01

We have developed a low-cost surface plasmon resonance (SPR) instrument based on the Kretschmann configuration for biosensing applications. The fabricated instrument is capable of operating in both angular and intensity interrogation schemes. The proposed sensor has proved enormously versatile by detecting a range of analytes with low to high molecular weights. The refractive index based sensor has been used for detecting the variation in the concentration of the aqueous solution of glucose and glycerine. Real time immobilization of protein molecules, bovine serum albumin on a gold (Au) film surface, has also been detected using the SPR imaging technique. Alkanethiol functionalization of the Au surface was performed, and bovine serum albumin was immobilized onto the carboxyl functionalized surface using amine reactive cross linker chemistry. In future, the present approach can also be utilized for the selective detection of a wide range of target biomolecules with the help of specific capture probes, as well as for monitoring protein-drug interactions.

Sol-Gel Thin Films for Plasmonic Gas Sensors

PubMed Central

Della Gaspera, Enrico; Martucci, Alessandro

2015-01-01

Plasmonic gas sensors are optical sensors that use localized surface plasmons or extended surface plasmons as transducing platform. Surface plasmons are very sensitive to dielectric variations of the environment or to electron exchange, and these effects have been exploited for the realization of sensitive gas sensors. In this paper, we review our research work of the last few years on the synthesis and the gas sensing properties of sol-gel based nanomaterials for plasmonic sensors. PMID:26184216

SERS substrates for in-situ biosensing (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Venugopalan, Priyamvada; Quilis, Nestor; Jakub, Dostalek; Wolfgang, Knoll

2017-06-01

Abstract: Recent years have seen a rapid progress in the field of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) which is attributed to the thriving field of plasmonics [1]. SERS is a susceptible technique that can address basic scientific questions and technological problems. In both cases, it is highly dependent upon the plasmonic substrate, where excitation of the localized surface plasmon resonance enhances the vibrational scattering signal of the analyte molecules adsorbed on to the surface [2]. In this work, using finite difference time domain (FDTD) method we investigate the optical properties of plasmonic nanostructures with tuned plasmonic resonances as a function of dielectric environment and geometric parameters. An optimized geometry will be discussed based on the plasmonic resonant position and the SERS intensity. These SERS substrates will be employed for the detection of changes in conformation caused by interactions between an aptamer and analyte molecules. This will be done by using a microfluidic channel designed within the configuration of the lab-on-a-chip concept based on the intensity changes of the SERS signal. More efficient and reproducible results are obtained for such a quantitative measurement of analytes at low concentration levels. We will also demonstrate that the plasmonic substrates fabricated by top down approach such as e-beam lithography (EBL) and laser interference lithography (LIL) are highly reproducible, robust and can result in high electric field enhancement. Our results demonstrate the potential to use SERS substrates for highly sensitive detection schemes opening up the window for a wide range of applications including biomedical diagnostics, forensic investigation etc. Acknowledgement: This work was supported by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF), project NANOBIOSENSOR (I 2647). References: [1] J. N. Anker, W. P. Hall, O. Lyandres, N. C. Shah, J. Zhao and R. P. V. Duyne., " Biosensing with plasmonic nanosensors," Nature materials, 308(7), 2008. [2] T. Y. Jeon1, D. J. Kim, S. Park, S. Kim and D. Kim., "Nanostructured plasmonic substrates for use as SERS sensors," Nanocovergence, 3(18), 2016.

Ultrafast and nonlinear surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy.

PubMed

Gruenke, Natalie L; Cardinal, M Fernanda; McAnally, Michael O; Frontiera, Renee R; Schatz, George C; Van Duyne, Richard P

2016-04-21

Ultrafast surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) has the potential to study molecular dynamics near plasmonic surfaces to better understand plasmon-mediated chemical reactions such as plasmonically-enhanced photocatalytic or photovoltaic processes. This review discusses the combination of ultrafast Raman spectroscopic techniques with plasmonic substrates for high temporal resolution, high sensitivity, and high spatial resolution vibrational spectroscopy. First, we introduce background information relevant to ultrafast SERS: the mechanisms of surface enhancement in Raman scattering, the characterization of plasmonic materials with ultrafast techniques, and early complementary techniques to study molecule-plasmon interactions. We then discuss recent advances in surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopies with ultrafast pulses with a focus on the study of molecule-plasmon coupling and molecular dynamics with high sensitivity. We also highlight the challenges faced by this field by the potential damage caused by concentrated, highly energetic pulsed fields in plasmonic hotspots, and finally the potential for future ultrafast SERS studies.

Tailored Surfaces/Assemblies for Molecular Plasmonics and Plasmonic Molecular Electronics.

PubMed

Lacroix, Jean-Christophe; Martin, Pascal; Lacaze, Pierre-Camille

2017-06-12

Molecular plasmonics uses and explores molecule-plasmon interactions on metal nanostructures for spectroscopic, nanophotonic, and nanoelectronic devices. This review focuses on tailored surfaces/assemblies for molecular plasmonics and describes active molecular plasmonic devices in which functional molecules and polymers change their structural, electrical, and/or optical properties in response to external stimuli and that can dynamically tune the plasmonic properties. We also explore an emerging research field combining molecular plasmonics and molecular electronics.

High-speed plasmonic modulator in a single metal layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ayata, Masafumi; Fedoryshyn, Yuriy; Heni, Wolfgang; Baeuerle, Benedikt; Josten, Arne; Zahner, Marco; Koch, Ueli; Salamin, Yannick; Hoessbacher, Claudia; Haffner, Christian; Elder, Delwin L.; Dalton, Larry R.; Leuthold, Juerg

2017-11-01

Plasmonics provides a possible route to overcome both the speed limitations of electronics and the critical dimensions of photonics. We present an all-plasmonic 116-gigabits per second electro-optical modulator in which all the elements—the vertical grating couplers, splitters, polarization rotators, and active section with phase shifters—are included in a single metal layer. The device can be realized on any smooth substrate surface and operates with low energy consumption. Our results show that plasmonics is indeed a viable path to an ultracompact, highest-speed, and low-cost technology that might find many applications in a wide range of fields of sensing and communications because it is compatible with and can be placed on a wide variety of materials.

Single-plasmon interferences

PubMed Central

Dheur, Marie-Christine; Devaux, Eloïse; Ebbesen, Thomas W.; Baron, Alexandre; Rodier, Jean-Claude; Hugonin, Jean-Paul; Lalanne, Philippe; Greffet, Jean-Jacques; Messin, Gaétan; Marquier, François

2016-01-01

Surface plasmon polaritons are electromagnetic waves coupled to collective electron oscillations propagating along metal-dielectric interfaces, exhibiting a bosonic character. Recent experiments involving surface plasmons guided by wires or stripes allowed the reproduction of quantum optics effects, such as antibunching with a single surface plasmon state, coalescence with a two-plasmon state, conservation of squeezing, or entanglement through plasmonic channels. We report the first direct demonstration of the wave-particle duality for a single surface plasmon freely propagating along a planar metal-air interface. We develop a platform that enables two complementary experiments, one revealing the particle behavior of the single-plasmon state through antibunching, and the other one where the interferences prove its wave nature. This result opens up new ways to exploit quantum conversion effects between different bosonic species as shown here with photons and polaritons. PMID:26998521

Optical Isolator Utilizing Surface Plasmons

PubMed Central

Zayets, Vadym; Saito, Hidekazu; Ando, Koji; Yuasa, Shinji

2012-01-01

Feasibility of usage of surface plasmons in a new design of an integrated optical isolator has been studied. In the case of surface plasmons propagating at a boundary between a transition metal and a double-layer dielectric, there is a significant difference of optical loss for surface plasmons propagating in opposite directions. Utilizing this structure, it is feasible to fabricate a competitive plasmonic isolator, which benefits from a broad wavelength operational bandwidth and a good technological compatibility for integration into the Photonic Integrated Circuits (PIC). The linear dispersion relation was derived for plasmons propagating in a multilayer magneto-optical slab. PMID:28817012

Plamonics for Biomolecular Sensors and THz Metamaterial Waveguides (Near and Far-Field Interfaces to DNA. Guided Nanostructures from RF to Lightwave: Exploiting the Spectrum)

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-12-17

surface bound modes named spoofed surface plasmon polariton (SSPP) modes. Such modes mimic the common optical surface plasmon mode traveling at...Triangle Park, NC 27709-2211 Terahertz, Biosensing, Mach Zehnder Interferometer, Multiplexer and Spoof surface Plasmon Polariton REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE...frequencies, the textured surfaces on a subwavelength scale can support surface bound modes named spoofed surface plasmon polariton (SSPP) modes. Such modes

Plasmonics based micro/nano manufacturing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garner, Quincy

Since the advent of the Information Age, there has been an ever growing demand to continually shrink and reduce the cost of semiconductor products. To meet this demand, a great amount of research has been done to improve our current micro/nano manufacturing processes and develop the next generation of semiconductor fabrication techniques. High throughput, low cost, smaller features, high repeatability, and the simplification of the manufacturing processes are all targets that researchers continually strive for. To this day, there are no perfect systems capable of simultaneously achieving all of these targets. For this reason, much research time is spent improving and developing new techniques in hopes of developing a system that will incorporate all of these targets. While there are numerous techniques being investigated and developed every year, one of the most promising areas of research that may one day be capable of achieving our desired targets is plasmonics. Plasmonics, or the study of the free electron oscillations in metals, is the driving phenomena in the applications reported in this paper. In chapter 2, the formation of ordered gold nanoparticles on a silicon substrate through the use of energetic surface plasmons is reported. Utilizing a gold/alumina nano-hole antenna and 1064 nm Nd:YAG laser system, semi-periodic gold nanoparticles were deposited onto the surface of a silicon substrate. The novel technique is simpler, faster, and safer than any known gold nanoparticle deposition technique reported in literature. The implementation of this technique has potential wide-ranging applications in photovoltaic cells, medical products, and many others. In chapter 3, a low cost lithography technique utilizing surface plasmons is reported. In this technique, a plasmonic photomask is created by coating a pre-made porous alumina membrane with a thin aluminum layer. A coherent, 337 nm UV laser source is used to expose the photomask and excite surface plasmons along the metal layer. The surface plasmons allow for features well below the wavelength of the incident light to be produced. Along with this technique, a unique texturing effect was discovered using the same photomask and 400 nm UV lamp source. The developed technique promises to greatly reduce the cost and complexity of sub-100 nm photolithography using only a UV light source and the novel plasmonic photomask.

Optical properties of plasmonic nanostructures: Theory & experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bala Krishna, Juluri

Metal nanoparticles and thin films enable localization of electromagnetic energy in the form of localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPR) and propagating surface plasmons respectively. This research field, also known as plasmonics, involves understanding and fabricating innovative nanostructures designed to manage and utilize localized light in the nanoscale. Advances in plasmonics will facilitate innovation in sensing, biomedical engineering, energy harvesting and nanophotonic devices. In this thesis, three aspects of plasmonics are studied: 1) active plasmonic systems using charge-induced plasmon shifts (CIPS) and plasmon-molecule resonant coupling; 2) scalable solutions to fabricate large electric field plasmonic nanostructures; and 3) controlling the propagation of designer surface plasmons (DSPs) using parabolic graded media. The full potential of plasmonics can be realized with active plasmonic devices which provide tunable plasmon resonances. The work reported here develops both an understanding for and realization of various mechanisms to achieve tunable plasmonic systems. First, we show that certain nanoparticle geometries and material compositions enable large CIPS. Second, we propose and investigate systems which exhibit coupling between molecular and plasmonic resonances where energy splitting is observed due to interactions between plasmons and molecules. Large electric field nanostructures have many promising applications in the areas of surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy, higher harmonic light generation, and enhanced uorescence. High throughput techniques that utilize simple nanofabrication are essential their advancement. We contribute to this effort by using a salting-out quenching technique and colloidal lithography to fabricate nanodisc dimers and cusp nanostructures that allow localization of large electric fields, and are comparable to structures fabricated by conventional lithography/milling techniques. Designer surface plasmons (DSPs) are surface waves that are localized to the interface between a structured perfect electric conductor (PEC) surface and dielectric medium. Terahertz (THz) DSPs excited on microscale structured PEC are localized in the out-of-plane direction, with negligible in-plane localization. We addressed this problem by subjecting DSPs to a parabolic graded-index structure. Lateral confinement such as focusing, collimation, and waveguiding of DSPs is demonstrated. Such control will pave the way towards THz energy concentration, diffusion, guiding, and beam aperture modifcation.

Thin metal bilayer for surface plasmon resonance sensors in a multimode plastic optical fiber: the case of palladium and gold metal films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cennamo, Nunzio; Zuppella, Paola; Bacco, Davide; Corso, Alain J.; Pelizzo, Maria G.; Pesavento, Maria; Zeni, Luigi

2016-05-01

A novel sensing platform based on thin metal bilayer for surface plasmon resonance (SPR) in a D-shaped plastic optical fiber (POF) has been designed, implemented and tested. The experimental results are congruent with the numerical studies. This platform has been properly optimized to work in the 1.38 -1.42 refractive index range and it exhibits excellent sensitivity. This refractive index range is very interesting for bio-chemical applications, where the polymer layer are used as receptors (e.g. molecularly imprinted polymer) or to immobilize the bio-receptor on the metal surface. The proposed metallic bilayer is based on palladium and gold films and replaces the traditional gold by exhibiting higher performances. Furthermore, the deposition of the thin bilayer is a single process and no further manufacturing step is required. In fact, in this case the photoresist buffer layer between the POF core and the metal layer, usually required to increase the refractive index range, is no longer necessary.

Design for high-power, single-lobe, grating-surface-emitting quantum cascade lasers enabled by plasmon-enhanced absorption of antisymmetric modes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sigler, C.; Kirch, J. D.; Mawst, L. J.

2014-03-31

Resonant coupling of the transverse-magnetic polarized (guided) optical mode of a quantum-cascade laser (QCL) to the antisymmetric surface-plasmon modes of 2nd-order distributed-feedback (DFB) metal/semiconductor gratings results in strong antisymmetric-mode absorption. In turn, lasing in the symmetric mode, that is, surface emission in a single-lobe far-field beam pattern, is strongly favored over controllable ranges in grating duty cycle and tooth height. By using core-region characteristics of a published 4.6 μm-emitting QCL, grating-coupled surface-emitting (SE) QCLs are analyzed and optimized for highly efficient single-lobe operation. For infinite-length devices, it is found that when the antisymmetric mode is resonantly absorbed, the symmetric mode hasmore » negligible absorption loss (∼0.1 cm{sup −1}) while still being efficiently outcoupled, through the substrate, by the DFB grating. For finite-length devices, 2nd-order distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) gratings are used on both sides of the DFB grating to prevent uncontrolled reflections from cleaved facets. Equations for the threshold-current density and the differential quantum efficiency of SE DFB/DBR QCLs are derived. For 7 mm-long, 8.0 μm-wide, 4.6 μm-emitting devices, with an Ag/InP grating of ∼39% duty cycle, and ∼0.22 μm tooth height, threshold currents as low as 0.45 A are projected. Based on experimentally obtained internal efficiency values from high-performance QCLs, slope efficiencies as high as 3.4 W/A are projected; thus, offering a solution for watt-range, single-lobe CW operation from SE, mid-infrared QCLs.« less

Nonlinear Laser Lithography implementation for both ``normal'' and ``anomalous'' laser induced periodic structuring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pavlov, Ihor; Tokel, Onur; Yavuz, Ozgun; Makey, Ghaith; Ilday, Omer; Omer Ilday Team

Laser Induced Periodic Surface Structuring (LIPSS) is one of the most prominent directions in laser-material interaction due to both practical and theoretical importance, especially after the discovery of Nonlinear Laser Lithography (NLL), which opens new area for industrial application of LIPSS as an effective tool for controllable, highly ordered large area nanostructuring. LIPSS appear on the surface under laser beam in the form of periodical lines. The LIPSS, that appear perpendicular to laser polarization are called ``normal'', in contrast to ``anomalous'' LIPSS appearing parallel to the polarization. Although, NLL technique was already demonstrated for ``normal'' and ``anomalous'' LIPSS separately, up to now, there is no clear understanding of switching mechanism between these two modes. In presented paper we have shown that the mechanism relies on interplay between two feedbacks: long range, low intensity dipole-like scattering of light along the surface, and short range, high intensity plasmon-polariton wave. For the first time, we are able to create both types of LIPSS on the same surface by controlling these two feedbacks, obtaining highly-ordered large-area structured patterns in both modes.

Compact surface plasmon resonance biosensor utilizing an injection-molded prism

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, How-Foo; Chen, Chih-Han; Chang, Yun-Hsiang; Chuang, Hsin-Yuan

2016-05-01

Targeting at a low cost and accessible diagnostic device in clinical practice, a compact surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensor with a large dynamic range in high sensitivity is designed to satisfy commercial needs in food safety, environmental bio-pollution monitoring, and fast clinical diagnosis. The core component integrates an optical coupler, a sample-loading plate, and angle-tuning reflectors is injection-molded as a free-from prism made of plastic optics. This design makes a matching-oil-free operation during operation. The disposability of this low-cost component ensures testing or diagnosis without cross contamination in bio-samples.

Numerical method for high accuracy index of refraction estimation for spectro-angular surface plasmon resonance systems.

PubMed

Alleyne, Colin J; Kirk, Andrew G; Chien, Wei-Yin; Charette, Paul G

2008-11-24

An eigenvector analysis based algorithm is presented for estimating refractive index changes from 2-D reflectance/dispersion images obtained with spectro-angular surface plasmon resonance systems. High resolution over a large dynamic range can be achieved simultaneously. The method performs well in simulations with noisy data maintaining an error of less than 10(-8) refractive index units with up to six bits of noise on 16 bit quantized image data. Experimental measurements show that the method results in a much higher signal to noise ratio than the standard 1-D weighted centroid dip finding algorithm.

Fiber optic humidity sensor using water vapor condensation.

PubMed

Limodehi, Hamid E; Légaré, François

2017-06-26

The rate of vapor condensation on a solid surface depends on the ambient relative humidity (RH). Also, surface plasmon resonance (SPR) on a metal layer is sensitive to the refractive index change of its adjacent dielectric. The SPR effect appears as soon as a small amount of moisture forms on the sensor, resulting in a decrease in the amount of light transmitted due to plasmonic loss. Using this concept, we developed a fiber optic humidity sensor based on SPR. It can measure the ambient RH over a dynamic range from 10% to 85% with an accuracy of 3%.

Distance-Dependent Plasmon-Enhanced Singlet Oxygen Production and Emission for Bacterial Inactivation.

PubMed

Planas, Oriol; Macia, Nicolas; Agut, Montserrat; Nonell, Santi; Heyne, Belinda

2016-03-02

Herein, we synthesized a series of 10 core-shell silver-silica nanoparticles with a photosensitizer, Rose Bengal, tethered to their surface. Each nanoparticle possesses an identical silver core of about 67 nm, but presents a different silica shell thickness ranging from 5 to 100 nm. These hybrid plasmonic nanoparticles thus afford a plasmonic nanostructure platform with a source of singlet oxygen ((1)O2) at a well-defined distance from the metallic core. Via time-resolved and steady state spectroscopic techniques, we demonstrate the silver core exerts a dual role of enhancing both the production of (1)O2, through enhanced absorption of light, and its radiative decay, which in turn boosts (1)O2 phosphorescence emission to a greater extent. Furthermore, we show both the production and emission of (1)O2 in vitro to be dependent on proximity to the plasmonic nanostructure. Our results clearly exhibit three distinct regimes as the plasmonic nanostructure moves apart from the (1)O2 source, with a greater enhancement for silica shell thicknesses ranging between 10 and 20 nm. Moreover, these hybrid plasmonic nanoparticles can be delivered to both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria boosting both photoantibacterial activity and detection limit of (1)O2 in cells.

A sensitive plasmonic copper(II) sensor based on gold nanoparticles deposited on ITO glass substrate.

PubMed

Ding, Lijun; Gao, Yan; Di, Junwei

2016-09-15

Gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) based plasmonic probe was developed for sensitive and selective detection of Cu(2+) ion. The Au NPs were self-assembled on transparent indium tin oxide (ITO) film coated glass substrate using poly dimethyl diallyl ammonium chloride (PDDA) as a linker and then calcined at 400°C to obtain pure Au NPs on ITO surface (ITO/Au NPs). The probe was fabricated by functionalizing l-cysteine (Cys) on to gold surface (ITO/Au NPs/Cys). The strong chelation of Cu(2+) with Cys formed a stable Cys-Cu complex, and resulted in the red-shift of localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) peak of the Au NPs. The introduction of bovine serum albumin (BSA) as the second complexant could form complex of Cys-Cu-BAS and further markedly enhanced the red-shift of the LSPR peak. This plasmonic probe provided a highly sensitive and selective detection towards Cu(2+) ions, with a wide linear detection range (10(-11)-10(-5)M) over 6 orders of magnitude. The simple and cost-effective probe was successfully applied to the determination of Cu(2+) in real samples. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Surface Plasmon Scattering in Exposed Core Optical Fiber for Enhanced Resolution Refractive Index Sensing.

PubMed

Klantsataya, Elizaveta; François, Alexandre; Ebendorff-Heidepriem, Heike; Hoffmann, Peter; Monro, Tanya M

2015-09-29

Refractometric sensors based on optical excitation of surface plasmons on the side of an optical fiber is an established sensing architecture that has enabled laboratory demonstrations of cost effective portable devices for biological and chemical applications. Here we report a Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) configuration realized in an Exposed Core Microstructured Optical Fiber (ECF) capable of optimizing both sensitivity and resolution. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of fabrication of a rough metal coating suitable for spectral interrogation of scattered plasmonic wave using chemical electroless plating technique on a 10 μm diameter exposed core of the ECF. Performance of the sensor in terms of its refractive index sensitivity and full width at half maximum (FWHM) of SPR response is compared to that achieved with an unstructured bare core fiber with 140 μm core diameter. The experimental improvement in FWHM, and therefore the detection limit, is found to be a factor of two (75 nm for ECF in comparison to 150 nm for the large core fiber). Refractive index sensitivity of 1800 nm/RIU was achieved for both fibers in the sensing range of aqueous environment (1.33-1.37) suitable for biosensing applications.

Spectral dependence of fluorescence near plasmon resonant metal nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Yeechi

The optical properties of fluorophores are significantly modified when placed within the near field (0--100 nm) of plasmon resonant metal nanostructures, due to the competition between increased decay rates and "hotspots" of concentrated electric fields. The decay rates and effective electric field intensities are highly dependent on the relative position of dye and metal and the overlap between plasmon resonance and dye absorption and emission. Understanding these dependencies can greatly improve the performance of biosensing and nanophotonic devices. In this dissertation, the fluorescence intensity of organic dyes and CdSe quantum dots near single metal nanoparticles is studied as a function of the local surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of the nanoparticle. Single metal nanoparticles have narrow, well-defined, intense local surface plasmon resonances that are tunable across the visible spectrum by changes in size and shape. First, we show that organic dyes can be self-assembled on single silver nanoprisms into known configurations by the hybridization of thiolated DNA oligomers. We correlate the fluorescence intensity of the dyes to the LSPR of the individual nanoprism to which they are attached. For each of three different organic dyes, we observe a strong correlation between the fluorescence intensity of the dye and the degree of spectral overlap with the plasmon resonance of the nanoparticle. On average, we observe the brightest fluorescence from dyes attached to metal nanoparticles that have a LSPR scattering peak 40--120 meV higher in energy than the emission peak of the fluorophore. Second, the plasmon-enhanced fluorescence from CdSe/CdS/CdZnS/ZnS core/shell quantum dots is studied near a variety of silver and gold nanoparticles. With single-particle scattering spectroscopy, the localized surface plasmon resonance spectra of single metal nanoparticles is correlated with the photoluminescence excitation (PLE) spectra of the nearby quantum dots. The PLE spectra closely track the scattering spectra of the metal nanoparticles. By taking advantage of the ability to excite quantum dots across a wide range of wavelengths while detecting a single emission wavelength, we measure an excitation enhancement factor for single metal nanoparticles. The data also provide a calculation of a lower-bound of experimentally attainable enhancement factors solely due to increased near-field excitation. This factor was found to range from ˜3 to 10 for Au spheres, Ag cubes and Ag nanoprisms.

Non-von Neumann computing using plasmon particles interacting with phase change materials (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saiki, Toshiharu

2016-09-01

Control of localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) excited on metal nanostructures has drawn attention for applications in dynamic switching of plasmonic devices. As a reversible active media for LSPR control, chalcogenide phase-change materials (PCMs) such as GeSbTe (GST) are promising for high-contrast robust plasmonic switching. Owing to the plasticity and the threshold behavior during both amorphization and crystallization of PCMs, PCM-based LSPR switching elements possess a dual functionality of memory and processing. Integration of LSPR switching elements so that they interact with each other will allow us to build non-von-Neumann computing devices. As a specific demonstration, we discuss the implementation of a cellular automata (CA) algorithm into interacting LSPR switching elements. In the model we propose, PCM cells, which can be in one of two states (amorphous and crystalline), interact with each other by being linked by a AuNR, whose LSPR peak wavelength is determined by the phase of PCM cells on the both sides. The CA program proceeds by irradiating with a light pulse train. The local rule set is defined by the temperature rise in the PCM cells induced by the LSPR of the AuNR, which is subject to the intensity and wavelength of the irradiating pulse. We also investigate the possibility of solving a problem analogous to the spin-glass problem by using a coupled dipole system, in which the individual coupling strengths can be modified to optimize the system so that the exact solution can be easily reached. For this algorithm, we propose an implementation based on an idea that coupled plasmon particles can create long-range spatial correlations, and the interaction of this with a phase-change material allows the coupling strength to be modified.

Nonlinear magneto-plasmonics

DOE PAGES

Zheng, Wei; Liu, Xiao; Hanbicki, Aubrey T.; ...

2015-10-19

Nonlinear magneto-plasmonics (NMP) describes systems where nonlinear optics, magnetics and plasmonics are all involved. In such systems, nonlinear magneto-optical Kerr effect (nonlinear MOKE) plays an important role as a characterization method, and Surface Plasmons (SPs) work as catalyst to induce many new effects. Magnetization-induced second-harmonic generation (MSHG) is the major nonlinear magneto-optical process involved. The new effects include enhanced MSHG, controlled and enhanced magnetic contrast, etc. Nanostructures such as thin films, nanoparticles, nanogratings, and nanoarrays are critical for the excitation of SPs, which makes NMP an interdisciplinary research field in nanoscience and nanotechnology. In this review article, we organize recentmore » work in this field into two categories: surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) representing propagating surface plasmons, and localized surface plasmons (LSPs), also called particle plasmons. We review the structures, experiments, findings, and the applications of NMP from various groups.« less

Acousto-optical Transducer with Surface Plasmons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kolomenskii, A. A.; Surovic, E.; Schuessler, H. A.

2018-04-01

The surface plasmon resonance (SPR) is a sensitive technique for the detection of changes in dielectric parameters in close proximity to a metal film supporting surface plasmon waves. Here we study the application of the SPR effect to an efficient conversion of an acoustic signal into an optical one. Such a transducer potentially has a large bandwidth and good sensitivity. When an acoustic wave is incident onto a receiving plate positioned within the penetration depth of the surface plasmons, it creates displacements of the surface of the plate and, thus, modulates the dielectric properties in the proximity of the gold film. This modulation, in turn, modifies the light reflection under surface plasmon resonance conditions. We simulate characteristics of this acousto-optical transducer with surface plasmons and provide sets of parameters at the optical wavelength of 800 nm and 633 nm for its realization.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lin, Chun-Han; Su, Chia-Ying; Chen, Chung-Hui

Further reduction of the efficiency droop effect and further enhancements of internal quantum efficiency (IQE) and output intensity of a surface plasmon coupled, blue-emitting light-emitting diode (LED) by inserting a dielectric interlayer (DI) of a lower refractive index between p-GaN and surface Ag nanoparticles are demonstrated. The insertion of a DI leads to a blue shift of the localized surface plasmon (LSP) resonance spectrum and increases the LSP coupling strength at the quantum well emitting wavelength in the blue range. With SiO{sub 2} as the DI, a thinner DI leads to a stronger LSP coupling effect, when compared with themore » case of a thicker DI. By using GaZnO, which is a dielectric in the optical range and a good conductor under direct-current operation, as the DI, the LSP coupling results in the highest IQE, highest LED output intensity, and weakest droop effect.« less

Design, Fabrication, and Characterization of Metamaterials for Transformation Optics and Focusing Applications

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-02-11

of refraction in the region of the “lens”, successfully focusing surface plasmon polaritons (SPP). SUPERABSORBERS: The team used the Rigorous Coupled...PLASMONIC FOCUSING: The team constructed a device capable of splitting and focusing surface plasmon polaritons into different locations depending on the...surface plasmon polaritons , plasmonics 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: 17. LIMITATION OF ABSTRACT SAR 18, NUMBER OF PAGES 19 19a. NAME

Optical properties and plasmonic response of silver-gallium nanostructures

DOE PAGES

Lereu, Aude; Lemarchand, F.; Zerrad, M.; ...

2015-02-12

Silver and gallium form an alloy Ag 2Ga via a room temperature spontaneous self-assembly that exhibits remarkable mechanical and electrical properties [1] suitable for nanoscale measurements [2]. However, whether photon excitation of plasmons in this emerging nanomaterial is retained or not has not been established. Here, we present a thin lm formation of Ag 2Ga via a spreading- reactive process of liquid Ga on an Ag lm and a characterization of its dielectric function (E) = 1(E) - i 2(E) in the photon energy range 1.42 eV E <4.2 eV. It is observed that while the plasmon damping increases, nearmore » an energy of 3.4 eV, the real part of exhibits a crossing with respect to that of Ag. Furthermore, the impact of new plasmon supporting materials [3] is discussed and in order to enable further applications in plasmonics, the possibility of photon excitation of surface plasmons in Ag 2Ga is studied.« less

From tunable core-shell nanoparticles to plasmonic drawbridges: Active control of nanoparticle optical properties

PubMed Central

Byers, Chad P.; Zhang, Hui; Swearer, Dayne F.; Yorulmaz, Mustafa; Hoener, Benjamin S.; Huang, Da; Hoggard, Anneli; Chang, Wei-Shun; Mulvaney, Paul; Ringe, Emilie; Halas, Naomi J.; Nordlander, Peter; Link, Stephan; Landes, Christy F.

2015-01-01

The optical properties of metallic nanoparticles are highly sensitive to interparticle distance, giving rise to dramatic but frequently irreversible color changes. By electrochemical modification of individual nanoparticles and nanoparticle pairs, we induced equally dramatic, yet reversible, changes in their optical properties. We achieved plasmon tuning by oxidation-reduction chemistry of Ag-AgCl shells on the surfaces of both individual and strongly coupled Au nanoparticle pairs, resulting in extreme but reversible changes in scattering line shape. We demonstrated reversible formation of the charge transfer plasmon mode by switching between capacitive and conductive electronic coupling mechanisms. Dynamic single-particle spectroelectrochemistry also gave an insight into the reaction kinetics and evolution of the charge transfer plasmon mode in an electrochemically tunable structure. Our study represents a highly useful approach to the precise tuning of the morphology of narrow interparticle gaps and will be of value for controlling and activating a range of properties such as extreme plasmon modulation, nanoscopic plasmon switching, and subnanometer tunable gap applications. PMID:26665175

Design and Simulation of Surface Plasmon Resonance Sensors for Environmental Monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mahmood, Aseel I.; Ibrahim, Rawa Kh; Mahmood, Aml I.; Ibrahim, Zainab Kh

2018-05-01

In this work a Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) sensor based on Photonic Crystal Fiber (PCF) infiltrated with water samples has been proposed. To accurate detection of the sample properties, gold is used as plasmonic material. The air holes of PCF has been infiltrated with water samples, the optical properties of these samples has been taken from samples collected from Al-Qadisiya and Wathba lab. (east Tigris, Wathba, and Al-Rasheed) water projects at Baghdad- Iraq. Finite Element Method (FEM) has been used to study the sensor performance and fiber properties. From the numerical investigation we get maximum sensitivity circa 164.3 nm/RIU in the sensing range of 1.33 (of STD water) to 1.3431 (of river sample). The proposed sensor could be developed to detect f various high refractive index (RI) chemicals like the heavy metals in water.

The influence of surface plasmons on fluorescence of the dye Lumogen F red 300 in condensed phase

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reisfeld, Renata; Levchenko, Viktoria

2017-01-01

The paper is divided to two parts one is a short description of scientific activity of Georges Boulon and my long standing friendship with him, the second part consists of the new findings of increasing fluorescence by surface plasmons studies performed recently in Jerusalem. We describe the synthesis of copper nanoparticles and their incorporation into polyvinylpyrrolidone and into sol-gel matrix co-doped with the fluorescent dye Lumogen F Red 300. The absorption and emission spectra of samples undoped and co-doped with nanoparticles reveal the increase of fluorescence of the dye in presence of copper nanoparticles. The phenomenon arises from scattered light by the nanoparticles.

Tunable optical properties of plasmonic Au/Al2O3 nanocomposite thin films analyzed by spectroscopic ellipsometry accounting surface characteristics.

PubMed

Jaiswal, Jyoti; Mourya, Satyendra; Malik, Gaurav; Chandra, Ramesh

2018-05-01

In the present work, we have fabricated plasmonic gold/alumina nanocomposite (Au/Al 2 O 3 NC) thin films on a glass substrate at room temperature by RF magnetron co-sputtering. The influence of the film thickness (∼10-40  nm) on the optical and other physical properties of the samples was investigated and correlated with the structural and compositional properties. The X-ray diffractometer measurement revealed the formation of Au nanoparticles with average crystallite size (5-9.2 nm) embedded in an amorphous Al 2 O 3 matrix. The energy-dispersive X ray and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results confirmed the formation of Au/Al 2 O 3 NC quantitatively and qualitatively and it was observed that atomic% of Au increased by increasing thickness. The optical constants of the plasmonic Au/Al 2 O 3 NC thin films were examined by variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry in the wide spectral range of 246-1688 nm, accounting the surface characteristics in the optical stack model, and the obtained results are expected to be unique. Additionally, a thickness-dependent blueshift (631-590 nm) of surface plasmon resonance peak was observed in the absorption spectra. These findings of the plasmonic Au/Al 2 O 3 NC films may allow the design and fabrication of small, compact, and efficient devices for optoelectronic and photonic applications.

Transition-Metal Decorated Aluminum Nanocrystals.

PubMed

Swearer, Dayne F; Leary, Rowan K; Newell, Ryan; Yazdi, Sadegh; Robatjazi, Hossein; Zhang, Yue; Renard, David; Nordlander, Peter; Midgley, Paul A; Halas, Naomi J; Ringe, Emilie

2017-10-24

Recently, aluminum has been established as an earth-abundant alternative to gold and silver for plasmonic applications. Particularly, aluminum nanocrystals have shown to be promising plasmonic photocatalysts, especially when coupled with catalytic metals or oxides into "antenna-reactor" heterostructures. Here, a simple polyol synthesis is presented as a flexible route to produce aluminum nanocrystals decorated with eight varieties of size-tunable transition-metal nanoparticle islands, many of which have precedence as heterogeneous catalysts. High-resolution and three-dimensional structural analysis using scanning transmission electron microscopy and electron tomography shows that abundant nanoparticle island decoration in the catalytically relevant few-nanometer size range can be achieved, with many islands spaced closely to their neighbors. When coupled with the Al nanocrystal plasmonic antenna, these small decorating islands will experience increased light absorption and strong hot-spot generation. This combination makes transition-metal decorated aluminum nanocrystals a promising material platform to develop plasmonic photocatalysis, surface-enhanced spectroscopies, and quantum plasmonics.

Superior plasmon absorption in iron-doped gold nanoparticles.

PubMed

Amendola, Vincenzo; Saija, Rosalba; Maragò, Onofrio M; Iatì, Maria Antonia

2015-05-21

Although the excitation of localized surface plasmons is associated with enhanced scattering and absorption of incoming photons, only the latter is relevant for the efficient conversion of light into heat. Here we show that the absorption cross section of gold nanoparticles is sensibly increased when iron is included in the lattice as a substitutional dopant, i.e. in a gold-iron nanoalloy. Such an increase is size and shape dependent, with the best performance observed in nanoshells where a 90-190% improvement is found in a size range that is crucial for practical applications. Our findings are unexpected according to the common belief and previous experimental observations that alloys of Au with transition metals show a depressed plasmonic response. These results are promising for the design of efficient plasmonic converters of light into heat and pave the way to more in-depth investigations of the plasmonic properties in noble metal nanoalloys.

Retrieving plasmonic near-field information: A quantum-mechanical model for streaking photoelectron spectroscopy of gold nanospheres

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Jianxiong; Saydanzad, Erfan; Thumm, Uwe

2016-11-01

Streaked photoemission from nanostructures is characterized by size- and material-dependent nanometer-scale variations of the induced nanoplasmonic response to the electronic field of the streaking pulse and thus holds promise of allowing photoelectron imaging with both subfemtosecond temporal and nanometer spatial resolution. In order to scrutinize the driven collective electronic dynamics in 10-200-nm-diameter gold nanospheres, we calculated the plasmonic field induced by streaking pulses in the infrared and visible spectral range and developed a quantum-mechanical model for streaked photoemission by extreme ultraviolet pulses. Our simulated photoelectron spectra reveal a significant amplitude enhancement and phase shift of the photoelectron streaking trace relative to calculations that exclude the induced plasmonic field. Both are most pronounced for streaking pulses tuned to the plasmon frequency and retrace the plasmonic electromagnetic field enhancement and phase shift near the nanosphere surface.

Quantum-cascade lasers in the 7-8 μm spectral range with full top metallization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kurochkin, A. S.; Babichev, A. V.; Denisov, D. V.; Karachinsky, L. Ya; Novikov, I. I.; Sofronov, A. N.; Firsov, D. A.; Vorobjev, L. E.; Bousseksou, A.; Egorov, A. Yu

2018-03-01

The paper demonstrates the generation of multistage quantum-cascade lasers (QCL) in the 7-8 μm spectral range in the pulse generation mode. The active region structure we used is based on a two-phonon resonance scheme. The QCL heterostructure based on a heteropair of In0.53Ga0.47As/Al0.48In0.52As solid alloys was grown by molecular beam epitaxy and includes 50 identical stages. A waveguide geometry with top cladding with full top metallization (surface- plasmon quantum-cascade lasers) has been used. The developed QCLs have demonstrated multimodal generation in the 7-8 μm spectral range in the pulse mode in the 78-250 K temperature range. The threshold current density for a 1.6 mm long laser and a 20 μm ridge width amounted to ˜ 2.8 kA/cm2 at a temperature of 78 К. A temperature increase to 250 K causes a long-wave shift of the wavelength from 7.6 to 7.9 μm and a jth increase to 5.0 kA/cm2.

Single-crystalline aluminum film for ultraviolet plasmonic nanolasers

PubMed Central

Chou, Bo-Tsun; Chou, Yu-Hsun; Wu, Yen-Mo; Chung, Yi-Cheng; Hsueh, Wei-Jen; Lin, Shih-Wei; Lu, Tien-Chang; Lin, Tzy-Rong; Lin, Sheng-Di

2016-01-01

Significant advances have been made in the development of plasmonic devices in the past decade. Plasmonic nanolasers, which display interesting properties, have come to play an important role in biomedicine, chemical sensors, information technology, and optical integrated circuits. However, nanoscale plasmonic devices, particularly those operating in the ultraviolet regime, are extremely sensitive to the metal and interface quality. Thus, these factors have a significant bearing on the development of ultraviolet plasmonic devices. Here, by addressing these material-related issues, we demonstrate a low-threshold, high-characteristic-temperature metal-oxide-semiconductor ZnO nanolaser that operates at room temperature. The template for the ZnO nanowires consists of a flat single-crystalline Al film grown by molecular beam epitaxy and an ultrasmooth Al2O3 spacer layer synthesized by atomic layer deposition. By effectively reducing the surface plasmon scattering and metal intrinsic absorption losses, the high-quality metal film and the sharp interfaces formed between the layers boost the device performance. This work should pave the way for the use of ultraviolet plasmonic nanolasers and related devices in a wider range of applications. PMID:26814581

Localized surface plasmon resonance modulation of totally encapsulated VO2/Au/VO2 composite structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liang, Jiran; Guo, Jinbang; Zhao, Yirui; Zhang, Ying; Su, Tianyu

2018-07-01

We design and fabricate a totally encapsulated VO2/Au/VO2 composite structure which is aimed to improve the tunability of the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) peak. In this work, the structure will ensure all the Au NPs’ resonant electric field area is filled with VO2. The modulation range of the totally encapsulated structure is larger than that of the semi-coated structure. To further improve the modulation range, we also explore the VO2 thickness dependence of the structure’s LSPR modulation. With the increase of the top layer VO2 thin film thickness, the modulation range becomes larger. When the thickness is about 80 nm, the absorption peak achieves a largest shift of 112 nm. FDTD solution and equivalent model of series capacitor are used to explain the phenomenon. These results will contribute to the area of metamaterial electromagnetic wave absorber and other fields.

Localized surface plasmon resonance modulation of totally encapsulated VO2/Au/VO2 composite structure.

PubMed

Liang, Jiran; Guo, Jinbang; Zhao, Yirui; Zhang, Ying; Su, Tianyu

2018-07-06

We design and fabricate a totally encapsulated VO 2 /Au/VO 2 composite structure which is aimed to improve the tunability of the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) peak. In this work, the structure will ensure all the Au NPs' resonant electric field area is filled with VO 2 . The modulation range of the totally encapsulated structure is larger than that of the semi-coated structure. To further improve the modulation range, we also explore the VO 2 thickness dependence of the structure's LSPR modulation. With the increase of the top layer VO 2 thin film thickness, the modulation range becomes larger. When the thickness is about 80 nm, the absorption peak achieves a largest shift of 112 nm. FDTD solution and equivalent model of series capacitor are used to explain the phenomenon. These results will contribute to the area of metamaterial electromagnetic wave absorber and other fields.

Adjustable microscopic measurement of nanogap waveguide and plasmonic structures.

PubMed

Shen, Mengqi; Learkthanakhachon, Supannee; Pechprasarn, Suejit; Zhang, Yaping; Somekh, Michael G

2018-05-01

We investigate the performance of surface plasmon and Fabry-Perot modes formed between two closely spaced layers. The motivation for this study is twofold: first, to look for modes that may be excited at lower incident angles compared to the usual Kretschmann configuration with similar or superior refractive index responsivity and, second, to develop a simple and applicable method to study these structures over a wide range of separations without recourse to the construction of ad hoc structures. Using back focal plane observation and appropriate signal processing, we show results for the Otto configuration at visible wavelengths at a range of separations not reported hitherto. Moreover, we investigate a hybrid structure we call the Kretschmann-Otto configuration that gives modes that change continuously from a hybridized surface plasmon mode to a zero-order Fabry-Perot mode. The ability to change the separation to small gap distances enables us to examine the Fabry-Perot modes where we show that it has superior refractive index responsivity, by more than an order of magnitude, compared to the Kretschmann configuration.

Devices based on surface plasmon interference filters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wang, Yu (Inventor)

2001-01-01

Devices based on surface plasmon filters having at least one metal-dielectric interface to support surface plasmon waves. A multi-layer-coupled surface plasmon notch filter is provided to have more than two symmetric metal-dielectric interfaces coupled with one another to produce a transmission spectral window with desired spectral profile and bandwidth. Such notch filters can form various color filtering devices for color flat panel displays.

Broadband surface plasmon jets: direct observation of plasmon propagation for application to sensors and optical communications in microscale and nanoscale circuitry

DOEpatents

Bouhelier, Alexandre [Westmont, IL; Wiederrecht, Gary P [Elmhurst, IL

2008-02-19

A system and method for generating and using broadband surface plasmons in a metal film for characterization of analyte on or near the metal film. The surface plasmons interact with the analyte and generate leakage radiation which has spectral features which can be used to inspect, identify and characterize the analyte. The broadband plasmon excitation enables high-bandwidth photonic applications.

A Room Temperature Low-Threshold Ultraviolet Plasmonic Nanolaser

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-09-23

Here we demonstrate the first strong room temperature ultraviolet (B370 nm) SP polariton laser with an extremely low threshold (B3.5MWcm 2). We find...localized surface plasmon and propagating surface plasmon polariton (SPP), has been demonstrated in metal nanosphere cavities6, metal-cladding...Quantum plasmonics. Nat. Phys. 9, 329–340 (2013). 4. Berini, P. & De Leon, I. Surface plasmon- polariton amplifiers and lasers. Nat. Photon. 6, 16–24 (2012

Design and fabrication of an angle-scanning based platform for the construction of surface plasmon resonance biosensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Jiandong; Cao, Baiqiong; Wang, Shun; Li, Jianwei; Wei, Wensong; Zhao, Yuanyuan; Hu, Xinran; Zhu, Juanhua; Jiang, Min; Sun, Xiaohui; Chen, Ruipeng; Ma, Liuzheng

2016-03-01

A sensing system for an angle-scanning optical surface-plasmon-resonance (SPR) based biosensor has been designed with a laser line generator in which a P polarizer is embedded to utilize as an excitation source for producing the surface plasmon wave. In this system, the emitting beam from the laser line generator is controlled to realize the angle-scanning using a variable speed direct current (DC) motor. The light beam reflected from the prism deposited with a 50 nm Au film is then captured using the area CCD array which was controlled by a personal computer (PC) via a universal serial bus (USB) interface. The photoelectric signals from the high speed digital camera (an area CCD array) were converted by a 16 bit A/D converter before it transferred to the PC. One of the advantages of this SPR biosensing platform is greatly demonstrated by the label-free and real-time bio-molecular analysis without moving the area CCD array by following the laser line generator. It also could provide a low-cost surface plasmon resonance platform to improve the detection range in the measurement of bioanalytes. The SPR curve displayed on the PC screen promptly is formed by the effective data from the image on the area CCD array and the sensing responses of the platform to bulk refractive indices were calibrated using various concentrations of ethanol solution. These ethanol concentrations indicated with volumetric fraction of 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, and 25%, respectively, were experimented to validate the performance of the angle-scanning optic SPR biosensing platform. As a result, the SPR sensor was capable to detect a change in the refractive index of the ethanol solution with the relative high linearity at the correlation coefficient of 0.9842. This greatly enhanced detection range is obtained from the position relationship between the laser line generator and the right-angle prism to allow direct quantification of the samples over a wide range of concentrations.

Nanopatterned submicron pores as a shield for nonspecific binding in surface plasmon resonance-based sensing.

PubMed

Raz, Sabina Rebe; Marchesini, Gerardo R; Bremer, Maria G E G; Colpo, Pascal; Garcia, Cesar Pascual; Guidetti, Guido; Norde, Willem; Rossi, Francois

2012-11-21

We present a novel approach to tackle the most common drawback of using surface plasmon resonance for analyte screening in complex biological matrices--the nonspecific binding to the sensor chip surface. By using a perforated membrane supported by a polymeric gel structure at the evanescent wave penetration depth, we have fabricated a non-fouling sieve above the sensing region. The sieve shields the evanescent wave from nonspecific interactions which interfere with SPR sensing by minimizing the fouled area of the polymeric gel and preventing the translocation of large particles, e.g. micelles or aggregates. The nanopatterned macropores were fabricated by means of colloidal lithography and plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition of a polyethylene oxide-like film on top of a polymeric gel matrix commonly used in surface plasmon resonance analysis. The sieve was characterized using surface plasmon resonance imaging, contact angle, atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The performance of the sieve was studied using an immunoassay for detection of antibiotic residues in full fat milk and porcine serum. The non-fouling membrane presented pores in the 92-138 nm range organized in a hexagonal crystal lattice with a clearance of about 5% of the total surface. Functionally, the membrane with the nanopatterned macropores showed significant improvements in immunoassay robustness and sensitivity in untreated complex samples. The utilization of the sensor built-in sieve for measurements in complex matrices offers reduction in pre-analytical sample preparation steps and thus shortens the total analysis time.

Plasmon-assisted optical vias for photonic ASICS

DOEpatents

Skogen, Erik J.; Vawter, Gregory A.; Tauke-Pedretti, Anna

2017-03-21

The present invention relates to optical vias to optically connect multilevel optical circuits. In one example, the optical via includes a surface plasmon polariton waveguide, and a first optical waveguide formed on a first substrate is coupled to a second optical waveguide formed on a second substrate by the surface plasmon polariton waveguide. In some embodiments, the first optical waveguide includes a transition region configured to convert light from an optical mode to a surface plasmon polariton mode or from a surface plasmon polariton mode to an optical mode.

Absorption-induced scattering and surface plasmon out-coupling from absorber-coated plasmonic metasurfaces

PubMed Central

Petoukhoff, Christopher E.; O'Carroll, Deirdre M.

2015-01-01

Interactions between absorbers and plasmonic metasurfaces can give rise to unique optical properties not present for either of the individual materials and can influence the performance of a host of optical sensing and thin-film optoelectronic applications. Here we identify three distinct mode types of absorber-coated plasmonic metasurfaces: localized and propagating surface plasmons and a previously unidentified optical mode type called absorption-induced scattering. The extinction of the latter mode type can be tuned by controlling the morphology of the absorber coating and the spectral overlap of the absorber with the plasmonic modes. Furthermore, we show that surface plasmons are backscattered when the crystallinity of the absorber is low but are absorbed for more crystalline absorber coatings. This work furthers our understanding of light–matter interactions between absorbers and surface plasmons to enable practical optoelectronic applications of metasurfaces. PMID:26271900

K-space polarimetry of bullseye plasmon antennas

PubMed Central

Osorio, Clara I.; Mohtashami, Abbas; Koenderink, A. Femius

2015-01-01

Surface plasmon resonators can drastically redistribute incident light over different output wave vectors and polarizations. This can lead for instance to sub-diffraction sized nanoapertures in metal films that beam and to nanoparticle antennas that enable efficient conversion of photons between spatial modes, or helicity channels. We present a polarimetric Fourier microscope as a new experimental tool to completely characterize the angle-dependent polarization-resolved scattering of single nanostructures. Polarimetry allows determining the full Stokes parameters from just six Fourier images. The degree of polarization and the polarization ellipse are measured for each scattering direction collected by a high NA objective. We showcase the method on plasmonic bullseye antennas in a metal film, which are known to beam light efficiently. We find rich results for the polarization state of the beamed light, including complete conversion of input polarization from linear to circular and from one helicity to another. In addition to uncovering new physics for plasmonic groove antennas, the described technique projects to have a large impact in nanophotonics, in particular towards the investigation of a broad range of phenomena ranging from photon spin Hall effects, polarization to orbital angular momentum transfer and design of plasmon antennas. PMID:25927570

K-space polarimetry of bullseye plasmon antennas.

PubMed

Osorio, Clara I; Mohtashami, Abbas; Koenderink, A Femius

2015-04-30

Surface plasmon resonators can drastically redistribute incident light over different output wave vectors and polarizations. This can lead for instance to sub-diffraction sized nanoapertures in metal films that beam and to nanoparticle antennas that enable efficient conversion of photons between spatial modes, or helicity channels. We present a polarimetric Fourier microscope as a new experimental tool to completely characterize the angle-dependent polarization-resolved scattering of single nanostructures. Polarimetry allows determining the full Stokes parameters from just six Fourier images. The degree of polarization and the polarization ellipse are measured for each scattering direction collected by a high NA objective. We showcase the method on plasmonic bullseye antennas in a metal film, which are known to beam light efficiently. We find rich results for the polarization state of the beamed light, including complete conversion of input polarization from linear to circular and from one helicity to another. In addition to uncovering new physics for plasmonic groove antennas, the described technique projects to have a large impact in nanophotonics, in particular towards the investigation of a broad range of phenomena ranging from photon spin Hall effects, polarization to orbital angular momentum transfer and design of plasmon antennas.

Plasmonic nanoparticles enhanced dye-sensitized solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Qi; Liu, Fang; Meng, Weisi; Huang, Yidong

2013-12-01

Here we present investigations on utilizing two kinds of plasmonic nanoparticles (NPs) to enhance the efficiency of dye sensitized solar cells (DSCs). The Au@PVP NPs is proposed and present the specialty of adhesiveness to dye molecules, which could help to localize additional dye molecules near the plasmonic NPs, hence increasing the optical absorption consequently the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the DSCs by 30% from 3.3% to 4.3%. Meanwhile, an irregular Au-Ag alloy popcorn-shaped NPs (popcorn NPs) with plenty of fine structures is also proposed and realized to enhance the light absorption of DSC. A pronounced absorption enhancement in a broadband wavelength range is observed due to the excitation of localized surface plasmon at different wavelengths. The PCE is enhanced by 32% from 5.94% to 7.85%.

EDITORIAL: Focus on Plasmonics FOCUS ON PLASMONICS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bozhevolnyi, Sergey; García-Vidal, Francisco

2008-10-01

Plasmonics is an emerging field in optics dealing with the so-called surface plasmons whose extraordinary properties are being both analyzed from a fundamental point of view and exploited for numerous technological applications. Surface plasmons associated with surface electron density oscillations decorating metal-dielectric interfaces were discovered by Rufus Ritchie in the 1950s. Since the seventies, the subwavelength confinement of electromagnetic fields as well as their enhancement inherent to the surface plasmon excitation has been widely used for spectroscopic purposes. Recent advances in nano-fabrication, characterization and modelling techniques have allowed unique properties of these surface electromagnetic modes to be explored with respect to subwavelength field localization and waveguiding, opening the path to truly nanoscale plasmonic optical devices. This area of investigation also has interesting links with research on photonic band gap materials and the field of optical metamaterials. Nowadays, plasmonics can be seen as a mature interdisciplinary area of research in which scientists coming from different backgrounds (chemistry, physics, optics and engineering) strive to discover and exploit new and exciting phenomena associated with surface plasmons. The already made and forthcoming discoveries will have impacts in many fields of science and technology, including not only photonics and materials science but also computation, biology and medicine, among others. This focus issue of New Journal of Physics is intended to cover all the aforementioned capabilities of surface plasmons by presenting a current overview of state-of-the-art advances achieved by the leading groups in this field of research. The below list of articles represents the first contributions to the collection and further additions will appear soon. Focus on Plasmonics Contents Nanoantenna array-induced fluorescence enhancement and reduced lifetimes Reuben M Bakker, Vladimir P Drachev, Zhengtong Liu, Hsiao-Kuan Yuan, Rasmus H Pedersen, Alexandra Boltasseva, Jiji Chen, Joseph Irudayaraj, Alexander V Kildishev and Vladimir M Shalaev Confinement and propagation characteristics of subwavelength plasmonic modes R F Oulton, G Bartal, D F P Pile and X Zhang Theory on the scattering of light and surface plasmon polaritons by arrays of holes and dimples in a metal film F de León-Pérez, G Brucoli, F J García-Vidal and L Martín-Moreno Shaping and manipulation of light fields with bottom-up plasmonic structures C Girard, E Dujardin, G Baffou and R Quidant Gold nanorods and nanospheroids for enhancing spontaneous emission A Mohammadi, V Sandoghdar and M Agio Generation of surface plasmons at single subwavelength slits: from slit to ridge plasmon J-Y Laluet, A Drezet, C Genet and T W Ebbesen Mode mapping of plasmonic stars using TPL microscopy P Ghenuche, S Cherukulappurath and R Quidant Controlling optical transmission through magneto-plasmonic crystals with an external magnetic field G A Wurtz, W Hendren, R Pollard, R Atkinson, L Le Guyader, A Kirilyuk, Th Rasing, I I Smolyaninov and A V Zayats Nanoplasmonic renormalization and enhancement of Coulomb interactions M Durach, A Rusina, V I Klimov and M I Stockman Bulk and surface sensitivities of surface plasmon waveguides Pierre Berini Mapping plasmons in nanoantennas via cathodoluminescence R Gómez-Medina, N Yamamoto, M Nakano and F J García de Abajo Theoretical analysis of gold nano-strip gap plasmon resonators T Søndergaard, J Jung, S I Bozhevolnyi and G Della Valle Surface plasmon polariton-mediated enhancement of the emission of dye molecules on metallic gratings J Gómez Rivas, G Vecchi and V Giannini Nanoshells to nanoeggs to nanocups: optical properties of reduced symmetry core-shell nanoparticles beyond the quasistatic limit Mark W Knight and Naomi J Halas Single emitters coupled to plasmonic nano-antennas: angular emission and collection efficiency T H Taminiau, F D Stefani and N F van Hulst Green's tensor calculations of plasmon resonances of single holes and hole pairs in thin gold films Joan Alegret, Peter Johansson and Mikael Käll Optical and terahertz near-field studies of surface plasmons in subwavelength metallic slits K J Ahn, K G Lee, H W Kihm, M A Seo, A J L Adam, P C M Planken and D S Kim Fluorescence enhancement through modified dye molecule absorption associated with the localized surface plasmon resonances of metallic dimers George Zoriniants and William L Barnes

Surface plasmon resonance and polarization change properties in centrosymmetric nanoright-triangle dimer arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Qilin; Liu, Guangqiang; Chen, Yiqing; Zhao, Qian; Guo, Jing; Yang, Shaosong; Cai, Weiping

2018-03-01

Dimer nanoparticles in a sandwich structure exhibit a large electric-field intensity enhancement. The dispersion relation between the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and particle size has not been reported yet, owing to the effects of the particle size, shape, materials, etc. A sandwich structure, which contains a nano-right-triangle dimer array, SiO2 spacer, and Au film, is proposed, with a significant electric-field intensity enhancement and polarization-changing properties. The dependence of the peak positions of the two localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) modes as a function of the triangle thicknesses is discussed; different trends are observed for the different LSPR modes. We introduce a concept on the rule for LSPR peak position change, which can contribute to a better understanding of the LSPR modes. In addition, centrosymmetric but not axisymmetric structures, which like in our study exhibit surface plasmon polaritons typically show different responses to a different polarization of the incident light. Here, we showed that our centrosymmetric but not axisymmetric structure can change the linearly polarized light into a circularly or elliptically polarized wave, by surface plasmon-induced polarization properties. Far-field distribution maps are used to study the properties of the surface plasmons-induced circular or elliptic polarization wave. These findings could be employed to better understand the surface plasmon-induced polarization properties showed in previous reports and near-field of surface plasmons. These findings could be employed to better understand the near-field of surface plasmons and polarization properties.

Partially coherent axiconic surface plasmon polariton fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Yahong; Norrman, Andreas; Ponomarenko, Sergey A.; Friberg, Ari T.

2018-04-01

We introduce a class of structured polychromatic surface electromagnetic fields, reminiscent of conventional optical axicon fields, through a judicious superposition of partially correlated surface plasmon polaritons. We show that such partially coherent axiconic surface plasmon polariton fields are structurally stable and statistically highly versatile with regard to spectral density, polarization state, energy flow, and degree of coherence. These fields can be created by plasmon coherence engineering and may prove instrumental broadly in surface physics and in various nanophotonics applications.

Coherent Femtosecond Spectroscopy and Nonlinear Optical Imaging on the Nanoscale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kravtsov, Vasily

Optical properties of many materials and macroscopic systems are defined by ultrafast dynamics of electronic, vibrational, and spin excitations localized on the nanoscale. Harnessing these excitations for material engineering, optical computing, and control of chemical reactions has been a long-standing goal in science and technology. However, it is challenging due to the lack of spectroscopic techniques that can resolve processes simultaneously on the nanometer spatial and femtosecond temporal scales. This thesis describes the fundamental principles, implementation, and experimental demonstration of a novel type of ultrafast microscopy based on the concept of adiabatic plasmonic nanofocusing. Simultaneous spatio-temporal resolution on a nanometer-femtosecond scale is achieved by using a near-field nonlinear optical response induced by ultrafast surface plasmon polaritons nanofocused on a metal tip. First, we study the surface plasmon response in metallic structures and evaluate its prospects and limitations for ultrafast near-field microscopy. Through plasmon emission-based spectroscopy, we investigate dephasing times and interplay between radiative and non-radiative decay rates of localized plasmons and their modification due to coupling. We identify a new regime of quantum plasmonic coupling, which limits the achievable spatial resolution to several angstroms but at the same time provides a potential channel for generating ultrafast electron currents at optical frequencies. Next, we study propagation of femtosecond wavepackets of surface plasmon polaritons on a metal tip. In time-domain interferometric measurements we detect group delays that correspond to slowing of the plasmon polaritons down to 20% of the speed of light at the tip apex. This provides direct experimental verification of the plasmonic nanofocusing mechanism and suggests enhanced nonlinear optical interactions at the tip apex. We then measure a plasmon-generated third-order nonlinear optical four-wave mixing response from the tip apex and investigate its microscopic mechanism. Our results reveal a significant contribution to the third order nonlinearity of plasmonic structures due to large near-field gradients associated with nanofocused plasmons. In combination with scanning probe imaging and femtosecond pulse shaping, the nanofocused four-wave mixing response provides a basis for a novel type of ultrafast optical microscopy on the nanoscale. We demonstrate its capabilities by nano-imaging the coherent dynamics of localized plasmonic modes in a rough gold film edge with simultaneous sub-50 nm spatial and sub-5 fs temporal resolution. We capture the coherent decay and extract the dephasing times of individual plasmonic modes. Lastly, we apply our technique to study nanoscale spatial heterogeneity of the nonlinear optical response in novel two-dimensional materials: monolayer and few-layer graphene. An enhanced four-wave mixing signal is revealed on the edges of graphene flakes. We investigate the mechanism of this enhancement by performing nano-imaging on a graphene field-effect transistor with the variable carrier density controlled by electrostatic gating.

SPM of nonlinear surface plasmon waveguides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Yuee; Zhang, Xiaoping

2008-10-01

Pulse propagation equation of nonlinear dispersion surface plasmon waveguide is educed strictly from wave equation. The nonlinear coefficient is defined and then used to assess and compare the nonlinear characteristic of three popular 1-D surface plasmon waveguides: the single metal-dielectric interface, the metal slab bounded by dielectric and the dielectric slab bounded by metal. SPM (self-phase modulation) of the typical surface plasmon waveguide is predicted and discussed.

Self-Similarity of Plasmon Edge Modes on Koch Fractal Antennas.

PubMed

Bellido, Edson P; Bernasconi, Gabriel D; Rossouw, David; Butet, Jérémy; Martin, Olivier J F; Botton, Gianluigi A

2017-11-28

We investigate the plasmonic behavior of Koch snowflake fractal geometries and their possible application as broadband optical antennas. Lithographically defined planar silver Koch fractal antennas were fabricated and characterized with high spatial and spectral resolution using electron energy loss spectroscopy. The experimental data are supported by numerical calculations carried out with a surface integral equation method. Multiple surface plasmon edge modes supported by the fractal structures have been imaged and analyzed. Furthermore, by isolating and reproducing self-similar features in long silver strip antennas, the edge modes present in the Koch snowflake fractals are identified. We demonstrate that the fractal response can be obtained by the sum of basic self-similar segments called characteristic edge units. Interestingly, the plasmon edge modes follow a fractal-scaling rule that depends on these self-similar segments formed in the structure after a fractal iteration. As the size of a fractal structure is reduced, coupling of the modes in the characteristic edge units becomes relevant, and the symmetry of the fractal affects the formation of hybrid modes. This analysis can be utilized not only to understand the edge modes in other planar structures but also in the design and fabrication of fractal structures for nanophotonic applications.

Refractometers for different refractive index range by surface plasmon resonance sensors in multimode optical fibers with different metals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zuppella, P.; Corso, Alain J.; Pelizzo, Maria G.; Cennamo, N.; Zeni, L.

2016-09-01

We have realized a plasmonic sensor based on Au/Pd metal bilayer in a multimode plastic optical fiber. This metal bilayer, based on a metal with high imaginary part of the refractive index and gold, shows interesting properties in terms of sensitivity and performances, in different refractive index ranges. The development of highly sensitive platforms for high refractive index detection (higher than 1.38) is interesting for chemical applications based on molecularly imprinted polymer as receptors, while the aqueous medium is the refractive index range of biosensors based on bio-receptors. In this work we have presented an Au/Pd metal bilayer optimized for 1.38-1.42 refractive index range.

Second harmonic generation from metallo-dielectric multilayered structures in the plasmonic regime.

PubMed

Mattiucci, Nadia; D'Aguanno, Giuseppe; Bloemer, Mark J

2010-11-08

We present a theoretical study on second harmonic generation from metallo-dielectric multilayered structures in the plasmonic regime. In particular we analyze the behavior of structures made of Ag (silver) and MgF2 (magnesium-fluoride) due to the straightforward procedure to grow these materials with standard sputtering or thermal evaporation techniques. A systematic study is performed which analyzes four different kinds of elementary cells--namely (Ag/MgF2)N, (MgF2/Ag)N, (Ag/MgF2/Ag)N and (MgF2/Ag/MgF2)N--as function of the number of periods (N) and the thickness of the layers. We predict the conversion efficiency to be up to three orders of magnitude greater than the conversion efficiency found in the non-plasmonic regime and we point out the best geometries to achieve these conversion efficiencies. We also underline the role played by the short-range/long-range plasmons and leaky waves in the generation process. We perform a statistical study to demonstrate the robustness of the SH process in the plasmonic regime against the inevitable variations in the thickness of the layers. Finally, we show that a proper choice of the output medium can further improve the conversion efficiency reaching an enhancement of almost five orders of magnitude with respect to the non plasmonic regime.

Highly confined surface plasmon polaritons in the ultraviolet region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chubchev, E. D.; Nechepurenko, I. A.; Dorofeenko, A. V.; Vinogradov, A. P.; Lisyansky, A. A.

2018-04-01

We study a surface plasmon polariton mode that is strongly confined in the transverse direction and propagates along a periodically nanostructured metal-dielectric interface. We show that the wavelength of this mode is determined by the period of the structure, and may therefore, be orders of magnitude smaller than the wavelength of a plasmon-polariton propagating along a flat surface. This plasmon polariton exists in the frequency region in which the sum of the real parts of the permittivities of the metal and dielectric is positive, a frequency region in which surface plasmon polaritons do not exist on a flat surface. The propagation length of the new mode can reach a several dozen wavelengths. This mode can be observed in materials that are uncommon in plasmonics, such as aluminum or sodium.

Ultracompact Pseudowedge Plasmonic Lasers and Laser Arrays.

PubMed

Chou, Yu-Hsun; Hong, Kuo-Bin; Chang, Chun-Tse; Chang, Tsu-Chi; Huang, Zhen-Ting; Cheng, Pi-Ju; Yang, Jhen-Hong; Lin, Meng-Hsien; Lin, Tzy-Rong; Chen, Kuo-Ping; Gwo, Shangjr; Lu, Tien-Chang

2018-02-14

Concentrating light at the deep subwavelength scale by utilizing plasmonic effects has been reported in various optoelectronic devices with intriguing phenomena and functionality. Plasmonic waveguides with a planar structure exhibit a two-dimensional degree of freedom for the surface plasmon; the degree of freedom can be further reduced by utilizing metallic nanostructures or nanoparticles for surface plasmon resonance. Reduction leads to different lightwave confinement capabilities, which can be utilized to construct plasmonic nanolaser cavities. However, most theoretical and experimental research efforts have focused on planar surface plasmon polariton (SPP) nanolasers. In this study, we combined nanometallic structures intersecting with ZnO nanowires and realized the first laser emission based on pseudowedge SPP waveguides. Relative to current plasmonic nanolasers, the pseudowedge plasmonic lasers reported in our study exhibit extremely small mode volumes, high group indices, high spontaneous emission factors, and high Purell factors beneficial for the strong interaction between light and matter. Furthermore, we demonstrated that compact plasmonic laser arrays can be constructed, which could benefit integrated plasmonic circuits.

Relative merits of phononics vs. plasmonics: the energy balance approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khurgin, Jacob B.

2018-01-01

The common feature of various plasmonic schemes is their ability to confine optical fields of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) into subwavelength volumes and thus achieve a large enhancement of linear and nonlinear optical properties. This ability, however, is severely limited by the large ohmic loss inherent to even the best of metals. However, in the mid- and far-infrared ranges of the spectrum, there exists a viable alternative to metals - polar dielectrics and semiconductors, in which dielectric permittivity (the real part) turns negative in the Reststrahlen region. This feature engenders the so-called surface phonon polaritons, capable of confining the field in a way akin to their plasmonic analogs, the SPPs. Since the damping rate of polar phonons is substantially less than that of free electrons, it is not unreasonable to expect that phononic devices may outperform their plasmonic counterparts. Yet a more rigorous analysis of the comparative merits of phononics and plasmonics reveals a more nuanced answer, namely, that while phononic schemes do exhibit narrower resonances and can achieve a very high degree of energy concentration, most of the energy is contained in the form of lattice vibrations so that enhancement of the electric field and, hence, the Purcell factor is rather small compared to what can be achieved with metal nanoantennas. Still, the sheer narrowness of phononic resonances is expected to make phononics viable in applications where frequency selectivity is important.

Organic plasmon-emitting diodes for detecting refractive index variation.

PubMed

Chiu, Nan-Fu; Cheng, Chih-Jen; Huang, Teng-Yi

2013-06-28

A photo-excited organic layer on a metal thin film with a corrugated substrate was used to generate surface plasmon grating coupled emissions (SPGCEs). Directional emissions corresponded to the resonant condition of surface plasmon modes on the Au/air interface. In experimental comparisons of the effects of different pitch sizes on the plasmonic band-gap, the obtained SPGCEs were highly directional, with intensity increases as large as 10.38-fold. The FWHM emission spectrum was less than 70 nm. This method is easily applicable to detecting refractive index changes by using SP-coupled fluorophores in which wavelength emissions vary by viewing angle. The measurements and calculations in this study confirmed that the color wavelength of the SPGCE changed from 545.3 nm to 615.4 nm at certain viewing angles, while the concentration of contacting glucose increased from 10 to 40 wt%, which corresponded to a refractive index increase from 1.3484 to 1.3968. The organic plasmon-emitting diode exhibits a wider linearity range and a resolution of the experimental is 1.056 × 10-3 RIU. The sensitivity of the detection limit for naked eye of the experimental is 0.6 wt%. At a certain viewing angle, a large spectral shift is clearly distinguishable by the naked eye unaided by optoelectronic devices. These experimental results confirm the potential applications of the organic plasmon-emitting diodes in a low-cost, integrated, and disposable refractive-index sensor.

Multi-resonant plasmonic nanodome arrays for label-free biosensing applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choi, Charles J.; Semancik, Steve

2013-08-01

The characteristics and utility of plasmonic nanodome arrays capable of supporting multiple resonance modes are described. A low-cost, large-area replica molding process is used to produce, on flexible plastic substrates, two-dimensional periodic arrays of cylinders that are subsequently coated with SiO2 and Ag thin films to form dome-shaped structures, with 14 nm spacing between the features, in a precise and reproducible fashion. Three distinct optical resonance modes, a grating diffraction mode and two localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) modes, are observed experimentally and confirmed by finite-difference-time-domain (FDTD) modeling which is used to calculate the electromagnetic field distribution of each resonance around the nanodome array structure. Each optical mode is characterized by measuring sensitivity to bulk refractive index changes and to surface effects, which are examined using stacked polyelectrolyte layers. The utility of the plasmonic nanodome array as a functional interface for biosensing applications is demonstrated by performing a bioassay to measure the binding affinity constant between protein A and human immunoglobulin G (IgG) as a model system. The nanoreplica molding process presented in this work allows for simple, inexpensive, high-throughput fabrication of nanoscale plasmonic structures over a large surface area (120 × 120 mm2) without the requirement for high resolution lithography or additional processes such as etching or liftoff. The availability of multiple resonant modes, each with different optical properties, allows the nanodome array surface to address a wide range of biosensing problems with various target analytes of different sizes and configurations.

Surface plasmon resonance sensor using vari-focal liquid lens under angular interrogation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Muyoung; Bang, Yousung; Lee, Jooho; Jang, Wonjae; Won, Yong Hyub

2017-02-01

In this paper, a surface plasmon resonance sensor for the detection of refractive index variation is presented. A novel waveguide type surface plasmon resonance sensing configuration with focal length variable liquid lens is introduced. The method of surface plasmon resonance sensor is based on the waveguide type with incident angle variation. The incident angle is varied by using an electrowetting liquid lens which is possible to actively change focal length as applying voltage. The optical system, which is adapted to electrowetting lens can continuously change the incident angle of light from 73 to 78 degrees with compact size. The surface plasmon waves are excited between metal and dielectric interface. The sensing surfaces are prepared by a coating of gold metal above high refractive index glass substrate. The incident light which is 532nm monochromatic light source passes through a noble metal coated substrate to detect intensity with incident angle variation. An analysis to distinguish the contribution of light with various incident angle is focused on the angular characteristics of the surface plasmon sensor under wavelength interrogation. The resonance angle is determined corresponding to sensing material refractive index with high sensitivity. The result suggests that the performance of surface plasmon resonance sensor can be improved by real time varying incident angle. From this presented study, it provides a different approach for angular interrogation surface plasmon resonance sensor and can be miniaturized for a portable device.

Chiral surface and edge plasmons in ferromagnetic conductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Steven S.-L.; Vignale, Giovanni

2018-06-01

The recently introduced concept of "surface Berry plasmons" is studied in the concrete instance of a ferromagnetic conductor in which the Berry curvature, generated by spin-orbit (SO) interaction, has opposite signs for carrier with spins parallel or antiparallel to the magnetization. By using collisionless hydrodynamic equations with appropriate boundary conditions, we study both the surface plasmons of a three-dimensional ferromagnetic conductor and the edge plasmons of a two-dimensional one. The anomalous velocity and the broken inversion symmetry at the surface or the edge of the conductor create a "handedness" whereby the plasmon frequency depends not only on the angle between the wave vector and the magnetization, but also on the direction of propagation along a given line. In particular, we find that the frequency of the edge plasmon depends on the direction of propagation along the edge. These Berry curvature effects are compared and contrasted with similar effects on plasmon dispersions induced by an external magnetic field in the absence of Berry curvature. We argue that Berry curvature effects may be used to control the direction of propagation of the surface plasmons via coupling with the magnetization of ferromagnetic conductors, and thus create a link between plasmonics and spintronics.

Grating-coupled surface plasmons on InSb: a versatile platform for terahertz plasmonic sensing (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Talbayev, Diyar; Zhou, Jiangfeng; Lin, Shuai; Bhattarai, Khagendra

2017-05-01

Detection and identification of molecular materials based on their THz frequency vibrational resonances remains an open technological challenge. The need for such technology is illustrated by its potential uses in explosives detection (e.g., RDX) or identification of large biomolecules based on their THz-frequency vibrational fingerprints. The prevailing approaches to THz sensing often rely on a form of waveguide spectroscopy, either utilizing geometric waveguides, such as metallic parallel plate, or plasmonic waveguides made of structured metallic surfaces with sub-wavelength corrugation. The sensitivity of waveguide-based sensing devices is derived from the long (1 cm or longer) propagation and interaction distance of the THz wave with the analyte. We have demonstrated that thin InSb layers with metallic gratings can support high quality factor "true" surface plasmon (SP) resonances that can be used for THz plasmonic sensing. We find two strong SP absorption resonances in normal-incidence transmission and investigate their dispersion relations, dependence on InSb thickness, and the spatial distribution of the electric field. The sensitivity of this approach relies on the frequency shift of the SP resonance when the dielectric function changes in the immediate vicinity of the sensor, in the region of deeply sub-wavelength thickness. Our computational modeling indicates that the sensor sensitivity can exceed 0.25 THz per refractive index unit. One of the SP resonances also exhibits a splitting when tuned in resonance with a vibrational mode of an analyte, which could lead to new sensing modalities for the detection of THz vibrational features of the analyte.

Plasmons in quasi-two-dimensional metals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

da Jornada, Felipe H.; Xian, Lede; Sen, H. Sener; Rubio, Angel; Louie, Steven G.

We employ ab initio density-functional theory (DFT) and GW calculations to understand and predict the plasmon dispersion in quasi-two-dimensional (quasi-2D) metals. We show that, unlike what is found in idealized 2D electron gases, plasmons are virtually dispersionless in real quasi-2D metals for a wide range of excitation wave vectors that are experimentally accessible. We further develop a simpler model that captures this plasmon dispersion in quasi-2D metals and which depends on a single parameter: the characteristic screening length due to interband transitions. Our ab initio calculations further predict that monolayer metallic transition metal dichalcogenides are excellent candidates to explore these dispersionless (flat) plasmons: having large excitation energy that is away from the Landau damping regions makes them ideal systems to support long-lived, spatially-localized 2D plasmons which are highly tunable with substrate. This work is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences, Materials Sciences and Engineering Division; the National Science Foundation; the European Research Council project (ERC-2015-AdG-694097), and the AFOSR Grant No. FA2386-15-1-0006 AOARD 144088.

A light-trapping strategy for nanocrystalline silicon thin-film solar cells using three-dimensionally assembled nanoparticle structures.

PubMed

Ha, Kyungyeon; Jang, Eunseok; Jang, Segeun; Lee, Jong-Kwon; Jang, Min Seok; Choi, Hoseop; Cho, Jun-Sik; Choi, Mansoo

2016-02-05

We report three-dimensionally assembled nanoparticle structures inducing multiple plasmon resonances for broadband light harvesting in nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si:H) thin-film solar cells. A three-dimensional multiscale (3DM) assembly of nanoparticles generated using a multi-pin spark discharge method has been accomplished over a large area under atmospheric conditions via ion-assisted aerosol lithography. The multiscale features of the sophisticated 3DM structures exhibit surface plasmon resonances at multiple frequencies, which increase light scattering and absorption efficiency over a wide spectral range from 350-1100 nm. The multiple plasmon resonances, together with the antireflection functionality arising from the conformally deposited top surface of the 3D solar cell, lead to a 22% and an 11% improvement in power conversion efficiency of the nc-Si:H thin-film solar cells compared to flat cells and cells employing nanoparticle clusters, respectively. Finite-difference time-domain simulations were also carried out to confirm that the improved device performance mainly originates from the multiple plasmon resonances generated from three-dimensionally assembled nanoparticle structures.

Active Control of Charge Density Waves at Degenerate Semiconductor Interfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vinnakota, Raj; Genov, Dentcho

We present numerical modeling of an active electronically controlled highly confined charge-density waves, i.e. surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) at the metallurgic interfaces of degenerate semiconductor materials. An electro-optic switching element for fully-functional plasmonic circuits based on p-n junction semiconductor Surface Plasmon Polariton (SPP) waveguide is shown. Two figures of merits are introduced and parametric study has been performed identifying the device optimal operation range. The Indium Gallium Arsenide (In0.53Ga0.47As) is identified as the best semiconductor material for the device providing high optical confinement, reduced system size and fast operation. The electro-optic SPP switching element is shown to operate at signal modulation up to -24dB and switching rates surpassing 100GHz, thus potentially providing a new pathway toward bridging the gap between electronic and photonic devices. The current work is funded by the NSF EPSCoR CIMM project under award #OIA-1541079.

Plasmonic Nanowires for Wide Wavelength Range Molecular Sensing.

PubMed

Marinaro, Giovanni; Das, Gobind; Giugni, Andrea; Allione, Marco; Torre, Bruno; Candeloro, Patrizio; Kosel, Jurgen; Di Fabrizio, Enzo

2018-05-17

In this paper, we propose the use of a standing nanowires array, constituted by plasmonic active gold wires grown on iron disks, and partially immersed in a supporting alumina matrix, for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy applications. The galvanic process was used to fabricate nanowires in pores of anodized alumina template, making this device cost-effective. This fabrication method allows for the selection of size, diameter, and spatial arrangement of nanowires. The proposed device, thanks to a detailed design analysis, demonstrates a broadband plasmonic enhancement effect useful for many standard excitation wavelengths in the visible and NIR. The trigonal pores arrangement gives an efficiency weakly dependent on polarization. The devices, tested with 633 and 830 nm laser lines, show a significant Raman enhancement factor, up to around 6 × 10⁴, with respect to the flat gold surface, used as a reference for the measurements of the investigated molecules.

Optical biosensors using surface plasmon resonance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Homola, Jiri; Brynda, Eduard; Tobiska, Petr; Tichy, Ivo; Skvor, Jiri

1999-12-01

We present a surface plasmon resonance sensor base on prism excitation of surface plasmons and spectral interrogation. For specific detection of biomolecular analytes, multilayers of monoclonal antibodies are immobilized on the surface of the sensor. Detection of biomolecular analytes such as human (beta) -2)-microglobulin, choriogonadotropin, hepatitis B surface antigen, salmonella enteritidis is demonstrated.

Surface plasmon dispersion in a mid-infrared Ge/Si quantum dot photodetector coupled with a perforated gold metasurface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yakimov, A. I.; Kirienko, V. V.; Armbrister, V. A.; Bloshkin, A. A.; Dvurechenskii, A. V.

2018-04-01

The photodetection improvement previously observed in mid-infrared (IR) quantum dot photodetectors (QDIPs) coupled with periodic metal metasurfaces is usually attributed to the surface light trapping and confinement due to generation of surface plasmon waves (SPWs). In the present work, a Ge/Si QDIP integrated with a metal plasmonic structure is fabricated to experimentally measure the photoresponse enhancement and verify that this enhancement is caused by the excitation of the mid-IR surface plasmons. A 50 nm-thick gold film perforated with a 1.2 μm-period two-dimensional square array of subwavelength holes is employed as a plasmonic coupler to convert the incident electromagnetic IR radiation into SPWs. Measurements of the polarization and angular dependencies of the photoresponse allow us to determine the dispersion of plasmon modes. We find that experimental dispersion relations agree well with that derived from a computer simulation for fundamental plasmon resonance, which indicates that the photodetection improvement in the mid-IR spectral region is actually caused by the excitations of surface plasmon Bloch waves.

Electrical tuning of a quantum plasmonic resonance

DOE PAGES

Liu, Xiaoge; Kang, Ju -Hyung; Yuan, Hongtao; ...

2017-06-12

Surface plasmon (SP) excitations in metals facilitate confinement of light into deep-subwavelength volumes and can induce strong light–matter interaction. Generally, the SP resonances supported by noble metal nanostructures are explained well by classical models, at least until the nanostructure size is decreased to a few nanometres, approaching the Fermi wavelength λ F of the electrons. Although there is a long history of reports on quantum size effects in the plasmonic response of nanometre-sized metal particles systematic experimental studies have been hindered by inhomogeneous broadening in ensemble measurements, as well as imperfect control over size, shape, faceting, surface reconstructions, contamination, chargingmore » effects and surface roughness in single-particle measurements. In particular, observation of the quantum size effect in metallic films and its tuning with thickness has been challenging as they only confine carriers in one direction. Here, we show active tuning of quantum size effects in SP resonances supported by a 20-nm-thick metallic film of indium tin oxide (ITO), a plasmonic material serving as a low-carrier-density Drude metal. An ionic liquid (IL) is used to electrically gate and partially deplete the ITO layer. The experiment shows a controllable and reversible blue-shift in the SP resonance above a critical voltage. As a result, a quantum-mechanical model including the quantum size effect reproduces the experimental results, whereas a classical model only predicts a red shift.« less

Electrical tuning of a quantum plasmonic resonance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Xiaoge; Kang, Ju-Hyung; Yuan, Hongtao; Park, Junghyun; Kim, Soo Jin; Cui, Yi; Hwang, Harold Y.; Brongersma, Mark L.

2017-09-01

Surface plasmon (SP) excitations in metals facilitate confinement of light into deep-subwavelength volumes and can induce strong light-matter interaction. Generally, the SP resonances supported by noble metal nanostructures are explained well by classical models, at least until the nanostructure size is decreased to a few nanometres, approaching the Fermi wavelength λF of the electrons. Although there is a long history of reports on quantum size effects in the plasmonic response of nanometre-sized metal particles, systematic experimental studies have been hindered by inhomogeneous broadening in ensemble measurements, as well as imperfect control over size, shape, faceting, surface reconstructions, contamination, charging effects and surface roughness in single-particle measurements. In particular, observation of the quantum size effect in metallic films and its tuning with thickness has been challenging as they only confine carriers in one direction. Here, we show active tuning of quantum size effects in SP resonances supported by a 20-nm-thick metallic film of indium tin oxide (ITO), a plasmonic material serving as a low-carrier-density Drude metal. An ionic liquid (IL) is used to electrically gate and partially deplete the ITO layer. The experiment shows a controllable and reversible blue-shift in the SP resonance above a critical voltage. A quantum-mechanical model including the quantum size effect reproduces the experimental results, whereas a classical model only predicts a red shift.

Plasmonic Properties of Silicon Nanocrystals Doped with Boron and Phosphorus.

PubMed

Kramer, Nicolaas J; Schramke, Katelyn S; Kortshagen, Uwe R

2015-08-12

Degenerately doped silicon nanocrystals are appealing plasmonic materials due to silicon's low cost and low toxicity. While surface plasmonic resonances of boron-doped and phosphorus-doped silicon nanocrystals were recently observed, there currently is poor understanding of the effect of surface conditions on their plasmonic behavior. Here, we demonstrate that phosphorus-doped silicon nanocrystals exhibit a plasmon resonance immediately after their synthesis but may lose their plasmonic response with oxidation. In contrast, boron-doped nanocrystals initially do not exhibit plasmonic response but become plasmonically active through postsynthesis oxidation or annealing. We interpret these results in terms of substitutional doping being the dominant doping mechanism for phosphorus-doped silicon nanocrystals, with oxidation-induced defects trapping free electrons. The behavior of boron-doped silicon nanocrystals is more consistent with a strong contribution of surface doping. Importantly, boron-doped silicon nanocrystals exhibit air-stable plasmonic behavior over periods of more than a year.

Surface Plasmon Coupling and Control Using Spherical Cap Structures

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gong, Yu; Joly, Alan G.; Zhang, Xin

2017-06-05

Propagating surface plasmons (PSPs) launched from a protruded silver spherical cap structure are investigated using photoemission electron microscopy (PEEM) and finite difference time domain (FDTD) calculations. Our combined experimental and theoretical findings reveal that PSP coupling efficiency is comparable to conventional etched-in plasmonic coupling structures. Additionally, plasmon propagation direction can be varied by a linear rotation of the driving laser polarization. A simple geometric model is proposed in which the plasmon direction selectivity is proportional to the projection of the linear laser polarization on the surface normal. An application for the spherical cap coupler as a gate device is proposed.more » Overall, our results indicate that protruded cap structures hold great promise as elements in emerging surface plasmon applications.« less

Facile characterization of aptamer kinetic and equilibrium binding properties using surface plasmon resonance

PubMed Central

Chang, Andrew L.; McKeague, Maureen; Smolke, Christina D.

2015-01-01

Nucleic acid aptamers find widespread use as targeting and sensing agents in nature and biotechnology. Their ability to bind an extensive range of molecular targets, including small molecules, proteins, and ions, with high affinity and specificity enables their use in diverse diagnostic, therapeutic, imaging, and gene-regulatory applications. Here, we describe methods for characterizing aptamer kinetic and equilibrium binding properties using a surface plasmon resonance-based platform. This aptamer characterization platform is broadly useful for studying aptamer–ligand interactions, comparing aptamer properties, screening functional aptamers during in vitro selection processes, and prototyping aptamers for integration into nucleic acid devices. PMID:25432760

Hollow metal nanostructures for enhanced plasmonics (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Genç, Aziz; Patarroyo, Javier; Sancho-Parramon, Jordi; Duchamp, Martial; Gonzalez, Edgar; Bastus, Neus G.; Houben, Lothar; Dunin-Borkowski, Rafal; Puntes, Victor F.; Arbiol, Jordi

2016-03-01

Complex metal nanoparticles offer a great playground for plasmonic nanoengineering, where it is possible to cover plasmon resonances from ultraviolet to near infrared by modifying the morphologies from solid nanocubes to nanoframes, multiwalled hollow nanoboxes or even nanotubes with hybrid (alternating solid and hollow) structures. We experimentally show that structural modifications, i.e. void size and final morphology, are the dominant determinants for the final plasmonic properties, while compositional variations allow us to get a fine tuning. EELS mappings of localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPRs) reveal an enhanced plasmon field inside the voids of hollow AuAg nanostructures along with a more homogeneous distributions of the plasmon fields around the nanostructures. With the present methodology and the appropriate samples we are able to compare the effects of hybridization at the nanoscale in hollow nanostructures. Boundary element method (BEM) simulations also reveal the effects of structural nanoengineering on plasmonic properties of hollow metal nanostructures. Possibility of tuning the LSPR properties of hollow metal nanostructures in a wide range of energy by modifying the void size/shell thickness is shown by BEM simulations, which reveals that void size is the dominant factor for tuning the LSPRs. As a proof of concept for enhanced plasmonic properties, we show effective label free sensing of bovine serum albumin (BSA) with some of our hollow nanostructures. In addition, the different plasmonic modes observed have also been studied and mapped in 3D.

Electrochemical, photoelectrochemical, and surface plasmon resonance detection of cocaine using supramolecular aptamer complexes and metallic or semiconductor nanoparticles.

PubMed

Golub, Eyal; Pelossof, Gilad; Freeman, Ronit; Zhang, Hong; Willner, Itamar

2009-11-15

Metallic or semiconductor nanoparticles (NPs) are used as labels for the electrochemical, photoelectrochemical, or surface plasmon resonance (SPR) detection of cocaine using a common aptasensor configuration. The aptasensors are based on the use of two anticocaine aptamer subunits, where one subunit is assembled on a Au support, acting as an electrode or a SPR-active surface, and the second aptamer subunit is labeled with Pt-NPs, CdS-NPs, or Au-NPs. In the different aptasensor configurations, the addition of cocaine results in the formation of supramolecular complexes between the NPs-labeled aptamer subunits and cocaine on the metallic surface, allowing the quantitative analysis of cocaine. The supramolecular Pt-NPs-aptamer subunits-cocaine complex allows the detection of cocaine by the electrocatalyzed reduction of H(2)O(2). The photocurrents generated by the CdS-NPs-labeled aptamer subunits-cocaine complex, in the presence of triethanol amine as a hole scavenger, allows the photoelectrochemical detection of cocaine. The supramolecular Au-NPs-aptamer subunits-cocaine complex generated on the Au support allows the SPR detection of cocaine through the reflectance changes stimulated by the electronic coupling between the localized plasmon of the Au-NPs and the surface plasmon wave. All aptasensor configurations enable the analysis of cocaine with a detection limit in the range of 10(-6) to 10(-5) M. The major advantage of the sensing platform is the lack of background interfering signals.

Au-Graphene Hybrid Plasmonic Nanostructure Sensor Based on Intensity Shift

PubMed Central

Alharbi, Raed; Irannejad, Mehrdad; Yavuz, Mustafa

2017-01-01

Integrating plasmonic materials, like gold with a two-dimensional material (e.g., graphene) enhances the light-material interaction and, hence, plasmonic properties of the metallic nanostructure. A localized surface plasmon resonance sensor is an effective platform for biomarker detection. They offer a better bulk surface (local) sensitivity than a regular surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor; however, they suffer from a lower figure of merit compared to that one in a propagating surface plasmon resonance sensors. In this work, a decorated multilayer graphene film with an Au nanostructures was proposed as a liquid sensor. The results showed a significant improvement in the figure of merit compared with other reported localized surface plasmon resonance sensors. The maximum figure of merit and intensity sensitivity of 240 and 55 RIU−1 (refractive index unit) at refractive index change of 0.001 were achieved which indicate the capability of the proposed sensor to detect a small change in concentration of liquids in the ng/mL level which is essential in early-stage cancer disease detection. PMID:28106850

Acquisition of a Surface Plasmon Resonance Imager, Digital Microscope, and Peristaltic Pumps for Defense-Based Research

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-05-05

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: The goal of this proposal is to purchase the GWC Technologies, Inc. Horizontal Surface Plasmon Resonance Imaging (SPRi...Unlimited UU UU UU UU 05-05-2016 1-Feb-2014 31-Jan-2016 Final Report: Acquisition of a Surface Plasmon Resonance Imager, Digital Microscope, and...S) AND ADDRESS (ES) U.S. Army Research Office P.O. Box 12211 Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-2211 Surface Plasmon Resonance Imager, Digital

Surface plasmon polaritons in topological Weyl semimetals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hofmann, Johannes; Das Sarma, Sankar

2016-06-01

We consider theoretically surface plasmon polaritons in Weyl semimetals. These materials contain pairs of band touching points—Weyl nodes—with a chiral topological charge, which induces an optical anisotropy and anomalous transport through the chiral anomaly. We show that these effects, which are not present in ordinary metals, have a direct fundamental manifestation in the surface plasmon dispersion. The retarded Weyl surface plasmon dispersion depends on the separation of the Weyl nodes in energy and momentum space. For Weyl semimetals with broken time-reversal symmetry, the distance between the nodes acts as an effective applied magnetic field in momentum space, and the Weyl surface plasmon polariton dispersion is strikingly similar to magnetoplasmons in ordinary metals. In particular, this implies the existence of nonreciprocal surface modes. In addition, we obtain the nonretarded Weyl magnetoplasmon modes, which acquire an additional longitudinal magnetic field dependence. These predicted surface plasmon results are observable manifestations of the chiral anomaly in Weyl semimetals and might have technological applications.

Dataset of surface plasmon resonance based on photonic crystal fiber for chemical sensing applications.

PubMed

Khalek, Md Abdul; Chakma, Sujan; Paul, Bikash Kumar; Ahmed, Kawsar

2018-08-01

In this research work a perfectly circular lattice Photonic Crystal Fiber (PCF) based surface Plasmon resonance (SPR) based sensor has been proposed. The investigation process has been successfully carried out using finite element method (FEM) based commercial available software package COMSOL Multiphysics version 4.2. The whole investigation module covers the wider optical spectrum ranging from 0.48 µm to 1.10 µm. Using the wavelength interrogation method the proposed model exposed maximum sensitivity of 9000 nm/RIU(Refractive Index Unit) and using the amplitude interrogation method it obtained maximum sensitivity of 318 RIU -1 . Moreover the maximum sensor resolution of 1.11×10 -5 in the sensing ranges between 1.34 and 1.37. Based on the suggested sensor model may provide great impact in biological area such as bio-imaging.

Imaging nanowire plasmon modes with two-photon polymerization

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gruber, Christian; Trügler, Andreas; Hohenester, Ulrich

2015-02-23

Metal nanowires sustain propagating surface plasmons that are strongly confined to the wire surface. Plasmon reflection at the wire end faces and interference lead to standing plasmon modes. We demonstrate that these modes can be imaged via two-photon (plasmon) polymerization of a thin film resist covering the wires and subsequent electron microscopy. Thereby, the plasmon wavelength and the phase shift of the nanowire mode picked up upon reflection can be directly retrieved. In general terms, polymerization imaging is a promising tool for the imaging of propagating plasmon modes from the nano- to micro-scale.

Probing plasmon resonances of individual aluminum nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wei, Zhongxia; Mao, Peng; Cao, Lu; Song, Fengqi

2018-01-01

The plasmon resonances of individual aluminum nanoparticles are investigated by electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) in scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM). Surface plasmon mode and bulk plasmon mode of Al nanoparticles are clearly characterized in the EEL spectra. Discrete dipole approximation (DDA) calculations show that as the particle diameter increases from 20 nm to 100 nm, the plasmon resonance shifts to lower energy and higher mode of surface plasmon arises when the diameter reaches 60 nm and larger.

Tailoring plasmonic properties of nanobeam composites by the sliding disorder

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gric, Tatjana; Hess, Ortwin

2017-11-01

Nanobeam composites are important for designing sensing, nonlinear, and emission functionalities. Here, we describe a method for tuning the plasmonic properties of a silver nanobeam-based metamaterial. Such metamaterials open the wide avenues for a variety of applications in the fields of bio- and chemical sensing, nonlinearity enhancement, and fluorescence control. Specifically, we present the boundary between two nanobeam composites stacked together and exhibiting the sliding disorder. The modes are tunable. We simulated the solutions of surface plasmon polaritons (SPP) modes and their propagations. The configuration proposed here makes a breakthrough of the conventional configuration allowing for optimizations of SPP properties and making SPP application more flexible in practices. The wide plasmonic tuning range of nanobeam composites makes them promising in metamaterial-based optoelectronic devices. The plasma frequency is found to be tailored by the sliding disorder.

Template directed synthesis of plasmonic gold nanotubes with tunable IR absorbance.

PubMed

Bridges, Colin R; Schon, Tyler B; DiCarmine, Paul M; Seferos, Dwight S

2013-04-01

A nearly parallel array of pores can be produced by anodizing aluminum foils in acidic environments. Applications of anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membranes have been under development since the 1990's and have become a common method to template the synthesis of high aspect ratio nanostructures, mostly by electrochemical growth or pore-wetting. Recently, these membranes have become commercially available in a wide range of pore sizes and densities, leading to an extensive library of functional nanostructures being synthesized from AAO membranes. These include composite nanorods, nanowires and nanotubes made of metals, inorganic materials or polymers. Nanoporous membranes have been used to synthesize nanoparticle and nanotube arrays that perform well as refractive index sensors, plasmonic biosensors, or surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) substrates, as well as a wide range of other fields such as photo-thermal heating, permselective transport, catalysis, microfluidics, and electrochemical sensing. Here, we report a novel procedure to prepare gold nanotubes in AAO membranes. Hollow nanostructures have potential application in plasmonic and SERS sensing, and we anticipate these gold nanotubes will allow for high sensitivity and strong plasmon signals, arising from decreased material dampening.

Poly(vinylpyrrolidone)-Free Multistep Synthesis of Silver Nanoplates with Plasmon Resonance in the Near Infrared Range.

PubMed

Khan, Assad U; Zhou, Zhengping; Krause, Joseph; Liu, Guoliang

2017-11-01

Herein, a poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP)-free method is described for synthesizing Ag nanoplates that have localized surface plasmon resonance in the near-infrared (NIR) range. Citrate-capped Ag spherical nanoparticles are first grown into small Ag nanoplates that resonate in the range of 500-800 nm. The small Ag nanoplates are used as seeds to further grow into large Ag nanoplates with a lateral dimension of 100-600 nm and a plasmon resonance wavelength of 800-1660 nm and above. The number of growth steps can be increased as desired. Without introducing additional citrate into the solutions of small Ag nanoplate seeds, large Ag nanoplates can be synthesized within minutes. The entire synthesis is completely PVP free, which promotes the nanoparticle growth along the lateral direction to form large Ag nanoplates. The multistep growth and the minimum usage of citrate are essential for the fast growth of high-aspect-ratio Ag nanoplates resonating in the NIR range. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Nano-scale imaging and spectroscopy of plasmonic systems, thermal near-fields, and phase separation in complex oxides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, Andrew C.

Optical spectroscopy represents a powerful characterization technique with the ability to directly interact with the electronic, spin, and lattice excitations in matter. In addition, through implementation of ultrafast techniques, further insight into the real-time dynamics of elementary interactions can be gained. However, the resolution of far-field microscopy techniques is restricted by the diffraction limit setting a spatial resolution limit in the 100s nm to micron range for visible and IR light, respectively. This resolution is too coarse for the characterization of mesoscopic phenomena in condensed matter physics. The development of experimental techniques with nanoscale resolution and sensitivity to optical fields has been a long standing obstacle to the characterization of condensed matter systems on their natural length scales. This dissertation focuses on the fundamental near-field optical properties of surfaces and nanoscale systems as well as the utilization of nano-optical techniques, specifically apertureless scattering-type Scanning Near-field Optical Microscopy (s-SNOM), to characterize said optical properties with nanometer scale resolution. First, the s-SNOM characterization of the field enhancement associated with the localized surface plasmon resonances on metallic structures is discussed. With their ability to localize light, plasmonic nano-structures are promising candidate systems to serve as molecular sensors and nano-photonic devices; however, it is well known that particle morphology and the plasmon resonance alone do not uniquely reflect the details of the local field distribution. Here, I demonstrate the use interferometric s-SNOM for imaging of the near-fields associated with plasmonic resonances of crystalline triangular silver nano-prisms in the visible spectral range. I subsequently show the extension of the concept of a localized plasmon into the mid-IR spectral range with the characterization of near-fields of silver nano-rods. Strong spatial field variation on lengths scales as short as 20 nm is observed associated with the dipolar and quadrupolar modes of both systems with details sensitively depending on the nanoparticle structure and environment. In light of recent publications predicting distinct spectral characteristics of thermal electromagnetic near-fields, I demonstrate the extension of s-SNOM techniques through the implementation of a heated atomic force microscope (AFM) tip acting as its own intrinsic light source for the characterization of thermal near-fields. Here, I detail the spectrally distinct and orders of magnitude enhanced resonant spectral near-field energy density associated with vibrational, phonon, and phonon-polariton modes. Modeling the thermal light scattering by the AFM, the scattering cross-section for thermal light may be related to the electromagnetic local density of states (EM-LDOS) above a surface. Lastly, the unique capability of s-SNOM techniques to characterize phase separation phenomena in correlated electron systems is discussed. This measurement capability provides new microscopic insight into the underlying mechanisms of the rich phase transition behavior exhibited by these materials. As a specific example, the infrared s-SNOM mapping of the metal-insulator transition and the associated nano-domain formation in individual VO2 micro-crystals subject to substrate stress is presented. Our results have important implications for the interpretation of the investigations of conventional polycrystalline thin films where the mutual interaction of constituent crystallites may affect the nature of phase separation processes.

Graphene plasmonic nanogratings for biomolecular sensing in liquid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chorsi, Meysam T.; Chorsi, Hamid T.

2017-12-01

We design a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) molecular sensor based on graphene and biomolecule adsorption at graphene-liquid interfaces. The sensor configuration consists of two opposing arrays of graphene nanograting mounted on a substrate, with a liquid-phase sensing medium confined between them. We characterize the design in simulation on a variety of substrates by altering the refractive index of the sensing medium and varying the absorbance-transmittance characteristics. The influence of various parameters on the biosensor's performance, including the Fermi level of graphene, the dielectric constant of the substrate, and the incident angle for plasmon excitation, is investigated. Numerical simulations demonstrate the sensitivity higher than 3000 nm/RIU (refractive index unit). The device supports a wide range of substrates in which graphene can be epitaxially grown. The proposed biosensor works independent of the incident angle and can be tuned to cover a broadband wavelength range.

Correlation between electrical direct current resistivity and plasmonic properties of CMOS compatible titanium nitride thin films.

PubMed

Viarbitskaya, S; Arocas, J; Heintz, O; Colas-Des-Francs, G; Rusakov, D; Koch, U; Leuthold, J; Markey, L; Dereux, A; Weeber, J-C

2018-04-16

Damping distances of surface plasmon polariton modes sustained by different thin titanium nitride (TiN) films are measured at the telecom wavelength of 1.55 μm. The damping distances are correlated to the electrical direct current resistivity of the films sustaining the surface plasmon modes. It is found that TiN/Air surface plasmon mode damping distances drop non-linearly from 40 to 16μm as the resistivity of the layers increases from 28 to 130μΩ.cm, respectively. The relevance of the direct current (dc) electrical resistivity for the characterization of TiN plasmonic properties is investigated in the framework of the Drude model, on the basis of parameters extracted from spectroscopic ellipsometry experiments. By probing a parametric space of realistic values for parameters of the Drude model, we obtain a nearly univocal dependence of the surface plasmon damping distance on the dc resistivity demonstrating the relevance of dc resistivity for the evaluation of the plasmonic performances of TiN at telecom frequencies. Finally, we show that better plasmonic performances are obtained for TiN films featuring a low content of oxygen. For low oxygen content and corresponding low resistivity, we attribute the increase of the surface plasmon damping distances to a lower confinement of the plasmon field into the metal and not to a decrease of the absorption of TiN.

Parameter estimation in plasmonic QED

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jahromi, H. Rangani

2018-03-01

We address the problem of parameter estimation in the presence of plasmonic modes manipulating emitted light via the localized surface plasmons in a plasmonic waveguide at the nanoscale. The emitter that we discuss is the nitrogen vacancy centre (NVC) in diamond modelled as a qubit. Our goal is to estimate the β factor measuring the fraction of emitted energy captured by waveguide surface plasmons. The best strategy to obtain the most accurate estimation of the parameter, in terms of the initial state of the probes and different control parameters, is investigated. In particular, for two-qubit estimation, it is found although we may achieve the best estimation at initial instants by using the maximally entangled initial states, at long times, the optimal estimation occurs when the initial state of the probes is a product one. We also find that decreasing the interqubit distance or increasing the propagation length of the plasmons improve the precision of the estimation. Moreover, decrease of spontaneous emission rate of the NVCs retards the quantum Fisher information (QFI) reduction and therefore the vanishing of the QFI, measuring the precision of the estimation, is delayed. In addition, if the phase parameter of the initial state of the two NVCs is equal to πrad, the best estimation with the two-qubit system is achieved when initially the NVCs are maximally entangled. Besides, the one-qubit estimation has been also analysed in detail. Especially, we show that, using a two-qubit probe, at any arbitrary time, enhances considerably the precision of estimation in comparison with one-qubit estimation.

Polarization-resolved optical response of plasmonic particle-on-film nanocavities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Q.; Li, G.-C.; Lo, T. W.; Lei, D. Y.

2018-02-01

Placing a metal nanoparticle atop a metal film forms a plasmonic particle-on-film nanocavity. Such a nanocavity supports strong plasmonic coupling that results in rich hybridized plasmon modes, rendering the cavity a versatile platform for exploiting a wide range of plasmon-enhanced spectroscopy applications. In this paper, we fully address the polarization-resolved, orientation-dependent far-field optical responses of plasmonic monomer- and dimer-on-film nanocavities by numerical simulations and experiments. With polarization-resolved dark-field spectroscopy, the distinct plasmon resonances of these nanocavities are clearly determined from their scattering spectra. Moreover, the radiation patterns of respective plasmon modes, which are often mixed together in common dark-field imaging, can be unambiguously resolved with our proposed quasi-multispectral imaging method. Explicitly, the radiation pattern of the monomer-on-film nanocavity gradually transitions from a solid spot in the green imaging channel to a doughnut ring in the red channel when tuning the excitation polarization from parallel to perpendicular to the sample surface. This observation holds true for the plasmonic dimer-on-film nanocavity with the dimer axis aligned in the incidence plane; when the dimer axis is normal to the incidence plane, the pattern transitions from a solid spot to a doughnut ring both in the red channel. These studies not only demonstrate a flexible polarization control over the optical responses of plasmonic particle-on-film nanostructures but also enrich the optical tool kit for far-field imaging and spectroscopy characterization of various plasmonic nanostructures.

[A Surface Plasmon Micro-Ring Sensor Suitable for Humidity Sensing].

PubMed

Li, Zhi-quan; An, Dong-yang; Zhang, Xin; Zhao, Ling-ling; Sha, Xiao-peng; Guo, Shi-liang; Li, Wen-chao

2015-09-01

Temperature is a very important parameter in scientific research, production and life. Almost all the properties of materials are related to temperature. The precise measurement of the temperature is a very important task, so the temperature sensor is widely used as a core part in the temperature measuring instrument. A novel surface plasmon micro-ring sensor suitable for humidity sensing is presented in this paper. The sensor uses a multi-layered surface plasmon waveguide structure and choosing Polyimide (Polyimide, PI) as the moisture material. We get the transfer function of surface plasmon micro-ring sensor by using transfer matrix method. Refractive indexes of Polyimide and the multilayer waveguide structure change as environment relative humidity changes, thus leading to an obvious peak drift of output spectrum. The paper mainly discusses the influence of the changes of the refractive index of humidity-sensing parts on the output spectrum, and the transmission characteristics of multilayer waveguide structure. Through the finite element method and the theoretical simulation of Matlab, We can draw: When the length between the two coupling points of the U-shaped waveguide is an integer multiple of circumference of the micro-ring, an obvious drift in the horizontal direction appears, the free spectral range (FSR) doubled and the sensitivity is 0.0005 μm/%RH; When the external environment relative humidity RH changes from 10% to 100% RH, scatter is change between including (including 0.005 m to 0.005 m, compared to other humidity sensor, the Sensitivity of sensor improves 10~50 times and the transmission is very stable. Results show that the design of surface plasma micro ring sensors has better sensitivity, stable performance and can be used in the humidity measurement, achieving a high sensitivity in the sense of humidity when the wide range of filter frequency selection is taken into account, and providing a theoretical basis for the preparation of micro-optics.

Ultrasmooth Patterned Metals for Plasmonics and Metamaterials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nagpal, Prashant; Lindquist, Nathan C.; Oh, Sang-Hyun; Norris, David J.

2009-07-01

Surface plasmons are electromagnetic waves that can exist at metal interfaces because of coupling between light and free electrons. Restricted to travel along the interface, these waves can be channeled, concentrated, or otherwise manipulated by surface patterning. However, because surface roughness and other inhomogeneities have so far limited surface-plasmon propagation in real plasmonic devices, simple high-throughput methods are needed to fabricate high-quality patterned metals. We combined template stripping with precisely patterned silicon substrates to obtain ultrasmooth pure metal films with grooves, bumps, pyramids, ridges, and holes. Measured surface-plasmon-propagation lengths on the resulting surfaces approach theoretical values for perfectly flat films. With the use of our method, we demonstrated structures that exhibit Raman scattering enhancements above 107 for sensing applications and multilayer films for optical metamaterials.

Exciting surface plasmon polaritons in the Kretschmann configuration by a light beam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vinogradov, A. P.; Dorofeenko, A. V.; Pukhov, A. A.; Lisyansky, A. A.

2018-06-01

We consider exciting surface plasmon polaritons in the Kretschmann configuration. Contrary to common belief, we show that a plane-wave incident at an angle greater than the angle of total internal reflection does not excite surface plasmon polaritons. These excitations do arise, however, if the incident light forms a narrow beam composed of an infinite number of plane waves. The surface plasmon polariton is formed at the geometrical edge of the beam as a result of interference of reflected plane waves.

Plasmon absorption modulator systems and methods

DOEpatents

Kekatpure, Rohan Deodatta; Davids, Paul

2014-07-15

Plasmon absorption modulator systems and methods are disclosed. A plasmon absorption modulator system includes a semiconductor substrate, a plurality of quantum well layers stacked on a top surface of the semiconductor substrate, and a metal layer formed on a top surface of the stack of quantum well layers. A method for modulating plasmonic current includes enabling propagation of the plasmonic current along a metal layer, and applying a voltage across the stack of quantum well layers to cause absorption of a portion of energy of the plasmonic current by the stack of quantum well layers. A metamaterial switching system includes a semiconductor substrate, a plurality of quantum well layers stacked on a top surface of the semiconductor substrate, and at least one metamaterial structure formed on a top surface of the stack of quantum well layers.

UV plasmonic device for sensing ethanol and acetone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Honda, Mitsuhiro; Ichikawa, Yo; Rozhin, Alex G.; Kulinich, Sergei A.

2018-01-01

In the present study, we demonstrate efficient detection of volatile organic vapors with improved sensitivity, exploiting the localized surface plasmon resonance of indium nanograins in the UV range (UV-LSPR). The sensitivity of deep-UV-LSPR measurements toward ethanol was observed to be 0.004 nm/ppm, which is 10 times higher than that of a previously reported visible-LSPR device based on Ag nanoprisms [Sensors 11, 8643 (2011)]. Although practical issues such as improving detection limits are still remaining, the results of the present study suggest that the new approach based on UV-LSPR may open new avenues to the detection of organic molecules in solid, liquid, and gas phases using plasmonic sensors.

A common-path phase-shift interferometry surface plasmon imaging system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Su, Y.-T.; Chen, Shean-Jen; Yeh, T.-L.

2005-03-01

A biosensing imaging system is proposed based on the integration of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and common-path phase-shift interferometry (PSI) techniques to measure the two-dimensional spatial phase variation caused by biomolecular interactions upon a sensing chip. The SPR phase imaging system can offer high resolution and high-throughout screening capabilities to analyze microarray biomolecular interaction without the need for additional labeling. With the long-term stability advantage of the common-path PSI technique even with external disturbances such as mechanical vibration, buffer flow noise, and laser unstable issue, the system can match the demand of real-time kinetic study for biomolecular interaction analysis (BIA). The SPR-PSI imaging system has achieved a detection limit of 2×10-7 refraction index change, a long-term phase stability of 2.5x10-4π rms over four hours, and a spatial phase resolution of 10-3 π with a lateral resolution of 100μm.

Portable Microfluidic Integrated Plasmonic Platform for Pathogen Detection

PubMed Central

Tokel, Onur; Yildiz, Umit Hakan; Inci, Fatih; Durmus, Naside Gozde; Ekiz, Okan Oner; Turker, Burak; Cetin, Can; Rao, Shruthi; Sridhar, Kaushik; Natarajan, Nalini; Shafiee, Hadi; Dana, Aykutlu; Demirci, Utkan

2015-01-01

Timely detection of infectious agents is critical in early diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases. Conventional pathogen detection methods, such as enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), culturing or polymerase chain reaction (PCR) require long assay times, and complex and expensive instruments, which are not adaptable to point-of-care (POC) needs at resource-constrained as well as primary care settings. Therefore, there is an unmet need to develop simple, rapid, and accurate methods for detection of pathogens at the POC. Here, we present a portable, multiplex, inexpensive microfluidic-integrated surface plasmon resonance (SPR) platform that detects and quantifies bacteria, i.e., Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) rapidly. The platform presented reliable capture and detection of E. coli at concentrations ranging from ~105 to 3.2 × 107 CFUs/mL in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) and peritoneal dialysis (PD) fluid. The multiplexing and specificity capability of the platform was also tested with S. aureus samples. The presented platform technology could potentially be applicable to capture and detect other pathogens at the POC and primary care settings. PMID:25801042

Loosely-bound low-loss surface plasmons in hyperbolic metamaterial

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, Yu; Kim, Hong Koo

2018-06-01

Surface plasmons (SPs) carry electromagnetic energy in the form of collective oscillation of electrons at metal surface and commonly demonstrate two important features: strong lateral confinement and short propagation lengths. In this work we have investigated the trade-off relationship existing between propagation length and lateral confinement of SP fields in a hyperbolic metamaterial system, and explored loosening of lateral confinement as a means of increasing propagation length. By performing finite-difference time-domain analysis of Ag/SiO2 thin-film stacked structure we demonstrate long range ( 100 mm) propagation of SPs at 1.3 µm wavelength. In designing low-loss loosely-bound SPs, our approach is to maximally deplete electric fields (both tangential and normal components to the interface) inside metal layers and to support SP fields primarily in the dielectric layers part of metamaterial. Such highly-localized field distributions are attained in a hyperbolic metamaterial structure, whose dielectric tensor is designed to be highly anisotropic, that is, low-loss dielectric (Re( ɛ) > 0; Im( ɛ) 0) along the transverse direction (i.e., normal to the interface) and metallic (large negative Re( ɛ)) along the longitudinal direction, and by closely matching external dielectric to the normal component of metamaterial's dielectric tensor. Suppressing the tangential component of electric field is shown to naturally result in weakly-confined SPs with penetration depths in the range of 3-10 µm. An effective-medium approximation method is used in designing the metamaterial waveguide structure, and we have tested its validity in applying to a minimally structured core-layer case (i.e., composed of one or two metal layers). Low-loss loosely-bound SPs may find alternative applications in far-field evanescent-wave sensing and optics.

Frequency-tunable continuous-wave terahertz sources based on GaAs plasmonic photomixers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yang, Shang-Hua; Jarrahi, Mona; Electrical Engineering Department, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095

2015-09-28

We present frequency-tunable, continuous-wave terahertz sources based on GaAs plasmonic photomixers, which offer high terahertz radiation power levels at 50% radiation duty cycle. The use of plasmonic contact electrodes enhances photomixer quantum efficiency while maintaining its ultrafast operation by concentrating a large number of photocarriers in close proximity to the device contact electrodes. Additionally, the relatively high thermal conductivity and high resistivity of GaAs allow operation under high optical pump power levels and long duty cycles without reaching the thermal breakdown limit of the photomixer. We experimentally demonstrate continuous-wave terahertz radiation with a radiation frequency tuning range of more thanmore » 2 THz and a record-high radiation power of 17 μW at 1 THz through plasmonic photomixers fabricated on a low temperature grown GaAs substrate at 50% radiation duty cycle.« less

Color changing plasmonic surfaces utilizing liquid crystal (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Franklin, Daniel; Wu, Shin-Tson; Chanda, Debashis

2016-09-01

Plasmonic structural color has recently garnered significant interest as an alternative to the organic dyes standard in print media and liquid crystal displays. These nanostructured metallic systems can produce diffraction limited images, be made polarization dependent, and exhibit resistance to color bleaching. Perhaps even more advantageous, their optical characteristics can also be tuned, post-fabrication, by altering the surrounding media's refractive index parallel to the local plasmonic fields. A common material with which to achieve this is liquid crystal. By reorienting the liquid crystal molecules through external electric fields, the optical resonances of the plasmonic filters can be dynamically controlled. Demonstrations of this phenomenon, however, have been limited to modest shifts in plasmon resonance. Here, we report a liquid crystal-plasmonic system with an enhanced tuning range through the use of a shallow array of nano-wells and high birefringent liquid crystal. The continuous metallic nanostructure maximizes the overlap between plasmonic fields and liquid crystal while also allowing full reorientation of the liquid crystal upon an applied electric field. Sweeping over structural dimensions and voltages results in a color palette for these dynamic reflective pixels that can further be exploited to create color tunable images. These advances make plasmonic-liquid crystal systems more attractive candidates for filter, display, and other tunable optical technologies.

Evaluating Plasmonic Transport in Current-carrying Silver Nanowires

PubMed Central

Song, Mingxia; Stolz, Arnaud; Zhang, Douguo; Arocas, Juan; Markey, Laurent; Colas des Francs, Gérard; Dujardin, Erik; Bouhelier, Alexandre

2013-01-01

Plasmonics is an emerging technology capable of simultaneously transporting a plasmonic signal and an electronic signal on the same information support1,2,3. In this context, metal nanowires are especially desirable for realizing dense routing networks4. A prerequisite to operate such shared nanowire-based platform relies on our ability to electrically contact individual metal nanowires and efficiently excite surface plasmon polaritons5 in this information support. In this article, we describe a protocol to bring electrical terminals to chemically-synthesized silver nanowires6 randomly distributed on a glass substrate7. The positions of the nanowire ends with respect to predefined landmarks are precisely located using standard optical transmission microscopy before encapsulation in an electron-sensitive resist. Trenches representing the electrode layout are subsequently designed by electron-beam lithography. Metal electrodes are then fabricated by thermally evaporating a Cr/Au layer followed by a chemical lift-off. The contacted silver nanowires are finally transferred to a leakage radiation microscope for surface plasmon excitation and characterization8,9. Surface plasmons are launched in the nanowires by focusing a near infrared laser beam on a diffraction-limited spot overlapping one nanowire extremity5,9. For sufficiently large nanowires, the surface plasmon mode leaks into the glass substrate9,10. This leakage radiation is readily detected, imaged, and analyzed in the different conjugate planes in leakage radiation microscopy9,11. The electrical terminals do not affect the plasmon propagation. However, a current-induced morphological deterioration of the nanowire drastically degrades the flow of surface plasmons. The combination of surface plasmon leakage radiation microscopy with a simultaneous analysis of the nanowire electrical transport characteristics reveals the intrinsic limitations of such plasmonic circuitry. PMID:24378340

Detection of heavy metal ions in drinking water using a high-resolution differential surface plasmon resonance sensor.

PubMed

Forzani, Erica S; Zhang, Haiqian; Chen, Wilfred; Tao, Nongjian

2005-03-01

We have built a high-resolution differential surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor for heavy metal ion detection. The sensor surface is divided into a reference and sensing areas, and the difference in the SPR angles from the two areas is detected with a quadrant cell photodetector as a differential signal. In the presence of metal ions, the differential signal changes due to specific binding of the metal ions onto the sensing area coated with properly selected peptides, which provides an accurate real-time measurement and quantification of the metal ions. Selective detection of Cu2+ and Ni2+ in the ppt-ppb range was achieved by coating the sensing surface with peptides NH2-Gly-Gly-His-COOH and NH2-(His)6-COOH. Cu2+ in drinking water was tested using this sensor.

Surface plasmon resonance induced enhancement of photoluminescence and Raman line intensity in SnS quantum dot-Sn nanoparticle hybrid structure.

PubMed

Warrier, Anita R; Gandhimathi, R

2018-04-27

In this article, we report on enhancement in photoluminescence and Raman line intensity of SnS quantum dots embedded in a mesh of Sn nanostructures. SnS nanoparticles synthesized by homogenous precipitation method show strong quantum confinement with a band gap of ∼2.7 eV (blue shift of ∼1 eV compared to bulk SnS particles). The optical band gap of SnS quantum dots is controlled by varying the pH (∼0 to 2.25), ageing time (24 to 144 h) and molarity (0 to 2 M) of the precursors. These SnS nanoparticles are embedded in a mesh of Sn nanostructures which are synthesized from tin chloride by using sodium borohydride as reducing agent. The Sn nanostructures have a morphology dependent, tunable surface plasmon resonance (SPR), ranging from UV (∼295 nm) to visible region (∼400 nm) of the electromagnetic spectrum. In the SnS-Sn nanohybrids, the excitons are strongly coupled with plasmons leading to a shift in the excitonic binding energy (∼400 meV). The pure SnS quantum dots have a very weak photoluminescence peak at ∼560 nm and Raman shift of low intensity at 853.08 cm -1 , 1078.17 cm -1 , 1255.60 cm -1 , 1466.91 cm -1 . The coupling of SnS nanoparticles with Sn nanoparticles results in strong exciton-plasmon interactions leading to enhanced photoluminescence and Raman line intensity. The nanohybrids formed using Sn nanosheets whose SPR matches with absorption onset of the SnS nanoparticles shows an enhancement of ∼10 4 times higher than pure SnS nanoparticles. Thus, Sn nanosheet with surface plasmon resonance in visible region (400 nm) like Au and Ag is a promising material for surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy, plasmon assisted fluorescence imaging and for enhancing the emission intensity of semiconductors with weak emission intensity.

Surface plasmon resonance induced enhancement of photoluminescence and Raman line intensity in SnS quantum dot-Sn nanoparticle hybrid structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Warrier, Anita R.; Gandhimathi, R.

2018-07-01

In this article, we report on enhancement in photoluminescence and Raman line intensity of SnS quantum dots embedded in a mesh of Sn nanostructures. SnS nanoparticles synthesized by homogenous precipitation method show strong quantum confinement with a band gap of ∼2.7 eV (blue shift of ∼1 eV compared to bulk SnS particles). The optical band gap of SnS quantum dots is controlled by varying the pH (∼0 to 2.25), ageing time (24 to 144 h) and molarity (0 to 2 M) of the precursors. These SnS nanoparticles are embedded in a mesh of Sn nanostructures which are synthesized from tin chloride by using sodium borohydride as reducing agent. The Sn nanostructures have a morphology dependent, tunable surface plasmon resonance (SPR), ranging from UV (∼295 nm) to visible region (∼400 nm) of the electromagnetic spectrum. In the SnS-Sn nanohybrids, the excitons are strongly coupled with plasmons leading to a shift in the excitonic binding energy (∼400 meV). The pure SnS quantum dots have a very weak photoluminescence peak at ∼560 nm and Raman shift of low intensity at 853.08 cm‑1, 1078.17 cm‑1, 1255.60 cm‑1, 1466.91 cm‑1. The coupling of SnS nanoparticles with Sn nanoparticles results in strong exciton-plasmon interactions leading to enhanced photoluminescence and Raman line intensity. The nanohybrids formed using Sn nanosheets whose SPR matches with absorption onset of the SnS nanoparticles shows an enhancement of ∼104 times higher than pure SnS nanoparticles. Thus, Sn nanosheet with surface plasmon resonance in visible region (400 nm) like Au and Ag is a promising material for surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy, plasmon assisted fluorescence imaging and for enhancing the emission intensity of semiconductors with weak emission intensity.

Performance analysis of higher mode spoof surface plasmon polariton for terahertz sensing

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yao, Haizi; Tu, Wanli; Zhong, Shuncong, E-mail: zhongshuncong@hotmail.com

2015-04-07

We investigated the spoof surface plasmon polaritons (SSPPs) on 1D grooved metal surface for terahertz sensing of refractive index of the filling analyte through a prism-coupling attenuated total reflection setup. From the dispersion relation analysis and the finite element method-based simulation, we revealed that the dispersion curve of SSPP got suppressed as the filling refractive index increased, which cause the coupling resonance frequency redshifting in the reflection spectrum. The simulated results for testing various refractive indexes demonstrated that the incident angle of terahertz radiation has a great effect on the performance of sensing. Smaller incident angle will result in amore » higher sensitive sensing with a narrower detection range. In the meanwhile, the higher order mode SSPP-based sensing has a higher sensitivity with a narrower detection range. The maximum sensitivity is 2.57 THz/RIU for the second-order mode sensing at 45° internal incident angle. The proposed SSPP-based method has great potential for high sensitive terahertz sensing.« less

Individually Dispersed Gold Nanoshell-Bearing Cellulose Nanocrystals with Tailorable Plasmon Resonance.

PubMed

Semenikhin, Nikolay S; Kadasala, Naveen Reddy; Moon, Robert J; Perry, Joseph W; Sandhage, Kenneth H

2018-04-17

Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) can be attractive templates for the generation of functional inorganic/organic nanoparticles, given their fine sizes, aspect ratios, and sustainable worldwide availability in abundant quantities. Here, we present for the first time a scalable, surfactant-free, tailorable wet chemical process for converting commercially available CNCs into individual aspected gold nanoshell-bearing particles with tunable surface plasmon resonance bands. Using a rational cellulose functionalization approach, stable suspensions of positively charged CNCs have been generated. Continuous, conductive, nanocrystalline gold coatings were then applied to the individual, electrostatically stabilized CNCs via decoration with 1-3 nm diameter gold particles followed by electroless gold deposition. Optical analyses indicated that these core-shell nanoparticles exhibited two surface plasmon absorbance bands, with one located in the visible range (near 550 nm) and the other at near infrared (NIR) wavelengths. The NIR band possessed a peak maximum wavelength that could be tuned over a wide range (1000-1300 nm) by adjusting the gold coating thickness. The bandwidth and wavelength of the peak maximum of the NIR band were also sensitive to the particle size distribution and could be further refined by fractionation using viscosity gradient centrifugation.

Enhanced Optical Transmission Mediated by Localized Plasmons in Anisotropic, 3D Nanohole Arrays

PubMed Central

Yang, Jiun-Chan; Gao, Hanwei; Suh, Jae Yong; Zhou, Wei; Lee, Min Hyung; Odom, Teri W.

2010-01-01

This paper describes 3D nanohole arrays whose high optical transmission is mediated more by localized surface plasmon (LSP) excitations than by surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs). First, LSPs on 3D hole arrays lead to optical transmission an order of magnitude higher than 2D planar hole arrays. Second, LSP-mediated transmission is broadband and more tunable than SPP-enhanced transmission which is restricted by Bragg coupling. Third, for the first time, two types of surface plasmons can be selectively excited and manipulated on the same plasmonic substrate. This new plasmonic substrate fabricated by high-throughput nanolithography techniques paves the way for cutting-edge optoelectronic and biomedical applications. PMID:20698633

Integrated plasmonic semi-circular launcher for dielectric-loaded surface plasmon-polariton waveguide.

PubMed

Li, Xiaowei; Huang, Lingling; Tan, Qiaofeng; Bai, Benfeng; Jin, Guofan

2011-03-28

A semi-circular plasmonic launcher integrated with dielectric-loaded surface plasmon-polaritons waveguide (DLSPPW) is proposed and analyzed theoretically, which can focus and efficiently couple the excited surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) into the DLSPPW via the highly matched spatial field distribution with the waveguide mode in the focal plane. By tuning the incident angle or polarization of the illuminating beam, it is shown that the launcher may be conveniently used as a switch or a multiplexer that have potential applications in plasmonic circuitry. Furthermore, from an applicational point of view, it is analyzed how the coupling performance of the launcher can be further improved by employing multiple semi-circular slits.

Tunable and low-loss correlated plasmons in Mott-like insulating oxides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Asmara, Teguh Citra; Wan, Dongyang; Zhao, Yongliang; Majidi, Muhammad Aziz; Nelson, Christopher T.; Scott, Mary C.; Cai, Yao; Yan, Bixing; Schmidt, Daniel; Yang, Ming; Zhu, Tao; Trevisanutto, Paolo E.; Motapothula, Mallikarjuna R.; Feng, Yuan Ping; Breese, Mark B. H.; Sherburne, Matthew; Asta, Mark; Minor, Andrew; Venkatesan, T.; Rusydi, Andrivo

2017-05-01

Plasmonics has attracted tremendous interests for its ability to confine light into subwavelength dimensions, creating novel devices with unprecedented functionalities. New plasmonic materials are actively being searched, especially those with tunable plasmons and low loss in the visible-ultraviolet range. Such plasmons commonly occur in metals, but many metals have high plasmonic loss in the optical range, a main issue in current plasmonic research. Here, we discover an anomalous form of tunable correlated plasmons in a Mott-like insulating oxide from the Sr1-xNb1-yO3+δ family. These correlated plasmons have multiple plasmon frequencies and low loss in the visible-ultraviolet range. Supported by theoretical calculations, these plasmons arise from the nanometre-spaced confinement of extra oxygen planes that enhances the unscreened Coulomb interactions among charges. The correlated plasmons are tunable: they diminish as extra oxygen plane density or film thickness decreases. Our results open a path for plasmonics research in previously untapped insulating and strongly-correlated materials.

Tunable and low-loss correlated plasmons in Mott-like insulating oxides.

PubMed

Asmara, Teguh Citra; Wan, Dongyang; Zhao, Yongliang; Majidi, Muhammad Aziz; Nelson, Christopher T; Scott, Mary C; Cai, Yao; Yan, Bixing; Schmidt, Daniel; Yang, Ming; Zhu, Tao; Trevisanutto, Paolo E; Motapothula, Mallikarjuna R; Feng, Yuan Ping; Breese, Mark B H; Sherburne, Matthew; Asta, Mark; Minor, Andrew; Venkatesan, T; Rusydi, Andrivo

2017-05-12

Plasmonics has attracted tremendous interests for its ability to confine light into subwavelength dimensions, creating novel devices with unprecedented functionalities. New plasmonic materials are actively being searched, especially those with tunable plasmons and low loss in the visible-ultraviolet range. Such plasmons commonly occur in metals, but many metals have high plasmonic loss in the optical range, a main issue in current plasmonic research. Here, we discover an anomalous form of tunable correlated plasmons in a Mott-like insulating oxide from the Sr 1-x Nb 1-y O 3+δ family. These correlated plasmons have multiple plasmon frequencies and low loss in the visible-ultraviolet range. Supported by theoretical calculations, these plasmons arise from the nanometre-spaced confinement of extra oxygen planes that enhances the unscreened Coulomb interactions among charges. The correlated plasmons are tunable: they diminish as extra oxygen plane density or film thickness decreases. Our results open a path for plasmonics research in previously untapped insulating and strongly-correlated materials.

Tunable and low-loss correlated plasmons in Mott-like insulating oxides

PubMed Central

Asmara, Teguh Citra; Wan, Dongyang; Zhao, Yongliang; Majidi, Muhammad Aziz; Nelson, Christopher T.; Scott, Mary C.; Cai, Yao; Yan, Bixing; Schmidt, Daniel; Yang, Ming; Zhu, Tao; Trevisanutto, Paolo E.; Motapothula, Mallikarjuna R.; Feng, Yuan Ping; Breese, Mark B. H.; Sherburne, Matthew; Asta, Mark; Minor, Andrew; Venkatesan, T.; Rusydi, Andrivo

2017-01-01

Plasmonics has attracted tremendous interests for its ability to confine light into subwavelength dimensions, creating novel devices with unprecedented functionalities. New plasmonic materials are actively being searched, especially those with tunable plasmons and low loss in the visible–ultraviolet range. Such plasmons commonly occur in metals, but many metals have high plasmonic loss in the optical range, a main issue in current plasmonic research. Here, we discover an anomalous form of tunable correlated plasmons in a Mott-like insulating oxide from the Sr1−xNb1−yO3+δ family. These correlated plasmons have multiple plasmon frequencies and low loss in the visible–ultraviolet range. Supported by theoretical calculations, these plasmons arise from the nanometre-spaced confinement of extra oxygen planes that enhances the unscreened Coulomb interactions among charges. The correlated plasmons are tunable: they diminish as extra oxygen plane density or film thickness decreases. Our results open a path for plasmonics research in previously untapped insulating and strongly-correlated materials. PMID:28497786

Organic Plasmon-Emitting Diodes for Detecting Refractive Index Variation

PubMed Central

Chiu, Nan-Fu; Cheng, Chih-Jen; Huang, Teng-Yi

2013-01-01

A photo-excited organic layer on a metal thin film with a corrugated substrate was used to generate surface plasmon grating coupled emissions (SPGCEs). Directional emissions corresponded to the resonant condition of surface plasmon modes on the Au/air interface. In experimental comparisons of the effects of different pitch sizes on the plasmonic band-gap, the obtained SPGCEs were highly directional, with intensity increases as large as 10.38-fold. The FWHM emission spectrum was less than 70 nm. This method is easily applicable to detecting refractive index changes by using SP-coupled fluorophores in which wavelength emissions vary by viewing angle. The measurements and calculations in this study confirmed that the color wavelength of the SPGCE changed from 545.3 nm to 615.4 nm at certain viewing angles, while the concentration of contacting glucose increased from 10 to 40 wt%, which corresponded to a refractive index increase from 1.3484 to 1.3968. The organic plasmon-emitting diode exhibits a wider linearity range and a resolution of the experimental is 1.056 × 10−3 RIU. The sensitivity of the detection limit for naked eye of the experimental is 0.6 wt%. At a certain viewing angle, a large spectral shift is clearly distinguishable by the naked eye unaided by optoelectronic devices. These experimental results confirm the potential applications of the organic plasmon-emitting diodes in a low-cost, integrated, and disposable refractive-index sensor. PMID:23812346

Photoluminescence enhancement of silicon quantum dot monolayer by plasmonic substrate fabricated by nano-imprint lithography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yanagawa, Hiroto; Inoue, Asuka; Sugimoto, Hiroshi; Shioi, Masahiko; Fujii, Minoru

2017-12-01

Near-field coupling between a silicon quantum dot (Si-QD) monolayer and a plasmonic substrate fabricated by nano-imprint lithography and having broad multiple resonances in the near-infrared (NIR) window of biological substances was studied by precisely controlling the QDs-substrate distance. A strong enhancement of the NIR photoluminescence (PL) of Si-QDs was observed. Detailed analyses of the PL and PL excitation spectra, the PL decay dynamics, and the reflectance spectra revealed that both the excitation cross-sections and the emission rates are enhanced by the surface plasmon resonances, thanks to the broad multiple resonances of the plasmonic substrate, and that the relative contribution of the two enhancement processes depends strongly on the excitation wavelength. Under excitation by short wavelength photons (405 nm), where enhancement of the excitation cross-section is not expected, the maximum enhancement was obtained when the QDs-substrate distance was around 30 nm. On the other hand, under long wavelength excitation (641 nm), where strong excitation cross-section enhancement is expected, the largest enhancement was obtained when the distance was minimum (around 1 nm). The achievement of efficient excitation of NIR luminescence of Si-QDs by long wavelength photons paves the way for the development of Si-QD-based fluorescence bio-sensing devices with a high bound-to-free ratio.

Optimum deposition conditions of ultrasmooth silver nanolayers

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Reduction of surface plasmon-polariton losses due to their scattering on metal surface roughness still remains a challenge in the fabrication of plasmonic devices for nanooptics. To achieve smooth silver films, we study the dependence of surface roughness on the evaporation temperature in a physical vapor deposition process. At the deposition temperature range 90 to 500 K, the mismatch of thermal expansion coefficients of Ag, Ge wetting layer, and sapphire substrate does not deteriorate the metal surface. To avoid ice crystal formation on substrates, the working temperature of the whole physical vapor deposition process should exceed that of the sublimation at the evaporation pressure range. At optimum room temperature, the root-mean-square (RMS) surface roughness was successfully reduced to 0.2 nm for a 10-nm Ag layer on sapphire substrate with a 1-nm germanium wetting interlayer. Silver layers of 10- and 30-nm thickness were examined using an atomic force microscope (AFM), X-ray reflectometry (XRR), and two-dimensional X-ray diffraction (XRD2). PACS 63.22.Np Layered systems; 68. Surfaces and interfaces; thin films and nanosystems (structure and nonelectronic properties); 81.07.-b Nanoscale materials and structures: fabrication and characterization PMID:24685115

Laboratory Experiments for Exploring the Surface Plasmon Resonance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pluchery, Olivier; Vayron, Romain; Van, Kha-Man

2011-01-01

The surface plasmon wave is a surface wave confined at the interface between a dielectric and a metal. The excitation of the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) on a gold thin film is discussed within the Kretschmann configuration, where the coupling with the excitation light is achieved by means of a prism in total reflection. The electromagnetic…

Backward and forward plasmons in symmetric structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davidovich, Mikhael V.

2018-04-01

The electric and magnetic surface plasmons in symmetric structures of metallic and dielectric layers are considered. The existence of backward and forward waves and the slow and fast plasmon-polaritons are obtained. It is shown that the anomalous negative dispersion in the structures with dissipation does not necessarily indicate the backward surface plasmons.

Encoding photonic angular momentum information onto surface plasmon polaritons with plasmonic lens.

PubMed

Liu, Aiping; Rui, Guanghao; Ren, Xifeng; Zhan, Qiwen; Guo, Guangcan; Guo, Guoping

2012-10-22

Both spin angular momentum (SAM) and orbital angular momentum (OAM) can be used to carry information in classical optics and quantum optics. In this paper, the encoding of angular momentum (AM) information of photons onto surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) is demonstrated using a nano-ring plasmonic lens. Near-field energy distribution on the metal surface is measured using a near-field scanning optical microscope (NSOM) when the plasmonic lens is excited by photons with different combinations of SAM and OAM. It is found that both the SAM and OAM can influence the near field energy distribution of SPPs. More interestingly, numerical and experimental studies reveal that the energy distribution on the plasmonic lens surface is determined by the absolute value of the total AM. This gives direct evidences that SPPs can be encoded with the photonic SAM and OAM information simultaneously and the spin degeneracy of the photons can be removed using the interactions between photonic OAM and plasmonic lens. The findings are useful not only for the fundamental understanding of the photonic AM but also for the future design of plasmonic quantum optics devices and systems.

Theoretical analysis of optical properties and sensing in a dual-layer asymmetric metamaterial

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Hui; Li, Hongjian; He, Zhihui; Chen, Zhiquan; Zheng, Mingfei; Zhao, Mingzhuo

2018-01-01

Surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) have undisputed advantages like strong enhancement of the local electric field and much better adaptability to nano architectures. Here, we propose a three-dimensional plasmonic metamaterial consist of two nanorod layers, where this system comprises two silver bars stacked above another two symmetric silver bars. We use a theoretical model, which well explains the generation of plasmon induced transparency (PIT) phenomena. The highest reflection and absorption can reach about ninety percent and forty percent by tuning the asymmetry, respectively. As one of the applications, plasmonic sensors rely either on surface plasmon polaritons or on localized surface plasmons on continuous or nanostructured noble-metal surfaces to detect many events. In the sensing devices, an important comparative parameter of sensing devices is the figure of merit (FOM), and we also demonstrate the FOM via changing the refractive index of environmental dielectric. By adjusting the parameters, we can realize a high FOM, and an interesting double-peak sensing is also obtained in this plasmonic metamaterial sensor. The proposed model and findings may provide guidance for fundamental research of the integrated plasmonic nanosensor applications.

Particle-Film Plasmons on Periodic Silver Film over Nanosphere (AgFON): A Hybrid Plasmonic Nanoarchitecture for Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy.

PubMed

Lee, Jiwon; Zhang, Qianpeng; Park, Seungyoung; Choe, Ayoung; Fan, Zhiyong; Ko, Hyunhyub

2016-01-13

Plasmonic systems based on particle-film plasmonic couplings have recently attracted great attention because of the significantly enhanced electric field at the particle-film gaps. Here, we introduce a hybrid plasmonic architecture utilizing combined plasmonic effects of particle-film gap plasmons and silver film over nanosphere (AgFON) substrates. When gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are assembled on AgFON substrates with controllable particle-film gap distances, the AuNP-AgFON system supports multiple plasmonic couplings from interparticle, particle-film, and crevice gaps, resulting in a huge surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) effect. We show that the periodicity of AgFON substrates and the particle-film gaps greatly affects the surface plasmon resonances, and thus, the SERS effects due to the interplay between multiple plasmonic couplings. The optimally designed AuNP-AgFON substrate shows a SERS enhancement of 233 times compared to the bare AgFON substrate. The ultrasensitive SERS sensing capability is also demonstrated by detecting glutathione, a neurochemical molecule that is an important antioxidant, down to the 10 pM level.

Self-referenced directional enhanced Raman scattering using plasmon waveguide resonance for surface and bulk sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wan, Xiu-mei; Gao, Ran; Lu, Dan-feng; Qi, Zhi-mei

2018-01-01

Surface plasmon-coupled emission has been widely used in fluorescence imaging, biochemical sensing, and enhanced Raman spectroscopy. A self-referenced directional enhanced Raman scattering for simultaneous detection of surface and bulk effects by using plasmon waveguide resonance (PWR) based surface plasmon-coupled emission has been proposed and experimentally demonstrated. Raman scattering was captured on the prism side in Kretschmann-surface plasmon-coupled emission. The distinct penetration depths (δ) of the evanescent field for the transverse electric (TE) and transverse magnetic (TM) modes result in different detected distances of the Raman signal. The experimental results demonstrate that the self-referenced directional enhanced Raman scattering of the TE and TM modes based on the PWR can detect and distinguish the surface and bulk effects simultaneously, which appears to have potential applications in researches of chemistry, medicine, and biology.

A Low-Cost and Portable Dual-Channel Fiber Optic Surface Plasmon Resonance System.

PubMed

Liu, Qiang; Liu, Yun; Chen, Shimeng; Wang, Fang; Peng, Wei

2017-12-04

A miniaturization and integration dual-channel fiber optic surface plasmon resonance (SPR) system was proposed and demonstrated in this paper. We used a yellow light-emitting diode (LED, peak wavelength 595 nm) and built-in web camera as a light source and detector, respectively. Except for the detection channel, one of the sensors was used as a reference channel to compensate nonspecific binding and physical absorption. We packaged the LED and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensors together, which are flexible enough to be applied to mobile devices as a compact and portable system. Experimental results show that the normalized intensity shift and refractive index (RI) of the sample have a good linear relationship in the RI range from 1.328 to 1.348. We used this sensor to monitor the reversible, specific interaction between lectin concanavalin A (Con A) and glycoprotein ribonuclease B (RNase B), which demonstrate its capabilities of specific identification and biochemical samples concentration detection. This sensor system has potential applications in various fields, such as medical diagnosis, public health, food safety, and environment monitoring.

Plasmonic detection of mercury via amalgam formation on surface-immobilized single Au nanorods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schopf, Carola; Martín, Alfonso; Iacopino, Daniela

2017-12-01

Au nanorods were used as plasmonic transducers for investigation of mercury detection through a mechanism of amalgam formation at the nanorod surfaces. Marked scattering color transitions and associated blue shifts of the surface plasmon resonance peak wavelengths (λmax) were measured in individual nanorods by darkfield microscopy upon chemical reduction of Hg(II). Such changes were related to compositional changes occurring as a result of Hg-Au amalgam formation as well as morphological changes in the nanorods' aspect ratios. The plot of λmax shifts vs. Hg(II) concentration showed a linear response in the 10-100 nM concentration range. The sensitivity of the system was ascribed to the narrow width of single nanorod scattering spectra, which allowed accurate determination of peak shifts. The system displayed good selectivity as the optical response obtained for mercury was one order of magnitude higher than the response obtained with competitor ions. Analysis of mercury content in river and tap water were also performed and highlighted both the potential and limitation of the developed method for real sensing applications.

Resonance hybridization and near field properties of strongly coupled plasmonic ring dimer-rod nanosystem

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Koya, Alemayehu Nana; Ji, Boyu; Hao, Zuoqiang

2015-09-21

Combined effects of polarization, split gap, and rod width on the resonance hybridization and near field properties of strongly coupled gold dimer-rod nanosystem are comparatively investigated in the light of the constituent nanostructures. By aligning polarization of the incident light parallel to the long axis of the nanorod, introducing small split gaps to the dimer walls, and varying width of the nanorod, we have simultaneously achieved resonance mode coupling, huge near field enhancement, and prolonged plasmon lifetime. As a result of strong coupling between the nanostructures and due to an intense confinement of near fields at the split and dimer-rodmore » gaps, the extinction spectrum of the coupled nanosystem shows an increase in intensity and blueshift in wavelength. Consequently, the near field lifespan of the split-nanosystem is prolonged in contrast to the constituent nanostructures and unsplit-nanosystem. On the other hand, for polarization of the light perpendicular to the long axis of the nanorod, the effect of split gap on the optical responses of the coupled nanosystem is found to be insignificant compared to the parallel polarization. These findings and such geometries suggest that coupling an array of metallic split-ring dimer with long nanorod can resolve the huge radiative loss problem of plasmonic waveguide. In addition, the Fano-like resonances and immense near field enhancements at the split and dimer-rod gaps imply the potentials of the nanosystem for practical applications in localized surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy and sensing.« less

Coupling between graphene and intersubband collective excitations in quantum wells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gonzalez de la Cruz, G.

2017-08-01

Recently, strong light-matter coupling between the electromagnetic modes in plasmonic metasurfaces with quantum-engineering electronic intersubband transitions in quantum wells has been demonstrated experimentally (Benz et al., [14], Lee et al., [15]). These novel materials combining different two-dimensional electronic systems offer new opportunities for tunable optical devices and fundamental studies of collective excitations driven by interlayer Coulomb interactions. In this work, our aim is to study the plasmon spectra of a hybrid structure consisting of conventional two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) in a semiconductor quantum well and a graphene sheet with an interlayer separation of a. This electronic bilayer structure is immersed in a nonhomgeneous dielectric background of the system. We use a simple model in which the graphene surface plasmons and both; the intrasubband and intersubband collective electron excitations in the quantum well are coupled via screened Coulomb interaction. Here we calculate the dispersion of these relativistic/nonrelativistic new plasmon modes taking into account the thickness of the quantum well providing analytical expressions in the long-wavelength limit.

Scattering of Light and Surface Plasmon Polaritons from Rough Surfaces

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-06-14

Scattering of an electromagnetic wave from a slightly random dielectric surface: Yoneda peak and Brewster angle in incoherent scattering.” Waves...device applications. Thus, the negative refraction of a surface plasmon polariton was studied in two papers. In the first [1], all- angle negative... angle of incidence, measured counterclockwise from the negative x1 axis, is . The surface plasmon polariton of frequency transmitted through the

Label-Free Detection of Live Cancer Cells and DNA Hybridization using 3D Multilayered Plasmonic Biosensor.

PubMed

Zhu, Shuyan; Li, Hualin; Yang, Mengsu; Pang, Stella W

2018-05-31

Three-dimensional (3D) multilayered plasmonic structures consisting of Au submicrometric squares on top of SU-8 submicrometric pillars, Au asymmetrical submicrometric structures in the middle, and Au asymmetrical submicrometric holes at the bottom were fabricated through reversal nanoimprint technology. Compared with two-dimensional and quasi-3D plasmonic structures, the 3D multilayered plasmonic structures showed higher electromagnetic field intensity, longer plasmon decay length and larger plasmon sensing area, which are desirable for highly sensitive localized surface plasmonic resonance biosensors. The sensitivity and resonance peak wavelength of the 3D multilayered plasmonic structures could be adjusted by varying the offset between the top and bottom SU-8 submicrometric pillars from 31% to 56%, and the highest sensitivity of 382 and 442 nm/refractive index unit were observed for resonance peaks at 581 and 805 nm, respectively. Live lung cancer A549 cells with a low concentration of 5×103 cells/ml and a low sample volume of 2 µl could be detected by the 3D multilayered plasmonic structures integrated in a microfluidic system. The 3D plasmonic biosensors also had the advantages of detecting DNA hybridization by capturing the complementary target DNA in the low concentration range of 10-14 to 10-7 M, and providing a large peak shift of 82 nm for capturing 10-7 M complementary target DNA without additional signal amplification. Creative Commons Attribution license.

Surface-plasmon polariton scattering from a finite array of nanogrooves/ridges: Efficient mirrors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sánchez-Gil, José A.; Maradudin, Alexei A.

2005-06-01

The scattering of surface-plasmon polaritons (SPP) by finite arrays of one-dimensional nanodefects on metal surfaces is theoretically investigated on the basis of the reduced Rayleigh equation. Numerical calculations are carried out that rigorously account for all the scattering channels: SPP reflection and transmission, and radiative leakage. We analyze the range of parameters (defect size and number) for which high SPP reflection efficiency (low radiative losses) is achieved within a SPP band gap (negligible SPP transmission), neglecting ohmic losses (justified for array lengths significantly shorter than the SPP inelastic length): Smaller defects play better as SPP mirrors (e.g., efficiency >90% at λ ˜650nm for Gaussian ridges/grooves with sub-30nm height and half-width) than larger defects, since the latter yield significant radiative losses.

Coherent and tunable terahertz radiation from graphene surface plasmon polaritons excited by an electron beam

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Liu, Shenggang, E-mail: liusg@uestc.edu.cn; Hu, Min; Chen, Xiaoxing

2014-05-19

Although surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) resonance in graphene can be tuned in the terahertz regime, transforming such SPPs into coherent terahertz radiation has not been achieved. Here, we propose a graphene-based coherent terahertz radiation source with greatly enhanced intensity. The radiation works at room temperature, it is tunable and can cover the whole terahertz regime. The radiation intensity generated with this method is 400 times stronger than that from SPPs at a conventional dielectric or semiconducting surface and is comparable to that from the most advanced photonics source such as a quantum cascade laser. The physical mechanism for this strongmore » radiation is presented. The phase diagrams defining the parameters range for the occurrence of radiation is also shown.« less

Surface Plasmon Resonance Imaging biosensor for cystatin determination based on the application of bromelain, ficin and chymopapain.

PubMed

Gorodkiewicz, Ewa; Breczko, Joanna; Sankiewicz, Anna

2012-04-24

A Surface Plasmon Resonance Imaging (SPRI) sensor based on bromelain or chymopapain or ficin has been developed for specific cystatin determination. Cystatin was captured from a solution by immobilized bromelain or chymopapain or ficin due to the formation of an enzyme-inhibitor complex on the biosensor surface. The influence of bromelain, chymopapain or ficin concentration, as well as the pH of the interaction on the SPRI signal, was investigated and optimized. Sensor dynamic response range is between 0-0.6 μg/ml and the detection limit is equal to 0.1 μg/ml. In order to demonstrate the sensor potential, cystatin was determined in blood plasma, urine and saliva, showing good agreement with the data reported in the literature.

Interference of conically scattered light in surface plasmon resonance.

PubMed

Webster, Aaron; Vollmer, Frank

2013-02-01

Surface plasmon polaritons on thin metal films are a well studied phenomena when excited using prism coupled geometries such as the Kretschmann attenuated total reflection configuration. Here we describe a novel interference pattern in the conically scattered light emanating from such a configuration when illuminated by a focused beam. We observe conditions indicating only self-interference of scattered surface plasmon polaritions without any contributions from specular reflection. The spatial evolution of this field is described in the context of Fourier optics and has applications in highly sensitive surface plasmon based biosensing.

Screening effect on the polaron by surface plasmons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Xiaoying; Xu, Xiaoshan; Seal, Katyayani; Guo, Hangwen; Shen, Jian; Low Dimensional Materials Physics, Oak Ridge National Lab Team; University of Tennessee Team; Physics Department, Fudan University Team

2011-03-01

Surface plasmons occur when the conduction electrons at a metal/dielectric interface resonantly interact with external electromagnetic fields. While surface plasmons in vicinity of a polaron in the dielectric material, a strong screening effect on polaron characteristics is introduced. In this work, we observed the reduction of polarons in multiferroic LuFe2O4, which is mainly contributed by surface plasmons. Research sponsored by the Laboratory Directed Research and Development Program of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, managed by UT-Battelle, LLC, for the U. S. Department of Energy.

Surface Plasmon Resonance Sensors on Raman and Fluorescence Spectroscopy

PubMed Central

Wang, Jiangcai; Lin, Weihua; Cao, En; Xu, Xuefeng; Liang, Wenjie; Zhang, Xiaofang

2017-01-01

The performance of chemical reactions has been enhanced immensely with surface plasmon resonance (SPR)-based sensors. In this review, the principle and application of SPR sensors are introduced and summarized thoroughly. We introduce the mechanism of the SPR sensors and present a thorough summary about the optical design, including the substrate and excitation modes of the surface plasmons. Additionally, the applications based on SPR sensors are described by the Raman and fluorescence spectroscopy in plasmon-driven surface catalytic reactions and the measurement of refractive index sensing, especially. PMID:29212139

Method for surface plasmon amplification by stimulated emission of radiation (SPASER)

DOEpatents

Stockman, Mark I [Atlanta, GA; Bergman, David J [Ramat Hasharon, IL

2011-09-13

A nanostructure is used to generate a highly localized nanoscale optical field. The field is excited using surface plasmon amplification by stimulated emission of radiation (SPASER). The SPASER radiation consists of surface plasmons that undergo stimulated emission, but in contrast to photons can be localized within a nanoscale region. A SPASER can incorporate an active medium formed by two-level emitters, excited by an energy source, such as an optical, electrical, or chemical energy source. The active medium may be quantum dots, which transfer excitation energy by radiationless transitions to a resonant nanosystem that can play the same role as a laser cavity in a conventional laser. The transitions are stimulated by the surface plasmons in the nanostructure, causing the buildup of a macroscopic number of surface plasmons in a single mode.

Surface plasmon amplification by stimulated emission of radiation (SPASER)

DOEpatents

Stockman, Mark I [Atlanta, GA; Bergman, David J [Ramat Hasharon, IL

2009-08-04

A nanostructure is used to generate a highly localized nanoscale optical field. The field is excited using surface plasmon amplification by stimulated emission of radiation (SPASER). The SPASER radiation consists of surface plasmons that undergo stimulated emission, but in contrast to photons can be localized within a nanoscale region. A SPASER can incorporate an active medium formed by two-level emitters, excited by an energy source, such as an optical, electrical, or chemical energy source. The active medium may be quantum dots, which transfer excitation energy by radiationless transitions to a resonant nanosystem that can play the same role as a laser cavity in a conventional laser. The transitions are stimulated by the surface plasmons in the nanostructure, causing the buildup of a macroscopic number of surface plasmons in a single mode.

Light-controlled plasmon switching using hybrid metal-semiconductor nanostructures.

PubMed

Paudel, Hari P; Leuenberger, Michael N

2012-06-13

We present a proof of concept for the dynamic control over the plasmon resonance frequencies in a hybrid metal-semiconductor nanoshell structure with Ag core and TiO(2) coating. Our method relies on the temporary change of the dielectric function ε of TiO(2) achieved through temporarily generated electron-hole pairs by means of a pump laser pulse. This change in ε leads to a blue shift of the Ag surface plasmon frequency. We choose TiO(2) as the environment of the Ag core because the band gap energy of TiO(2) is larger than the Ag surface plasmon energy of our nanoparticles, which allows the surface plasmon being excited without generating electron-hole pairs in the environment at the same time. We calculate the magnitude of the plasmon resonance shift as a function of electron-hole pair density and obtain shifts up to 126 nm at wavelengths around 460 nm. Using our results, we develop the model of a light-controlled surface plasmon polariton switch.

Ultrafast Imaging of Chiral Surface Plasmon by Photoemission Electron Microscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dai, Yanan; Dabrowski, Maciej; Petek, Hrvoje

We employ Time-Resolved Photoemission Electron Microscopy (TR-PEEM) to study surface plasmon polariton (SPP) wave packet dynamics launched by tunable (VIS-UV) femtosecond pulses of various linear and circular polarizations. The plasmonic structures are micron size single-crystalline Ag islands grown in situ on Si surfaces and characterized by Low Energy Electron Microscopy (LEEM). The local fields of plasmonic modes enhance two and three photon photoemission (2PP and 3PP) at the regions of strong field enhancement. Imaging of the photoemission signal with PEEM electron optics thus images the plasmonic fields excited in the samples. The observed PEEM images with left and right circularly polarized light show chiral images, which is a consequence of the transverse spin momentum of surface plasmon. By changing incident light polarization, the plasmon interference pattern shifts with light ellipticity indicating a polarization dependent excitation phase of SPP. In addition, interferometric-time resolved measurements record the asymmetric SPP wave packet motion in order to characterize the dynamical properties of chiral SPP wave packets.

Au-coated tilted fiber Bragg grating twist sensor based on surface plasmon resonance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shen, Changyu; Zhang, Yang; Zhou, Wenjun; Albert, Jacques

2014-02-01

A fiber twist sensor based on the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect of an Au-coated tilted fiber Bragg grating (TFBG) is proposed. The SPR response to the twist effect on an Au-coated TFBG (immersing in distilled water) is studied theoretically and experimentally. The results show that the transmission power around the wavelength of SPR changes with the twist angle. For the twist ranging from 0° to 180° in clockwise or anti-clockwise directions, the proposed sensor shows sensitivities of 0.037 dBm/° (S-polarized) and 0.039 dBm/° (P-polarized), which are almost 7.5 times higher than that of the current similar existing twist sensor.

Circular polarization analyzer with polarization tunable focusing of surface plasmon polaritons

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wang, Sen; Zhang, Yan, E-mail: yzhang@mail.cnu.edu.cn; Beijing Key Laboratory for Metamaterials and Devices, and Key Laboratory of Terahertz Optoelectronics, Ministry of Education, Department of Physics, Capital Normal University, Beijing 100048

2015-12-14

A practical circular polarization analyzer (CPA) that can selectively focus surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) at two separate locations, according to the helicity of the circularly polarized light, is designed and experimentally verified in the terahertz frequency range. The CPA consists of fishbone-slit units and is designed using the simulated annealing algorithm. By differentially detecting the intensities of the two SPPs focuses, the helicity of the incident circularly polarized light can be obtained and the CPA is less vulnerable to the noise of incident light. The proposed device may also have wide potential applications in chiral SPPs photonics and the analysismore » of chiral molecules in biology.« less

Localized surface plasmons in vibrating graphene nanodisks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Weihua; Li, Bo-Hong; Stassen, Erik; Mortensen, N. Asger; Christensen, Johan

2016-02-01

Localized surface plasmons are confined collective oscillations of electrons in metallic nanoparticles. When driven by light, the optical response is dictated by geometrical parameters and the dielectric environment and plasmons are therefore extremely important for sensing applications. Plasmons in graphene disks have the additional benefit of being highly tunable via electrical stimulation. Mechanical vibrations create structural deformations in ways where the excitation of localized surface plasmons can be strongly modulated. We show that the spectral shift in such a scenario is determined by a complex interplay between the symmetry and shape of the modal vibrations and the plasmonic mode pattern. Tuning confined modes of light in graphene via acoustic excitations, paves new avenues in shaping the sensitivity of plasmonic detectors, and in the enhancement of the interaction with optical emitters, such as molecules, for future nanophotonic devices.

Roadmap on plasmonics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stockman, Mark I.; Kneipp, Katrin; Bozhevolnyi, Sergey I.; Saha, Soham; Dutta, Aveek; Ndukaife, Justus; Kinsey, Nathaniel; Reddy, Harsha; Guler, Urcan; Shalaev, Vladimir M.; Boltasseva, Alexandra; Gholipour, Behrad; Krishnamoorthy, Harish N. S.; MacDonald, Kevin F.; Soci, Cesare; Zheludev, Nikolay I.; Savinov, Vassili; Singh, Ranjan; Groß, Petra; Lienau, Christoph; Vadai, Michal; Solomon, Michelle L.; Barton, David R., III; Lawrence, Mark; Dionne, Jennifer A.; Boriskina, Svetlana V.; Esteban, Ruben; Aizpurua, Javier; Zhang, Xiang; Yang, Sui; Wang, Danqing; Wang, Weijia; Odom, Teri W.; Accanto, Nicolò; de Roque, Pablo M.; Hancu, Ion M.; Piatkowski, Lukasz; van Hulst, Niek F.; Kling, Matthias F.

2018-04-01

Plasmonics is a rapidly developing field at the boundary of physical optics and condensed matter physics. It studies phenomena induced by and associated with surface plasmons—elementary polar excitations bound to surfaces and interfaces of good nanostructured metals. This Roadmap is written collectively by prominent researchers in the field of plasmonics. It encompasses selected aspects of nanoplasmonics. Among them are fundamental aspects, such as quantum plasmonics based on the quantum-mechanical properties of both the underlying materials and the plasmons themselves (such as their quantum generator, spaser), plasmonics in novel materials, ultrafast (attosecond) nanoplasmonics, etc. Selected applications of nanoplasmonics are also reflected in this Roadmap, in particular, plasmonic waveguiding, practical applications of plasmonics enabled by novel materials, thermo-plasmonics, plasmonic-induced photochemistry and photo-catalysis. This Roadmap is a concise but authoritative overview of modern plasmonics. It will be of interest to a wide audience of both fundamental physicists and chemists, as well as applied scientists and engineers.

Photoluminescence enhancement of monolayer tungsten disulfide in complicated plasmonic microstructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Yi; Hu, Xiaoyong; Gao, Wei; Song, Hanfa; Chu, Saisai; Yang, Hong; Gong, Qihuang

2018-06-01

Two-dimensional van der Waals materials are interesting for fundamental physics exploration and device applications because of their attractive physical properties. Here, we report a strategy to realize photoluminescence (PL) enhancement of two-dimensional transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) in the visible range using a plasmonic microstructure with patterned gold nanoantennas and a metal-insulator-semiconductor-insulator-metal structure. The PL intensity was enhanced by a factor of two under Y-polarization due to the increased radiative decay rate by the surface plasmon radiation channel in the gold nanoantennas and the decreased nonradiative decay rate by suppressing exciton quenching in the SiO2 isolation layer. The fluorescence lifetime of monolayer tungsten disulfide in this structure was shorter than that of a sample without patterned gold nanoantennas. Tailoring the light-matter interactions between two-dimensional TMDCs and plasmonic nanostructures may provide highly efficient optoelectronic devices such as TMDC-based light emitters.

Complementary structure for designer localized surface plasmons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Zhen; Gao, Fei; Zhang, Youming; Zhang, Baile

2015-11-01

Magnetic localized surface plasmons (LSPs) supported on metallic structures corrugated by very long and curved grooves have been recently proposed and demonstrated on an extremely thin metallic spiral structure (MSS) in the microwave regime. However, the mode profile for the magnetic LSPs was demonstrated by measuring only the electric field, not the magnetic field. Here, based on Babinet's principle, we propose a Babinet-inverted, or complementary MSS whose electric/magnetic mode profiles match the magnetic/electric mode profiles of MSS. This complementarity of mode profiles allows mapping the magnetic field distribution of magnetic LSP mode profile on MSS by measuring the electric field distribution of the corresponding mode on complementary MSS. Experiment at microwave frequencies also demonstrate the use of complementary MSS in sensing refractive-index change in the environment.

Characterization of plasmonic effects in thin films and metamaterials using spectroscopic ellipsometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oates, T. W. H.; Wormeester, H.; Arwin, H.

2011-12-01

In this article, spectroscopic ellipsometry studies of plasmon resonances at metal-dielectric interfaces of thin films are reviewed. We show how ellipsometry provides valuable non-invasive amplitude and phase information from which one can determine the effective dielectric functions, and how these relate to the material nanostructure and define exactly the plasmonic characteristics of the system. There are three related plasmons that are observable using spectroscopic ellipsometry; volume plasmon resonances, surface plasmon polaritons and particle plasmon resonances. We demonstrate that the established method of exploiting surface plasmon polaritons for chemical and biological sensing may be enhanced using the ellipsometric phase information and provide a comprehensive theoretical basis for the technique. We show how the particle and volume plasmon resonances in the ellipsometric spectra of nanoparticle films are directly related to size, surface coverage and constituent dielectric functions of the nanoparticles. The regularly observed splitting of the particle plasmon resonance is theoretically described using modified effective medium theories within the framework of ellipsometry. We demonstrate the wealth of information available from real-time in situ spectroscopic ellipsometry measurements of metal film deposition, including the evolution of the plasmon resonances and percolation events. Finally, we discuss how generalized and Mueller matrix ellipsometry hold great potential for characterizing plasmonic metamaterials and sub-wavelength hole arrays.

Fabrication of tunable plasmonic 3D nanostructures for SERS applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ozbay, Ayse; Yuksel, Handan; Solmaz, Ramazan; Kahraman, Mehmet

2016-03-01

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is a powerful technique used for characterization of biological and nonbiological molecules and structures. Since plasmonic properties of the nanomaterials is one of the most important factor influencing SERS activity, tunable plasmonic properties (wavelength of the surface plasmons and magnitude of the electromagnetic field generated on the surface) of SERS substrates are crucial in SERS studies. SERS enhancement can be maximized by controlling of plasmonic properties of the nanomaterials. In this study, a novel approach to fabricate tunable plasmonic 3D nanostructures based on combination of soft lithography and nanosphere lithography is studied. Spherical latex particles having different diameters are uniformly deposited on glass slides with convective assembly method. The experimental parameters for the convective assembly are optimized by changing of latex spheres concentration, stage velocity and latex particles volume placed between to two glass slides that staying with a certain angle to each other. Afterwards, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) elastomer is poured on the deposited latex particles and cured to obtain nanovoids on the PDMS surfaces. The diameter and depth of the nanovoids on the PDMS surface are controlled by the size of the latex particles. Finally, fabricated nanovoid template on the PDMS surfaces are filled with the silver coating to obtain plasmonic 3D nanostructures. Characterization of the fabricated surfaces is performed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). SERS performance of fabricated 3D plasmonic nanostructures will be evaluated using Raman reporter molecules.

Radiative energy transfer from MoS2 excitons to surface plasmons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kang, Yimin; Li, Bowen; Fang, Zheyu

2017-12-01

In this work, we demonstrated the energy transfer process from few-layer MoS2 to gold dimer arrays via ultrafast pump-probe spectroscopy. With the overlap between the MoS2 exciton and the designed plasmon dipolar modes in the frequency domain, the exciton energy can be radiatively transferred to plasmonic structures, excited the localized surface plasmon resonance, and then enhanced the oscillation of coherent acoustic phonons. Power-dependent differential reflection signals and an analytical model based on the rate equation of exciton density were carried out to quantitatively study the energy transfer process. Our finding explores the energy flow between MoS2 excitons and surface plasmons, and can be contributed to the design of exciton-plasmon structures utilizing ultrathin materials.

Fourier Transform-Plasmon Waveguide Spectroscopy: A Nondestructive Multifrequency Method for Simultaneously Determining Polymer Thickness and Apparent Index of Refraction

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bobbitt, Jonathan M; Weibel, Stephen C; Elshobaki, Moneim

2014-12-16

Fourier transform (FT)-plasmon waveguide resonance (PWR) spectroscopy measures light reflectivity at a waveguide interface as the incident frequency and angle are scanned. Under conditions of total internal reflection, the reflected light intensity is attenuated when the incident frequency and angle satisfy conditions for exciting surface plasmon modes in the metal as well as guided modes within the waveguide. Expanding upon the concept of two-frequency surface plasmon resonance developed by Peterlinz and Georgiadis [ Opt. Commun. 1996, 130, 260], the apparent index of refraction and the thickness of a waveguide can be measured precisely and simultaneously by FT-PWR with an averagemore » percent relative error of 0.4%. Measuring reflectivity for a range of frequencies extends the analysis to a wide variety of sample compositions and thicknesses since frequencies with the maximum attenuation can be selected to optimize the analysis. Additionally, the ability to measure reflectivity curves with both p- and s-polarized light provides anisotropic indices of refraction. FT-PWR is demonstrated using polystyrene waveguides of varying thickness, and the validity of FT-PWR measurements are verified by comparing the results to data from profilometry and atomic force microscopy (AFM).« less

Fourier transform-plasmon waveguide spectroscopy: a nondestructive multifrequency method for simultaneously determining polymer thickness and apparent index of refraction.

PubMed

Bobbitt, Jonathan M; Weibel, Stephen C; Elshobaki, Moneim; Chaudhary, Sumit; Smith, Emily A

2014-12-16

Fourier transform (FT)-plasmon waveguide resonance (PWR) spectroscopy measures light reflectivity at a waveguide interface as the incident frequency and angle are scanned. Under conditions of total internal reflection, the reflected light intensity is attenuated when the incident frequency and angle satisfy conditions for exciting surface plasmon modes in the metal as well as guided modes within the waveguide. Expanding upon the concept of two-frequency surface plasmon resonance developed by Peterlinz and Georgiadis [Opt. Commun. 1996, 130, 260], the apparent index of refraction and the thickness of a waveguide can be measured precisely and simultaneously by FT-PWR with an average percent relative error of 0.4%. Measuring reflectivity for a range of frequencies extends the analysis to a wide variety of sample compositions and thicknesses since frequencies with the maximum attenuation can be selected to optimize the analysis. Additionally, the ability to measure reflectivity curves with both p- and s-polarized light provides anisotropic indices of refraction. FT-PWR is demonstrated using polystyrene waveguides of varying thickness, and the validity of FT-PWR measurements are verified by comparing the results to data from profilometry and atomic force microscopy (AFM).

Three-Dimensional Hierarchical Plasmonic Nano-Architecture Enhanced Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Immuno-Sensor for Cancer Biomarker Detection in Blood Plasma

PubMed Central

Li, Ming; Cushing, Scott K.; Zhang, Jianming; Suri, Savan; Evans, Rebecca; Petros, William P.; Gibson, Laura F.; Ma, Dongling; Liu, Yuxin; Wu, Nianqiang

2013-01-01

A three-dimensional (3D) hierarchical plasmonic nano-architecture has been designed for a sensitive surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) immuno-sensor for protein biomarker detection. The capture antibody molecules are immobilized on a plasmonic gold triangle nano-array pattern. On the other hand, the detection antibody molecules are linked to the gold nano-star@Raman-reporter@silica sandwich nanoparticles. When protein biomarkers are present, the sandwich nanoparticles are captured over the gold triangle nano-array, forming a confined 3D plasmonic field, leading to the enhanced electromagnetic field in intensity and in 3D space. As a result, the Raman reporter molecules are exposed to a high density of “hot spots”, which amplifies the Raman signal remarkably, improving the sensitivity of the SERS immuno-sensor. This SERS immuno-sensor exhibits a wide linear range (0.1 pg/mL to 10 ng/mL), and a low limit of detection (7 fg/mL) toward human immunoglobulin G (IgG) protein in the buffer solution. This biosensor has been successfully used for detection of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the human blood plasma from clinical breast cancer patient samples. PMID:23659430

Low-loss integrated electrical surface plasmon source with ultra-smooth metal film fabricated by polymethyl methacrylate 'bond and peel' method.

PubMed

Liu, Wenjie; Hu, Xiaolong; Zou, Qiushun; Wu, Shaoying; Jin, Chongjun

2018-06-15

External light sources are mostly employed to functionalize the plasmonic components, resulting in a bulky footprint. Electrically driven integrated plasmonic devices, combining ultra-compact critical feature sizes with extremely high transmission speeds and low power consumption, can link plasmonics with the present-day electronic world. In an effort to achieve this prospect, suppressing the losses in the plasmonic devices becomes a pressing issue. In this work, we developed a novel polymethyl methacrylate 'bond and peel' method to fabricate metal films with sub-nanometer smooth surfaces on semiconductor wafers. Based on this method, we further fabricated a compact plasmonic source containing a metal-insulator-metal (MIM) waveguide with an ultra-smooth metal surface on a GaAs-based light-emitting diode wafer. An increase in propagation length of the SPP mode by a factor of 2.95 was achieved as compared with the conventional device containing a relatively rough metal surface. Numerical calculations further confirmed that the propagation length is comparable to the theoretical prediction on the MIM waveguide with perfectly smooth metal surfaces. This method facilitates low-loss and high-integration of electrically driven plasmonic devices, thus provides an immediate opportunity for the practical application of on-chip integrated plasmonic circuits.

Low-loss integrated electrical surface plasmon source with ultra-smooth metal film fabricated by polymethyl methacrylate ‘bond and peel’ method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Wenjie; Hu, Xiaolong; Zou, Qiushun; Wu, Shaoying; Jin, Chongjun

2018-06-01

External light sources are mostly employed to functionalize the plasmonic components, resulting in a bulky footprint. Electrically driven integrated plasmonic devices, combining ultra-compact critical feature sizes with extremely high transmission speeds and low power consumption, can link plasmonics with the present-day electronic world. In an effort to achieve this prospect, suppressing the losses in the plasmonic devices becomes a pressing issue. In this work, we developed a novel polymethyl methacrylate ‘bond and peel’ method to fabricate metal films with sub-nanometer smooth surfaces on semiconductor wafers. Based on this method, we further fabricated a compact plasmonic source containing a metal-insulator-metal (MIM) waveguide with an ultra-smooth metal surface on a GaAs-based light-emitting diode wafer. An increase in propagation length of the SPP mode by a factor of 2.95 was achieved as compared with the conventional device containing a relatively rough metal surface. Numerical calculations further confirmed that the propagation length is comparable to the theoretical prediction on the MIM waveguide with perfectly smooth metal surfaces. This method facilitates low-loss and high-integration of electrically driven plasmonic devices, thus provides an immediate opportunity for the practical application of on-chip integrated plasmonic circuits.

Plasmonic biosensors.

PubMed

Hill, Ryan T

2015-01-01

The unique optical properties of plasmon resonant nanostructures enable exploration of nanoscale environments using relatively simple optical characterization techniques. For this reason, the field of plasmonics continues to garner the attention of the biosensing community. Biosensors based on propagating surface plasmon resonances (SPRs) in films are the most well-recognized plasmonic biosensors, but there is great potential for the new, developing technologies to surpass the robustness and popularity of film-based SPR sensing. This review surveys the current plasmonic biosensor landscape with emphasis on the basic operating principles of each plasmonic sensing technique and the practical considerations when developing a sensing platform with the various techniques. The 'gold standard' film SPR technique is reviewed briefly, but special emphasis is devoted to the up-and-coming localized surface plasmon resonance and plasmonically coupled sensor technology. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Microfluidic transmission surface plasmon resonance enhancement for biosensor applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lertvachirapaiboon, Chutiparn; Baba, Akira; Ekgasit, Sanong; Shinbo, Kazunari; Kato, Keizo; Kaneko, Futao

2017-01-01

The microfluidic transmission surface plasmon resonance (MTSPR) constructed by assembling a gold-coated grating substrate with a microchannel was employed for biosensor application. The transmission surface plasmon resonance spectrum obtained from the MTSPR sensor chip showed a strong and narrow surface plasmon resonance (SPR) peak located between 650 and 800 nm. The maximum SPR excitation was observed at an incident angle of 35°. The MTSPR sensor chip was employed for glucose sensor application. Gold-coated grating substrates were functionalized using 3-mercapto-1-propanesulfonic acid sodium salt and subsequently functionalized using a five-bilayer poly(allylamine hydrochloride)/poly(sodium 4-styrenesulfonate) to facilitate the coupling/decoupling of the surface plasmon and to prepare a uniform surface for sensing. The detection limit of our developed system for glucose was 2.31 mM. This practical platform represents a high possibility of further developing several biomolecules, multiplex systems, and a point-of-care assay for practical biosensor applications.

Plasmonic nanostructures for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Ruiqian

In the last three decades, a large number of different plasmonic nanostructures have attracted much attention due to their unique optical properties. Those plasmonic nanostructures include nanoparticles, nanoholes and metal nanovoids. They have been widely utilized in optical devices and sensors. When the plasmonic nanostructures interact with the electromagnetic wave and their surface plasmon frequency match with the light frequency, the electrons in plasmonic nanostructures will resonate with the same oscillation as incident light. In this case, the plasmonic nanostructures can absorb light and enhance the light scattering. Therefore, the plasmonic nanostructures can be used as substrate for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy to enhance the Raman signal. Using plasmonic nanostructures can significantly enhance Raman scattering of molecules with very low concentrations. In this thesis, two different plasmonic nanostructures Ag dendrites and Au/Ag core-shell nanoparticles are investigated. Simple methods were used to produce these two plasmonic nanostructures. Then, their applications in surface enhanced Raman scattering have been explored. Ag dendrites were produced by galvanic replacement reaction, which was conducted using Ag nitrate aqueous solution and copper metal. Metal copper layer was deposited at the bottom side of anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membrane. Silver wires formed inside AAO channels connected Ag nitrate on the top of AAO membrane and copper layer at the bottom side of AAO. Silver dendrites were formed on the top side of AAO. The second plasmonic nanostructure is Au/Ag core-shell nanoparticles. They were fabricated by electroless plating (galvanic replacement) reaction in a silver plating solution. First, electrochemically evolved hydrogen bubbles were used as template through electroless deposition to produce hollow Au nanoparticles. Then, the Au nanoparticles were coated with Cu shells in a Cu plating solution. In the following step, a AgCN based plating solution was used to replace Cu shell to form Au/Ag core-shell nanoparticles. These two plasmonic nanostructures were tested as substrates for Raman spectroscopy. It demonstrated that these plasmonic nanostructures could enhance Raman signal from the molecules on their surface. The results indicate that these plasmonic nanostructures could be utilized in many fields, such as such as biological and environmental sensors.

Controlling the state of polarization via optical nanoantenna feeding with surface plasmon polaritons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xie, Yu-Bo; Liu, Zheng-Yang; Wang, Qian-Jin; Sun, Guang-Hou; Zhang, Xue-Jin; Zhu, Yong-Yuan

2016-03-01

Optical nanoantennas, usually referring to metal structures with localized surface plasmon resonance, could efficiently convert confined optical energy to free-space light, and vice versa. But it is difficult to manipulate the confined visible light energy for its nanoscale spatial extent. Here, a simple method is proposed to solve this problem by controlling surface plasmon polaritons to indirectly manipulate the localized plasmons. As a proof of principle, we demonstrate an optical rotation device which is a grating with central circular polarization optical nanoantenna. It realized the arbitrary optical rotation of linear polarized light by controlling the retard of dual surface plasmon polaritons sources from both side grating structures. Furthermore, we use a two-parameter theoretical model to explain the experimental results.

Channel surface plasmons in a continuous and flat graphene sheet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chaves, A. J.; Peres, N. M. R.; da Costa, D. R.; Farias, G. A.

2018-05-01

We derive an integral equation describing surface-plasmon polaritons in graphene deposited on a substrate with a planar surface and a dielectric protrusion in the opposite surface of the dielectric slab. We show that the problem is mathematically equivalent to the solution of a Fredholm equation, which we solve exactly. In addition, we show that the dispersion relation of the channel surface plasmons is determined by the geometric parameters of the protrusion alone. We also show that such a system supports both even and odd modes. We give the electrostatic potential and the intensity plot of the electrostatic field, which clearly show the transverse localized nature of the surface plasmons in a continuous and flat graphene sheet.

CMOS plasmonics in WDM data transmission: 200 Gb/s (8 × 25Gb/s) transmission over aluminum plasmonic waveguides.

PubMed

Dabos, G; Manolis, A; Papaioannou, S; Tsiokos, D; Markey, L; Weeber, J-C; Dereux, A; Giesecke, A L; Porschatis, C; Chmielak, B; Pleros, N

2018-05-14

We demonstrate wavelength-division-multiplexed (WDM) 200 Gb/s (8 × 25 Gb/s) data transmission over 100 μm long aluminum (Al) surface-plasmon-polariton (SPP) waveguides on a Si 3 N 4 waveguide platform at telecom wavelengths. The Al SPP waveguide was evaluated in terms of signal integrity by performing bit-error-rate (BER) measurements that revealed error-free operation for all eight 25 Gb/s non-return-to-zero (NRZ) modulated data channels with power penalties not exceeding 0.2 dB at 10 -9 . To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of WDM enabled data transmission over complementary-metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) SPP waveguides fueling future development of CMOS compatible plasmo-photonic devices for on-chip optical interconnections.

Compact Magnetic Antennas for Directional Excitation of Surface Plasmons

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-07-01

Steininger, G.; Koch, M.; von Plessen, G.; Feldmann, J. Launching surface plasmons into nanoholes in metal films. Appl. Phys. Lett. 2000, 76, 140−142...plasmons at single nanoholes in Au films. Appl. Phys. Lett. 2004, 85, 467−469. (14) Baudrion, A.-L.; et al. Coupling efficiency of light to surface

Inelastic X-ray Scattering Studies of Plasmons in Carbon Nanotubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Upton, M. H.; Casa, D.; Gog, T.; Misewich, J.; Hill, J. P.; Lowndes, D.; Eres, G.

2006-03-01

We report preliminary inelastic x-ray scattering measurements of the plasmon dispersions in oriented multi- and single- walled carbon nanotubes (M- and S- WCNT) and compare them to the plasmon dispersion in graphite. Two plasmon bands are observed dispersing along the nanotubes' axes: the π and π+σ plasmon bands. The π+σ plasmon band exhibits an apparent systematic variation in energy. Specifically, it has a lower energy in MWCNT than in graphite, and a still lower energy in SWCNT. The energy of the π+σ plasmon band is determined by the plasma frequency of the material, which is proportional to the square root of the electron density. We postulate that the energy shift is a result of a surface effect -- the electron wave function extends past the surface, lowering the average electron density in the bulk. The higher surface-to-volume ratio of the mostly SW sample would then lower the plasmon frequency with respect to the MWCNT sample and graphite. Thus, the systematic variation in plasmon frequency may be explained by a lowering of the net electron density by the surfaces in S- and M-WCNT. Work performed at BNL and the Advanced Photon Source was supported by the US DOE under contracts No. DE-AC02-98CH10886 and No. W-31-109-Eng-38 respectively.

How does the plasmonic enhancement of molecular absorption depend on the energy gap between molecular excitation and plasmon modes: a mixed TDDFT/FDTD investigation.

PubMed

Sun, Jin; Li, Guang; Liang, WanZhen

2015-07-14

A real-time time-dependent density functional theory coupled with the classical electrodynamics finite difference time domain technique is employed to systematically investigate the optical properties of hybrid systems composed of silver nanoparticles (NPs) and organic adsorbates. The results demonstrate that the molecular absorption spectra throughout the whole energy range can be enhanced by the surface plasmon resonance of Ag NPs; however, the absorption enhancement ratio (AER) for each absorption band differs significantly from the others, leading to the quite different spectral profiles of the hybrid complexes in contrast to those of isolated molecules or sole NPs. Detailed investigations reveal that the AER is sensitive to the energy gap between the molecular excitation and plasmon modes. As anticipated, two separate absorption bands, corresponding to the isolated molecules and sole NPs, have been observed at a large energy gap. When the energy gap approaches zero, the molecular excitation strongly couples with the plasmon mode to form the hybrid exciton band, which possesses the significantly enhanced absorption intensity, a red-shifted peak position, a surprising strongly asymmetric shape of the absorption band, and the nonlinear Fano effect. Furthermore, the dependence of surface localized fields and the scattering response functions (SRFs) on the geometrical parameters of NPs, the NP-molecule separation distance, and the external-field polarizations has also been depicted.

Spatially Probed Plasmonic Photothermic Nanoheater Enhanced Hybrid Polymeric-Metallic PVDF-Ag Nanogenerator.

PubMed

Liow, Chi Hao; Lu, Xin; Tan, Chuan Fu; Chan, Kwok Hoe; Zeng, Kaiyang; Li, Shuzhou; Ho, Ghim Wei

2018-02-01

Surface plasmon-based photonics offers exciting opportunities to enable fine control of the site, span, and extent of mechanical harvesting. However, the interaction between plasmonic photothermic and piezoresponse still remains underexplored. Here, spatially localized and controllable piezoresponse of a hybrid self-polarized polymeric-metallic system that correlates to plasmonic light-to-heat modulation of the local strain is demonstrated. The piezoresponse is associated to the localized plasmons that serve as efficient nanoheaters leading to self-regulated strain via thermal expansion of the electroactive polymer. Moreover, the finite-difference time-domain simulation and linear thermal model also deduce the local strain to the surface plasmon heat absorption. The distinct plasmonic photothermic-piezoelectric phenomenon mediates not only localized external stimulus light response but also enhances dynamic piezoelectric energy harvesting. The present work highlights a promising surface plasmon coordinated piezoelectric response which underpins energy localization and transfer for diversified design of unique photothermic-piezotronic technology. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

TiO2 brookite nanostructured thin layer on magneto-optical surface plasmon resonance transductor for gas sensing applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Manera, M. G.; Colombelli, A.; Rella, R.; Caricato, A.; Cozzoli, P. D.; Martino, M.; Vasanelli, L.

2012-09-01

The sensing performance comparisons presented in this work were carried out by exploiting a suitable magneto-plasmonic sensor in both the traditional surface plasmon resonance configuration and the innovative magneto-optic surface plasmon resonance one. The particular multilayer transducer was functionalized with TiO2 Brookite nanorods layers deposited by matrix assisted pulsed laser evaporation, and its sensing capabilities were monitored in a controlled atmosphere towards different concentrations of volatile organic compounds mixed in dry air.

Characterization of CMOS metal based dielectric loaded surface plasmon waveguides at telecom wavelengths.

PubMed

Weeber, J-C; Arocas, J; Heintz, O; Markey, L; Viarbitskaya, S; Colas-des-Francs, G; Hammani, K; Dereux, A; Hoessbacher, C; Koch, U; Leuthold, J; Rohracher, K; Giesecke, A L; Porschatis, C; Wahlbrink, T; Chmielak, B; Pleros, N; Tsiokos, D

2017-01-09

Dielectric loaded surface plasmon waveguides (DLSPPWs) comprised of polymer ridges deposited on top of CMOS compatible metal thin films are investigated at telecom wavelengths. We perform a direct comparison of the properties of copper (Cu), aluminum (Al), titanium nitride (TiN) and gold (Au) based waveguides by implementing the same plasmonic waveguiding configuration for each metal. The DLSPPWs are characterized by leakage radiation microscopy and a fiber-to-fiber configuration mimicking the cut-back method. We introduce the ohmic loss rate (OLR) to analyze quantitatively the properties of the CMOS metal based DLSPPWs relative to the corresponding Au based waveguides. We show that the Cu, Al and TiN based waveguides feature extra ohmic loss compared to Au of 0.027 dB/μm, 0.18 dB/μm and 0.52 dB/μm at 1550nm respectively. The dielectric function of each metal extracted from ellipsometric spectroscopic measurements is used to model the properties of the DLSP-PWs. We find a fairly good agreement between experimental and modeled DLSPPWs properties except for Al featuring a large surface roughness. Finally, we conclude that TiN based waveguides sustaining intermediate effective index (in the range 1.05-1.25) plasmon modes propagate over very short distances restricting the the use of those modes in practical situations.

Nano-optomechanical characterization of surface-plasmon-based tunable filter integrated with comb-drive actuator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Honma, H.; Mitsudome, M.; Ishida, M.; Sawada, K.; Takahashi, K.

2017-03-01

We report a tunable plasmonic color filter consisting of a metamaterial periodic grating and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) actuator. An aluminum subwavelength grating is integrated with electrostatic comb-drive actuators to expand the metal subwavelength period, which allows continuous control of the excitation wavelength of surface plasmons (SPs). We develop a batch fabrication process by employing a liftoff technique using an electron beam resist altered by the electron dose depending on different aspect ratios (length/width) for various components such as the subwavelength grating, nanohinge flexural suspensions, and comb fingers. We successfully demonstrate a continuous shift in the excitation wavelength over the 514-635 nm range by nanopitch expansion. The design margin of the grating period for SP excitation is evaluated by comparing the experimental pitch variation and theoretically calculated values. The resonance frequency of the tunable filter is optically measured to be approximately 10 kHz. The optically and mechanically obtained values agree well with the theory of electrostatic actuation and finite-difference time-domain simulation.

An investigation of localised surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of Ag nanoparticles produced by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gezgin, Serap Yiǧit; Kepceoǧlu, Abdullah; Kılıç, Hamdi Şükür

2017-02-01

Noble metal nano-structures such as Ag, Cu, Au are used commonly to increase power conversion efficiency of the solar cell by using their surface plasmons. The plasmonic metal nanoparticles of Ag among others that have strong LSPR in near UV range. They increase photon absorbance via embedding in the active semiconductor of the solar cell. Thin films of Ag are grown in the desired particle size and interparticle distance easily and at low cost by PLD technique. Ag nanoparticle thin films were grown on micro slide glass at 25-36 mJ laser pulse energies under by PLD using ns-Nd:YAG laser. The result of this work have been presented by carrying out UV-VIS and AFM analysis. It was concluded that a laser energy increases, the density and size of Ag-NPs arriving on the substrate increases, and the interparticle distance was decreases. Therefore, LSPR wavelength shifts towards to longer wavelength region.

Ultra-broadband and efficient surface plasmon polariton launching through metallic nanoslits of subwavelength period

PubMed Central

Li, Guangyuan; Zhang, Jiasen

2014-01-01

Ultra-broadband, efficient and unidirectional surface plasmon polariton (SPP) launching is of great concern in plasmonic devices and circuits. To address this challenge, a novel method adopting deep-subwavelength slits of subwavelength period (λSPP/4 ~ λSPP/3) in a thick metal film and under backside illumination is proposed. A new band pattern featuring broadband and wide angular characteristics, which is due to the coupling of the zeroth-order SPP resonance at the superstrate–metal interface and the first-order SPP resonance at the metal–substrate interface, is observed for the first time in the dispersion diagram. Unidirectional SPP launching efficiency of ~50%, ultra-broad bandwidth of up to 780 nm, covering the entire optical fiber communication bands, and relatively wide angular range of 7° are achieved. This remarkable efficient, ultra-broadband and wide angular performance is demonstrated by carefully designed experiments in the near infrared regime, showing good agreement with numerical results. PMID:25081812

Ultra-broadband and efficient surface plasmon polariton launching through metallic nanoslits of subwavelength period.

PubMed

Li, Guangyuan; Zhang, Jiasen

2014-08-01

Ultra-broadband, efficient and unidirectional surface plasmon polariton (SPP) launching is of great concern in plasmonic devices and circuits. To address this challenge, a novel method adopting deep-subwavelength slits of subwavelength period (λSPP/4 ~ λSPP/3) in a thick metal film and under backside illumination is proposed. A new band pattern featuring broadband and wide angular characteristics, which is due to the coupling of the zeroth-order SPP resonance at the superstrate-metal interface and the first-order SPP resonance at the metal-substrate interface, is observed for the first time in the dispersion diagram. Unidirectional SPP launching efficiency of ~50%, ultra-broad bandwidth of up to 780 nm, covering the entire optical fiber communication bands, and relatively wide angular range of 7° are achieved. This remarkable efficient, ultra-broadband and wide angular performance is demonstrated by carefully designed experiments in the near infrared regime, showing good agreement with numerical results.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Elimelech, Orian; Liu, Jing; Plonka, Anna M.

Doping of nanocrystals (NCs) is a key, yet underexplored, approach for tuning of the electronic properties of semiconductors. An important route for doping of NCs is by vacancy formation. The size and concentration dependence of doping was studied in copper(I) sulfide (Cu2S) NCs through a redox reaction with iodine molecules (I2), which formed vacancies accompanied by a localized surface plasmon response. X-ray spectroscopy and diffraction reveal transformation from Cu2S to Cu-depleted phases, along with CuI formation. Greater reaction efficiency was observed for larger NCs. This behavior is attributed to interplay of the vacancy formation energy, which decreases for smaller sizedmore » NCs, and the growth of CuI on the NC surface, which is favored on well-defined facets of larger NCs. This doping process allows tuning of the plasmonic properties of a semiconductor across a wide range of plasmonic frequencies by varying the size of NCs and the concentration of iodine. Controlled vacancy doping of NCs may be used to tune and tailor semiconductors for use in optoelectronic applications.« less

Plasmonic metamaterials with tuneable optical properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zayats, Anatoly

2008-03-01

Negative refraction in metamaterials has recently attracted significant attention due to its possible numerous applications in high-resolution imaging and photolithography with the so-called ``perfect lenses,'' for electromagnetic shielding (invisibility cloak), optical signal manipulation, etc. Among various realizations of negative index materials, plasmonic nanostructures play a prominent role as they allow negative refraction properties to be engineered in the visible and near infrared spectral ranges. The coupling of light to plasmonic modes, that are collective electronic excitations in metallic nanostructures, provides the possibility to confine the electromagnetic field on the sub-wavelength scale and manipulate it with high precision to achieve the desired mode dispersion and, thus, reflection, absorption and transmission properties of the nanostructures. In this talk we will discuss various pathways to control dispersion of the electromagnetic waves in plasmonic metamaterials, including plasmon polaritonic crystals and plasmonic nanorod arrays, and the approaches to active tuneability of their optical properties using optical and electric control signals. Both approaches take advantage of the very high sensitivity of surface plasmon mode dispersion on the refractive index of the dielectric adjacent to metallic nanostructure. Hybridization of plasmonic nanostructures with molecular species exhibiting nonlinear optical response allows the development of metamaterials with high effective nonlinear susceptibility due to the electromagnetic field enhancement related to plasmonic excitations. Signal and control light are then coupled to plasmonic modes that strongly interact via nonlinearity introduced by the hybridization. Concurrently, the use of electro-optically active dielectrics incorporated into plasmonic nanostructures provides the route to control optical signals electronically. Plasmonic metamaterials with tuneable optical properties can be used to control negative refraction and electromagnetic field propagation in various applications in nanophotonics, optoelectronics and optical communications.

IR-Driven Ultrafast Transfer of Plasmonic Hot Electrons in Nonmetallic Branched Heterostructures for Enhanced H2 Generation.

PubMed

Zhang, Zhenyi; Jiang, Xiaoyi; Liu, Benkang; Guo, Lijiao; Lu, Na; Wang, Li; Huang, Jindou; Liu, Kuichao; Dong, Bin

2018-03-01

The ultrafast transfer of plasmon-induced hot electrons is considered an effective kinetics process to enhance the photoconversion efficiencies of semiconductors through strong localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of plasmonic nanostructures. Although this classical sensitization approach is widely used in noble-metal-semiconductor systems, it remains unclear in nonmetallic plasmonic heterostructures. Here, by combining ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy with theoretical simulations, IR-driven transfer of plasmon-induced hot electron in a nonmetallic branched heterostructure is demonstrated, which is fabricated through solvothermal growth of plasmonic W 18 O 49 nanowires (as branches) onto TiO 2 electrospun nanofibers (as backbones). The ultrafast transfer of hot electron from the W 18 O 49 branches to the TiO 2 backbones occurs within a timeframe on the order of 200 fs with very large rate constants ranging from 3.8 × 10 12 to 5.5 × 10 12 s -1 . Upon LSPR excitation by low-energy IR photons, the W 18 O 49 /TiO 2 branched heterostructure exhibits obviously enhanced catalytic H 2 generation from ammonia borane compared with that of W 18 O 49 nanowires. Further investigations by finely controlling experimental conditions unambiguously confirm that this plasmon-enhanced catalytic activity arises from the transfer of hot electron rather than from the photothermal effect. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Plasmonic Library Based on Substrate-Supported Gradiential Plasmonic Arrays

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

We present a versatile approach to produce macroscopic, substrate-supported arrays of plasmonic nanoparticles with well-defined interparticle spacing and a continuous particle size gradient. The arrays thus present a “plasmonic library” of locally noncoupling plasmonic particles of different sizes, which can serve as a platform for future combinatorial screening of size effects. The structures were prepared by substrate assembly of gold-core/poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-shell particles and subsequent post-modification. Coupling of the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) could be avoided since the polymer shell separates the encapsulated gold cores. To produce a particle array with a broad range of well-defined but laterally distinguishable particle sizes, the substrate was dip-coated in a growth solution, which resulted in an overgrowth of the gold cores controlled by the local exposure time. The kinetics was quantitatively analyzed and found to be diffusion rate controlled, allowing for precise tuning of particle size by adjusting the withdrawal speed. We determined the kinetics of the overgrowth process, investigated the LSPRs along the gradient by UV–vis extinction spectroscopy, and compared the spectroscopic results to the predictions from Mie theory, indicating the absence of local interparticle coupling. We finally discuss potential applications of these substrate-supported plasmonic particle libraries and perspectives toward extending the concept from size to composition variation and screening of plasmonic coupling effects. PMID:25137554

Dark plasmonic mode based perfect absorption and refractive index sensing.

PubMed

Yang, W H; Zhang, C; Sun, S; Jing, J; Song, Q; Xiao, S

2017-07-06

Dark plasmonic resonances in metallic nanostructures are essential for many potential applications such as refractive index sensing, single molecule detection, nanolasers etc. However, it is difficult to excite the dark modes in optical experiments and thus the practical applications are severely limited. Herein, we demonstrate a simple method to experimentally excite the quadrupolar and higher-order plasmonic modes with normal incident light. By directionally depositing silver films onto the sidewalls of metal-covered one-dimensional grating, we have experimentally observed a series of asymmetrical resonances at the plasmonic ranges of silver gratings. Interestingly, both of the reflection and transmission coefficients of high-order plasmonic modes are reduced to around zero, demonstrating the perfect absorption very well. The corresponding numerical simulations show that these resonances are the well-known dark modes. Different from the conventional dark modes in plasmonic dimers, here the dark modes are the electric oscillations (as standing waves) within the silver sidewalls that are excited by charge accumulation via the bright plasmonic resonance of the top silver strips. In addition to the simple realization of perfect absorption, the dark modes are found to be quite sensitive to the environmental changes. The experimentally measured reflective index sensitivity is around 458 nm per RIU (refractive index unit), which is much higher than the sensitivity of the metal-covered grating without silver sidewalls. This research shall pave new routes to practical applications of dark surface plasmons.

Plasmonic-Field Interactions at Nanoparticle Interfaces for Infrared Thermal-Shielding Applications Based on Transparent Oxide Semiconductors.

PubMed

Matsui, Hiroaki; Furuta, Shinya; Hasebe, Takayuki; Tabata, Hitoshi

2016-05-11

This paper describes infrared plasmonic responses in three-dimensional (3D) assembled films of In2O3:Sn nanoparticles (NPs). The introduction of surface modifications to NPs can facilitate the production of electric-field interactions between NPs due to the creation of narrow crevices in the NP interfaces. In particular, the electric-field interactions along the in-plane and out-of-plane directions in the 3D assembled NP films allow for resonant splitting of plasmon excitations to the quadrupole and dipole modes, thereby realizing selective high reflections in the near- and mid-infrared range, respectively. The origins of these plasmonic properties were revealed from electric-field distributions calculated by electrodynamic simulations that agreed well with experimental results. The interparticle gaps and their derived plasmon couplings play an important role in producing high reflective performances in assembled NP films. These 3D assemblies of NPs can be further extended to produce large-size flexible films with high infrared reflectance, which simultaneously exhibit microwave transmittance essential for telecommunications. This study provides important insights for harnessing infrared optical responses using plasmonic technology for the fabrication of infrared thermal-shielding applications.

Laser-assisted heating of a plasmonic nanofluid in a microchannel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walsh, Timothy

The work presented in this study analyses the theoretical modeling and experimentation of laser-assisted heating of plasmonic nanofluids (PNFs) in a microchannel for accurate, efficient, and ultra-fast heating of a microdroplet. Suspended plasmonic nanoparticles exhibit strong light absorption and scattering upon the excitation of localized surface plasmons (LSPs), resulting in intense and rapid photothermal heating. Several multi-stepped computational models were utilized to theoretically characterize and verify the laser-assisted heating behavior of gold nanoshells (GNS) and gold nanorod (GNR) plasmonic nanofluid droplets in a microchannel. From the experimental investigation, a full range of controllable steady-state temperatures, room temperature to 100°C, are confirmed to be achievable for the 780-nm-tuned plasmonic nanofluid. Droplet fluid heating is verified to occur as a result of LSP excitation, in time scales of milliseconds, and to be repeatable over many cycles. Additionally, the significance and effects of parameters in the process, such as nanoparticle structure, volumetric concentration, microchannel depth, and laser power density are established. The obtained results in this research may be integrated into other existing microfluidic technologies and biological techniques, such as the polymerase chain reaction, where accurate and ultra-fast heating of microdroplets in a microchannel can greatly improve efficiency.

Plasmonics analysis of nanostructures for bioapplications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xie, Qian

Plasmonics, the science and technology of the plasmons, is a rapidly growing field with substantial broader impact in numerous different fields, especially for bio-applications such as bio-sensing, bio-photonics and photothermal therapy. Resonance effects associated with plasmatic behavior i.e. surface Plasmon resonance (SPR) and localize surface Plasmon resonance (LSPR), are of particular interest because of their strong sensitivity to the local environment. In this thesis, plasmonic resonance effects are discussed from the basic theory to applications, especially the application in photothermal therapy, and grating bio-sensing. This thesis focuses on modeling different metallic nanostructures, i.e. nanospheres, nanorods, core-shell nanoparticles, nanotori and hexagonal closed packed nanosphere structures, to determine their LSPR wavelengths for use in various applications. Experiments regarding photothermal therapy using gold nanorods are described and a comparison is presented with results obtained from simulations. Lastly, experiments of grating-based plasmon-enhanced bio-sensing are also discussed. In chapter one, the physics of plasmonics is reviewed, including surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR). In the section on surface plasmon resonance, the physics behind the phenomenon is discussed, and also, the detection methods and applications in bio-sensing are described. In the section on localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR), the phenomenon is described with respect to sub wavelength metallic nanoparticles. In chapter two, specific plasmonic-based bio-applications are discussed including plasmonic and magneto-plasmonic enhanced photothermal therapy and grating-based SPR bio-sening. In chapter three, which is the most important part in the thesis, optical modeling of different gold nanostructures is presented. The modeling tools used in this thesis are Comsol and custom developed Matlab programs. In Comsol, the geometries of different metallic nanostructures are drawn and simulated using finite element-based computational electromagnetics. The power absorption of the nanostructures is plotted as a function of wavelength to identify the LSPR wavelength, i.e. the wavelength of peak absorption. In Matlab, Mie scattering theory is programmed in terms of semi-analytical mathematical equations, which predict the power absorption for specific plasmonic geometries, i.e. nanospheres, nanorods and core-shell particles. These predictions, which are much faster than the Comsol analysis, are validated using corresponding numerical simulations. In chapter four, experiments involving novel magneto-plasmonic Nano platforms are described, and experimental data is presented to illustrate the use of the modeling in analyzing these particles. Simulations are performed to determine the influence on the laser absorption of magnetic nanospheres in proximity to metallic nanorods. These results are compared with experimental data. In the last chapter, experiments using a grating-based SPR sensor are described, and modeling results are also presented. In summary, this thesis discusses the physics of plasmonics, electromagnetic analysis for predicting the absorption spectra of metallic nanoparticles and bio-applications that utilize these effects.

Electromagnetic Field Redistribution in Metal Nanoparticle on Graphene.

PubMed

Li, Keke; Liu, Anping; Wei, Dapeng; Yu, Keke; Sun, Xiaonan; Yan, Sheng; Huang, Yingzhou

2018-04-25

Benefiting from the induced image charge on metal film, the light energy is confined on a film surface under metal nanoparticle dimer, which is called electromagnetic field redistribution. In this work, electromagnetic field distribution of metal nanoparticle monomer or dimer on graphene is investigated through finite-difference time-domain method. The results point out that the electromagnetic field (EM) redistribution occurs in this nanoparticle/graphene hybrid system at infrared region where light energy could also be confined on a monolayer graphene surface. Surface charge distribution was analyzed using finite element analysis, and surface-enhanced Raman spectrum (SERS) was utilized to verify this phenomenon. Furthermore, the data about dielectric nanoparticle on monolayer graphene demonstrate this EM redistribution is attributed to strong coupling between light-excited surface charge on monolayer graphene and graphene plasmon-induced image charge on dielectric nanoparticle surface. Our work extends the knowledge of monolayer graphene plasmon, which has a wide range of applications in monolayer graphene-related film.

Radiative decay engineering 3. Surface plasmon-coupled directional emission

PubMed Central

Lakowicz, Joseph R.

2009-01-01

A new method of fluorescence detection that promises to increase sensitivity by 20- to 1000-fold is described. This method will also decrease the contribution of sample autofluorescence to the detected signal. The method depends on the coupling of excited fluorophores with the surface plasmon resonance present in thin metal films, typically silver and gold. The phenomenon of surface plasmon-coupled emission (SPCE) occurs for fluorophores 20–250 nm from the metal surface, allowing detection of fluorophores over substantial distances beyond the metal–sample interface. SPCE depends on interactions of the excited fluorophore with the metal surface. This interaction is independent of the mode of excitation; that is, it does not require evanescent wave or surface-plasmon excitation. In a sense, SPCE is the inverse process of the surface plasmon resonance absorption of thin metal films. Importantly, SPCE occurs over a narrow angular distribution, converting normally isotropic emission into easily collected directional emission. Up to 50% of the emission from unoriented samples can be collected, much larger than typical fluorescence collection efficiencies near 1% or less. SPCE is due only to fluorophores near the metal surface and may be regarded as emission from the induced surface plasmons. Autofluorescence from more distal parts of the sample is decreased due to decreased coupling. SPCE is highly polarized and autofluorescence can be further decreased by collecting only the polarized component or only the light propagating with the appropriate angle. Examples showing how simple optical configurations can be used in diagnostics, sensing, or biotechnology applications are presented. Surface plasmon-coupled emission is likely to find widespread applications throughout the biosciences. PMID:14690679

Surface Plasmons in Silver Films--A Novel Undergraduate Experiment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Simon, H. J.; And Others

1975-01-01

Describes an experiment in which a 500-A-thick silver film is evaporated on the hypotenuse face of a right glass prism. The surface plasmon mode in the film is excited with a He-Ne laser. The dispersion relation for the surface plasmon and the reflectivity due to the excitation of this mode are calculated. (Author/MLH)

Development of a Tip-Enhanced Near-Field Optical Microscope for Nanoscale Interrogation of Surface Chemistry and Plasmonic Phenomena

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heilman, Alexander Lee

Optical microscopy and spectroscopy are invaluable tools for the physical and chemical characterization of materials and surfaces in a wide range of scientific disciplines. However, the application of conventional optical methods in the study of nanomaterials is inherently limited by diffraction. Tip-enhanced near-field optical microscopy (TENOM) is a hybrid technique that marries optical spectroscopy with scanning probe microscopy to overcome the spatial resolution limit imposed by diffraction. By coupling optical energy into the plasmonic modes of a sharp metal probe tip, a strong, localized optical field is generated near the tip's apex and is used to enhance spectroscopic emissions within a sub-diffraction-limited volume. In this thesis, we describe the design, construction, validation, and application of a custom TENOM instrument with a unique attenuated total reflectance (ATR)-geometry excitation/detection system. The specific goals of this work were: (i) to develop a versatile TENOM instrument capable of investigating a variety of optical phenomena at the nanoscale, (ii) to use the instrument to demonstrate chemical interrogation of surfaces with sub-diffraction-limited spatial resolution (i.e., at super resolution), (iii) to apply the instrument to study plasmonic phenomena that influence spectroscopic enhancement in TENOM measurements, and (iv) to leverage resulting insights to develop systematic improvements that expand the ultimate capabilities of near-field optical interrogation techniques. The TENOM instrument described herein is comprised of three main components: an atomic force microscope (AFM), a side-on confocal Raman microscope, and a novel ATR excitation/detection system. The design of each component is discussed along with the results of relevant validation experiments, which were performed to rigorously assess each component's performance. Finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) optical simulations were also developed and used extensively to evaluate the results of validation studies and to optimize experimental design and instrument performance. By combining and synchronizing the operation of the instrument's three components, we perform a variety of near-field optical experiments that demonstrate the instrument's functionality and versatility. ATR illumination is combined with a plasmonic AFM tip to show that: (i) the tip can quantitatively transduce the optical near-field (evanescent waves) above the surface by scattering photons into the far-field, (ii) the ATR geometry enables excitation and characterization of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs), whose associated optical fields are shown to enhance Raman scattering from a thin layer of copper phthalocyanine (CuPc), and (iii) SPPs can be used to plasmonically excite the tip for super-resolution chemical imaging of patterned CuPc via tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS). ATR-illumination TERS is quantitatively compared with side-on illumination. In both cases, spatial resolution was better than 40 nm and tip-on/tip-off Raman enhancement factors were >6500. Furthermore, ATR illumination was shown to provide similar Raman signal levels at lower "effective'' pump powers due to additional optical energy delivered by SPPs to the active region in the tip-surface gap. We also investigate the sensitivity of the TENOM instrument to changes in the plasmonic properties of the tip-surface system in the strongly-coupled regime at small tip-surface separations. Specifically, we demonstrate detection of a resonant plasmonic tip-surface mode (a gap plasmon) that dramatically influences the optical response of the system, and we use experimental results and FDTD simulations to support a hypothesized mechanism. Moreover, we confirm that the gap plasmon resonance has a strong effect on the enhancement of both fluorescence and Raman scattering, and we propose that this phenomenon could ultimately be exploited to improve sensitivity in super-resolution chemical imaging measurements. Finally, we recommend a straightforward modification to the TENOM instrument that could enable future application of these gap-mode plasmon resonances to increase spectroscopic enhancements by an order of magnitude.

Subwavelength dielectric nanorod chains for energy transfer in the visible range.

PubMed

Li, Dongdong; Zhang, Jingjing; Yan, Changchun; Xu, Zhengji; Zhang, Dao Hua

2017-10-15

We report a new type of energy transfer device, formed by a dielectric nanorod array embedded in a silver slab. Such dielectric chain structures allow surface plasmon wave guiding with large propagation length and highly suppressed crosstalk between adjacent transmission channels. The simulation results show that our proposed design can be used to enhance the energy transfer along the waveguide-like dielectric nanorod chains via coupled plasmons, where the energy spreading is effectively suppressed, and superior imaging properties in terms of resolution and energy transfer distance can be achieved.

Fourier Transform Surface Plasmon Resonance of Nanodisks Embedded in Magnetic Nanorods.

PubMed

Jung, Insub; Ih, Seongkeun; Yoo, Haneul; Hong, Seunghun; Park, Sungho

2018-03-14

In this study, we demonstrate the synthesis and application of magnetic plasmonic gyro-nanodisks (GNDs) for Fourier transform surface plasmon resonance based biodetection. Plasmonically active and magnetically responsive gyro-nanodisks were synthesized using electrochemical methods with anodized aluminum templates. Due to the unique properties of GNDs (magnetic responsiveness and surface plasmon bands), periodic extinction signals were generated under an external rotating magnetic field, which is, in turn, converted into frequency domains using Fourier transformation. After the binding of a target on GNDs, an increase in the shear force causes a shift in the frequency domain, which allows us to investigate biodetection for HA1 (the influenza virus). Most importantly, by modulating the number and the location of plasmonic nanodisks (a method for controlling the hydrodynamic forces by rationally designing the nanomaterial architecture), we achieved enhanced biodetection sensitivity. We expect that our results will contribute to improved sensing module performance, as well as a better understanding of dynamic nanoparticle systems, by harnessing the perturbed periodic fluctuation of surface plasmon bands under the modulated magnetic field.

Gold Nanoparticles with Externally Controlled, Reversible Shifts of Local Surface Plasmon Resonance Bands

PubMed Central

Yavuz, Mustafa S.; Jensen, Gary C.; Penaloza, David P.; Seery, Thomas A. P.; Pendergraph, Samuel A.; Rusling, James F.; Sotzing, Gregory A.

2010-01-01

We have achieved reversible tunability of local surface plasmon resonance in conjugated polymer functionalized gold nanoparticles. This property was facilitated by the preparation of 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT) containing polynorbornene brushes on gold nanoparticles via surface-initiated ring-opening metathesis polymerization. Reversible tuning of the surface plasmon band was achieved by electrochemically switching the EDOT polymer between its reduced and oxidized states. PMID:19839619

Plasmonic Paper as a Novel Chem/Bio Detection Platform

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tian, Limei

The time varying electric field of electromagnetic (EM) radiation causes oscillation of conduction electrons of metal nanoparticles. The resonance of such oscillation, termed localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR), falls into the visible spectral region for noble metals such as gold, silver and copper. LSPR of metal nanostructures is sensitive to numerous factors such as composition, size, shape, dielectric properties of surrounding medium, and proximity to other nanostructures (plasmon coupling). The sensitivity of LSPR to the refractive index of surrounding medium renders it an attractive platform for chemical and biological sensing. When the excitation light is in resonance with the plasmon frequency of the metal nanoparticle, it radiates a characteristic dipolar radiation causing a characteristic spatial distribution in which certain areas show higher EM field intensity, which is manifested as electromagnetic field enhancement. Surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) involves dramatic enhancement of the intensity of the Raman scattering from the analyte adsorbed on or in proximity to a nanostructured metal surface exhibiting such strong EM field enhancement. Both LSPR and SERS have been widely investigated for highly sensitive and label-free chemical & biological sensors. Most of the SERS/LSPR sensors demonstrated so far rely on rigid planar substrates (e.g., glass, silicon) owing to the well-established lithographic approaches, which are routinely employed for either fabrication or assembly of plasmonic nanotransducers. In many cases, their rigid nature results in low conformal contact with the sample and hence poor sample collection efficiency. We hypothesized that paper substrates are an excellent alternative to conventional rigid substrates to significantly improve the (multi-)functionality of LSPR/SERS substrates, dramatically simplify the fabrication procedures and lower the cost. The choice of paper substrates for the implementation of SERS/LSPR sensors is rationalized by numerous advantages such as (i) high specific surface area resulting in large dynamic range (ii) excellent wicking properties for rapid uptake and transport of analytes to test domains (iii) compatibility with conventional printing approaches, enabling multi-analyte plasmonic sensors (iv) significant reduction in cost (v) smaller sample volume requirement (vi) easy disposability. In this work, we have introduced novel SERS and LSPR substrates based on conventional filter paper decorated with plasmonic nanostructures, called plasmonic paper. A flexible SERS substrate based on common filter paper adsorbed with gold nanostructures allows conformal contact with real-world surfaces, enabling rapid trace detection. To realize multifunctional SERS substrates, paper substrates were cut into star-shaped structures and the fingers were differentially functionalized with polyelectrolytes that allows separation and pre-concentration of different components of a complex sample in a small surface area by taking advantage of the properties of cellulose paper and shape-enhanced capillary effect. Plasmonic paper can also serve as a novel LSPR biosensing platform by decorating the paper substrate with biofunctionalized nanostructures. Furthermore, calligraphy approach was employed to create well-isolated test domains on paper substrates using functionalized plasmonic nanostructures as ink for multiplexed chemical sensing and label-free biosensing. These plasmonic paper substrates exhibit excellent sample collection efficiency and do not require complex fabrication processes. This class of substrates is expected to have applications not only to first responders and military personal but also to several areas of medical, food analysis, and environmental research.

Lithographically fabricated gold nanowire waveguides for plasmonic routers and logic gates.

PubMed

Gao, Long; Chen, Li; Wei, Hong; Xu, Hongxing

2018-06-14

Fabricating plasmonic nanowire waveguides and circuits by lithographic fabrication methods is highly desired for nanophotonic circuitry applications. Here we report an approach for fabricating metal nanowire networks by using electron beam lithography and metal film deposition techniques. The gold nanowire structures are fabricated on quartz substrates without using any adhesion layer but coated with a thin layer of Al2O3 film for immobilization. The thermal annealing during the Al2O3 deposition process decreases the surface plasmon loss. In a Y-shaped gold nanowire network, the surface plasmons can be routed to different branches by controlling the polarization of the excitation light, and the routing behavior is dependent on the length of the main nanowire. Simulated electric field distributions show that the zigzag distribution of the electric field in the nanowire network determines the surface plasmon routing. By using two laser beams to excite surface plasmons in a Y-shaped nanowire network, the output intensity can be modulated by the interference of surface plasmons, which can be used to design Boolean logic gates. We experimentally demonstrate that AND, OR, XOR and NOT gates can be realized in three-terminal nanowire networks, and NAND, NOR and XNOR gates can be realized in four-terminal nanowire networks. This work takes a step toward the fabrication of on-chip integrated plasmonic circuits.

Ultrafine and Smooth Full Metal Nanostructures for Plasmonics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Xinli; Zhang, Jaseng; Xu, Jun; Liao, Zhimin; Wu, Xiaosong; Yu, Dapeng

2013-03-01

Surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs), which are coupled excitations of electrons bound to a metal-dielectric interface, show great potential for application in future nanoscale photonic systems due to the strong field confinement at the nanoscale, intensive local field enhancement, and interplay between strongly localized and propagating SPPs. The fabrication of sufficiently smooth metal surface with nanoscale feature size is crucial for SPPs to have practical applications. A template stripping (ST) method combined with PMMA as a template was successfully developed to create extraordinarily smooth metal nanostructures with a desirable feature size and morphology for plasmonics and metamaterials. The advantages of this method, including the high resolution, precipitous top-to bottom profile with a high aspect ratio, and three-dimensional characteristics, make it very suitable for the fabrication of plasmonic structures. By using this ST method, boxing ring-shaped nanocavities have been fabricated and the confined modes of surface plasmon polaritons in these nanocavities have been investigated and imaged by using cathodoluminescence spectroscopy. The mode of the out-of-plane field components of surface plasmon polaritons dominates the experimental mode patterns, indicating that the electron beam locally excites the out-of-plane field component of surface plasmon polaritons, and quality factors can be directly acquired. Numerous applications, such as plasmonic filter, nanolaser, and efficient light-emitting devices, can be expected to arise from these developments.

Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Using Silica Whispering-Gallery Mode Resonators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderson, Mark S.

2013-01-01

The motivation of this work was to have robust spectroscopic sensors for sensitive detection and chemical analysis of organic and molecular compounds. The solution is to use silica sphere optical resonators to provide surface-enhanced spectroscopic signal. Whispering-gallery mode (WGM) resonators made from silica microspheres were used for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) without coupling to a plasmonic mechanism. Large Raman signal enhancement is observed by exclusively using 5.08-micron silica spheres with 785-nm laser excitation. The advantage of this non-plasmonic approach is that the active substrate is chemically inert silica, thermally stable, and relatively simple to fabricate. The Raman signal enhancement is broadly applicable to a wide range of molecular functional groups including aliphatic hydrocarbons, siloxanes, and esters. Applications include trace organic analysis, particularly for in situ planetary instruments that require robust sensors with consistent response.

Cooperative bi-exponential decay of dye emission coupled via plasmons.

PubMed

Lyvers, David P; Moazzezi, Mojtaba; de Silva, Vashista C; Brown, Dean P; Urbas, Augustine M; Rostovtsev, Yuri V; Drachev, Vladimir P

2018-06-22

Bi-exponential decay of dye fluorescence near the surface of plasmonic metamaterials and core-shell nanoparticles is shown to be an intrinsic property of the coupled system. Indeed, the Dicke, cooperative states involve two groups of transitions: super-radiant, from the most excited to the ground states and sub-radiant, which cannot reach the ground state. The relaxation in the sub-radiant system occurs mainly due to the interaction with the plasmon modes. Our theory shows that the relaxation leads to the population of the sub-radiant states by dephasing the super-radiant Dicke states giving rise to the bi-exponential decay in agreement with the experiments. We use a set of metamaterial samples consisting of gratings of paired silver nanostrips coated with Rh800 dye molecules, having resonances in the same spectral range. The bi-exponential decay is demonstrated for Au\\SiO 2 \\ATTO655 core-shell nanoparticles as well, which persists even when averaging over a broad range of the coupling parameter.

Role of Absorbing Nanocrystal Cores in Soft Photonic Crystals: A Spectroscopy and SANS Study.

PubMed

Rauh, Astrid; Carl, Nico; Schweins, Ralf; Karg, Matthias

2018-01-23

Periodic superstructures of plasmonic nanoparticles have attracted significant interest because they can support coupled plasmonic modes, making them interesting for plasmonic lasing, metamaterials, and as light-management structures in thin-film optoelectronic devices. We have recently shown that noble metal hydrogel core-shell colloids allow for the fabrication of highly ordered 2-dimensional plasmonic lattices that show surface lattice resonances as the result of plasmonic/diffractive coupling (Volk, K.; Fitzgerald, J. P. S.; Ruckdeschel, P.; Retsch, M.; König, T. A. F.; Karg, M. Reversible Tuning of Visible Wavelength Surface Lattice Resonances in Self-Assembled Hybrid Monolayers. Adv. Optical Mater. 2017, 5, 1600971, DOI: 10.1002/adom.201600971). In the present work, we study the photonic properties and structure of 3-dimensional crystalline superstructures of gold hydrogel core-shell colloids and their pitted counterparts without gold cores. We use far-field extinction spectroscopy to investigate the optical response of these superstructures. Narrow Bragg peaks are measured, independently of the presence or absence of the gold cores. All crystals show a significant reduction in low-wavelength scattering. This leads to a significant enhancement of the plasmonic properties of the samples prepared from gold-nanoparticle-containing core-shell colloids. Plasmonic/diffractive coupling is not evident, which we mostly attribute to the relatively small size of the gold cores limiting the effective coupling strength. Small-angle neutron scattering is applied to study the crystal structure. Bragg peaks of several orders clearly assignable to an fcc arrangement of the particles are observed for all crystalline samples in a broad range of volume fractions. Our results indicate that the nanocrystal cores do not influence the overall crystallization behavior or the crystal structure. These are important prerequisites for future studies on photonic materials built from core-shell particles, in particular, the development of new photonic materials from plasmonic nanocrystals.

Surface plasmon resonances in liquid metal nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ershov, A. E.; Gerasimov, V. S.; Gavrilyuk, A. P.; Karpov, S. V.

2017-06-01

We have shown significant suppression of resonant properties of metallic nanoparticles at the surface plasmon frequency during the phase transition "solid-liquid" in the basic materials of nanoplasmonics (Ag, Au). Using experimental values of the optical constants of liquid and solid metals, we have calculated nanoparticle plasmonic absorption spectra. The effect was demonstrated for single particles, dimers and trimers, as well as for the large multiparticle colloidal aggregates. Experimental verification was performed for single Au nanoparticles heated to the melting temperature and above up to full suppression of the surface plasmon resonance. It is emphasized that this effect may underlie the nonlinear optical response of composite materials containing plasmonic nanoparticles and their aggregates.

Ag-protein plasmonic architectures for surface plasmon-coupled emission enhancements and Fabry-Perot mode-coupled directional fluorescence emission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Badiya, Pradeep Kumar; Patnaik, Sai Gourang; Srinivasan, Venkatesh; Reddy, Narendra; Manohar, Chelli Sai; Vedarajan, Raman; Mastumi, Noriyoshi; Belliraj, Siva Kumar; Ramamurthy, Sai Sathish

2017-10-01

We report the use of silver decorated plant proteins as spacer material for augmented surface plasmon-coupled emission (120-fold enhancement) and plasmon-enhanced Raman scattering. We extracted several proteins from different plant sources [Triticum aestivum (TA), Aegle marmelos (AM), Ricinus communis (RC), Jatropha curcas (JC) and Simarouba glauca (SG)] followed by evaluation of their optical properties and simulations to rationalize observed surface plasmon resonance. Since the properties exhibited by protein thin films is currently gaining research interest, we have also carried out simulation studies with Ag-protein biocomposites as spacer materials in metal-dielectric-metal planar microcavity architecture for guided emission of Fabry-Perot mode-coupled fluorescence.

Fiber-coupled dielectric-loaded plasmonic waveguides.

PubMed

Gosciniak, Jacek; Volkov, Valentyn S; Bozhevolnyi, Sergey I; Markey, Laurent; Massenot, Sébastien; Dereux, Alain

2010-03-01

Fiber in- and out-coupling of radiation guided by dielectric-loaded surface plasmon-polariton waveguides (DLSPPWs) is realized using intermediate tapered dielectric waveguides. The waveguide structures fabricated by large-scale UV-lithography consist of 1-microm-thick polymer ridges tapered from 10-microm-wide ridges deposited directly on a magnesium fluoride substrate to 1-microm-wide ridges placed on a 50-nm-thick and 100-microm-wide gold stripe. Using fiber-to-fiber transmission measurements at telecom wavelengths, the performance of straight and bent DLSPPWs is characterized demonstrating the overall insertion loss below 24 dB, half of which is attributed to the DLSPPW loss of propagation over the 100-microm-long distance.

Ultra-broadband unidirectional launching of surface plasmon polaritons by a double-slit structure beyond the diffraction limit.

PubMed

Chen, Jianjun; Sun, Chengwei; Li, Hongyun; Gong, Qihuang

2014-11-21

Surface-plasmon-polariton (SPP) launchers, which can couple the free space light to the SPPs on the metal surface, are among the key elements for the plasmonic devices and nano-photonic systems. Downscaling the SPP launchers below the diffraction limit and directly delivering the SPPs to the desired subwavelength plasmonic waveguides are of importance for high-integration plasmonic circuits. By designing a submicron double-slit structure with different slit widths, an ultra-broadband (>330 nm) unidirectional SPP launcher is realized theoretically and experimentally based on the different phase delays of SPPs propagating along the metal surface and the near-field interfering effect. More importantly, the broadband and unidirectional properties of the SPP launcher are still maintained when the slit length is reduced to a subwavelength scale. This can make the launcher occupy only a very small area of <λ(2)/10 on the metal surface. Such a robust unidirectional SPP launcher beyond the diffraction limit can be directly coupled to a subwavelength plasmonic waveguide efficiently, leading to an ultra-tight SPP source, especially as a subwavelength localized guided SPP source.

Development of a Novel Two Dimensional Surface Plasmon Resonance Sensor Using Multiplied Beam Splitting Optics

PubMed Central

Hemmi, Akihide; Mizumura, Ryosuke; Kawanishi, Ryuta; Nakajima, Hizuru; Zeng, Hulie; Uchiyama, Katsumi; Kaneki, Noriaki; Imato, Toshihiko

2013-01-01

A novel two dimensional surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor system with a multi-point sensing region is described. The use of multiplied beam splitting optics, as a core technology, permitted multi-point sensing to be achieved. This system was capable of simultaneously measuring nine sensing points. Calibration curves for sucrose obtained on nine sensing points were linear in the range of 0–10% with a correlation factor of 0.996–0.998 with a relative standard deviation of 0.090–4.0%. The detection limits defined as S/N = 3 were 1.98 × 10−6–3.91 × 10−5 RIU. This sensitivity is comparable to that of conventional SPR sensors. PMID:23299626

Temperature dependent optical properties of (002) oriented ZnO thin film using surface plasmon resonance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saha, Shibu; Mehan, Navina; Sreenivas, K.; Gupta, Vinay

2009-08-01

Temperature dependent optical properties of c-axis oriented ZnO thin film were investigated using surface plasmon resonance (SPR) technique. SPR data for double layer (prism-Au-ZnO-air) and single layer (prism-Au-air) systems were taken over a temperature range (300-525 K). Dielectric constant at optical frequency and real part of refractive index of the ZnO film shows an increase with temperature. The bandgap of the oriented ZnO film was found to decrease with rise in temperature. The work indicates a promising application of the system as a temperature sensor and highlights an efficient scientific tool to study optical properties of thin film under varying ambient conditions.

Plasmon-Enhanced Optical Sensors: A Review

PubMed Central

Li, Ming; Cushing, Scott K

2014-01-01

Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) has found extensive applications in chemi-sensors and biosensors. Plasmons play different roles in different types of optical sensors. SPR transduces a signal in a colorimetric sensor through shifts in the spectral position and intensity in response to external stimuli. SPR can also concentrate the incident electromagnetic field in a nanostructure, modulating fluorescence emission and enabling plasmon-enhanced fluorescence to be used for ultrasensitive detection. Furthermore, plasmons have been extensively used for amplifying a Raman signal in a surface-enhanced Raman scattering sensor. This paper presents a review of recent research progress in plasmon-enhanced optical sensing, giving an emphasis on the physical basis of plasmon-enhanced sensors and how these principles guide the design of sensors. In particular, this paper discusses the design strategies for nanomaterials and nanostructures to plasmonically enhance optical sensing signals, also highlighting the applications of plasmon-enhanced optical sensors in health care, homeland security, food safety and environmental monitoring. PMID:25365823

Reflection Spectromicroscopy for the Design of Nanopillar Optical Antenna Detectors

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-08-29

diameter of individual nanowires makes surface plasmon polariton (SPP) resonances an attractive option, as regular metal scattering centers can overcome...individual nanowires makes surface plasmon polariton (SPP) resonances an attractive option, as regular metal scattering centers can overcome the momentum...minimized. The ability to lithographically define the position and diameter of individual nanowires makes surface plasmon polariton (SPP) resonances an

An optimized surface plasmon photovoltaic structure using energy transfer between discrete nano-particles.

PubMed

Lin, Albert; Fu, Sze-Ming; Chung, Yen-Kai; Lai, Shih-Yun; Tseng, Chi-Wei

2013-01-14

Surface plasmon enhancement has been proposed as a way to achieve higher absorption for thin-film photovoltaics, where surface plasmon polariton(SPP) and localized surface plasmon (LSP) are shown to provide dense near field and far field light scattering. Here it is shown that controlled far-field light scattering can be achieved using successive coupling between surface plasmonic (SP) nano-particles. Through genetic algorithm (GA) optimization, energy transfer between discrete nano-particles (ETDNP) is identified, which enhances solar cell efficiency. The optimized energy transfer structure acts like lumped-element transmission line and can properly alter the direction of photon flow. Increased in-plane component of wavevector is thus achieved and photon path length is extended. In addition, Wood-Rayleigh anomaly, at which transmission minimum occurs, is avoided through GA optimization. Optimized energy transfer structure provides 46.95% improvement over baseline planar cell. It achieves larger angular scattering capability compared to conventional surface plasmon polariton back reflector structure and index-guided structure due to SP energy transfer through mode coupling. Via SP mediated energy transfer, an alternative way to control the light flow inside thin-film is proposed, which can be more efficient than conventional index-guided mode using total internal reflection (TIR).

Exploring Molecular-Biomembrane Interactions with Surface Plasmon Resonance and Dual Polarization Interferometry Technology: Expanding the Spotlight onto Biomembrane Structure.

PubMed

Lee, Tzong-Hsien; Hirst, Daniel J; Kulkarni, Ketav; Del Borgo, Mark P; Aguilar, Marie-Isabel

2018-06-13

The molecular analysis of biomolecular-membrane interactions is central to understanding most cellular systems but has emerged as a complex technical challenge given the complexities of membrane structure and composition across all living cells. We present a review of the application of surface plasmon resonance and dual polarization interferometry-based biosensors to the study of biomembrane-based systems using both planar mono- or bilayers or liposomes. We first describe the optical principals and instrumentation of surface plasmon resonance, including both linear and extraordinary transmission modes and dual polarization interferometry. We then describe the wide range of model membrane systems that have been developed for deposition on the chips surfaces that include planar, polymer cushioned, tethered bilayers, and liposomes. This is followed by a description of the different chemical immobilization or physisorption techniques. The application of this broad range of engineered membrane surfaces to biomolecular-membrane interactions is then overviewed and how the information obtained using these techniques enhance our molecular understanding of membrane-mediated peptide and protein function. We first discuss experiments where SPR alone has been used to characterize membrane binding and describe how these studies yielded novel insight into the molecular events associated with membrane interactions and how they provided a significant impetus to more recent studies that focus on coincident membrane structure changes during binding of peptides and proteins. We then discuss the emerging limitations of not monitoring the effects on membrane structure and how SPR data can be combined with DPI to provide significant new information on how a membrane responds to the binding of peptides and proteins.

Nano-optical conveyor belt, part II: Demonstration of handoff between near-field optical traps.

PubMed

Zheng, Yuxin; Ryan, Jason; Hansen, Paul; Cheng, Yao-Te; Lu, Tsung-Ju; Hesselink, Lambertus

2014-06-11

Optical tweezers have been widely used to manipulate biological and colloidal material, but the diffraction limit of far-field optics makes focused beams unsuitable for manipulating nanoscale objects with dimensions much smaller than the wavelength of light. While plasmonic structures have recently been successful in trapping nanoscale objects with high positioning accuracy, using such structures for manipulation over longer range has remained a significant challenge. In this work, we introduce a conveyor belt design based on a novel plasmonic structure, the resonant C-shaped engraving (CSE). We show how long-range manipulation is made possible by means of handoff between neighboring CSEs, and we present a simple technique for controlling handoff by rotating the polarization of laser illumination. We experimentally demonstrate handoff between a pair of CSEs for polystyrene spheres 200, 390, and 500 nm in diameter. We then extend this technique and demonstrate controlled particle transport down a 4.5 μm long "nano-optical conveyor belt."

Plasmon enhanced terahertz emission from single layer graphene.

PubMed

Bahk, Young-Mi; Ramakrishnan, Gopakumar; Choi, Jongho; Song, Hyelynn; Choi, Geunchang; Kim, Yong Hyup; Ahn, Kwang Jun; Kim, Dai-Sik; Planken, Paul C M

2014-09-23

We show that surface plasmons, excited with femtosecond laser pulses on continuous or discontinuous gold substrates, strongly enhance the generation and emission of ultrashort, broadband terahertz pulses from single layer graphene. Without surface plasmon excitation, for graphene on glass, 'nonresonant laser-pulse-induced photon drag currents' appear to be responsible for the relatively weak emission of both s- and p-polarized terahertz pulses. For graphene on a discontinuous layer of gold, only the emission of the p-polarized terahertz electric field is enhanced, whereas the s-polarized component remains largely unaffected, suggesting the presence of an additional terahertz generation mechanism. We argue that in the latter case, 'surface-plasmon-enhanced optical rectification', made possible by the lack of inversion symmetry at the graphene on gold surface, is responsible for the strongly enhanced emission. The enhancement occurs because the electric field of surface plasmons is localized and enhanced where the graphene is located: at the surface of the metal. We believe that our results point the way to small, thin, and more efficient terahertz photonic devices.

Surface plasmon polaritons in a topological insulator embedded in an optical cavity

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Li, L. L., E-mail: lllihfcas@foxmail.com; Xu, W., E-mail: wenxu-issp@aliyun.com; Department of Physics, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091

Very recently, the surface plasmons in a topological insulator (TI) have been experimentally observed by exciting these collective modes with polarized light [P. Di Pietro, M. Ortolani, O. Limaj, A. Di Gaspare, V. Giliberti, F. Giorgianni, M. Brahlek, N. Bansal, N. Koirala, S. Oh, P. Calvani, and S. Lupi, Nat. Nanotechnol. 8, 556 (2013)]. Motivated by this experimental work, here we present a theoretical study on the surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) induced by plasmon-photon interactions in a TI thin film embedded in an optical cavity. It is found that the frequencies of SPP modes are within the terahertz (THz) bandwidthmore » and can be tuned effectively by adjusting the surface electron density and/or the optical cavity length. Since the surface electron density can be well controlled by the gate-voltage applied perpendicular to the TI surface, our theoretical results indicate that gated TI thin films may have potential applications in the electrically tunable THz plasmonic devices.« less

Surface plasmon polaritons in a topological insulator embedded in an optical cavity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, L. L.; Xu, W.

2014-03-01

Very recently, the surface plasmons in a topological insulator (TI) have been experimentally observed by exciting these collective modes with polarized light [P. Di Pietro, M. Ortolani, O. Limaj, A. Di Gaspare, V. Giliberti, F. Giorgianni, M. Brahlek, N. Bansal, N. Koirala, S. Oh, P. Calvani, and S. Lupi, Nat. Nanotechnol. 8, 556 (2013)]. Motivated by this experimental work, here we present a theoretical study on the surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) induced by plasmon-photon interactions in a TI thin film embedded in an optical cavity. It is found that the frequencies of SPP modes are within the terahertz (THz) bandwidth and can be tuned effectively by adjusting the surface electron density and/or the optical cavity length. Since the surface electron density can be well controlled by the gate-voltage applied perpendicular to the TI surface, our theoretical results indicate that gated TI thin films may have potential applications in the electrically tunable THz plasmonic devices.

Self-assembled diatom substrates with plasmonic functionality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kwon, Sun Yong; Park, Sehyun; Nichols, William T.

2014-04-01

Marine diatoms have an exquisitely complex exoskeleton that is promising for engineered surfaces such as sensors and catalysts. For such applications, creating uniform arrays of diatom frustules across centimeter scales will be necessary. Here, we present a simple, low-cost floating interface technique to self-assemble the diatom frustules. We show that well-prepared diatoms form floating hexagonal close-packed arrays at the air-water interface that can be transferred directly to a substrate. We functionalize the assembled diatom surfaces with gold and characterize the plasmonic functionality by using surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). Thin gold films conform to the complex, hierarchical diatom structure and produce a SERS enhancement factor of 2 × 104. Small gold nanoparticles attached to the diatom's surface produce a higher enhancement of 7 × 104 due to stronger localization of the surface plasmons. Taken together, the large-scale assembly and plasmonic functionalization represent a promising platform to control the energy and the material flows at a complex surface for applications such as sensors and plasmonic enhanced catalysts.

Controlling surface-plasmon-polaritons launching with hot spot cylindrical waves in a metallic slit structure.

PubMed

Yao, Wenjie; Sun, Chengwei; Gong, Qihuang; Chen, Jianjun

2016-09-23

Plasmonic nanostructures, which are used to generate surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs), always involve sharp corners where the charges can accumulate. This can result in strong localized electromagnetic fields at the metallic corners, forming the hot spots. The influence of the hot spots on the propagating SPPs are investigated theoretically and experimentally in a metallic slit structure. It is found that the electromagnetic fields radiated from the hot spots, termed as the hot spot cylindrical wave (HSCW), can greatly manipulate the SPP launching in the slit structure. The physical mechanism behind the manipulation of the SPP launching with the HSCW is explicated by a semi-analytic model. By using the HSCW, unidirectional SPP launching is experimentally realized in an ultra-small metallic step-slit structure. The HSCW bridges the localized surface plasmons and the propagating surface plasmons in an integrated platform and thus may pave a new route to the design of plasmonic devices and circuits.

Ultrafast dynamics of metal plasmons induced by 2D semiconductor excitons in hybrid nanostructure arrays

DOE PAGES

Boulesbaa, Abdelaziz; Babicheva, Viktoriia E.; Wang, Kai; ...

2016-11-17

With the advanced progress achieved in the field of nanotechnology, localized surface plasmons resonances (LSPRs) are actively considered to improve the efficiency of metal-based photocatalysis, photodetection, and photovoltaics. Here, we report on the exchange of energy and electric charges in a hybrid composed of a two-dimensional tungsten disulfide (2D-WS 2) monolayer and an array of aluminum (Al) nanodisks. Femtosecond pump-probe spectroscopy results indicate that within ~830 fs after photoexcitation of the 2D-WS 2 semiconductor, energy transfer from the 2D-WS 2 excitons excites the plasmons of the Al array. Then, upon the radiative and/or nonradiative damping of these excited plasmons, energymore » and/or electron transfer back to the 2D-WS 2 semiconductor takes place as indicated by an increase in the reflected probe at the 2D exciton transition energies at later time-delays. This simultaneous exchange of energy and charges between the metal and the 2D-WS 2 semiconductor resulted in an extension of the average lifetime of the 2D-excitons from ~15 to ~58 ps in absence and presence of the Al array, respectively. Furthermore, the indirectly excited plasmons were found to live as long as the 2D-WS 2 excitons exist. Furthermore, the demonstrated ability to generate exciton-plasmons coupling in a hybrid nanostructure may open new opportunities for optoelectronic applications such as plasmonic-based photodetection and photocatalysis.« less

Synergic combination of the sol–gel method with dip coating for plasmonic devices

PubMed Central

Patrini, Maddalena; Floris, Francesco; Fornasari, Lucia; Pellacani, Paola; Marchesini, Gerardo; Valsesia, Andrea; Artizzu, Flavia; Marongiu, Daniela; Saba, Michele; Marabelli, Franco; Mura, Andrea; Bongiovanni, Giovanni

2015-01-01

Summary Biosensing technologies based on plasmonic nanostructures have recently attracted significant attention due to their small dimensions, low-cost and high sensitivity but are often limited in terms of affinity, selectivity and stability. Consequently, several methods have been employed to functionalize plasmonic surfaces used for detection in order to increase their stability. Herein, a plasmonic surface was modified through a controlled, silica platform, which enables the improvement of the plasmonic-based sensor functionality. The key processing parameters that allow for the fine-tuning of the silica layer thickness on the plasmonic structure were studied. Control of the silica coating thickness was achieved through a combined approach involving sol–gel and dip-coating techniques. The silica films were characterized using spectroscopic ellipsometry, contact angle measurements, atomic force microscopy and dispersive spectroscopy. The effect of the use of silica layers on the optical properties of the plasmonic structures was evaluated. The obtained results show that the silica coating enables surface protection of the plasmonic structures, preserving their stability for an extended time and inducing a suitable reduction of the regeneration time of the chip. PMID:25821692

Coupling Solar Energy into Reactions: Materials Design for Surface Plasmon-Mediated Catalysis.

PubMed

Long, Ran; Li, Yu; Song, Li; Xiong, Yujie

2015-08-26

Enabled by surface plasmons, noble metal nanostructures can interact with and harvest incident light. As such, they may serve as unique media to generate heat, supply energetic electrons, and provide strong local electromagnetic fields for chemical reactions through different mechanisms. This solar-to-chemical pathway provides a new approach to solar energy utilization, alternative to conventional semiconductor-based photocatalysis. To provide readers with a clear picture of this newly recognized process, this review presents coupling solar energy into chemical reactions through plasmonic nanostructures. It starts with a brief introduction of surface plasmons in metallic nanostructures, followed by a demonstration of tuning plasmonic features by tailoring their physical parameters. Owing to their tunable plasmonic properties, metallic materials offer a platform to trigger and drive chemical reactions at the nanoscale, as systematically overviewed in this article. The design rules for plasmonic materials for catalytic applications are further outlined based on existing examples. At the end of this article, the challenges and opportunities for further development of plasmonic-mediated catalysis toward energy and environmental applications are discussed. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance Biosensing: Current Challenges and Approaches

PubMed Central

Unser, Sarah; Bruzas, Ian; He, Jie; Sagle, Laura

2015-01-01

Localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) has emerged as a leader among label-free biosensing techniques in that it offers sensitive, robust, and facile detection. Traditional LSPR-based biosensing utilizes the sensitivity of the plasmon frequency to changes in local index of refraction at the nanoparticle surface. Although surface plasmon resonance technologies are now widely used to measure biomolecular interactions, several challenges remain. In this article, we have categorized these challenges into four categories: improving sensitivity and limit of detection, selectivity in complex biological solutions, sensitive detection of membrane-associated species, and the adaptation of sensing elements for point-of-care diagnostic devices. The first section of this article will involve a conceptual discussion of surface plasmon resonance and the factors affecting changes in optical signal detected. The following sections will discuss applications of LSPR biosensing with an emphasis on recent advances and approaches to overcome the four limitations mentioned above. First, improvements in limit of detection through various amplification strategies will be highlighted. The second section will involve advances to improve selectivity in complex media through self-assembled monolayers, “plasmon ruler” devices involving plasmonic coupling, and shape complementarity on the nanoparticle surface. The following section will describe various LSPR platforms designed for the sensitive detection of membrane-associated species. Finally, recent advances towards multiplexed and microfluidic LSPR-based devices for inexpensive, rapid, point-of-care diagnostics will be discussed. PMID:26147727

Surface plasmon resonance sensor for antibiotics detection based on photo-initiated polymerization molecularly imprinted array.

PubMed

Luo, Qiaohui; Yu, Neng; Shi, Chunfei; Wang, Xiaoping; Wu, Jianmin

2016-12-01

A surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor combined with nanoscale molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) film as recognition element was developed for selective detection of the antibiotic ciprofloxacin (CIP). The MIP film on SPR sensor chip was prepared by in situ photo-initiated polymerization method which has the advantages of short polymerization time, controllable thickness and good uniformity. The surface wettability and thickness of MIP film on SPR sensor chip were characterized by static contact angle measurement and stylus profiler. The MIP-SPR sensor exhibited high selectivity, sensitivity and good stability for ciprofloxacin. The imprinting factors of the MIP-SPR sensor to ciprofloxacin and its structural analogue ofloxacin were 2.63 and 3.80, which is much higher than those to azithromycin, dopamine and penicillin. The SPR response had good linear relation with CIP concentration over the range 10 -11 -10 -7 molL -1 . The MIP-SPR sensor also showed good repeatability and stability during cyclic detections. On the basis of the photo-initiated polymerization method, a surface plasmon resonance imaging (SPRi) chip modified with three types of MIP sensing spots was fabricated. The MIPs-SPRi sensor shows different response patterns to ciprofloxacin and azithromycin, revealing the ability to recognize different antibiotic molecules. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Experimentally demonstrate the surface state and optical topological phase transition of one dimensional hyperbolic metamaterials in Otto and KR configuration (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wei, Chih Chung; Un, Leng-Wai; Yen, Ta-Jen

2017-05-01

One-dimension hyperbolic metamaterials (1DHMMs) possess marvelous and considerable applications: hyperlens, spontaneous emission engineering and nonlinear optics. Conventionally, effective medium theory, which is only valid for long wavelength limit, was used to predict and analyze the optical properties and applications. In our previous works, we considered a binary 1DHMM which consists of alternative metallic and dielectric layers, and rigorously demonstrated the existence of surface states and bulk-interface correspondence with the plasmonic band theory from the coupled surface plasmon point of view. In the plasmonic band structure, we can classify 1DHMMs into two classes: metallic-like and dielectric-like, depending on the formation of the surface states with dielectric and metallic material, respectively. Band crossing exists only when the dielectric layers are thicker than the metallic ones, which is independent from the dielectric constants. Furthermore, the 1DHMMs are all metallic-like without band crossing. On the other hand, the 1DHMMs with band crossing are metal-like before the band crossing point, while they are dielectric-like after the band crossing point. In this work, we measure the surface states formed by dielectric material and 1DHMMs with band crossing in Otto configuration. With white light source and fixed incident angle, we measure the reflectance to investigate the existence of the surface states of 1DHMMs with various thickness ratio of metallic to dielectric layers. Conclusively, our results show that the surface states of 1DHMMs exist only when the thickness ratio is larger than 0.15. The disappearance of the surface states indicates the topological phase transition of 1DHMMs. Our experimental results will benefit new applications for manipulating light on the surface of hyperbolic metamaterials.

A Nonmetal Plasmonic Z-Scheme Photocatalyst with UV- to NIR-Driven Photocatalytic Protons Reduction.

PubMed

Zhang, Zhenyi; Huang, Jindou; Fang, Yurui; Zhang, Mingyi; Liu, Kuichao; Dong, Bin

2017-05-01

Ultrabroad-spectrum absorption and highly efficient generation of available charge carriers are two essential requirements for promising semiconductor-based photocatalysts, towards achieving the ultimate goal of solar-to-fuel conversion. Here, a fascinating nonmetal plasmonic Z-scheme photocatalyst with the W 18 O 49 /g-C 3 N 4 heterostructure is reported, which can effectively harvest photon energies spanning from the UV to the nearinfrared region and simultaneously possesses improved charge-carrier dynamics to boost the generation of long-lived active electrons for the photocatalytic reduction of protons into H 2 . By combining with theoretical simulations, a unique synergistic photocatalysis effect between the semiconductive Z-scheme charge-carrier separation and metal-like localized-surface-plasmon-resonance-induced "hot electrons" injection process is demonstrated within this binary heterostructure. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Graphene enhanced surface plasmon resonance sensing based on Goos-Hänchen shift

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Huifang; Tong, Jinguang; Wang, Yiqin; Jiang, Li

2018-03-01

A graphene/Ag structure is engineered as an enhanced platform for surface plasmon resonance sensing due to the high impermeability nature of graphene and the superior surface plasmon resonance performance of Ag. This structure is ultrasensitive to even tiny refractive index change of analytes based on Goos-Hänchen shift measurement compared to the traditional SPR sensor with bare Au film. The graphene/Ag configuration is consisted of five components, including BK7 glass slide, titanium thin film, silver thin film, two-dimensional graphene layers and biomolecular analyte layer. We have optimized the parameters of each layer and theoretically analyzed Goos-Hänchen shift of the plasmonic structure under surface plasmon resonance effect. The optimized graphene/Ag structure is monolayer graphene coated on Ag thin film with the thickness of 42 nm.

Ultrafast nonlinear dynamics of thin gold films due to an intrinsic delayed nonlinearity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bache, Morten; Lavrinenko, Andrei V.

2017-09-01

Using long-range surface plasmon polaritons light can propagate in metal nano-scale waveguides for ultracompact opto-electronic devices. Gold is an important material for plasmonic waveguides, but although its linear optical properties are fairly well understood, the nonlinear response is still under investigation. We consider the propagation of pulses in ultrathin gold strip waveguides, modeled by the nonlinear Schrödinger equation. The nonlinear response of gold is accounted for by the two-temperature model, revealing it as a delayed nonlinearity intrinsic in gold. The consequence is that the measured nonlinearities are strongly dependent on pulse duration. This issue has so far only been addressed phenomenologically, but we provide an accurate estimate of the quantitative connection as well as a phenomenological theory to understand the enhanced nonlinear response as the gold thickness is reduced. In comparison with previous works, the analytical model for the power-loss equation has been improved, and can be applied now to cases with a high laser peak power. We show new fits to experimental data from the literature and provide updated values for the real and imaginary parts of the nonlinear susceptibility of gold for various pulse durations and gold layer thicknesses. Our simulations show that the nonlinear loss is inhibiting efficient nonlinear interaction with low-power laser pulses. We therefore propose to design waveguides suitable for the mid-IR, where the ponderomotive instantaneous nonlinearity can dominate over the delayed hot-electron nonlinearity and provide a suitable plasmonics platform for efficient ultrafast nonlinear optics.

[INVITED] Recent advances in surface plasmon resonance based fiber optic chemical and biosensors utilizing bulk and nanostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gupta, Banshi D.; Kant, Ravi

2018-05-01

Surface plasmon resonance has established itself as an immensely acclaimed and influential optical sensing tool with quintessential applications in life sciences, environmental monitoring, clinical diagnostics, pharmaceutical developments and ensuring food safety. The implementation of sensing principle of surface plasmon resonance employing an optical fiber as a substrate has concomitantly resulted in the evolution of fiber optic surface plasmon resonance as an exceptionally lucrative scaffold for chemical and biosensing applications. This perspective article outlines the contemporary studies on fiber optic sensors founded on the sensing architecture of propagating as well as localized surface plasmon resonance. An in-depth review of the prevalent analytical and surface chemical tactics involved in configuring the sensing layer over an optical fiber for the detection of various chemical and biological entities is presented. The involvement of nanomaterials as a strategic approach to enhance the sensor sensitivity is furnished concurrently providing an insight into the diverse geometrical blueprints for designing fiber optic sensing probes. Representative examples from the literature are discussed to appreciate the latest advancements in this potentially valuable research avenue. The article concludes by identifying some of the key challenges and exploring the opportunities for expanding the scope and impact of surface plasmon resonance based fiber optic sensors.

Surface Plasmon Resonance Evaluation of Colloidal Metal Aerogel Filters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, David D.; Sibille, Laurent; Cronise, Raymond J.; Noever, David A.

1997-01-01

Surface plasmon resonance imaging has in the past been applied to the characterization of thin films. In this study we apply the surface plasmon technique not to determine macroscopic spatial variations but rather to determine average microscopic information. Specifically, we deduce the dielectric properties of the surrounding gel matrix and information concerning the dynamics of the gelation process from the visible absorption characteristics of colloidal metal nanoparticles contained in aerogel pores. We have fabricated aerogels containing gold and silver nanoparticles. Because the dielectric constant of the metal particles is linked to that of the host matrix at the surface plasmon resonance, any change 'in the dielectric constant of the material surrounding the metal nanoparticles results in a shift in the surface plasmon wavelength. During gelation the surface plasmon resonance shifts to the red as the average or effective dielectric constant of the matrix increases. Conversely, formation of an aerogel or xerogel through supercritical extraction or evaporation of the solvent produces a blue shift in the resonance indicating a decrease in the dielectric constant of the matrix. From the magnitude of this shift we deduce the average fraction of air and of silica in contact with the metal particles. The surface area of metal available for catalytic gas reaction may thus be determined.

Production of Au clusters by plasma gas condensation and their incorporation in oxide matrixes by sputtering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Figueiredo, N. M.; Serra, R.; Manninen, N. K.; Cavaleiro, A.

2018-05-01

Gold clusters were produced by plasma gas condensation method and studied in great detail for the first time. The influence of argon flow, discharge power applied to the Au target and aggregation chamber length on the size distribution and deposition rate of Au clusters was evaluated. Au clusters with sizes between 5 and 65 nm were deposited with varying deposition rates and size dispersion curves. Nanocomposite Au-TiO2 and Au-Al2O3 coatings were then deposited by alternating sputtering. These coatings were hydrophobic and showed strong colorations due to the surface plasmon resonance effect. By simulating the optical properties of the nanocomposites it was possible to identify each individual contribution to the overall surface plasmon resonance signal. These coatings show great potential to be used as high performance localized surface plasmon resonance sensors or as robust self-cleaning decorative protective layers. The hybrid method used for depositing the nanocomposites offers several advantages over co-sputtering or thermal evaporation processes, since a broader range of particle sizes can be obtained (up to tens of nanometers) without the application of any thermal annealing treatments and the properties of clusters and matrix can be controlled separately.

Excitation of surface plasmon polaritons by fluorescent light from organic nanofibers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sobolewska, Elżbieta Karolina; Józefowski, Leszek; Kawalec, Tomasz; Leißner, Till; Rubahn, Horst-Günter; Adam, Jost; Fiutowski, Jacek

2017-11-01

Micro- and nano-scale systems with defined active elements acting as local surface plasmons polariton (SPP) sources are crucial for the development of future plasmonic circuits. We demonstrate SPP excitation by fluorescent light from crystalline organic para-hexaphenylene nanofibers deposited on a dielectric/metal surface. We characterize the SPPs using angle-resolved leakage radiation spectroscopy, in the excitation wavelength range 420 - 675 nm, corresponding to the nanofiber photoluminescence band. The nanofiber arrangement's capability to act as an SPP coupler for coherent as well as non-coherent excitation indicates its prospect for future integrated systems. To support our experimental results, we investigate the proposed geometries by analytical calculations and finite-difference-time-domain (FDTD) modelling. The experimentally obtained angular leakage radiation peak positions can readily be predicted by our analytical calculations. Nevertheless, the experimental results exhibit a distinct asymmetry in the peak intensities. In agreement with our FDTD calculations, we address this asymmetrical SPP excitation to the nanofiber molecular orientation. The proposed structure's high flexibility, the ease of selective positioning of organic nanofibers, together with the gained insight into its photon-SPP coupling mechanism show great promise towards future local SPP excitation-based integrated devices.

3D DNA origami as programmable anchoring points for bioreceptors in fiber optic surface plasmon resonance biosensing.

PubMed

Daems, Devin; Pfeifer, Wolfgang; Rutten, Iene; Sacca, Barbara; Spasic, Dragana; Lammertyn, Jeroen

2018-06-27

Many challenges in biosensing originate from the fact that the all-important nano-architecture of the biosensor's surface, including precise density and orientation of bioreceptors, is not entirely comprehended. Here we introduced a 3D DNA origami as bioreceptor carrier to functionalize the fiber optic surface plasmon resonance (FO-SPR) sensor with nanoscale precision. Starting from a 24-helix bundle, two distinct DNA origami structures were designed to position thrombin-specific aptamers with different density and distance (27 and 113 nm) from the FO-SPR surface. The origami-based biosensors proved to be not only capable of reproducible, label-free thrombin detection, but revealed also valuable innovative features: (1) a significantly better performance in the absence of backfilling, known as essential in biosensing field, suggesting improved bioreceptor orientation and accessibility and (2) a wider linear range compared to previously reported thrombin biosensors. We envisage that our method will be beneficial both for scientists and clinicians looking for new surface (bio)chemistry and improved diagnostics.

Cascaded plasmon-plasmon coupling mediated energy transfer across stratified metal-dielectric nanostructures

PubMed Central

Golmakaniyoon, Sepideh; Hernandez-Martinez, Pedro Ludwig; Demir, Hilmi Volkan; Sun, Xiao Wei

2016-01-01

Surface plasmon (SP) coupling has been successfully applied to nonradiative energy transfer via exciton-plasmon-exciton coupling in conventionally sandwiched donor-metal film-acceptor configurations. However, these structures lack the desired efficiency and suffer poor photoemission due to the high energy loss. Here, we show that the cascaded exciton-plasmon-plasmon-exciton coupling in stratified architecture enables an efficient energy transfer mechanism. The overlaps of the surface plasmon modes at the metal-dielectric and dielectric-metal interfaces allow for strong cross-coupling in comparison with the single metal film configuration. The proposed architecture has been demonstrated through the analytical modeling and numerical simulation of an oscillating dipole near the stratified nanostructure of metal-dielectric-metal-acceptor. Consistent with theoretical and numerical results, experimental measurements confirm at least 50% plasmon resonance energy transfer enhancement in the donor-metal-dielectric-metal-acceptor compared to the donor-metal-acceptor structure. Cascaded plasmon-plasmon coupling enables record high efficiency for exciton transfer through metallic structures. PMID:27698422

Optical diffraction in ordered VO2 nanoparticle arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lopez, Rene; Feldman, Leonard; Haglund, Richard

2006-03-01

The potential of oxide electronic materials as multifunctional building blocks is one of the driving concepts of the field. In this presentation, we show how nanostructured particle arrays with long-range order can be used to modulate an optical response through exploiting the metal-insulator transition of vanadium dioxide. Arrays of VO2 nanoparticles with long-range order were fabricated by pulsed laser deposition in an arbitrary pattern defined by focused ion-beam lithography. The interaction of light with the nanoparticles is controlled by the nanoparticle size, spacing and geometrical arrangement and by switching between the metallic and semiconducting phases of VO2. In addition to the near-infrared surface plasmon response observed in previous VO2 studies, the VO2 nanoparticle arrays exhibit size-dependent optical resonances in the visible region that likewise show an enhanced optical contrast between the semiconducting and metallic phases. The collective optical response as a function of temperature gives rise to an enhanced scattering state during the evolving phase transition, while the incoherent coupling between the nanoparticles produces an order-disorder-order transition.

Ultrafast strong broadband light source generated in nanoscale plasmonic Au-AAO-Al structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, Junbo; Yao, Linhua; Ma, Zongwei

we demonstrate an ultrafast strong broadband photoluminescence (PL) from Au-AAO-Al composite under low excitation power intensity of 3.8 34.5 GW /cm2. The emission wavelength is in the range of 450-1050 nm and the lifetime is under sub-nanosecond. Comparative studies of PL in Au-AAO-Al with different Au rod length and Au-AAO without Al coupling layer, together with the finite difference time domain (FDTD) calculations, present that the fast PL originates from the surface plasmon enhanced supercontinuum generation (SCG) in AAO membrane. The observations indicate that strong SCG could be realized in nanoscale plasmonic structures, which have promise applications in the minimization and integration of ultrafast lighting sources in photonic devices. National Natural Scientific Foundation of China (11404124).

Plasphonics: local hybridization of plasmons and phonons.

PubMed

Marty, Renaud; Mlayah, Adnen; Arbouet, Arnaud; Girard, Christian; Tripathy, Sudhiranjan

2013-02-25

We show that the interaction between localized surface plasmons sustained by a metallic nano-antenna and delocalized phonons lying at the surface of an heteropolar semiconductor can generate a new class of hybrid electromagnetic modes. These plasphonic modes are investigated using an analytical model completed by accurate Green dyadic numerical simulations. When surface plasmon and surface phonon frequencies match, the optical resonances exhibit a large Rabi splitting typical of strongly interacting two-level systems. Based on numerical simulations of the electric near-field maps, we investigate the nature of the plaphonic excitations. In particular, we point out a strong local field enhancement boosted by the phononic surface. This effect is interpreted in terms of light harvesting by the plasmonic antenna from the phononic surface. We thus introduce the concept of active phononic surfaces that may be exploited for far-infared optoelectronic devices and sensors.

Tuning the interaction between propagating and localized surface plasmons for surface enhanced Raman scattering in water for biomedical and environmental applications

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shioi, Masahiko, E-mail: shioi.masahiko@jp.panasonic.com; Department of Electric and Electronic Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Kobe University, Rokkodai, Nada, Kobe 657-8501; Jans, Hilde

With a view to biomedical and environmental applications, we investigate the plasmonic properties of a rectangular gold nanodisk array in water to boost surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) effects. To control the resonance wavelengths of the surface plasmon polariton and the localized surface plasmon, their dependence on the array period and diameter in water is studied in detail using a finite difference time domain method. A good agreement is obtained between calculated resonant wavelengths and those of gold nanodisk arrays fabricated using electron beam lithography. For the optimized structure, a SERS enhancement factor of 7.8 × 10{sup 7} is achieved in watermore » experimentally.« less

Synthesis methods of gold nanoparticles for Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance (LSPR) sensor applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Diyanah Samsuri, Nurul; Maisarah Mukhtar, Wan; Rashid, Affa Rozana Abdul; Dasuki, Karsono Ahmad; Awangku Yussuf, Awangku Abdul Rahman Hj.

2017-11-01

Gold nanoparticles (GNPs) have been known as an excellent characteristic for Local Surface Plasmon Resonance (LSPR) sensors due to their sensitive spectral response to the local environment of the nanoparticle surface and ease of monitoring the light signal due to their strong scattering or absorption. Prior the technologies, GNPs based LSPR has been commercialized and have become a central tool for characterizing and quantifying in various field. In this review, we presented a brief introduction on the history of surface plasmon, the theory behind the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and the principles of LSPR. We also reported on the synthetization as well of the properties of the GNPs and the applications in current LSPR sensors.

Solar cell comprising a plasmonic back reflector and method therefor

DOEpatents

Ding, I-Kang; Zhu, Jia; Cui, Yi; McGehee, Michael David

2014-11-25

A method for forming a solar cell having a plasmonic back reflector is disclosed. The method includes the formation of a nanoimprinted surface on which a metal electrode is conformally disposed. The surface structure of the nanoimprinted surface gives rise to a two-dimensional pattern of nanometer-scale features in the metal electrode enabling these features to collectively form the plasmonic back reflector.

Pressure-assisted melt-filling and optical characterization of Au nano-wires in microstructured fibers.

PubMed

Lee, H W; Schmidt, M A; Russell, R F; Joly, N Y; Tyagi, H K; Uebel, P; Russell, P St J

2011-06-20

We report a novel splicing-based pressure-assisted melt-filling technique for creating metallic nanowires in hollow channels in microstructured silica fibers. Wires with diameters as small as 120 nm (typical aspect ration 50:1) could be realized at a filling pressure of 300 bar. As an example we investigate a conventional single-mode step-index fiber with a parallel gold nanowire (wire diameter 510 nm) running next to the core. Optical transmission spectra show dips at wavelengths where guided surface plasmon modes on the nanowire phase match to the glass core mode. By monitoring the side-scattered light at narrow breaks in the nanowire, the loss could be estimated. Values as low as 0.7 dB/mm were measured at resonance, corresponding to those of an ultra-long-range eigenmode of the glass-core/nanowire system. By thermal treatment the hollow channel could be collapsed controllably, permitting creation of a conical gold nanowire, the optical properties of which could be monitored by side-scattering. The reproducibility of the technique and the high optical quality of the wires suggest applications in fields such as nonlinear plasmonics, near-field scanning optical microscope tips, cylindrical polarizers, optical sensing and telecommunications.

Fundamental limits to graphene plasmonics.

PubMed

Ni, G X; McLeod, A S; Sun, Z; Wang, L; Xiong, L; Post, K W; Sunku, S S; Jiang, B-Y; Hone, J; Dean, C R; Fogler, M M; Basov, D N

2018-05-01

Plasmon polaritons are hybrid excitations of light and mobile electrons that can confine the energy of long-wavelength radiation at the nanoscale. Plasmon polaritons may enable many enigmatic quantum effects, including lasing 1 , topological protection 2,3 and dipole-forbidden absorption 4 . A necessary condition for realizing such phenomena is a long plasmonic lifetime, which is notoriously difficult to achieve for highly confined modes 5 . Plasmon polaritons in graphene-hybrids of Dirac quasiparticles and infrared photons-provide a platform for exploring light-matter interaction at the nanoscale 6,7 . However, plasmonic dissipation in graphene is substantial 8 and its fundamental limits remain undetermined. Here we use nanometre-scale infrared imaging to investigate propagating plasmon polaritons in high-mobility encapsulated graphene at cryogenic temperatures. In this regime, the propagation of plasmon polaritons is primarily restricted by the dielectric losses of the encapsulated layers, with a minor contribution from electron-phonon interactions. At liquid-nitrogen temperatures, the intrinsic plasmonic propagation length can exceed 10 micrometres, or 50 plasmonic wavelengths, thus setting a record for highly confined and tunable polariton modes. Our nanoscale imaging results reveal the physics of plasmonic dissipation and will be instrumental in mitigating such losses in heterostructure engineering applications.

Limitations of a localized surface plasmon resonance sensor on Salmonella detection

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

We have designed a localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) biosensor to perform the whole cell detection of Salmonella using gold nanoparticls fabricated by oblique angle deposition technique. The LSPR sensor showed a plasmon peak shift due to the Salmonella antigen and anti-Salmonella antibody r...

Surface plasmon enhanced SWIR absorption at the ultra n-doped substrate/PbSe nanostructure layer interface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wittenberg, Vladimir; Rosenblit, Michael; Sarusi, Gabby

2017-08-01

This work presents simulation results of the plasmon enhanced absorption that can be achieved in the short wavelength infrared (SWIR - 1200 nm to 1800 nm) spectral range at the interface between ultra-heavily doped substrates and a PbSe nanostructure non-epitaxial growth absorbing layer. The absorption enhancement simulated in this study is due to surface plasmon polariton (SPP) excitation at the interface between these ultra-heavily n-doped GaAs or GaN substrates, which are nearly semimetals to SWIR light, and an absorption layer made of PbSe nano-spheres or nano-columns. The ultra-heavily doped GaAs or GaN substrates are simulated as examples, based on the Drude-Lorentz permittivity model. In the simulation, the substrates and the absorption layer were patterned jointly to forma blazed lattice, and then were back-illuminated using SWIR with a central wavelength of 1500 nm. The maximal field enhancement achieved was 17.4 with a penetration depth of 40 nm. Thus, such architecture of an ultra-heavily doped semiconductor and infrared absorbing layer can further increase the absorption due to the plasmonic enhanced absorption effect in the SWIR spectral band without the need to use a metallic layer as in the case of visible light.

Plasmonic reflectance anisotropy spectroscopy of metal nanoparticles on a semiconductor surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kosobukin, V. A.; Korotchenkov, A. V.

2016-12-01

A theory of plasmonic differential anisotropic reflection of light from nanoparticles located near the interface between media is developed. The model of a monolayer consisting of identical ellipsoidal metal particles occupying sites of a rectangular lattice is investigated. Effective plasmonic polarizabilities of nanoparticles in the layer are calculated self-consistently using the Green's function technique in the quasipoint dipole approximation. The local-field effect caused by anisotropic dipole plasmons of particles in the layer and their image dipoles is taken into account. The lately observed resonant reflectance anisotropy spectra of indium nanoclusters on InAs surface are explained by the difference between frequencies of plasmons with the orthogonal polarizations in the surface plane. The difference between the plasmon frequencies is attributed to anisotropy of the particles shape or/and the layer structure; the signs of frequency difference for the two types of anisotropy being different.

Flexible coherent control of plasmonic spin-Hall effect.

PubMed

Xiao, Shiyi; Zhong, Fan; Liu, Hui; Zhu, Shining; Li, Jensen

2015-09-29

The surface plasmon polariton is an emerging candidate for miniaturizing optoelectronic circuits. Recent demonstrations of polarization-dependent splitting using metasurfaces, including focal-spot shifting and unidirectional propagation, allow us to exploit the spin degree of freedom in plasmonics. However, further progress has been hampered by the inability to generate more complicated and independent surface plasmon profiles for two incident spins, which work coherently together for more flexible and tunable functionalities. Here by matching the geometric phases of the nano-slots on silver to specific superimpositions of the inward and outward surface plasmon profiles for the two spins, arbitrary spin-dependent orbitals can be generated in a slot-free region. Furthermore, motion pictures with a series of picture frames can be assembled and played by varying the linear polarization angle of incident light. This spin-enabled control of orbitals is potentially useful for tip-free near-field scanning microscopy, holographic data storage, tunable plasmonic tweezers, and integrated optical components.

Universal liquid-phase laser fabrication of various nano-metals encapsulated by ultrathin carbon shells for deep-UV plasmonics.

PubMed

Yu, Miao; Yang, Chao; Li, Xiao-Ming; Lei, Tian-Yu; Sun, Hao-Xuan; Dai, Li-Ping; Gu, Yu; Ning, Xue; Zhou, Ting; Wang, Chao; Zeng, Hai-Bo; Xiong, Jie

2017-06-29

The exploration of localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) beyond the usual visible waveband, for example within the ultraviolet (UV) or deep-ultraviolet (D-UV) regions, is of great significance due to its unique applications in secret communications and optics. However, it is still challenging to universally synthesize the corresponding metal nanostructures due to their high activity. Herein, we report a universal, eco-friendly, facile and rapid synthesis of various nano-metals encapsulated by ultrathin carbon shells, significantly with a remarkable deep-UV LSPR characteristic, via a liquid-phase laser fabrication method. Firstly, a new generation of the laser ablation in liquid (LAL) method has been developed with an emphasis on the elaborate selection of solvents to generate ultrathin carbon shells, and hence to stabilize the formed metal nanocrystals. As a result, a series of metal@carbon nanoparticles (NPs), including Cr@C, Ti@C, Fe@C, V@C, Al@C, Sn@C, Mn@C and Pd@C, can be fabricated by this modified LAL method. Interestingly, these NPs exhibit LSPR peaks in the range of 200-330 nm, which are very rare for localized surface plasmon resonance. Consequently, the UV plasmonic effects of these metal@carbon NPs were demonstrated both by the observed enhancement in UV photoluminescence (PL) from the carbon nanoshells and by the improvement of the photo-responsivity of UV GaN photodetectors. This work could provide a universal method for carbon shelled metal NPs and expand plasmonics into the D-UV waveband.

Quantitative Comparison of Protein Adsorption and Conformational Changes on Dielectric-Coated Nanoplasmonic Sensing Arrays.

PubMed

Ferhan, Abdul Rahim; Jackman, Joshua A; Sut, Tun Naw; Cho, Nam-Joon

2018-04-22

Nanoplasmonic sensors are a popular, surface-sensitive measurement tool to investigate biomacromolecular interactions at solid-liquid interfaces, opening the door to a wide range of applications. In addition to high surface sensitivity, nanoplasmonic sensors have versatile surface chemistry options as plasmonic metal nanoparticles can be coated with thin dielectric layers. Within this scope, nanoplasmonic sensors have demonstrated promise for tracking protein adsorption and substrate-induced conformational changes on oxide film-coated arrays, although existing studies have been limited to single substrates. Herein, we investigated human serum albumin (HSA) adsorption onto silica- and titania-coated arrays of plasmonic gold nanodisks by localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) measurements and established an analytical framework to compare responses across multiple substrates with different sensitivities. While similar responses were recorded on the two substrates for HSA adsorption under physiologically-relevant ionic strength conditions, distinct substrate-specific behavior was observed at lower ionic strength conditions. With decreasing ionic strength, larger measurement responses occurred for HSA adsorption onto silica surfaces, whereas HSA adsorption onto titania surfaces occurred independently of ionic strength condition. Complementary quartz crystal microbalance-dissipation (QCM-D) measurements were also performed, and the trend in adsorption behavior was similar. Of note, the magnitudes of the ionic strength-dependent LSPR and QCM-D measurement responses varied, and are discussed with respect to the measurement principle and surface sensitivity of each technique. Taken together, our findings demonstrate how the high surface sensitivity of nanoplasmonic sensors can be applied to quantitatively characterize protein adsorption across multiple surfaces, and outline broadly-applicable measurement strategies for biointerfacial science applications.

Surface plasmon polaritons and waveguide modes at structured and inhomogeneous surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Polanco, Javier

In chapter 1, properties of a p-polarized surface plasmon polariton are studied, propagating circumferentially around a portion of a cylindrical interface between vacuum and a metal, a situation investigated earlier by M. V. Berry (J. Phys. A: Math. Gen. 8, (1975) 1952). When the metal is convex toward the vacuum this mode is radiative and consequently is attenuated as it propagates on the cylindrical surface. An approximate analytic solution of the dispersion relation for this wave is obtained by an approach different from the one used by Berry, and plots of the real and imaginary parts of its wave number are presented. When the metal is concave to the vacuum, the resulting dispersion relation possesses a multiplicity of solutions that have the nature of waveguide modes that owe their existence to the curvature of the interface. In chapter 2, the reduced Rayleigh equation for the scattering of a surface plasmon polariton incident normally on a one-dimensional ridge or groove on an otherwise planar metal surface is solved by a purely numerical approach. The solution is used to calculate the reflectivity and transmissivity of the surface plasmon polariton, and its conversion into volume electromagnetic waves in the vacuum above the metal surface. The results obtained are compared with those of earlier calculations of these quantities. In chapter 3, the results of the previous chapter are extended to the scattering of a surface plasmon polariton incident non-normally on a one-dimensional ridge or groove on an otherwise planar metal surface. As before, the reflectivity and transmissivity of the surface plasmon polariton are calculated, and its conversion into volume electromagnetic waves in the vacuum above the metal surface. In chapter 4, the dynamics of the scattering of surface plasmon polariton (SPP) pulses are investigated theoretically, by single nanoscale metal Gaussian defects through a rigorous calculation of the time dependence of the reflected and transmitted SPP and of the angular distribution of the scattered light.

Mid-IR Plasmonics, Cavity Coupled Excitations, and IR Spectra of Individual Airborne Particulate Matter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luthra, Antriksh

With the advances in plasmonics, new fields have evolved involving the mixing of light with various states like Surface Plasmons (SPs), Surface Phonons (SPh), molecular emitters or resonators, and wavelength scale cavities. This work concentrates on the interaction of infrared (IR) light with SPs, cavity modes, and molecular vibrations. In the first chapter, the field of Plasmonics is introduced from a classical and a quantum mechanical perspective and a comparison of both is presented. In Chapter 2, the interaction of cavity modes with vibrations is discussed. Briefly, when IR light is illuminated upon an etalon, its fringes disperse as function of angle. If there is a dielectric in a cavity having a vibrational transition in the fringe region, it leads to a strong interaction that gives rise to a Rabi splitting. Data was obtained from collaborators at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) and a derivation for the dispersion of etalon cavity modes was carried out to model the peak positions of the fringes. In Chapter 3, the excitation of Surface Plasmons Polaritons (SPPs) on metal bi-gratings is discussed. The resonance condition occurs when the momentum of the IR light parallel to the surface plus the grating vector match the momentum of the SPP. Experiments were performed in the GammaX space (ky=0) and the resonance peak positions were modeled with SPP momentum matching equations. In Chapter 4, the application of plasmonics in the mid-IR frequency range that overlaps with the frequencies of molecular vibrations is explored. The plasmonic mesh has interesting optical properties, it focuses more light in the holes and that leads to an enhancement of the IR spectra of a particle trapped in the mesh hole. In this work, plasmonic mesh is used to study airborne particles that are usually difficult to study using FTIR spectroscopy due to strong Mie scattering effect. Respiring dust particles of 4 microns size has significant negative health consequences. Different environments pose different health hazards. Chemical insights of such dust collected from four very different environments: lab air, home air filter, the 11 September 2001 WTC event and the International Space Station is reported. These particles were collected by pumping air through plasmonic metal films with a 12.6 mum square lattice of 5 mum square holes, enabling us to record "scatter-free" IR absorption spectra of individual particles whose peaks reveal their IR active components. In Chapter 5, statistical methods such as single value decomposition (SVD) and support vector machine (SVM) informed with a Mie-Bruggeman model is presented, analyzing the spectral data from different dust environments.

Active multiple plasmon-induced transparencies with detuned asymmetric multi-rectangle resonators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Dongdong; Wang, Jicheng; Lu, Jian

2016-11-01

The phenomenon of plasmon-induced transparency (PIT) is realized in surface plasmon polariton waveguide at the visible and near-infrared ranges. By adding one and two resonant cavities, the PIT peak(s) was (were) achieved due to destructive interference between the side-coupled rectangle cavity and the bus waveguide. The proposed structures were demonstrated by the finite element method. The simulation results showed that for three rectangle resonators system, not only can we manipulate each single PIT window, but also the double PIT windows simultaneously by adjusting one of the geometrical parameters of the system; for four rectangle resonators system, by changing the widths, the lengths and the refractive index of three cavities simultaneously, we would realize treble PIT peaks and induce an off-to-on PIT optical response. Our novel plasmonic structures and the findings pave the way for new design and engineering of highly integrated optical circuit such as nanoscale optical switching, nanosensor and wavelength-selecting nanostructure.

Gold nanoparticle plasmon resonance in near-field coupled Au NPs layer/Al film nanostructure: Dependence on metal film thickness

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yeshchenko, Oleg A.; Kozachenko, Viktor V.; Naumenko, Antonina P.; Berezovska, Nataliya I.; Kutsevol, Nataliya V.; Chumachenko, Vasyl A.; Haftel, Michael; Pinchuk, Anatoliy O.

2018-05-01

We study the effects of coupling between plasmonic metal nanoparticles and a thin metal film by using light extinction spectroscopy. A planar monolayer of gold nanoparticles located near an aluminum thin film (thicknesses within the range of 0-62 nm) was used to analyze the coupling between the monolayer and the thin metal film. SPR peak area increase for polymer coated Au NPs, non-monotonical behavior of the peak area for bare Au NPs, as well as red shift and broadening of SPR at the increase of the Al film thickness have been observed. These effects are rationalized as a result of coupling of the layer of Au NPs with Al film through the field of localized surface plasmons in Au NPs that causes the excitation of collective plasmonic gap mode in the nanostructure. An additional mechanism for bare Au NPs is the non-radiative damping of SPR that is caused by the electrical contact between metal NPs and film.

Exact surface-plasmon polariton solutions at a lossy interface.

PubMed

Norrman, Andreas; Setälä, Tero; Friberg, Ari T

2013-04-01

Making use of a rigorous electromagnetic treatment, we demonstrate that the approximate results that are customarily employed for the analysis of a plasmon field at a metal/dielectric boundary are incorrect even in some situations in which they are supposed to hold. We show further that a new type of surface-plasmon solution exists that does not follow from the standard approximate analysis. Energy-flow considerations indicate that the new polariton is a backward-propagating surface wave, as encountered in manmade structures. Our results are likely to find applications in metal/semiconductor and metamaterial plasmonics.

Surface-plasmon enhanced photoemission of a silver nano-patterned photocathode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Z.; Li, R.; To, H.; Andonian, G.; Pirez, E.; Meade, D.; Maxson, J.; Musumeci, P.

2017-09-01

Nano-patterned photocathodes (NPC) take advantage of plasmonic effects to resonantly increase absorption of light and localize electromagnetic field intensity on metal surfaces leading to surface-plasmon enhanced photoemission. In this paper, we report the status of NPC research at UCLA including in particular the optimization of the dimensions of a nanohole array on a silver wafer to enhance plasmonic response at 800 nm light, the development of a spectrally-resolved reflectivity measurement setup for quick nanopattern validation, and of a novel cathode plug to enable high power tests of NPCs on single crystal substrates in a high gradient radiofrequency gun.

Surface-PlasmonoDielectric-polaritonic devices and systems

DOEpatents

None, None

2013-06-25

There is provided a structure for supporting propagation of surface plasmon polaritons. The structure includes a plasmonic material region and a dielectric material region, disposed adjacent to a selected surface of the plasmonic material region. At least one of the plasmonic material region and the dielectric material region have a dielectric permittivity distribution that is specified as a function of depth through the corresponding material region. This dielectric permittivity distribution is selected to impose prespecified group velocities, v.sub.gj, on a dispersion relation for a surface polaritonic mode of the structure for at least one of a corresponding set of prespecified frequencies, .omega..sub.j, and corresponding set of prespecified wavevectors, where j=1 to N.