Enhanced and tunable optical quantum efficiencies from plasmon bandwidth engineering in bimetallic CoAg nanoparticles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Malasi

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Plasmonic nanoparticles are amongst the most effective ways to resonantly couple optical energy into and out of nanometer sized volumes. However, controlling and/or tuning the transfer of this incident energy to the surrounding near and far field is one of the most interesting challenges in this area. Due to the dielectric properties of metallic silver (Ag, its nanoparticles have amongst the highest radiative quantum efficiencies (η, i.e., the ability to radiatively transfer the incident energy to the surrounding. Here we report the discovery that bimetallic nanoparticles of Ag made with immiscible and plasmonically weak Co metal can show comparable and/or even higher η values. The enhancement is a result of the narrowing of the plasmon bandwidth from these bimetal systems. The phenomenological explanation of this effect based on the dipolar approximation points to the reduction in radiative losses within the Ag nanoparticles when in contact with cobalt. This is also supported by a model of coupling between poor and good conductors based on the surface to volume ratio. This study presents a new type of bandwidth engineering, one based on using bimetal nanostructures, to tune and/or enhance the quality factor and quantum efficiency for near and far-field plasmonic applications.

Effective Optical Properties of Plasmonic Nanocomposites

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christoph Etrich

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Plasmonic nanocomposites find many applications, such as nanometric coatings in emerging fields, such as optotronics, photovoltaics or integrated optics. To make use of their ability to affect light propagation in an unprecedented manner, plasmonic nanocomposites should consist of densely packed metallic nanoparticles. This causes a major challenge for their theoretical description, since the reliable assignment of effective optical properties with established effective medium theories is no longer possible. Established theories, e.g., the Maxwell-Garnett formalism, are only applicable for strongly diluted nanocomposites. This effective description, however, is a prerequisite to consider plasmonic nanocomposites in the design of optical devices. Here, we mitigate this problem and use full wave optical simulations to assign effective properties to plasmonic nanocomposites with filling fractions close to the percolation threshold. We show that these effective properties can be used to properly predict the optical action of functional devices that contain nanocomposites in their design. With this contribution we pave the way to consider plasmonic nanocomposites comparably to ordinary materials in the design of optical elements.

Plasmon-enhanced optically stimulated luminescence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guidelli, E. J.; Baffa, O.; Ramos, A. P.

2015-10-01

Full text: Optically Stimulated Luminescence dosimeters (OSLD) have been largely used for personal, medical, and industrial radiation dosimetry. Developing highly sensitive and small-sized radiation detectors and dosimeters is essential for improving spatial resolution and consequently diagnosis quality and treatment efficacy in the case of applications in radiodiagnosis and radiation therapy, for instance. Conventional methods to improve the OSLD sensitivity consist of doping and co-doping the host materials with atoms of other elements, thereby increasing the amount of trapping and/or luminescent centers. Our group is researching on the use of the plasmon properties of noble metal nanoparticles to increase OSL intensity. Upon incidence of a light beam with appropriate resonant wavelengths, the oscillation of the free electrons at the nanoparticle surface originates the Localized Surface Plasmons (LSP) and the consequent plasmon resonance band. The interaction between the LSP and the surrounding luminescent material leads to new optical properties largely employed for enhancing several luminescent processes. Here we will show our results regarding the use of LSP to increase OSLD sensitivity. The interaction between the traps/luminescent centers and the plasmons depends on the distance between them, on the plasmon resonance band intensity and position, as well as on the surrounding medium. Therefore, the plasmon-enhanced luminescence is a promising tool to develop more sensitive and miniaturized OSLD. (Author)

Plasmon-enhanced optically stimulated luminescence

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Guidelli, E. J.; Baffa, O. [Universidade de Sao Paulo, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciencias e Letras de Ribeirao Preto, Departamento de Fisica, Av. Bandeirantes 3900, 14040-901 Ribeirao Preto, Sao Paulo (Brazil); Ramos, A. P., E-mail: ederguidelli@gmail.com [Universidade de Sao Paulo, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciencias e Letras de Ribeirao Preto, Departamento de Quimica, Av. Bandeirantes 3900, 14040-901 Ribeirao Preto, Sao Paulo (Brazil)

2015-10-15

Full text: Optically Stimulated Luminescence dosimeters (OSLD) have been largely used for personal, medical, and industrial radiation dosimetry. Developing highly sensitive and small-sized radiation detectors and dosimeters is essential for improving spatial resolution and consequently diagnosis quality and treatment efficacy in the case of applications in radiodiagnosis and radiation therapy, for instance. Conventional methods to improve the OSLD sensitivity consist of doping and co-doping the host materials with atoms of other elements, thereby increasing the amount of trapping and/or luminescent centers. Our group is researching on the use of the plasmon properties of noble metal nanoparticles to increase OSL intensity. Upon incidence of a light beam with appropriate resonant wavelengths, the oscillation of the free electrons at the nanoparticle surface originates the Localized Surface Plasmons (LSP) and the consequent plasmon resonance band. The interaction between the LSP and the surrounding luminescent material leads to new optical properties largely employed for enhancing several luminescent processes. Here we will show our results regarding the use of LSP to increase OSLD sensitivity. The interaction between the traps/luminescent centers and the plasmons depends on the distance between them, on the plasmon resonance band intensity and position, as well as on the surrounding medium. Therefore, the plasmon-enhanced luminescence is a promising tool to develop more sensitive and miniaturized OSLD. (Author)

Plasmonic and silicon spherical nanoparticle antireflective coatings

Science.gov (United States)

Baryshnikova, K. V.; Petrov, M. I.; Babicheva, V. E.; Belov, P. A.

2016-03-01

Over the last decade, plasmonic antireflecting nanostructures have been extensively studied to be utilized in various optical and optoelectronic systems such as lenses, solar cells, photodetectors, and others. The growing interest to all-dielectric photonics as an alternative optical technology along with plasmonics motivates us to compare antireflective properties of plasmonic and all-dielectric nanoparticle coatings based on silver and crystalline silicon respectively. Our simulation results for spherical nanoparticles array on top of amorphous silicon show that both silicon and silver coatings demonstrate strong antireflective properties in the visible spectral range. For the first time, we show that zero reflectance from the structure with silicon coatings originates from the destructive interference of electric- and magnetic-dipole responses of nanoparticle array with the wave reflected from the substrate, and we refer to this reflection suppression as substrate-mediated Kerker effect. We theoretically compare the silicon and silver coating effectiveness for the thin-film photovoltaic applications. Silver nanoparticles can be more efficient, enabling up to 30% increase of the overall absorbance in semiconductor layer. Nevertheless, silicon coatings allow up to 64% absorbance increase in the narrow band spectral range because of the substrate-mediated Kerker effect, and band position can be effectively tuned by varying the nanoparticles sizes.

Development of magneto-plasmonic nanoparticles for multimodal image-guided therapy to the brain

OpenAIRE

Tomitaka, Asahi; Arami, Hamed; Raymond, Andrea; Yndart, Adriana; Kaushik, Ajeet; Jayant, Rahul Dev; Takemura, Yasushi; Cai, Yong; Toborek, Michal; Nair, Madhavan

2017-01-01

Magneto-plasmonic nanoparticles are one of the emerging multi-functional materials in the field of nanomedicine. Their potential for targeting and multi-modal imaging is highly attractive. In this study, magnetic core / gold shell (MNP@Au) magneto-plasmonic nanoparticles were synthesized by citrate reduction of Au ion on magnetic nanoparticle seeds. Hydrodynamic size and optical property of magneto-plasmonic nanoparticles synthesized with the variation of Au ion and reducing agent concentrati...

Quasistatic limit for plasmon-enhanced optical chirality

Science.gov (United States)

Finazzi, Marco; Biagioni, Paolo; Celebrano, Michele; Duò, Lamberto

2015-05-01

We discuss the possibility of enhancing the chiroptical response from molecules uniformly distributed around nanostructures that sustain localized plasmon resonances. We demonstrate that the average optical chirality in the near field of any plasmonic nanostructure cannot be significantly higher than that in a plane wave. This conclusion stems from the quasistatic nature of the nanoparticle-enhanced electromagnetic fields and from the fact that, at optical frequencies, the magnetic response of matter is much weaker than the electric one.

Development of magneto-plasmonic nanoparticles for multimodal image-guided therapy to the brain.

Science.gov (United States)

Tomitaka, Asahi; Arami, Hamed; Raymond, Andrea; Yndart, Adriana; Kaushik, Ajeet; Jayant, Rahul Dev; Takemura, Yasushi; Cai, Yong; Toborek, Michal; Nair, Madhavan

2017-01-05

Magneto-plasmonic nanoparticles are one of the emerging multi-functional materials in the field of nanomedicine. Their potential for targeting and multi-modal imaging is highly attractive. In this study, magnetic core/gold shell (MNP@Au) magneto-plasmonic nanoparticles were synthesized by citrate reduction of Au ions on magnetic nanoparticle seeds. Hydrodynamic size and optical properties of magneto-plasmonic nanoparticles synthesized with the variation of Au ions and reducing agent concentrations were evaluated. The synthesized magneto-plasmonic nanoparticles exhibited superparamagnetic properties, and their magnetic properties contributed to the concentration-dependent contrast in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The imaging contrast from the gold shell part of the magneto-plasmonic nanoparticles was also confirmed by X-ray computed tomography (CT). The transmigration study of the magneto-plasmonic nanoparticles using an in vitro blood-brain barrier (BBB) model proved enhanced transmigration efficiency without disrupting the integrity of the BBB, and showed potential to be used for brain diseases and neurological disorders.

Fiber optic particle plasmon resonance sensor based on plasmonic light scattering interrogation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lin, H.Y.; Huang, C.H.; Chau, L.K.

2012-01-01

A highly sensitive fiber optic particle plasmon resonance sensor (FO-PPR) is demonstrated for label-free biochemical detection. The sensing strategy relies on interrogating the plasmonic scattering of light from gold nanoparticles on the optical fiber in response to the surrounding refractive index changes or molecular binding events. The refractive index resolution is estimated to be 3.8 x 10 -5 RIU. The limit of detection for anti-DNP antibody spiked in buffer is 1.2 x 10 -9 g/ml (5.3 pM) by using the DNP-functionalized FO-PPR sensor. The image processing of simultaneously recorded plasmonic scattering photographs at different compartments of the sensor is also demonstrated. Results suggest that the compact sensor can perform multiple independent measurements simultaneously by means of monitoring the plasmonic scattering intensity via photodiodes or a CCD. The potential of using a combination of different kinds of noble metal nanoparticles with different types of functionalized probes in multiple cascaded detection windows on a single fiber to become an inexpensive and ultrasensitive linear-array sensing platform for higher-throughput biochemical detection is provided. (Copyright copyright 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Quantum optical properties in plasmonic systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ooi, C. H. Raymond [Department of Physics, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)

2015-04-24

Plasmonic metallic particle (MP) can affect the optical properties of a quantum system (QS) in a remarkable way. We develop a general quantum nonlinear formalism with exact vectorial description for the scattered photons by the QS. The formalism enables us to study the variations of the dielectric function and photon spectrum of the QS with the particle distance between QS and MP, exciting laser direction, polarization and phase in the presence of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) in the MP. The quantum formalism also serves as a powerful tool for studying the effects of these parameters on the nonclassical properties of the scattered photons. The plasmonic effect of nanoparticles has promising possibilities as it provides a new way for manipulating quantum optical properties of light in nanophotonic systems.

Improvement of optical and electrical properties of indium tin oxide layer of GaN-based light-emitting diode by surface plasmon in silver nanoparticles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cho, Chu-Young; Hong, Sang-Hyun; Park, Seong-Ju

2015-01-01

We report on the effect of silver (Ag) nanoparticles on the optical transmittance and electrical conductivity of indium tin oxide (ITO) transparent conducting layer deposited on p-GaN layer of light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The sheet resistance of ITO and the series resistance of LEDs were decreased due to the increased electrical conductivity of ITO by Ag nanoparticles, compared with those of the LEDs with a bare ITO only. The ITO transmittance was also improved by localized surface plasmon resonance between the incident light and the randomly distributed Ag nanoparticles on ITO. The optical output power of LEDs with Ag nanoparticles on ITO was increased by 16% at 20 mA of injection current. - Highlights: • We studied the effect of Ag nanoparticles deposited on ITO on the properties of LED. • The optical power of LED and transmittance of ITO were improved by Ag surface plasmon. • The electrical conductivity of ITO was increased by Ag nanoparticles

Plasmonic gold nanoparticles modified titania nanotubes for antibacterial application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Jinhua; Zhou, Huaijuan; Qian, Shi; Liu, Ziwei; Feng, Jingwei; Jin, Ping; Liu, Xuanyong

2014-01-01

Close-packed TiO 2 nanotube arrays are prepared on metallic Ti surface by electrochemical anodization. Subsequently, by magnetron sputtering, Au nanoparticles are coated onto the top sidewall and tube inwall. The Au@TiO 2 systems can effectively kill Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli in darkness due to the existence of Au nanoparticles. On the basis of classical optical theories, the antibacterial mechanism is proposed from the perspective of localized surface plasmon resonance. Respiratory electrons of bacterial membrane transfer to Au nanoparticles and then to TiO 2 , which makes bacteria steadily lose electrons until death. This work provides insights for the better understanding and designing of noble metal nanoparticles-based plasmonic heterostructures for antibacterial application.

Array of nanoparticles coupling with quantum-dot: Lattice plasmon quantum features

Science.gov (United States)

Salmanogli, Ahmad; Gecim, H. Selcuk

2018-06-01

In this study, we analyze the interaction of lattice plasmon with quantum-dot in order to mainly examine the quantum features of the lattice plasmon containing the photonic/plasmonic properties. Despite optical properties of the localized plasmon, the lattice plasmon severely depends on the array geometry, which may influence its quantum features such as uncertainty and the second-order correlation function. To investigate this interaction, we consider a closed system containing an array of the plasmonic nanoparticles and quantum-dot. We analyze this system with full quantum theory by which the array electric far field is quantized and the strength coupling of the quantum-dot array is analytically calculated. Moreover, the system's dynamics are evaluated and studied via the Heisenberg-Langevin equations to attain the system optical modes. We also analytically examine the Purcell factor, which shows the effect of the lattice plasmon on the quantum-dot spontaneous emission. Finally, the lattice plasmon uncertainty and its time evolution of the second-order correlation function at different spatial points are examined. These parameters are dramatically affected by the retarded field effect of the array nanoparticles. We found a severe quantum fluctuation at points where the lattice plasmon occurs, suggesting that the lattice plasmon photons are correlated.

Porous silicon photoluminescence modification by colloidal gold nanoparticles: Plasmonic, surface and porosity roles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mora, M.B. de la; Bornacelli, J.; Nava, R.; Zanella, R.; Reyes-Esqueda, J.A.

2014-01-01

Metal nanoparticles on semiconductors are of interest because of the tunable effect of the surface plasmon resonance on the physical properties of the semiconductor. In this work, colloidal gold nanoparticles obtained by two different methods, with an average size of 6.1±2.0 nm and 5.0±2.0 nm, were added to luminescent porous silicon by drop casting. The gold nanoparticles interact with porous silicon by modifying its optical properties such as photoluminescence. That being said, plasmon effects are not the only to be taken into account; as shown in this work, surface chemical modification and porosity also play a key role in the final performance of photoluminescence of a porous silicon–gold nanoparticle hybrid system. -- Highlights: • A hybrid material consisting of porous silicon and gold nanoparticles was fabricated. • Porous silicon/gold nanoparticle hybrid material was made by drop casting. • Influence of plasmonics, surface chemical modification and porosity on the optical behavior of our material was analyzed. • Porosity is proposed as a parameter control to obtain the best effects on luminescence of the hybrid plasmonic material

Porous silicon photoluminescence modification by colloidal gold nanoparticles: Plasmonic, surface and porosity roles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mora, M.B. de la; Bornacelli, J. [Instituto de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México D.F. 04510 (Mexico); Nava, R. [Centro de Investigación en Energía, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Temixco, Morelos 62580 (Mexico); Zanella, R. [Centro de Ciencias Aplicadas y Desarrollo Tecnológico, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México D.F. 04510 (Mexico); Reyes-Esqueda, J.A., E-mail: betarina@gmail.com [Instituto de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México D.F. 04510 (Mexico)

2014-02-15

Metal nanoparticles on semiconductors are of interest because of the tunable effect of the surface plasmon resonance on the physical properties of the semiconductor. In this work, colloidal gold nanoparticles obtained by two different methods, with an average size of 6.1±2.0 nm and 5.0±2.0 nm, were added to luminescent porous silicon by drop casting. The gold nanoparticles interact with porous silicon by modifying its optical properties such as photoluminescence. That being said, plasmon effects are not the only to be taken into account; as shown in this work, surface chemical modification and porosity also play a key role in the final performance of photoluminescence of a porous silicon–gold nanoparticle hybrid system. -- Highlights: • A hybrid material consisting of porous silicon and gold nanoparticles was fabricated. • Porous silicon/gold nanoparticle hybrid material was made by drop casting. • Influence of plasmonics, surface chemical modification and porosity on the optical behavior of our material was analyzed. • Porosity is proposed as a parameter control to obtain the best effects on luminescence of the hybrid plasmonic material.

Thermal limiting effects in optical plasmonic waveguides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ershov, A.E.; Gerasimov, V.S.; Gavrilyuk, A.P.; Karpov, S.V.; Zakomirnyi, V.I.; Rasskazov, I.L.; Polyutov, S.P.

2017-01-01

We have studied thermal effects occurring during excitation of optical plasmonic waveguide (OPW) in the form of linear chain of spherical Ag nanoparticles by pulsed laser radiation. It was shown that heating and subsequent melting of the first irradiated particle in a chain can significantly deteriorate the transmission efficiency of OPW that is the crucial and limiting factor and continuous operation of OPW requires cooling devices. This effect is caused by suppression of particle's surface plasmon resonance due to reaching the melting point temperature. We have determined optimal excitation parameters which do not significantly affect the transmission efficiency of OPW. - Highlights: • The thermodynamic model was developed to study thermal effects at nanoscale. • Developed model considers temperature-dependent permittivity of the nanoparticles. • Thermal effects significantly suppress transmission efficiency of plasmonic chains. • Optimal parameters for stable operation of plasmonic chains were defined.

Plasmonic angular tunability of gold nanoparticles generated by fs laser ablation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pace, M.L.; Guarnaccio, A.; Ranù, F. [CNR, ISM UOS Tito Scalo, Zona Industriale, Tito Scalo (PZ) 85050 (Italy); Trucchi, D. [CNR, ISM UOS Montelibretti, Via Salaria km 29.300, Monterotondo Scalo, (RM) 00015 (Italy); Orlando, S., E-mail: stefano.orlando@ism.cnr.it [CNR, ISM UOS Tito Scalo, Zona Industriale, Tito Scalo (PZ) 85050 (Italy); Mollica, D.; Parisi, G.P. [CNR, ISM UOS Tito Scalo, Zona Industriale, Tito Scalo (PZ) 85050 (Italy); Medici, L.; Lettino, A. [CNR, IMAA, Area della Ricerca di Potenza -Zona Industriale, Tito Scalo, (PZ) 85050 (Italy); De Bonis, A.; Teghil, R. [Dipart. di Scienze,Università della Basilicata, Viale dell’Ateneo Lucano 10, Potenza, 85100 (Italy); Santagata, A. [CNR, ISM UOS Tito Scalo, Zona Industriale, Tito Scalo (PZ) 85050 (Italy)

2016-06-30

Highlights: • fs pulsed laser ablation as a technique to produce nanoparticles. • Nanoparticle distribution as an evidence for plasmonic tunable resonances. • Correlation between angular distribution of deposited nanoparticles and specific plasmonic resonances. - Abstract: With the aim to study the influence of deposition parameters on the plasmonic properties of gold (Au) nanoparticles (NPs) deposited by ultra-short ablation, we have focused our attention in evaluating how their size distribution can be varied. In this work, the role played by the NPs’ angular distribution, agglomeration and growth is related to the resulting optical properties. UV–vis-NIR absorption spectra together with Scanning Electron Microscopy, Transmission Electron Microscopy and X-ray microdiffraction observations are presented in order to show how the angular distribution of fs laser ablation and deposition of Au NPs provides different plasmonic properties which can be beneficial for several aims, from optoelectronic to biosensor applications.

Plasmonic Organic Photovoltaics: Unraveling Plasmonic Enhancement for Realistic Cell Geometries

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Beliatis, Michail

2018-01-01

Incorporating plasmonic nanoparticles in organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices can increase the optical thickness of the organic absorber layer while keeping its physical thickness small. However, trade-offs between various structure parameters have caused contradictions regarding the effectiveness...... of plasmonics in the literature, that have somewhat stunted the progressing of a unified theoretical understanding for practical applications. We examine the optical enhancement mechanisms of practical PCDTBT:PC70BM OPV cells incorporating metal nanoparticles. The plasmonic near- and far-field contributions...... show that an already optimized PCDTBT:PC70BM cell can be further optically enhanced by plasmonic effects by at least 20% with the incorporation of Ag nanoparticles....

The Optical Properties of Cu-Ni Nanoparticles Produced via Pulsed Laser Dewetting of Ultrathin Films: The Effect of Nanoparticle Size and Composition on the Plasmon Response

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu, Yeuyeng; Fowlkes, Jason Davidson; Rack, Philip D.

2011-01-01

Thin film Cu-Ni alloys ranging from 2-8nm were synthesized and their optical properties were measured as-deposited and after a laser treatment which dewet the films into arrays of spatially correlated nanoparticles. The resultant nanoparticle size and spacing are attributed to laser induced spinodal dewetting process. The evolution of the spinodal dewetting process is investigated as a function of the thin film composition which ultimately dictates the size distribution and spacing of the nanoparticles. The optical measurements of the copper rich alloy nanoparticles reveal a signature absorption peak suggestive of a plasmonic peak which red-shifts with increasing nanoparticle size and blue shifts and dampens with increasing nickel concentration.

Theoretical Studies of Optical Properties of Silver Nanoparticles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ye-Wan, Ma; Zhao-Wang, Wu; Li-Hua, Zhang; Jie, Zhang

2010-01-01

Optical properties of silver nanoparticles such as extinction, absorption and scattering efficiencies are studied based on Green's function theory. The numerical simulation results show that optical properties of silver nanoparticles are mainly dependent on their sizes and geometries; the localized plasmon resonance peak is red shifted when the dielectric constant of the particle's surrounding medium increases or when a substrate is presented. The influences of wave polarizations, the incident angles of light, the composite silver and multiply-layers on the plasmon resonance are also reported. The numerical simulation of optical spectra is a very useful tool for nanoparticle growth and characterization. (fundamental areas of phenomenology(including applications))

Influence of nanoparticle–graphene separation on the localized surface plasmon resonances of metal nanoparticles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Masoudian Saadabad, Reza, E-mail: masoudian-reza@yahoo.com, E-mail: rms@mail.usb.ac.ir; Aporvari, Ahmad Shafiei [University of Sistan and Baluchestan, Department of Physics (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Shirdel-Havar, Amir Hushang [Golestan University, Department of Physics (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Havar, Majid Shirdel [University of Kashan, Department of Physics (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2016-01-15

We develop a theory to model the interaction of graphene substrate with localized plasmon resonances in metallic nanoparticles. The influence of a graphene substrate on the surface plasmon resonances is described using an effective background permittivity that is derived from a pseudoparticle concept using the electrostatic method. For this purpose, the interaction of metal nanoparticle with graphene sheet is studied to obtain the optical spectrum of gold nanoparticles deposited on a graphene substrate. Then, we introduce a factor based on dipole approximation to predict the influence of the separation of nanoparticles and graphene on the spectral position of the localized plasmon resonance of the nanoparticles. We applied the theory for a 4-nm-radius gold nanosphere placed near 1.5 nm graphene layer. It is shown that a blue shift is emerged in the position of plasmon resonance when the nanoparticle moves away from graphene.

Optical properties of nanoparticles

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bendix, Pól Martin

2015-01-01

At the NBI I am involved in projects relating to optical properties of metallic nanoparticles in particular with respect to plasmonic heating with direct applications to photothermal cancer therapy. For this purpose we have developed heating assays that can be used to measure the heating of any...... nanoscopic heat source like an irradiated nanoparticle...

Blueshift of the silver plasmon band using controlled nanoparticle dissolution in aqueous solution

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mogensen, Klaus Bo; Kneipp, Katrin

2014-01-01

In this work, we report the size-dependent blue shift of the silver nanoparticle plasmon band in aqueous solution by means of UV/VIS spectroscopy. An oxidative dissolution scheme allows a gradual decrease in the particle sizes by controlled oxidation during recording of the optical spectra. Hence......-dependence of the plasmon peak energy is seen, which is interpreted as an increase in the free electron density of the nanoparticles. Utilization of the size-dependent electronic contribution to the optical response in nanoplasmonic sensors is shown to be a promising extension to improve the sensitivity and specificity...

Plasmon assisted optical trapping: fundamentals and biomedical applications

Science.gov (United States)

Serafetinides, Alexandros A.; Makropoulou, Mersini; Tsigaridas, Georgios N.; Gousetis, Anastasios

2015-01-01

The field of optical trapping has dramatically grown due to implementation in various arenas including physics, biology, medicine and nanotechnology. Certainly, optical tweezers are an invaluable tool to manipulate a variation of particles, such as small dielectric spheres, cells, bacteria, chromosomes and even genes, by highly focused laser beams through microscope. As the main disadvantage of the conventional optical trapping systems is the diffraction limit of the incident light, plasmon assisted nanotrapping is reported as a suitable technique for trapping sub-wavelength metallic or dielectric particles. In this work, firstly, we report briefly on the basic theory of plasmon excitation, focusing on the interaction of nanoscale metallic structures with laser light. Secondly, experimental and numerical simulation results are also presented, demonstrating enhancement of the trapping efficiency of glass or SiO2 substrates, coated with Au and Ag nanostructures, with or without nanoparticles. The optical forces were calculated by measuring the particle's escape velocity calibration method. Finally, representative applications of plasmon assisted optical trapping are reviewed, from cancer therapeutics to fundamental biology and cell nanosurgery.

Plasmonic, excitonic and exciton-plasmonic photoinduced nanocomposites

Science.gov (United States)

Bityurin, N.; Ermolaev, N.; Smirnov, A. A.; Afanasiev, A.; Agareva, N.; Koryukina, T.; Bredikhin, V.; Kamensky, V.; Pikulin, A.; Sapogova, N.

2016-03-01

UV irradiation of materials consisting of a polymer matrix that possesses precursors of different kinds can result in creation of nanoparticles within the irradiated domains. Such photoinduced nanocomposites are promising for photonic applications due to the strong alteration of their optical properties compared to initial non-irradiated materials. We report our results on the synthesis and investigation of plasmonic, excitonic and exciton-plasmonic photoinduced nanocomposites. Plasmonic nanocomposites contain metal nanoparticles of noble metals with a pronounced plasmon resonance. Excitonic nanocomposites possess semiconductor nanoclusters (quantum dots). We consider the CdS-Au pair because the luminescent band of CdS nanoparticles enters the plasmon resonance band of gold nanoparticles. The obtaining of such particles within the same composite materials is promising for the creation of media with exciton-plasmon resonance. We demonstrate that it is possible to choose appropriate precursor species to obtain the initially transparent poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) films containing both types of these molecules either separately or together. Proper irradiation of these materials by a light-emitting diode operating at the wavelength of 365 nm provides material alteration demonstrating light-induced optical absorption and photoluminescent properties typical for the corresponding nanoparticles. Thus, an exciton-plasmonic photoinduced nanocomposite is obtained. It is important that here we use the precursors that are different from those usually employed.

Optical and mechanical manipulation of plasmonic hot spots on gold nanoparticle tips; Optische und mechanische Manipulation plasmonischer Heisspunkte an Goldnanopartikelspitzen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hrelescu, Calin-Alexander

2011-06-15

in the present thesis hybride systems based on alternative nanoparticle morphologies were studied in view of their optical properties in order to remove extensively the known limitations and insufficiencies of the established nanoparticle systems and shapes like rod-shaped or spherical nanoparticles. Star-shaped gold nanoparticles and their special plasmonic properties are presented. By methods of the dark-field spectroscopy, the photoelectron emission spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy the near- and far-field properties of single nanostars and their morphologies are correlated. So the first experimental proof of the localization of optically excited hot spots on the tips of the single nanostars could be given. By suited choice of the polarization and wavelength hot spots on several or exclusively single tips of a nanostar are selectively excited and the detected plasmon resonances assigned to single nanostar tips only due to experimental data. Furthermore field amplification factors in the range of 58-79 are for the first time quantitatively determined. The high and for molecules easily accessible hot spots on the tips of the nanostars are applied in order to demonstrate the excellent amplification of the Raman scattering on the level of single nanostars. The Raman amplification factors of 10{sup 7} for the studied nanostars without use of plasmonic coupling effects mark the nanostars as important candidates for the application in complex dynamical environments. A further possibility of the use of the hot spots localized on tips offer nanopyramides. By manipulation with a scanning force microscope a positioning of the hot spots until 1 nm above the surface and on arbitrary places on a sample substrate can be reached. Nanoresonators of two nanopyramides can be mechanically fabricated in three adsorption configurations concerning the tips of the two nanoparticles directed to each other. By the mechanical change of the configuration of the nanoresonator

Fabrication and optical characterization of silica optical fibers containing gold nanoparticles.

Science.gov (United States)

de Oliveira, Rafael E P; Sjödin, Niclas; Fokine, Michael; Margulis, Walter; de Matos, Christiano J S; Norin, Lars

2015-01-14

Gold nanoparticles have been used since antiquity for the production of red-colored glasses. More recently, it was determined that this color is caused by plasmon resonance, which additionally increases the material's nonlinear optical response, allowing for the improvement of numerous optical devices. Interest in silica fibers containing gold nanoparticles has increased recently, aiming at the integration of nonlinear devices with conventional optical fibers. However, fabrication is challenging due to the high temperatures required for silica processing and fibers with gold nanoparticles were solely demonstrated using sol-gel techniques. We show a new fabrication technique based on standard preform/fiber fabrication methods, where nanoparticles are nucleated by heat in a furnace or by laser exposure with unprecedented control over particle size, concentration, and distribution. Plasmon absorption peaks exceeding 800 dB m(-1) at 514-536 nm wavelengths were observed, indicating higher achievable nanoparticle concentrations than previously reported. The measured resonant nonlinear refractive index, (6.75 ± 0.55) × 10(-15) m(2) W(-1), represents an improvement of >50×.

Application of STEM/EELS to Plasmon-Related Effects in Optical Spectroscopy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Camden, Jon [Univ. of Notre Dame, IN (United States). Dept. of Chemistry and Biochemistry

2017-08-15

In this project we employed EELS/STEM to understand the near-field enhancements that drive current applications of plasmonic nanostructures. In particular, we explore the connection between optical and electron excitation of plasmon modes in metallic nanostructures: (1) Probing the structural parameters and dielectric properties of multimetallic nanoparticles; (2) Characterization of the near-electric-field enhancements obtained upon excitation of the localized surface plasmon resonance and understand the connection between electron- and photon-driven plasmons; (3) Understanding the behavior of molecules in plasmon-enhanced fields which is essential to emerging applications such as plasmon-assisted catalysis and solar energy harvesting.

Hybrid dielectric waveguide spectroscopy of individual plasmonic nanoparticles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Cuadra

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Plasmonics is a mature scientific discipline which is now entering the realm of practical applications. Recently, significant attention has been devoted to on-chip hybrid devices where plasmonic nanoantennas are integrated in standard Si3N4 photonic waveguides. Light in these systems is usually coupled at the waveguide apexes by using multiple objectives and/or tapered optical fibers, rendering the analysis of spectroscopic signals a complicated task. Here, we show how by using a grating coupler and a low NA objective, quantitative spectroscopic information similar to standard dark-field spectroscopy can be obtained at the single-nanoparticle level. This technology may be useful for enabling single-nanoparticle studies in non-linear excitation regimes and/or in complex experimental environments, thus enriching the toolbox of nanophotonic methods.

Optically enhanced blood-brain-barrier crossing of plasmonic-active nanoparticles in preclinical brain tumor animal models

Science.gov (United States)

Yuan, Hsiangkuo; Wilson, Christy M.; Li, Shuqin; Fales, Andrew M.; Liu, Yang; Grant, Gerald; Vo-Dinh, Tuan

2014-02-01

Nanotechnology provides tremendous biomedical opportunities for cancer diagnosis, imaging, and therapy. In contrast to conventional chemotherapeutic agents where their actual target delivery cannot be easily imaged, integrating imaging and therapeutic properties into one platform facilitates the understanding of pharmacokinetic profiles, and enables monitoring of the therapeutic process in each individual. Such a concept dubbed "theranostics" potentiates translational research and improves precision medicine. One particular challenging application of theranostics involves imaging and controlled delivery of nanoplatforms across blood-brain-barrier (BBB) into brain tissues. Typically, the BBB hinders paracellular flux of drug molecules into brain parenchyma. BBB disrupting agents (e.g. mannitol, focused ultrasound), however, suffer from poor spatial confinement. It has been a challenge to design a nanoplatform not only acts as a contrast agent but also improves the BBB permeation. In this study, we demonstrated the feasibility of plasmonic gold nanoparticles as both high-resolution optical contrast agent and focalized tumor BBB permeation-inducing agent. We specifically examined the microscopic distribution of nanoparticles in tumor brain animal models. We observed that most nanoparticles accumulated at the tumor periphery or perivascular spaces. Nanoparticles were present in both endothelial cells and interstitial matrices. This study also demonstrated a novel photothermal-induced BBB permeation. Fine-tuning the irradiating energy induced gentle disruption of the vascular integrity, causing short-term extravasation of nanomaterials but without hemorrhage. We conclude that our gold nanoparticles are a powerful biocompatible contrast agent capable of inducing focal BBB permeation, and therefore envision a strong potential of plasmonic gold nanoparticle in future brain tumor imaging and therapy.

Silver nanoparticles from silver halide photography to plasmonics

CERN Document Server

Tani, Tadaaki

2015-01-01

This book provides systematic knowledge and ideas on nanoparticles of Ag and related materials. While Ag and metal nanoparticles are essential for plasmonics, silver halide (AgX) photography relies to a great extent on nanoparticles of Ag and AgX which have the same crystal structure and have been studied extensively for many years. This book has been written to combine the knowledge of nanoparticles of Ag and related materials in plasmonics and AgX photography in order to provide new ideas for metal nanoparticles in plasmonics. Chapters 1–3 of this book describe the structure and formation of nanoparticles of Ag and related materials. Systematic descriptions of the structure and preparation of Ag, Au, and noble-metal nanoparticles for plasmonics are followed by and related to those of nanoparticles of Ag and AgX in AgX photography. Knowledge of the structure and preparation of Ag and AgX nanoparticles in photography covers nanoparticles with widely varying sizes, shapes, and structures, and formation proce...

Designing Optical Properties in DNA-Programmed Nanoparticle Superlattices

Science.gov (United States)

Ross, Michael Brendan

A grand challenge of modern science has been the ability to predict and design the properties of new materials. This approach to the a priori design of materials presents a number of challenges including: predictable properties of the material building blocks, a programmable means for arranging such building blocks into well understood architectures, and robust models that can predict the properties of these new materials. In this dissertation, we present a series of studies that describe how optical properties in DNA-programmed nanoparticle superlattices can be predicted prior to their synthesis. The first chapter provides a history and introduction to the study of metal nanoparticle arrays. Chapter 2 surveys and compares several geometric models and electrodynamics simulations with the measured optical properties of DNA-nanoparticle superlattices. Chapter 3 describes silver nanoparticle superlattices (rather than gold) and identifies their promise as plasmonic metamaterials. In chapter 4, the concept of plasmonic metallurgy is introduced, whereby it is demonstrated that concepts from materials science and metallurgy can be applied to the optical properties of mixed metallic plasmonic materials, unveiling rich and tunable optical properties such as color and asymmetric reflectivity. Chapter 5 presents a comprehensive theoretical exploration of anisotropy (non-spherical) in nanoparticle superlattice architectures. The role of anisotropy is discussed both on the nanoscale, where several desirable metamaterial properties can be tuned from the ultraviolet to near-infrared, and on the mesoscale, where the size and shape of a superlattice is demonstrated to have a pronounced effect on the observed far-field optical properties. Chapter 6 builds upon those theoretical data presented in chapter 5, including the experimental realization of size and shape dependent properties in DNA-programmed superlattices. Specifically, nanoparticle spacing is explored as a parameter that

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

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Simultaneous optical and electrical modeling of plasmonic light trapping in thin-film amorphous silicon photovoltaic devices

Science.gov (United States)

Gandhi, Keyur K.; Nejim, Ahmed; Beliatis, Michail J.; Mills, Christopher A.; Henley, Simon J.; Silva, S. Ravi P.

2015-01-01

Rapid prototyping of photovoltaic (PV) cells requires a method for the simultaneous simulation of the optical and electrical characteristics of the device. The development of nanomaterial-enabled PV cells only increases the complexity of such simulations. Here, we use a commercial technology computer aided design (TCAD) software, Silvaco Atlas, to design and model plasmonic gold nanoparticles integrated in optoelectronic device models of thin-film amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) PV cells. Upon illumination with incident light, we simulate the optical and electrical properties of the cell simultaneously and use the simulation to produce current-voltage (J-V) and external quantum efficiency plots. Light trapping due to light scattering and localized surface plasmon resonance interactions by the nanoparticles has resulted in the enhancement of both the optical and electrical properties due to the reduction in the recombination rates in the photoactive layer. We show that the device performance of the modeled plasmonic a-Si:H PV cells depends significantly on the position and size of the gold nanoparticles, which leads to improvements either in optical properties only, or in both optical and electrical properties. The model provides a route to optimize the device architecture by simultaneously optimizing the optical and electrical characteristics, which leads to a detailed understanding of plasmonic PV cells from a design perspective and offers an advanced tool for rapid device prototyping.

Photoacoustic signal amplification through plasmonic nanoparticle aggregation

OpenAIRE

Bayer, Carolyn L.; Nam, Seung Yun; Chen, Yun-Sheng; Emelianov, Stanislav Y.

2013-01-01

Photoacoustic imaging, using targeted plasmonic metallic nanoparticles, is a promising noninvasive molecular imaging method. Analysis of the photoacoustic signal generated by plasmonic metallic nanoparticles is complex because of the dependence upon physical properties of both the nanoparticle and the surrounding environment. We studied the effect of the aggregation of gold nanoparticles on the photoacoustic signal amplitude. We found that the photoacoustic signal from aggregated silica-coate...

Plasmon-mediated Energy Conversion in Metal Nanoparticle-doped Hybrid Nanomaterials

Science.gov (United States)

Dunklin, Jeremy R.

Climate change and population growth demand long-term solutions for clean water and energy. Plasmon-active nanomaterials offer a promising route towards improved energetics for efficient chemical separation and light harvesting schemes. Two material platforms featuring highly absorptive plasmonic gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are advanced herein to maximize photon conversion into thermal or electronic energy. Optical extinction, attributable to diffraction-induced internal reflection, was enhanced up to 1.5-fold in three-dimensional polymer films containing AuNPs at interparticle separations approaching the resonant wavelength. Comprehensive methods developed to characterize heat dissipation following plasmonic absorption was extended beyond conventional optical and heat transfer descriptions, where good agreement was obtained between measured and estimated thermal profiles for AuNP-polymer dispersions. Concurrently, in situ reduction of AuNPs on two-dimensional semiconducting tungsten disulfide (WS2) addressed two current material limitations for efficient light harvesting: low monolayer content and lack of optoelectronic tunability. Order-of-magnitude increases in WS2 monolayer content, enhanced broadband optical extinction, and energetic electron injection were probed using a combination of spectroscopic techniques and continuum electromagnetic descriptions. Together, engineering these plasmon-mediated hybrid nanomaterials to facilitate local exchange of optical, thermal, and electronic energy supports design and implementation into several emerging sustainable water and energy applications.

Surface plasmon resonance enhanced light absorption and wavelength tuneable in gold-coated iron oxide spherical nanoparticle

Science.gov (United States)

Dasri, Thananchai; Chingsungnoen, Artit

2018-06-01

Surface plasmon in nano-sized particles, such as gold, silver, copper and their composites, has recently attracted a great deal of attention due to its possible uses in many applications, especially in life sciences. It is desirable for application devices with a tenability of surface plasmon wavelength and optical properties enhancement. This article presents enhanced optical light absorption and tunable wavelength in gold-coated magnetite (Fe3O4@Au core-shell) nanoparticles embedded in water using the theoretical method of discrete dipole approximation (DDA). The absorption spectra in the wavelengths from 350 to 900 nm were found to be the spectra obtained from Fe3O4@Au core-shell nanoparticles, and when compared with pure Fe3O4 nanoparticles, the surface plasmon resonance can be enhanced and tuned over the entire visible spectrum (viz. 350-800 nm) of the electromagnetic spectrum by varying the Au shell thickness (2-5 nm). Similarly, the Faraday rotation spectra can also be obtained.

Surface plasmon enhancement in gold nanoparticles in the presence of an optical gain medium: an analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sathiyamoorthy, K; Sreekanth, K V; Sidharthan, R; Murukeshan, V M [School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798 (Singapore); Xing Bengang, E-mail: mmurukeshan@ntu.edu.sg [Division of Chemistry and Biological Chemistry, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 21 Nanyang Link, Singapore 637371 (Singapore)

2011-10-26

The localized surface plasmon (LSP) enhancement in a gold nanoparticle is demonstrated in this paper. The enhancement of LSP is influenced by both size and the dielectric gain medium surrounding the nanoparticles. The nanoparticle is found to induce plasmonic enhancement of varying degrees depending on its size, and it is inferred that a gold nanoparticle of size 60 nm exhibits the maximum LSP for 532 nm excitation. Singularity due to cancellation of SP loss by an infinite gain medium and LSP enhancement are studied using a pump-probe Rayleigh scattering experiment. Gold nanoparticles of average size 60 nm exhibit the lowest threshold power to observe Rayleigh scattering. Furthermore, compared with the bare nanoparticles, a 12.5 fold enhancement of LSP is observed when the nanoparticle of average size 60 nm is kept in the gain medium.

Metamaterials and plasmonics: From nanoparticles to nanoantenna arrays, metasurfaces, and metamaterials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Monticone Francesco; Alù Andrea

2014-01-01

The rise of plasmonic metamaterials in recent years has unveiled the possibility of revolutionizing the entire field of optics and photonics, challenging well-established technological limitations and paving the way to innovations at an unprecedented level. To capitalize the disruptive potential of this rising field of science and technology, it is important to be able to combine the richness of optical phenomena enabled by nanoplasmonics in order to realize metamaterial components, devices, and systems of increasing complexity. Here, we review a few recent research directions in the field of plasmonic metamaterials, which may foster further advancements in this research area. We will discuss the anomalous scattering features enabled by plasmonic nanoparticles and nanoclusters, and show how they may represent the fundamental building blocks of complex nanophotonic architectures. Building on these concepts, advanced components can be designed and operated, such as optical nanoantennas and nanoantenna arrays, which, in turn, may be at the basis of metasurface devices and complex systems. Following this path, from basic phenomena to advanced functionalities, the field of plasmonic metamaterials offers the promise of an important scientific and technological impact, with applications spanning from medical diagnostics to clean energy and information processing. (topical review - plasmonics and metamaterials)

Pushing nanoparticles with light — A femtonewton resolved measurement of optical scattering forces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. Zensen

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Optomechanical manipulation of plasmonic nanoparticles is an area of current interest, both fundamental and applied. However, no experimental method is available to determine the forward-directed scattering force that dominates for incident light of a wavelength close to the plasmon resonance. Here, we demonstrate how the scattering force acting on a single gold nanoparticle in solution can be measured. An optically trapped 80 nm particle was repetitively pushed from the side with laser light resonant to the particle plasmon frequency. A lock-in analysis of the particle movement provides a measured value for the scattering force. We obtain a resolution of less than 3 femtonewtons which is an order of magnitude smaller than any measurement of switchable forces performed on nanoparticles in solution with single beam optical tweezers to date. We compared the results of the force measurement with Mie simulations of the optical scattering force on a gold nanoparticle and found good agreement between experiment and theory within a few fN.

Plasmonic nanoparticle lithography: Fast resist-free laser technique for large-scale sub-50 nm hole array fabrication

Science.gov (United States)

Pan, Zhenying; Yu, Ye Feng; Valuckas, Vytautas; Yap, Sherry L. K.; Vienne, Guillaume G.; Kuznetsov, Arseniy I.

2018-05-01

Cheap large-scale fabrication of ordered nanostructures is important for multiple applications in photonics and biomedicine including optical filters, solar cells, plasmonic biosensors, and DNA sequencing. Existing methods are either expensive or have strict limitations on the feature size and fabrication complexity. Here, we present a laser-based technique, plasmonic nanoparticle lithography, which is capable of rapid fabrication of large-scale arrays of sub-50 nm holes on various substrates. It is based on near-field enhancement and melting induced under ordered arrays of plasmonic nanoparticles, which are brought into contact or in close proximity to a desired material and acting as optical near-field lenses. The nanoparticles are arranged in ordered patterns on a flexible substrate and can be attached and removed from the patterned sample surface. At optimized laser fluence, the nanohole patterning process does not create any observable changes to the nanoparticles and they have been applied multiple times as reusable near-field masks. This resist-free nanolithography technique provides a simple and cheap solution for large-scale nanofabrication.

Non linear optical investigations of silver nanoparticles synthesised by curcumin reduction

Science.gov (United States)

Dhanya, N. P.

2017-11-01

Metal nanoparticles have considerable applications in assorted fields like medicine, biology, photonics, metallurgy etc. Optical applications of Silver nanoparticles are of significant interest among researchers nowadays. In this paper, we report a single step chemical reduction of silver nanoparticles with Curcumin both as a reducing and stabilising agent at room temperature. Structural, plasmonic and non linear optical properties of the prepared nanoparticles are explored using Scanning Electron Microscope, Transmission Electron Microscope, UV absorption spectrometry, Spectroflurometry and Z scan. UV-Vis absorption studies affirm the Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) absorption and spectroflurometric studies announce the emission spectrum of the prepared silvernanoparticles at 520 nm. SEM and TEM images uphold the existence of uniform sized, spherical silvernanoparticles. Nonlinear optical studies are accomplished with the open aperture z scan technique in the nanosecond regime. The nonlinearity is in virtue of saturable absorption, two-photon absorption and excited state absorption. The marked nonlinearity and optical limiting of the Curcumin reduced silvernanoparticles enhances its photonic applications.

Plasmon transmutation: inducing new modes in nanoclusters by adding dielectric nanoparticles.

Science.gov (United States)

Wen, Fangfang; Ye, Jian; Liu, Na; Van Dorpe, Pol; Nordlander, Peter; Halas, Naomi J

2012-09-12

Planar clusters of coupled plasmonic nanoparticles support nanoscale electromagnetic "hot spots" and coherent effects, such as Fano resonances, with unique near and far field signatures, currently of prime interest for sensing applications. Here we show that plasmonic cluster properties can be substantially modified by the addition of individual, discrete dielectric nanoparticles at specific locations on the cluster, introducing new plasmon modes, or transmuting existing plasmon modes to new ones, in the resulting metallodielectric nanocomplex. Depositing a single carbon nanoparticle in the junction between a pair of adjacent nanodisks induces a metal-dielectric-metal quadrupolar plasmon mode. In a ten-membered cluster, placement of several carbon nanoparticles in junctions between multiple adjacent nanoparticles introduces a collective magnetic plasmon mode into the Fano dip, giving rise to an additional subradiant mode in the metallodielectric nanocluster response. These examples illustrate that adding dielectric nanoparticles to metallic nanoclusters expands the number and types of plasmon modes supported by these new mixed-media nanoscale assemblies.

Amino-acid- and peptide-directed synthesis of chiral plasmonic gold nanoparticles.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Hye-Eun; Ahn, Hyo-Yong; Mun, Jungho; Lee, Yoon Young; Kim, Minkyung; Cho, Nam Heon; Chang, Kiseok; Kim, Wook Sung; Rho, Junsuk; Nam, Ki Tae

2018-04-01

Understanding chirality, or handedness, in molecules is important because of the enantioselectivity that is observed in many biochemical reactions 1 , and because of the recent development of chiral metamaterials with exceptional light-manipulating capabilities, such as polarization control 2-4 , a negative refractive index 5 and chiral sensing 6 . Chiral nanostructures have been produced using nanofabrication techniques such as lithography 7 and molecular self-assembly 8-11 , but large-scale and simple fabrication methods for three-dimensional chiral structures remain a challenge. In this regard, chirality transfer represents a simpler and more efficient method for controlling chiral morphology 12-18 . Although a few studies 18,19 have described the transfer of molecular chirality into micrometre-sized helical ceramic crystals, this technique has yet to be implemented for metal nanoparticles with sizes of hundreds of nanometres. Here we develop a strategy for synthesizing chiral gold nanoparticles that involves using amino acids and peptides to control the optical activity, handedness and chiral plasmonic resonance of the nanoparticles. The key requirement for achieving such chiral structures is the formation of high-Miller-index surfaces ({hkl}, h ≠ k ≠ l ≠ 0) that are intrinsically chiral, owing to the presence of 'kink' sites 20-22 in the nanoparticles during growth. The presence of chiral components at the inorganic surface of the nanoparticles and in the amino acids and peptides results in enantioselective interactions at the interface between these elements; these interactions lead to asymmetric evolution of the nanoparticles and the formation of helicoid morphologies that consist of highly twisted chiral elements. The gold nanoparticles that we grow display strong chiral plasmonic optical activity (a dis-symmetry factor of 0.2), even when dispersed randomly in solution; this observation is supported by theoretical calculations and direct

Hybrid, silica-coated, Janus-like plasmonic-magnetic nanoparticles

OpenAIRE

Sotiriou, Georgios A.; Hirt, Ann M.; Lozach, Pierre-Yves; Teleki, Alexandra; Krumeich, Frank; Pratsinis, Sotiris E.

2011-01-01

Hybrid plasmonic-magnetic nanoparticles possess properties that are attractive in bioimaging, targeted drug delivery, in vivo diagnosis and therapy. The stability and toxicity, however, of such nanoparticles challenge their safe use today. Here, biocompatible, SiO2-coated, Janus-like Ag/Fe2O3 nanoparticles are prepared by one-step, scalable flame aerosol technology. A nanothin SiO2 shell around these multifunctional nanoparticles leaves intact their morphology, magnetic and plasmonic properti...

Optical Properties and Immunoassay Applications of Noble Metal Nanoparticles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu, S.; Zhou, W.

2010-01-01

Noble metal, especially gold (Au) and silver (Ag) nanoparticles exhibit unique and tunable optical properties on account of their surface plasmon resonance (SPR). In this paper, we mainly discussed the theory background of the enhanced optical properties of noble metal nanoparticles. Mie theory, transfer matrix method, discrete dipole approximation (DDA) method, and finite-difference time domain (FDTD) method applied brute-force computational methods for different nanoparticles optical properties. Some important nanostructure fabrication technologies such as nanosphere lithography (NSL) and focused ion beam (FIB) are also introduced in this paper. Moreover, these fabricated nanostructures are used in the plasmonic sensing fields. The binding signal between the antibody and antigen, amyloid-derived diffusible ligands (ADDLs)-potential Alzheimer's disease (AD) biomarkers, and staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) in nano-Moore per liter (nM) concentration level are detected by our designed nanobiosensor. They have many potential applications in the biosensor, environment protection, food security, and medicine safety for health, and so forth, fields.

Optical Properties and Immunoassay Applications of Noble Metal Nanoparticles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shaoli Zhu

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Noble metal, especially gold (Au and silver (Ag nanoparticles exhibit unique and tunable optical properties on account of their surface plasmon resonance (SPR. In this paper, we mainly discussed the theory background of the enhanced optical properties of noble metal nanoparticles. Mie theory, transfer matrix method, discrete dipole approximation (DDA method, and finite-difference time domain (FDTD method applied brute-force computational methods for different nanoparticles optical properties. Some important nanostructure fabrication technologies such as nanosphere lithography (NSL and focused ion beam (FIB are also introduced in this paper. Moreover, these fabricated nanostructures are used in the plasmonic sensing fields. The binding signal between the antibody and antigen, amyloid-derived diffusible ligands (ADDLs-potential Alzheimer's disease (AD biomarkers, and staphylococcal enterotixn B (SEB in nano-Moore per liter (nM concentration level are detected by our designed nanobiosensor. They have many potential applications in the biosensor, environment protection, food security, and medicine safety for health, and so forth, fields.

Plasmon polaritons in cubic lattices of spherical metallic nanoparticles

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Surface plasmons in metallic nanoparticles: fundamentals and applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garcia, M A

2011-01-01

The excitation of surface plasmons (SPs) in metallic nanoparticles (NPs) induces optical properties hardly achievable in other optical materials, yielding a wide range of applications in many fields. This review presents an overview of SPs in metallic NPs. The concept of SPs in NPs is qualitatively described using a comparison with simple linear oscillators. The mathematical models to carry on calculations on SPs are presented as well as the most common approximations. The different parameters governing the features of SPs and their effect on the optical properties of the materials are reviewed. Finally, applications of SPs in different fields such as biomedicine, energy, environment protection and information technology are revised. (topical review)

Surface plasmons in metallic nanoparticles: fundamentals and applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Garcia, M A, E-mail: magarcia@icv.csic.es [Department of Electroceramics, Institute for Ceramic and Glass, CSIC, C/Kelsen 5, 28049 Madrid (Spain) and IMDEA Nanociencia, Madrid 28049 (Spain)

2011-07-20

The excitation of surface plasmons (SPs) in metallic nanoparticles (NPs) induces optical properties hardly achievable in other optical materials, yielding a wide range of applications in many fields. This review presents an overview of SPs in metallic NPs. The concept of SPs in NPs is qualitatively described using a comparison with simple linear oscillators. The mathematical models to carry on calculations on SPs are presented as well as the most common approximations. The different parameters governing the features of SPs and their effect on the optical properties of the materials are reviewed. Finally, applications of SPs in different fields such as biomedicine, energy, environment protection and information technology are revised. (topical review)

Optical manipulation and catalytic activity enhanced by surface plasmon effect

Science.gov (United States)

Zou, Ningmu; Min, Jiang; Jiao, Wenxiang; Wang, Guanghui

2017-02-01

For optical manipulation, a nano-optical conveyor belt consisting of an array of gold plasmonic non-concentric nano-rings (PNNRs) is demonstrated for the realization of trapping and unidirectional transportation of nanoparticles by polarization rotation of excitation beam. These hot spots of an asymmetric plasmonic nanostructure are polarization dependent, therefore, one can use the incident polarization state to manipulate the trapped targets. Trapped particles could be transferred between adjacent PNNRs in a given direction just by rotating the polarization of incident beam due to unbalanced potential. The angular dependent distribution of electric field around PNNR has been solved using the three- dimensional finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) technique. For optical enhanced catalytic activity, the spectral properties of dimers of Au nanorod-Au nanorod nanostructures under the excitation of 532nm photons have been investigated. With a super-resolution catalytic mapping technique, we identified the existence of "hot spot" in terms of catalytic reactivity at the gap region within the twined plasmonic nanostructure. Also, FDTD calculation has revealed an intrinsic correlation between hot electron transfer.

Biochemical component identification by plasmonic improved whispering gallery mode optical resonance based sensor

Science.gov (United States)

Saetchnikov, Vladimir A.; Tcherniavskaia, Elina A.; Saetchnikov, Anton V.; Schweiger, Gustav; Ostendorf, Andreas

2014-05-01

Experimental data on detection and identification of variety of biochemical agents, such as proteins, microelements, antibiotic of different generation etc. in both single and multi component solutions under varied in wide range concentration analyzed on the light scattering parameters of whispering gallery mode optical resonance based sensor are represented. Multiplexing on parameters and components has been realized using developed fluidic sensor cell with fixed in adhesive layer dielectric microspheres and data processing. Biochemical component identification has been performed by developed network analysis techniques. Developed approach is demonstrated to be applicable both for single agent and for multi component biochemical analysis. Novel technique based on optical resonance on microring structures, plasmon resonance and identification tools has been developed. To improve a sensitivity of microring structures microspheres fixed by adhesive had been treated previously by gold nanoparticle solution. Another technique used thin film gold layers deposited on the substrate below adhesive. Both biomolecule and nanoparticle injections caused considerable changes of optical resonance spectra. Plasmonic gold layers under optimized thickness also improve parameters of optical resonance spectra. Biochemical component identification has been also performed by developed network analysis techniques both for single and for multi component solution. So advantages of plasmon enhancing optical microcavity resonance with multiparameter identification tools is used for development of a new platform for ultra sensitive label-free biomedical sensor.

Electromagnetic energy transport in nanoparticle chains via dark plasmon modes.

Science.gov (United States)

Solis, David; Willingham, Britain; Nauert, Scott L; Slaughter, Liane S; Olson, Jana; Swanglap, Pattanawit; Paul, Aniruddha; Chang, Wei-Shun; Link, Stephan

2012-03-14

Using light to exchange information offers large bandwidths and high speeds, but the miniaturization of optical components is limited by diffraction. Converting light into electron waves in metals allows one to overcome this problem. However, metals are lossy at optical frequencies and large-area fabrication of nanometer-sized structures by conventional top-down methods can be cost-prohibitive. We show electromagnetic energy transport with gold nanoparticles that were assembled into close-packed linear chains. The small interparticle distances enabled strong electromagnetic coupling causing the formation of low-loss subradiant plasmons, which facilitated energy propagation over many micrometers. Electrodynamic calculations confirmed the dark nature of the propagating mode and showed that disorder in the nanoparticle arrangement enhances energy transport, demonstrating the viability of using bottom-up nanoparticle assemblies for ultracompact opto-electronic devices. © 2012 American Chemical Society

Optical magnetism and plasmonic Fano resonances in metal-insulator-metal oligomers.

Science.gov (United States)

Verre, R; Yang, Z J; Shegai, T; Käll, M

2015-03-11

The possibility of achieving optical magnetism at visible frequencies using plasmonic nanostructures has recently been a subject of great interest. The concept is based on designing structures that support plasmon modes with electron oscillation patterns that imitate current loops, that is, magnetic dipoles. However, the magnetic resonances are typically spectrally narrow, thereby limiting their applicability in, for example, metamaterial designs. We show that a significantly broader magnetic response can be realized in plasmonic pentamers constructed from metal-insulator-metal (MIM) sandwich particles. Each MIM unit acts as a magnetic meta-atom and the optical magnetism is rendered quasi-broadband through hybridization of the in-plane modes. We demonstrate that scattering spectra of individual MIM pentamers exhibit multiple Fano resonances and a broad subradiant spectral window that signals the magnetic interaction and a hierarchy of coupling effects in these intricate three-dimensional nanoparticle oligomers.

Plasmonic resonances of nanoparticles from large-scale quantum mechanical simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Xu; Xiang, Hongping; Zhang, Mingliang; Lu, Gang

2017-09-01

Plasmonic resonance of metallic nanoparticles results from coherent motion of its conduction electrons, driven by incident light. For the nanoparticles less than 10 nm in diameter, localized surface plasmonic resonances become sensitive to the quantum nature of the conduction electrons. Unfortunately, quantum mechanical simulations based on time-dependent Kohn-Sham density functional theory are computationally too expensive to tackle metal particles larger than 2 nm. Herein, we introduce the recently developed time-dependent orbital-free density functional theory (TD-OFDFT) approach which enables large-scale quantum mechanical simulations of plasmonic responses of metallic nanostructures. Using TD-OFDFT, we have performed quantum mechanical simulations to understand size-dependent plasmonic response of Na nanoparticles and plasmonic responses in Na nanoparticle dimers and trimers. An outlook of future development of the TD-OFDFT method is also presented.

A classical treatment of optical tunneling in plasmonic gaps: extending the quantum corrected model to practical situations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Esteban, Rubén; Zugarramurdi, Asier; Zhang, Pu

2015-01-01

The optical response of plasmonic nanogaps is challenging to address when the separation between the two nanoparticles forming the gap is reduced to a few nanometers or even subnanometer distances. We have compared results of the plasmon response within different levels of approximation, and iden...

Plasmon mediated enhancement and tuning of optical emission properties of two dimensional graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets.

Science.gov (United States)

Bayan, Sayan; Gogurla, Narendar; Midya, Anupam; Singha, Achintya; Ray, Samit K

2017-12-01

We demonstrate surface plasmon induced enhancement and tunablilty in optical emission properties of two dimensional graphitic carbon nitride (g-C 3 N 4 ) nanosheets through the attachment of gold (Au) nanoparticles. Raman spectroscopy has revealed surface enhanced Raman scattering that arises due to the combined effect of the charge transfer process and localized surface plasmon induced enhancement in electromagnetic field, both occurring at the nanoparticle-nanosheet interface. Photoluminescence studies suggest that at an optimal concentration of nanoparticles, the emission intensity can be enhanced, which is maximum within the 500-525 nm region. Further, the fabricated electroluminescent devices reveal that the emission feature can be tuned from bluish-green to red (∼160 nm shift) upon attaching Au nanoparticles. We propose that the π*→π transition in g-C 3 N 4 can trigger surface plasmon oscillation in Au, which subsequently increases the excitation process in the nanosheets and results in enhanced emission in the green region of the photoluminescence spectrum. On the other hand, electroluminescence of g-C 3 N 4 can induce plasmon oscillation more efficiently and thus can lead to red emission from Au nanoparticles through the radiative damping of particle plasmons. The influence of nanoparticle size and coverage on the emission properties of two dimensional g-C 3 N 4 , nanosheets has also been studied in detail.

Omnidirectional excitation of sidewall gap-plasmons in a hybrid gold-nanoparticle/aluminum-nanopore structure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chatdanai Lumdee

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The gap-plasmon resonance of a gold nanoparticle inside a nanopore in an aluminum film is investigated in polarization dependent single particle microscopy and spectroscopy. Scattering and transmission measurements reveal that gap-plasmons of this structure can be excited and observed under normal incidence excitation and collection, in contrast to the more common particle-on-a-mirror structure. Correlation of numerical simulations with optical spectroscopy suggests that a local electric field enhancement factor in excess of 50 is achieved under normal incidence excitation, with a hot-spot located near the top surface of the structure. It is shown that the strong field enhancement from this sidewall gap-plasmon mode can be efficiently excited over a broad angular range. The presented plasmonic structure lends itself to implementation in low-cost, chemically stable, easily addressable biochemical sensor arrays providing large optical field enhancement factors.

Optical enhancement effects of plasmonic nanostructures on organic photovoltaic cells

KAUST Repository

Park, Hui Joon

2015-04-01

© 2015 Hui Joon Park and L. Jay Guo. Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Chinese Chemical Society and Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved. In this article, the optical enhancement effects of plasmonic nanostructures on OPV cells were reviewed as an effective way to resolve the mismatch problems between the short exciton diffusion length in organic semiconductors (around 10 nm) and the large thickness required to fully absorb sunlight (e.g. hundreds of nanometers). Especially, the performances of OPVs with plasmonic nanoparticles in photoactive and buffer layers and with periodic nanostructures were investigated. Furthermore, nanoimprint lithography-based nanofabrication processes that can easily control the dimension and uniformity of structures for large-area and uniform plasmonic nanostructures were demonstrated.

Surface plasmon enhanced quantum transport in a hybrid metal nanoparticle array

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sun, Lin; Nan, Yali; Xu, Shang; Zhang, Sishi; Han, Min

2014-01-01

Hybrid Pd–Ag nanoparticle arrays composed of randomly distributed Pd nanoparticles in dense packing and a small number of dispersed Ag nanoparticles were fabricated with controlled coverage. Photo-enhanced conductance was observed in the nanoparticle arrays. Largest enhancement, which can be higher than 20 folds, was obtained with 450 nm light illumination. This wavelength was found to correlate with the surface plasmon resonance of the Ag nanoparticles. Electron transport measurements showed there were significant Coulomb blockade in the nanoparticle arrays and the blockade could be overcome with the surface plasmon enhanced local field of Ag nanoparticles induced by light illumination. - Highlights: • We study photo-enhanced electron conductance of a hybrid Pd–Ag nanoparticle array. • The light-induced conductance enhancement is as high as 20 folds at 10 K. • The enhancement is correlate with the surface plasmon resonance of Ag nanoparticles. • Coulomb blockades is overcome with the surface plasmon enhanced local field

Synthesis of self-assembly plasmonic silver nanoparticles with tunable luminescence color

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Al-Ghamdi, Haifa S.; Mahmoud, Waleed E.

2014-01-01

Assembly is an elegant and effective bottom-up approach to prepare arrays of nanoparticles from nobel metals. Noble metal nanoparticles are perfect building blocks because they can be prepared with an adequate functionalization to allow their assembly and with controlled sizes. Herein, we report a novel recipe for the synthesis of self-assembled silver nanoparticles with tunable optical properties and sizes. The synthetic route followed here based on the covalent binding among silver nanoparticles by means of poly vinyl alcohol for the first time. The size of silver nanoparticle is governed by varying the amount of sodium borohydride. The as-synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, selected area electron diffraction and UV–vis spectroscopy. Results depicted that self-assembly of mono-dispersed silver nanoparticles with different sizes have been achieved. The silver nanostructure has a single crystalline faced centered cubic structure with growth orientation along (1 1 1) facet. These nanoparticles exhibited localized surface plasmon resonance at 403 nm. The luminescence peaks were red-sifted from violet to green due to the increase of the particle sizes. -- Highlights: • Self-assembled silver nanoparticles based PVA were synthesized. • NaBH 4 amount was found particle size dependent. • Silver nanoparticles strongly affected the surface plasmon resonance. • Highly symmetric luminescence emission band narrow width is obtained. • Dark field image showed a tunable color change from violet to green

Large area fabrication of plasmonic nanoparticle grating structure by conventional scanning electron microscope

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sudheer,; Tiwari, P.; Rai, V. N.; Srivastava, A. K.; Mukharjee, C.

2015-01-01

Plasmonic nanoparticle grating (PNG) structure of different periods has been fabricated by electron beam lithography using silver halide based transmission electron microscope film as a substrate. Conventional scanning electron microscope is used as a fabrication tool for electron beam lithography. Optical microscope and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) have been used for its morphological and elemental characterization. Optical characterization is performed by UV-Vis absorption spectroscopic technique

Optical properties of metallic nanoparticles basic principles and simulation

CERN Document Server

Trügler, Andreas

2016-01-01

This book introduces the fascinating world of plasmonics and physics at the nanoscale, with a focus on simulations and the theoretical aspects of optics and nanotechnology. A research field with numerous applications, plasmonics bridges the gap between the micrometer length scale of light and the secrets of the nanoworld. This is achieved by binding light to charge density oscillations of metallic nanostructures, so-called surface plasmons, which allow electromagnetic radiation to be focussed down to spots as small as a few nanometers. The book is a snapshot of recent and ongoing research and at the same time outlines our present understanding of the optical properties of metallic nanoparticles, ranging from the tunability of plasmonic resonances to the ultrafast dynamics of light-matter interaction. Beginning with a gentle introduction that highlights the basics of plasmonic interactions and plasmon imaging, the author then presents a suitable theoretical framework for the description of metallic nanostructu...

Nanoscale form dictates mesoscale function in plasmonic DNA–nanoparticle superlattices

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ross, Michael B.; Ku, Jessie C.; Vaccarezza, Victoria M.; Schatz, George C.; Mirkin , Chad A. (NWU)

2016-06-15

The nanoscale manipulation of matter allows properties to be created in a material that would be difficult or even impossible to achieve in the bulk state. Progress towards such functional nanoscale architectures requires the development of methods to precisely locate nanoscale objects in three dimensions and for the formation of rigorous structure–function relationships across multiple size regimes (beginning from the nanoscale). Here, we use DNA as a programmable ligand to show that two- and three-dimensional mesoscale superlattice crystals with precisely engineered optical properties can be assembled from the bottom up. The superlattices can transition from exhibiting the properties of the constituent plasmonic nanoparticles to adopting the photonic properties defined by the mesoscale crystal (here a rhombic dodecahedron) by controlling the spacing between the gold nanoparticle building blocks. Furthermore, we develop a generally applicable theoretical framework that illustrates how crystal habit can be a design consideration for controlling far-field extinction and light confinement in plasmonic metamaterial superlattices.

All-fiber hybrid photon-plasmon circuits: integrating nanowire plasmonics with fiber optics.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xiyuan; Li, Wei; Guo, Xin; Lou, Jingyi; Tong, Limin

2013-07-01

We demonstrate all-fiber hybrid photon-plasmon circuits by integrating Ag nanowires with optical fibers. Relying on near-field coupling, we realize a photon-to-plasmon conversion efficiency up to 92% in a fiber-based nanowire plasmonic probe. Around optical communication band, we assemble an all-fiber resonator and a Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) with Q-factor of 6 × 10(6) and extinction ratio up to 30 dB, respectively. Using the MZI, we demonstrate fiber-compatible plasmonic sensing with high sensitivity and low optical power.

Optical and structural properties of noble-metal nanoparticles; Optische und strukturelle Eigenschaften von Edelmetallnanopartikeln

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dahmen, C

2006-06-23

Noble-metal nanoparticles exhibit rich optical behavior, such as resonant light scattering and absorption and non-linear signal enhancement. This makes them attractive for a multitude of physical, chemical, and biophysical applications. For instance, recent biomedical experiments demonstrate the suitability of noble-metal nanoparticles for selective photothermal apoptosis by heat transport by laser irradiation. The applications of nanoparticles largely exploit that plasmons, i. e. collective oscillations of the conduction electrons, can be optically excited in these nanoparticles. In optical spectroscopy, these are seen as pronounced resonances. In the first part of this work, model calculations are employed to elucidate how radiation damping in noble-metal nanoparticles, i. e. the transformation of plasmons into photons, depends on particle size, particle shape, and on electromagnetic coupling between individual particles. Exact electrodynamic calculations are carried out for individual spheroidal particles and for pairs of spherical particles. These calculations for spheroidal particles demonstrate for the first time that radiative plasmon decay is determined by both the particle volume and the particle shape. Model calculations for pairs of large spherical particles reveal that the electromagnetic fields radiated by the particles mediate electromagnetic coupling at interparticle distances in the micrometer range. This coupling can lead to immense modulations of the plasmonic linewidth. The question whether this coupling is sufficiently strong to mediate extended, propagating, plasmon modes in nanoparticle arrays is addressed next. Detailed analysis reveals that this is not the case; instead, for the particle spacings regarded here, a non-resonant, purely diffractive coupling is observed, which is identified by steplike signatures in reflection spectra of the particle arrays. In the second part of this work, structural and optical properties of noble

Plasmon hybridization in complex metallic nanostructures

Science.gov (United States)

Hao, Feng

With Plasmon Hybridization (PH) and Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) method, we theoretically investigated the optical properties of some complex metallic nanostructures (coupled nanoparticle/wire, nanostars, nanorings and combined ring/disk nanocavity systems). We applied the analytical formulism of PH studying the plasmonic coupling of a spherical metallic nanoparticle and an infinite long cylindrical nanowire. The plasmon resonance of the coupled system is shown shifted in frequency, which highly depends on the polarization of incident light relative to the geometry of the structure. We also showed the nanoparticle serves as an efficient antenna coupling the electromagnetic radiation into the low-energy propagating wire plasmons. We performed an experimental and theoretical analysis of the optical properties of gold nanorings with different sizes and cross sections. For light polarized parallel to the ring, the optical spectrum sensitively depends on the incident angle. When light incidence is normal to the ring, two dipolar resonance is observed. As the incident light is titled, some previously dark mulipolar plasmon resonances will be excited as a consequence of the retardation. The concept of plasmon hybridization is combined with the power of brute-force numerical methods to understand the plasmonic properties of some very complicated nanostructures. We showed the plasmons of a gold nanostar are a result of hybridization of the plasmons of the core and the tips of the particle. The core serves as a nanoantenna, dramatically enhanced the optical spectrum and the field enhancement of the nanostar. We also applied this method analyzing the plasmonic modes of a nanocavity structure composed of a nanodisk with a surrounding minoring. For the concentric combination, we showed the nature of the plasmon modes can be understood as the plasmon hybrization of an individual ring and disk. The interation results in a blueshifted and broadened superradiant antibonding

Origin of optical non-linear response in TiN owing to excitation dynamics of surface plasmon resonance electronic oscillations

Science.gov (United States)

Divya, S.; Nampoori, V. P. N.; Radhakrishnan, P.; Mujeeb, A.

2014-08-01

TiN nanoparticles of average size 55 nm were investigated for their optical non-linear properties. During the experiment the irradiated laser wavelength coincided with the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) peak of the nanoparticle. The large non-linearity of the nanoparticle was attributed to the plasmon resonance, which largely enhanced the local field within the nanoparticle. Both open and closed aperture Z-scan experiments were performed and the corresponding optical constants were explored. The post-excitation absorption spectra revealed the interesting phenomenon of photo fragmentation leading to the blue shift in band gap and red shift in the SPR. The results are discussed in terms of enhanced interparticle interaction simultaneous with size reduction. Here, the optical constants being intrinsic constants for a particular sample change unusually with laser power intensity. The dependence of χ(3) is discussed in terms of the size variation caused by photo fragmentation. The studies proved that the TiN nanoparticles are potential candidates in photonics technology offering huge scope to study unexplored research for various expedient applications.

Growth of Au nanoparticle films and the effect of nanoparticle shape on plasmon peak wavelength

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Horikoshi, S., E-mail: horikoshi@sstl.info; Matsumoto, N.; Kato, T. [Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo Bunkyo, Tokyo 113-8656 (Japan); Omata, Y. [Application and Technical Support, Elionix, Inc., 3-7-6 Motoyokoyama Hachioji, Tokyo 192-0063 (Japan)

2014-05-21

Metal nanoparticles (NPs) exhibit localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) and thus have potential for use in a wide range of applications. A facile technique for the preparation of NP films using an electron-cyclotron-resonance plasma sputtering method without a dewetting process is described. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) observations revealed that the Au NPs grew independently as island-like particles during the first stage of sputtering and then coalesced with one another as sputtering time increased to ultimately form a continuous film. A plasmon absorption peak was observed via optical measurement of absorption efficiency. The LSPR peak shifted toward longer wavelengths (red shift) with an increase in sputtering time. The cause of this plasmon peak shift was theoretically investigated using the finite-difference time-domain calculation method. A realistic statistical distribution of the particle shapes based on FE-SEM observations was applied for the analysis, which has not been previously reported. It was determined that the change in the shape of the NPs from spheroidal to oval or slender due to coalescence with neighbouring NPs caused the LSPR peak shift. These results may enable the design of LSPR devices by controlling the characteristics of the nanoparticles, such as their size, shape, number density, and coverage.

Growth of Au nanoparticle films and the effect of nanoparticle shape on plasmon peak wavelength

Science.gov (United States)

Horikoshi, S.; Matsumoto, N.; Omata, Y.; Kato, T.

2014-05-01

Metal nanoparticles (NPs) exhibit localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) and thus have potential for use in a wide range of applications. A facile technique for the preparation of NP films using an electron-cyclotron-resonance plasma sputtering method without a dewetting process is described. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) observations revealed that the Au NPs grew independently as island-like particles during the first stage of sputtering and then coalesced with one another as sputtering time increased to ultimately form a continuous film. A plasmon absorption peak was observed via optical measurement of absorption efficiency. The LSPR peak shifted toward longer wavelengths (red shift) with an increase in sputtering time. The cause of this plasmon peak shift was theoretically investigated using the finite-difference time-domain calculation method. A realistic statistical distribution of the particle shapes based on FE-SEM observations was applied for the analysis, which has not been previously reported. It was determined that the change in the shape of the NPs from spheroidal to oval or slender due to coalescence with neighbouring NPs caused the LSPR peak shift. These results may enable the design of LSPR devices by controlling the characteristics of the nanoparticles, such as their size, shape, number density, and coverage.

Giant Photogalvanic Effect in Noncentrosymmetric Plasmonic Nanoparticles

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhukovsky, Sergei; Babicheva, Viktoriia; Evlyukhin, Andrey B.

2014-01-01

Photoelectric properties of noncentrosymmetric, similarly oriented metallic nanoparticles embedded in a homogeneous semiconductor matrix are theoretically studied. Because of the asymmetric shape of the nanoparticle boundary, photoelectron emission acquires a preferred direction, resulting......, but is several orders of magnitude stronger. Termed the giant plasmonic photogalvanic effect, the reported phenomenon is valuable for characterizing photoemission and photoconductive properties of plasmonic nanostructures and can find many uses for photodetection and photovoltaic applications....... in a photocurrent flow in that direction when nanoparticles are uniformly illuminated by a homogeneous plane wave. This effect is a direct analogy of the photogalvanic (or bulk photovoltaic) effect known to exist in media with noncentrosymmetric crystal structure, such as doped lithium niobate or bismuth ferrite...

Self-assembled Au nanoparticles on heated Corning glass by dc magnetron sputtering: size-dependent surface plasmon resonance tuning

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Grammatikopoulos, S.; Pappas, S. D. [University of Patras, Laboratory of High-Tech Materials, School of Engineering (Greece); Dracopoulos, V. [Hellas-Institute of Chemical Engineering and High Temperature Chemical Processes, (FORTH/ICE-HT), Foundation for Research and Technology (Greece); Poulopoulos, P., E-mail: poulop@upatras.gr [University of Patras, Laboratory of High-Tech Materials, School of Engineering (Greece); Fumagalli, P. [Freie Universitaet Berlin, Institut fuer Experimentalphysik (Germany); Velgakis, M. J.; Politis, C. [University of Patras, Laboratory of High-Tech Materials, School of Engineering (Greece)

2013-02-15

We report on the growth of Au nanoparticles on Corning glass by direct current magnetron sputtering and on the optical absorption of the films. The substrate temperature was kept to relatively high temperatures of 100 or 450 Degree-Sign C. This lead to the growth of Au nanoparticles instead of smooth Au films as the surface energy of Au is much larger than the one of glass. The size of the particles depended on the substrate temperature and deposition time and was shown to follow a logarithmic normal distribution function. Both, the surface plasmon resonance position and bandwidth, were found to depend upon the average particle size. The surface plasmon resonance position showed a 75 nm continuous blue shift from 14 nm down to 2.5 nm average particle size. Thus, we have shown how to tune the nanoparticle size and surface plasmon resonance of Au by varying the substrate temperature and deposition time. The experimental results are reproduced reasonably using a method which is based on the size- and wavelength-dependent complex dielectric function of Au within the framework of the Mie theory for the optical properties of metallic nanospheres.

Synthesis of immunotargeted magneto-plasmonic nanoclusters.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Chun-Hsien; Sokolov, Konstantin

2014-08-22

Magnetic and plasmonic properties combined in a single nanoparticle provide a synergy that is advantageous in a number of biomedical applications including contrast enhancement in novel magnetomotive imaging modalities, simultaneous capture and detection of circulating tumor cells (CTCs), and multimodal molecular imaging combined with photothermal therapy of cancer cells. These applications have stimulated significant interest in development of protocols for synthesis of magneto-plasmonic nanoparticles with optical absorbance in the near-infrared (NIR) region and a strong magnetic moment. Here, we present a novel protocol for synthesis of such hybrid nanoparticles that is based on an oil-in-water microemulsion method. The unique feature of the protocol described herein is synthesis of magneto-plasmonic nanoparticles of various sizes from primary blocks which also have magneto-plasmonic characteristics. This approach yields nanoparticles with a high density of magnetic and plasmonic functionalities which are uniformly distributed throughout the nanoparticle volume. The hybrid nanoparticles can be easily functionalized by attaching antibodies through the Fc moiety leaving the Fab portion that is responsible for antigen binding available for targeting.

Plasmonic graded nano-disks as nano-optical conveyor belt.

Science.gov (United States)

Kang, Zhiwen; Lu, Haifei; Chen, Jiajie; Chen, Kun; Xu, Fang; Ho, Ho-Pui

2014-08-11

We propose a plasmonic system consisting of nano-disks (NDs) with graded diameters for the realization of nano-optical conveyor belt. The system contains a couple of NDs with individual elements coded with different resonant wavelengths. By sequentially switching the wavelength and polarization of the excitation source, optically trapped target nano-particle can be transferred from one ND to another. The feasibility of such function is verified based on the three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain technique and the Maxwell stress tensor method. Our design may provide an alternative way to construct nano-optical conveyor belt with which target molecules can be delivered between trapping sites, thus enabling many on-chip optofluidic applications.

Single plasmonic nanoparticles for ultrasensitive DNA sensing: From invisible to visible.

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Longhua; Chen, Lichan; Hong, Seungpyo; Kim, Dong-Hwan

2016-05-15

The background signal is a major factor that restricts the limit of detection of biosensors. Herein, we present a zero-background DNA-sensing approach that utilizes enzyme-guided gold nanoparticle (AuNP) enlargement. This sensing strategy is based on the finding that small nanoparticles are invisible under a darkfield optical microscope, thus completely eliminating the background signal. In the event of target binding, Ag deposition is triggered and enlarges the AuNP beyond its optical diffraction limit, thereby making the invisible AuNP visible. Because the plasmon scattering of Ag is stronger than that of Au, only a thin layer of Ag is required to greatly enhance the scattering intensity of the AuNPs. Our investigation revealed that a target DNA concentration as low as 5.0×10(-21)M can transform the darkfield image of the nanoparticle from completely dark (invisible) to a blue dot (visible). Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Plasmonic nanopatch array for optical integrated circuit applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Qu, Shi-Wei; Nie, Zai-Ping

2013-11-08

Future plasmonic integrated circuits with the capability of extremely high-speed data processing at optical frequencies will be dominated by the efficient optical emission (excitation) from (of) plasmonic waveguides. Towards this goal, plasmonic nanoantennas, currently a hot topic in the field of plasmonics, have potential to bridge the mismatch between the wave vector of free-space photonics and that of the guided plasmonics. To manipulate light at will, plasmonic nanoantenna arrays will definitely be more efficient than isolated nanoantennas. In this article, the concepts of microwave antenna arrays are applied to efficiently convert plasmonic waves in the plasmonic waveguides into free-space optical waves or vice versa. The proposed plasmonic nanoantenna array, with nanopatch antennas and a coupled wedge plasmon waveguide, can also act as an efficient spectrometer to project different wavelengths into different directions, or as a spatial filter to absorb a specific wavelength at a specified incident angle.

Refracting surface plasmon polaritons with nanoparticle arrays

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Radko, I.P.; Evlyukhin, A.B.; Boltasseva, Alexandra

2008-01-01

Refraction of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) by various structures formed by a 100-nm-period square lattice of gold nanoparticles on top of a gold film is studied by leakage radiation microscopy. SPP refraction by a triangular-shaped nanoparticle array indicates that the SPP effective refractive...... to design nanoparticle arrays for specific applications requiring in-plane SPP manipulation....

Kinetics of copper nanoparticle precipitation in phosphate glass: an isothermal plasmonic approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Sendova, Mariana; Jiménez, José A; Smith, Robert; Rudawski, Nicholas

2015-01-14

The kinetics of copper nanoparticle (NP) precipitation in melt-quenched barium-phosphate glass has been studied by in situ isothermal optical micro-spectroscopy. A spectroscopically based approximation technique is proposed to obtain information about the activation energies of nucleation and growth in a narrow temperature range (530-570 °C). Pre-plasmonic and plasmonic NP precipitation stages are identified separated in time. The process as a whole is discussed employing classical nucleation/growth theory and the Kolmogorov-Johnson-Mehl-Avrami phase change model. Activation energies of 3.9(7) eV and 2.6(5) eV have been estimated for the pre-plasmonic and plasmonic spectroscopically assessed stages, respectively. High resolution transmission electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and Raman spectroscopy were used as complementary techniques for studying the nanoparticulate phase and glass host structure. An empirical linear dependence of the diffusion activation energy on the glass transition temperature with broad applicability is suggested.

Low Intensity Post Process Tuning of Optical Properties of Polymer-Plasmonic Nanoparticle Hybrids

Science.gov (United States)

Mahoney, Clare; Park, Kyoungweon; Vaia, Richard

The ability to fabricate flat optics with graded refractive indices through patterned plasmonic properties is attractive for compact photonics devices. Because simultaneous self-assembly of different nanostructures within a singular film is challenging, recent efforts have shifted towards post processing methods. For example, lasers coupled to surface plasmon resonances (SPR) can induce reshaping, but often times require intense power densities that damage the matrix. Herein, we demonstrate a lower temperature approach to nanostructure reshaping based on photo-thermal triggered local redox chemistry. Xe-lamp is shown to provide volume-conserved reshaping of gold nanrods (AuNRs) dispersed within polyvinyl alcohol . Within seconds, the aspect ratio can be reduced from 5.5 to 1 (>500 nm shift in the LSPR) while maintaining particle dispersion and alignment. Using the irradiation profile and matrix thermal diffusivity, gradient resolutions of 3 nm LSPR shift per micron are seen both spatially and through thickness. Furthermore, the polarization sensitivity of the LSPR enables polarization control in reshaping. Such scalable and energy efficient plasmonic post processes will be crucial to optical-nanocomposites into future technologies. National Academy of Sciences, NRC.

Surface plasmon enhanced third-order optical nonlinearity of Ag nanocomposite film

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Singh, Vijender; Aghamkar, Praveen

2014-01-01

We obtain a large third-order optical nonlinearity (χ (3)  ≈ 10 −10 esu) of silver nanoparticles dispersed in polyvinyl alcohol/tetraethyl orthosilicate matrix using single beam z-scan technique at 532 nm by Q-switched Nd:YAG laser. We have shown that mechanisms responsible for third-order optical nonlinearity of Ag nanocomposite film are reverse saturable absorption (RSA) and self-defocusing in the purlieu of surface plasmon resonance (SPR). Optical band-gap and width of SPR band of Ag nanocomposite film decrease with increasing silver concentration, which leads to enhancement of local electric field and hence third-order optical nonlinearity. Optical limiting, due to RSA has also been demonstrated at 532 nm

Three-dimensional TiO2/Au nanoparticles for plasmon enhanced photocatalysis

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Jianyu; Zhou, Lin; Wang, Yang; Tan, Yingling; Wang, Zhenlin; Zhu, Shining; Zhu, Jia

2018-03-01

The mechanisms of plasmonic nanostructures assisted photocatalytic processes are fundamental and of great importance and interest for decades. Therefore, we adopt a unique porous structure of three-dimensional TiO2/Au nanoparticles to experimentally explore the potential mechanisms of rhodamine B (RhB) based photocatalytic degradation. The highly efficient absorbance measured across the entire ultraviolet and infrared regions shows the broadband light harvesting capability and photocatalytic activity, in which the direct bandgap transition, plasmon sensitization as well as the plasmonic photothermal effect can be beneficial for the photocatalytic reaction. The RhB photocatalytic degradation experiments were conducted systematically under solar irradiance with finely chosen optical filters. Apart from the ultraviolet-driven degradation of TiO2, the plasmon assisted photocatalytic rate of our TiO2/Au structure can be enhanced by >30% as compared to the referenced TiO2 structure (equivalent to 2-4 times promotion with respect to the same quantity of the active material TiO2). Detailed wavelength-dependent analyses have revealed that the visible-driven degradation rate can be enhanced by 10 times because of the plasmon sensitization effect; while infrared-driven degradation rate is enhanced by 4 times as well for the plasmonic photothermal effect, respectively. Our experimental results may provide a clear understanding for the wavelength-dependent plasmon enhanced photocatalytic processes.

Plasmonic Coupling in Three-Dimensional Au Nanoparticle Assemblies Fabricated by Anodic Aluminum Oxide Templates

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahrum Sohn

2013-01-01

Full Text Available We investigated optical properties of three-dimensional (3D assemblies of Au nanoparticles (NPs, which were fabricated by dewetting of thin Au layers on anodic aluminum oxides (AAO. The NP assembly had hexagonal array of repeated multiparticle structures, which consisted of six trimers on the AAO surface and one large NP in the AAO pore (pore-NP. We performed finite-difference time-domain simulation to explain the optical response of the NP assemblies and compared the calculation results with experimental data. Such complementary studies clearly revealed how the plasmonic coupling between the constituent NPs influenced the spectral response of our NP assemblies. In particular, comparison of the assemblies with and without pore-NPs suggested that strong plasmonic coupling between trimers and pore-NP significantly affected the spectra and the field distribution of the NP assemblies. Plasmonic multi-NP assemblies could provide us new platforms to realize novel optoelectronic devices.

Optical switches based on surface plasmons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Cong; Wang Pei; Yuan Guanghui; Wang Xiaolei; Min Changjun; Deng Yan; Lu Yonghua; Ming Hai

2008-01-01

Great attention is being paid to surface plasmons (SPs) because of their potential applications in sensors, data storage and bio-photonics. Recently, more and more optical switches based on surface plasmon effects have been demonstrated either by simulation or experimentally. This article describes the principles, advantages and disadvantages of various types of optical switches based on SPs, in particular the all-optical switches. (authors)

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

Science.gov (United States)

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.

High-resolution electron-beam patternable nanocomposite containing metal nanoparticles for plasmonics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abargues, R; Marques-Hueso, J; Canet-Ferrer, J; Pedrueza, E; Valdes, J L; Jimenez, E; MartInez-Pastor, J P

2008-01-01

Polymer nanocomposites containing noble metal nanoparticles are promising materials for plasmonic applications. In this paper, we report on a high-resolution negative-tone nanocomposite resist based on poly(vinyl alcohol) where silver nanoparticles and nanopatterns are simultaneously generated by electron-beam lithography. Our results indicate nanostructures with a relatively high concentration of nanoparticles and, consequently, an electromagnetic coupling among the nanoparticles. Therefore, the patternable nanocomposite described in this work may be a suitable material for future plasmonic circuitry

Plasmonic nanostructures for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy

Science.gov (United States)

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 Ag

Ultraviolet Plasmonic Aluminium Nanoparticles for Highly Efficient Light Incoupling on Silicon Solar Cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yinan Zhang

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Plasmonic metal nanoparticles supporting localized surface plasmon resonances have attracted a great deal of interest in boosting the light absorption in solar cells. Among the various plasmonic materials, the aluminium nanoparticles recently have become a rising star due to their unique ultraviolet plasmonic resonances, low cost, earth-abundance and high compatibility with the complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS manufacturing process. Here, we report some key factors that determine the light incoupling of aluminium nanoparticles located on the front side of silicon solar cells. We first numerically study the scattering and absorption properties of the aluminium nanoparticles and the influence of the nanoparticle shape, size, surface coverage and the spacing layer on the light incoupling using the finite difference time domain method. Then, we experimentally integrate 100-nm aluminium nanoparticles on the front side of silicon solar cells with varying silicon nitride thicknesses. This study provides the fundamental insights for designing aluminium nanoparticle-based light trapping on solar cells.

Plasmonic Optical Fiber-Grating Immunosensing: A Review.

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Tuan; González-Vila, Álvaro; Loyez, Médéric; Caucheteur, Christophe

2017-11-26

Plasmonic immunosensors are usually made of a noble metal (in the form of a film or nanoparticles) on which bioreceptors are grafted to sense analytes based on the antibody/antigen or other affinity mechanism. Optical fiber configurations are a miniaturized counterpart to the bulky Kretschmann prism and allow easy light injection and remote operation. To excite a surface plasmon (SP), the core-guided light is locally outcoupled. Unclad optical fibers were the first configurations reported to this end. Among the different architectures able to bring light in contact with the surrounding medium, a great quantity of research is today being conducted on metal-coated fiber gratings photo-imprinted in the fiber core, as they provide modal features that enable SP generation at any wavelength, especially in the telecommunication window. They are perfectly suited for use with cost-effective high-resolution interrogators, allowing both a high sensitivity and a low limit of detection to be reached in immunosensing. This paper will review recent progress made in this field with different kinds of gratings: uniform, tilted and eccentric short-period gratings as well as long-period fiber gratings. Practical cases will be reported, showing that such sensors can be used in very small volumes of analytes and even possibly applied to in vivo diagnosis.

Plasmonic Optical Fiber-Grating Immunosensing: A Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tuan Guo

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Plasmonic immunosensors are usually made of a noble metal (in the form of a film or nanoparticles on which bioreceptors are grafted to sense analytes based on the antibody/antigen or other affinity mechanism. Optical fiber configurations are a miniaturized counterpart to the bulky Kretschmann prism and allow easy light injection and remote operation. To excite a surface plasmon (SP, the core-guided light is locally outcoupled. Unclad optical fibers were the first configurations reported to this end. Among the different architectures able to bring light in contact with the surrounding medium, a great quantity of research is today being conducted on metal-coated fiber gratings photo-imprinted in the fiber core, as they provide modal features that enable SP generation at any wavelength, especially in the telecommunication window. They are perfectly suited for use with cost-effective high-resolution interrogators, allowing both a high sensitivity and a low limit of detection to be reached in immunosensing. This paper will review recent progress made in this field with different kinds of gratings: uniform, tilted and eccentric short-period gratings as well as long-period fiber gratings. Practical cases will be reported, showing that such sensors can be used in very small volumes of analytes and even possibly applied to in vivo diagnosis.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Calculation and measurement of radiation corrections for plasmon resonances in nanoparticles

Science.gov (United States)

Hung, L.; Lee, S. Y.; McGovern, O.; Rabin, O.; Mayergoyz, I.

2013-08-01

The problem of plasmon resonances in metallic nanoparticles can be formulated as an eigenvalue problem under the condition that the wavelengths of the incident radiation are much larger than the particle dimensions. As the nanoparticle size increases, the quasistatic condition is no longer valid. For this reason, the accuracy of the electrostatic approximation may be compromised and appropriate radiation corrections for the calculation of resonance permittivities and resonance wavelengths are needed. In this paper, we present the radiation corrections in the framework of the eigenvalue method for plasmon mode analysis and demonstrate that the computational results accurately match analytical solutions (for nanospheres) and experimental data (for nanorings and nanocubes). We also demonstrate that the optical spectra of silver nanocube suspensions can be fully assigned to dipole-type resonance modes when radiation corrections are introduced. Finally, our method is used to predict the resonance wavelengths for face-to-face silver nanocube dimers on glass substrates. These results may be useful for the indirect measurements of the gaps in the dimers from extinction cross-section observations.

Plasmon-modulated bistable four-wave mixing signals from a metal nanoparticle-monolayer MoS2 nanoresonator hybrid system

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Jian-Bo; Tan, Xiao-Long; Ma, Jin-Hong; Xu, Si-Qin; Kuang, Zhi-Wei; Liang, Shan; Xiao, Si; He, Meng-Dong; Kim, Nam-Chol; Luo, Jian-Hua; Chen, Li-Qun

2018-06-01

We present a study for the impact of exciton-phonon and exciton-plasmon interactions on bistable four-wave mixing (FWM) signals in a metal nanoparticle (MNP)-monolayer MoS2 nanoresonator hybrid system. Via tracing the FWM response we predict that, depending on the excitation conditions and the system parameters, such a system exhibits ‘U-shaped’ bistable FWM signals. We also map out bistability phase diagrams within the system’s parameter space. Especially, we show that compared with the exciton-phonon interaction, a strong exciton-plasmon interaction plays a dominant role in the generation of optical bistability, and the bistable region will be greatly broadened by shortening the distance between the MNP and the monolayer MoS2 nanoresonator. In the weak exciton-plasmon coupling regime, the impact of exciton-phonon interaction on optical bistability will become obvious. The scheme proposed may be used for building optical switches and logic-gate devices for optical computing and quantum information processing.

Plasmon-modulated bistable four-wave mixing signals from a metal nanoparticle-monolayer MoS2 nanoresonator hybrid system.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Jian-Bo; Tan, Xiao-Long; Ma, Jin-Hong; Xu, Si-Qin; Kuang, Zhi-Wei; Liang, Shan; Xiao, Si; He, Meng-Dong; Kim, Nam-Chol; Luo, Jian-Hua; Chen, Li-Qun

2018-06-22

We present a study for the impact of exciton-phonon and exciton-plasmon interactions on bistable four-wave mixing (FWM) signals in a metal nanoparticle (MNP)-monolayer MoS 2 nanoresonator hybrid system. Via tracing the FWM response we predict that, depending on the excitation conditions and the system parameters, such a system exhibits 'U-shaped' bistable FWM signals. We also map out bistability phase diagrams within the system's parameter space. Especially, we show that compared with the exciton-phonon interaction, a strong exciton-plasmon interaction plays a dominant role in the generation of optical bistability, and the bistable region will be greatly broadened by shortening the distance between the MNP and the monolayer MoS 2 nanoresonator. In the weak exciton-plasmon coupling regime, the impact of exciton-phonon interaction on optical bistability will become obvious. The scheme proposed may be used for building optical switches and logic-gate devices for optical computing and quantum information processing.

Optical properties of metal nanoparticles embedded in amorphous silicon analysed using discrete dipole approximation

Science.gov (United States)

Fantoni, Alessandro; Fernandes, Miguel; Vygranenko, Yuri; Vieira, Manuela; Oliveira-Silva, Rui P.; Prazeres, D. M. F.; Ribeiro, Ana P. C.; Alegria, Elisabete C. B. A.

2018-02-01

Localized surface plasmons (LSP) can be excited in metal nanoparticles (NP) by UV, visible or NIR light and are described as coherent oscillation of conduction electrons. Taking advantage of the tunable optical properties of NPs, we propose the realization of a plasmonic structure, based on the LSP interaction of NP with an embedding matrix of amorphous silicon. This study is directed to define the characteristics of NP and substrate necessary to the development of a LSP proteomics sensor that, once provided immobilized antibodies on its surface, will screen the concentration of selected antigens through the determination of LSPR spectra and peaks of light absorption. Metals of interest for NP composition are: Aluminium and Gold. Recent advances in nanoparticle production techniques allow almost full control over shapes and size, permitting full control over their optical and plasmonic properties and, above all, over their responsive spectra. Analytical solution is only possible for simple NP geometries, therefore our analysis, is realized recurring to computer simulation using the Discrete Dipole Approximation method (DDA). In this work we use the free software DDSCAT to study the optical properties of metal nanoparticles embedded in an amorphous silicon matrix, as a function of size, shape, aspect-ratio and metal type. Experimental measurements realized with arrays of metal nanoparticles are compared with the simulations.

Surface plasmon enhanced third-order optical nonlinearity of Ag nanocomposite film

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Singh, Vijender [Department of Applied Science, N.C. College of Engineering, Israna, Panipat 132107, Haryana (India); Aghamkar, Praveen, E-mail: p-aghamkar@yahoo.in [Department of Physics, Chaudhary Devi Lal University, Sirsa 125055, Haryana (India)

2014-03-17

We obtain a large third-order optical nonlinearity (χ{sup (3)} ≈ 10{sup −10}esu) of silver nanoparticles dispersed in polyvinyl alcohol/tetraethyl orthosilicate matrix using single beam z-scan technique at 532 nm by Q-switched Nd:YAG laser. We have shown that mechanisms responsible for third-order optical nonlinearity of Ag nanocomposite film are reverse saturable absorption (RSA) and self-defocusing in the purlieu of surface plasmon resonance (SPR). Optical band-gap and width of SPR band of Ag nanocomposite film decrease with increasing silver concentration, which leads to enhancement of local electric field and hence third-order optical nonlinearity. Optical limiting, due to RSA has also been demonstrated at 532 nm.

Enhancement of light absorption in polyazomethines due to plasmon excitation on randomly distributed metal nanoparticles

Science.gov (United States)

Wróbel, P.; Antosiewicz, T. J.; Stefaniuk, T.; Ciesielski, A.; Iwan, A.; Wronkowska, A. A.; Wronkowski, A.; Szoplik, T.

2015-05-01

In photovoltaic devices, metal nanoparticles embedded in a semiconductor layer allow the enhancement of solar-toelectric energy conversion efficiency due to enhanced light absorption via a prolonged optical path, enhanced electric fields near the metallic inclusions, direct injection of hot electrons, or local heating. Here we pursue the first two avenues. In the first, light scattered at an angle beyond the critical angle for reflection is coupled into the semiconductor layer and confined within such planar waveguide up to possible exciton generation. In the second, light is trapped by the excitation of localized surface plasmons on metal nanoparticles leading to enhanced near-field plasmon-exciton coupling at the peak of the plasmon resonance. We report on results of a numerical experiment on light absorption in polymer- (fullerene derivative) blends, using the 3D FDTD method, where exact optical parameters of the materials involved are taken from our recent measurements. In simulations we investigate light absorption in randomly distributed metal nanoparticles dispersed in polyazomethine-(fullerene derivative) blends, which serve as active layers in bulkheterojunction polymer solar cells. In the study Ag and Al nanoparticles of different diameters and fill factors are diffused in two air-stable aromatic polyazomethines with different chemical structures (abbreviated S9POF and S15POF) mixed with phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) or [6,6]-phenyl-C71-butyric acid methyl ester (PC71BM). The mixtures are spin coated on a 100 nm thick Al layer deposited on a fused silica substrate. Optical constants of the active layers are taken from spectroscopic ellipsometry and reflectance measurements using a rotating analyzer type ellipsometer with auto-retarder performed in the wavelength range from 225 nm to 2200 nm. The permittivities of Ag and Al particles of diameters from 20 to 60 nm are assumed to be equal to those measured on 100 to 200 nm thick metal films.

Photoluminescence enhancement of dye-doped nanoparticles by surface plasmon resonance effects of gold colloidal nanoparticles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chu, Viet Ha; Nghiem, Thi Ha Lien; Tran, Hong Nhung; Fort, Emmanuel

2011-01-01

Due to the energy transfer from surface plasmons, the fluorescence of fluorophores near metallic nanostructures can be enhanced. This effect has been intensively studied recently for biosensor applications. This work reports on the luminescence enhancement of 100 nm Cy3 dye-doped polystyrene nanoparticles by energy transfer from surface plasmons of gold colloidal nanoparticles with sizes of 20 and 100 nm. Optimal luminescence enhancement of the fluorophores has been observed in the mixture with 20 nm gold nanoparticles. This can be attributed to the resonance energy transfer from gold nanoparticles to the fluorophore beads. The interaction between the fluorophores and gold particles is attributed to far-field interaction

Femtosecond laser generated gold nanoparticles and their plasmonic properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Das, Rupali; Navas, M. P.; Soni, R. K.

2016-01-01

The pulsed laser ablation in liquid medium is now commonly used to generate stable colloidal nanoparticles (NPs) in absence of any chemical additives or stabilizer with diverse applications. In this paper, we report generation of gold NPs (Au NPs) by ultra-short laser pulses. Femtosecond (fs) laser radiation (λ = 800 nm) has been used to ablate a gold target in pure de-ionized water to produce gold colloids with smallsize distribution. The average size of the particles can be further controlled by subjecting to laser-induced post-irradiation providing a versatile physical method of size-selected gold nanoparticles. The optical extinction and morphological dimensions were investigated with UV-Vis spectroscopy and Transmission Electron Microscopy measurements, respectively. Finite difference time domain (FDTD) method is employed to calculate localized surface plasmon (LSPR) wavelength and the near-field generated by Au NPs and their hybrids.

Nonlinear optical model for strip plasmonic waveguides

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lysenko, Oleg; Bache, Morten; Lavrinenko, Andrei

2016-01-01

This paper presents a theoretical model of nonlinear optical properties for strip plasmonic waveguides. The particular waveguides geometry that we investigate contains a gold core, adhesion layers, and silicon dioxide cladding. It is shown that the third-order susceptibility of the gold core...... significantly depends on the layer thickness and has the dominant contribution to the effective third-order susceptibility of the long-range plasmon polariton mode. This results in two nonlinear optical effects in plasmonic waveguides, which we experimentally observed and reported in [Opt. Lett. 41, 317 (2016...... approaches. (C) 2016 Optical Society of America...

Structure and Plasmonic Properties of Thin PMMA Layers with Ion-Synthesized Ag Nanoparticles

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Popok, V. N.; Hanif, M.; Macková, Anna; Mikšová, Romana

2015-01-01

Roč. 53, č. 9 (2015), s. 664-672 ISSN 0887-6266 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GBP108/12/G108; GA MŠk LM2011019 Institutional support: RVO:61389005 Keywords : atomic force microscopy (AFM) * carbonization of polymers * ion implantation * localized surface plasmon resonance * nanocomposites * nanoparticles * optics * sputtering of polymers Subject RIV: BG - Nuclear, Atomic and Molecular Physics, Colliders Impact factor: 3.318, year: 2015

Plasmonic non-concentric nanorings array as an unidirectional nano-optical conveyor belt actuated by polarization rotation.

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Min; Wang, Guanghui; Jiao, Wenxiang; Ying, Zhoufeng; Zou, Ningmu; Ho, Ho-Pui; Sun, Tianyu; Zhang, Xuping

2017-01-15

We report a nano-optical conveyor belt containing an array of gold plasmonic non-concentric nanorings (PNNRs) for the realization of trapping and unidirectional transportation of nanoparticles through rotating the polarization of an excitation beam. The location of hot spots within an asymmetric plasmonic nanostructure is polarization dependent, thus making it possible to manipulate a trapped target by rotating the incident polarization state. In the case of PNNR, the two poles have highly unbalanced trap potential. This greatly enhances the chance of transferring trapped particles between adjacent PNNRs in a given direction through rotating the polarization. As confirmed by three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain analysis, an array of PNNRs forms an unidirectional nano-optical conveyor belt, which delivers target nanoparticles or biomolecules over a long distance with nanometer accuracy. With the capacity to trap and to transfer, our design offers a versatile scheme for conducting mechanical sample manipulation in many on-chip optofluidic applications.

Plasmon-Resonant Nanoparticles and Nanostars With Magnetic Cores: Synthesis and Magnetomotive Imaging

OpenAIRE

Song, Hyon-Min; Wei, Qingshan; Ong, Quy K.; Wei, Alexander

2010-01-01

Plasmon-resonant gold nanostars (NSTs) with magnetic cores were synthesized by a multistep sequence from superparamagnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs), and evaluated as optical contrast agents under magnetomotive (MM) imaging conditions. Core–shell Fe3O4@Au NPs were prepared in nonpolar organic solvents with nanometer control over shell thickness, and with good epitaxy to the Fe3O4 surface. Anisotropic growth was performed in micellar solutions of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) under mil...

Three-dimensional scanning near field optical microscopy (3D-SNOM) imaging of random arrays of copper nanoparticles: implications for plasmonic solar cell enhancement.

Science.gov (United States)

Ezugwu, Sabastine; Ye, Hanyang; Fanchini, Giovanni

2015-01-07

In order to investigate the suitability of random arrays of nanoparticles for plasmonic enhancement in the visible-near infrared range, we introduced three-dimensional scanning near-field optical microscopy (3D-SNOM) imaging as a useful technique to probe the intensity of near-field radiation scattered by random systems of nanoparticles at heights up to several hundred nm from their surface. We demonstrated our technique using random arrays of copper nanoparticles (Cu-NPs) at different particle diameter and concentration. Bright regions in the 3D-SNOM images, corresponding to constructive interference of forward-scattered plasmonic waves, were obtained at heights Δz ≥ 220 nm from the surface for random arrays of Cu-NPs of ∼ 60-100 nm in diameter. These heights are too large to use Cu-NPs in contact of the active layer for light harvesting in thin organic solar cells, which are typically no thicker than 200 nm. Using a 200 nm transparent spacer between the system of Cu-NPs and the solar cell active layer, we demonstrate that forward-scattered light can be conveyed in 200 nm thin film solar cells. This architecture increases the solar cell photoconversion efficiency by a factor of 3. Our 3D-SNOM technique is general enough to be suitable for a large number of other applications in nanoplasmonics.

Plasmon point spread functions: How do we model plasmon-mediated emission processes?

Science.gov (United States)

Willets, Katherine A.

2014-02-01

A major challenge with studying plasmon-mediated emission events is the small size of plasmonic nanoparticles relative to the wavelength of light. Objects smaller than roughly half the wavelength of light will appear as diffraction-limited spots in far-field optical images, presenting a significant experimental challenge for studying plasmonic processes on the nanoscale. Super-resolution imaging has recently been applied to plasmonic nanosystems and allows plasmon-mediated emission to be resolved on the order of ˜5 nm. In super-resolution imaging, a diffraction-limited spot is fit to some model function in order to calculate the position of the emission centroid, which represents the location of the emitter. However, the accuracy of the centroid position strongly depends on how well the fitting function describes the data. This Perspective discusses the commonly used two-dimensional Gaussian fitting function applied to super-resolution imaging of plasmon-mediated emission, then introduces an alternative model based on dipole point spread functions. The two fitting models are compared and contrasted for super-resolution imaging of nanoparticle scattering/luminescence, surface-enhanced Raman scattering, and surface-enhanced fluorescence.

Plasmonic Landau damping in active environments

Science.gov (United States)

Thakkar, Niket; Montoni, Nicholas P.; Cherqui, Charles; Masiello, David J.

2018-03-01

Optical manipulation of charge on the nanoscale is of fundamental importance to an array of proposed technologies from selective photocatalysis to nanophotonics. Open plasmonic systems where collective electron oscillations release energy and charge to their environments offer a potential means to this end as plasmons can rapidly decay into energetic electron-hole pairs; however, isolating this decay from other plasmon-environment interactions remains a challenge. Here we present an analytic theory of noble-metal nanoparticles that quantitatively models plasmon decay into electron-hole pairs, demonstrates that this decay depends significantly on the nanoparticle's dielectric environment, and disentangles this effect from competing decay pathways. Using our approach to incorporate embedding material and substrate effects on plasmon-electron interaction, we show that predictions from the model agree with four separate experiments. Finally, examination of coupled nanoparticle-emitter systems further shows that the hybridized in-phase mode more efficiently decays to photons whereas the out-of-phase mode more efficiently decays to electron-hole pairs, offering a strategy to tailor open plasmonic systems for charge manipulation.

Low-frequency active surface plasmon optics on semiconductors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gómez Rivas, J.; Kuttge, M.; Kurz, H.; Haring Bolivar, P.; Sánchez-Gil, J.A.

2006-01-01

A major challenge in the development of surface plasmon optics or plasmonics is the active control of the propagation of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs). Here, we demonstrate the feasibility of low-frequency active plasmonics using semiconductors. We show experimentally that the Bragg scattering

Coupling between magnetic and optical properties of stable Au-Fe solid solution nanoparticles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

De Julian Fernandez, C; Novak, R L; Bogani, L; Caneschi, A [INSTM RU at the Department of Chemistry of the University of Firenze, via della Lastruccia 3, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (Italy); Mattei, G; Mazzoldi, P [Department of Physics, CNISM and University of Padova, via Marzolo 8, 35131 Padova (Italy); Paz, E; Palomares, F J [Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid (CSIC), Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid (Spain); Cavigli, L, E-mail: cesar.dejulian@unifi.it [Department of Physics-LENS, University of Florence, via Sansone 1, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (Italy)

2010-04-23

Au-Fe nanoparticles constitute one of the simplest prototypes of a multifunctional nanomaterial that can exhibit both magnetic and optical (plasmonic) properties. This solid solution, not feasible in the bulk phase diagram in thermal equilibrium, can be formed as a nanostructure by out-of-equilibrium processes. Here, the novel magnetic, optical and magneto-optical properties of ion-implanted Au-Fe solid solution nanoparticles dispersed in a SiO{sub 2} matrix are investigated and correlated. The surface plasmon resonance of the Au-Fe nanoparticles with almost equicomposition is strongly damped when compared to pure Au and to Au-rich Au-Fe nanoparticles. In all cases, the Au atoms are magnetically polarized, as measured by x-ray magnetic circular dichroism, and ferromagnetically coupled with Fe atoms. Although the chemical stability of Au-Fe nanoparticles is larger than that of Fe nanoparticles, both the magnetic moment per Fe atom and the order temperature are smaller. These results suggest that electronic and magnetic properties are more influenced by the hybridization of the electronic bands in the Au-Fe solid solution than by size effects. On the other hand, the magneto-optical transitions allowed in the vis-nIR spectral regions are very similar. In addition, we also observe, after studying the properties of thermally treated samples, that the Au-Fe alloy is stabilized, not by surface effects, but by the combination of the out-of-equilibrium nature of the ion implantation technique and by changes in the properties due to size effects.

Coupling between magnetic and optical properties of stable Au-Fe solid solution nanoparticles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

De Julian Fernandez, C; Novak, R L; Bogani, L; Caneschi, A; Mattei, G; Mazzoldi, P; Paz, E; Palomares, F J; Cavigli, L

2010-01-01

Au-Fe nanoparticles constitute one of the simplest prototypes of a multifunctional nanomaterial that can exhibit both magnetic and optical (plasmonic) properties. This solid solution, not feasible in the bulk phase diagram in thermal equilibrium, can be formed as a nanostructure by out-of-equilibrium processes. Here, the novel magnetic, optical and magneto-optical properties of ion-implanted Au-Fe solid solution nanoparticles dispersed in a SiO 2 matrix are investigated and correlated. The surface plasmon resonance of the Au-Fe nanoparticles with almost equicomposition is strongly damped when compared to pure Au and to Au-rich Au-Fe nanoparticles. In all cases, the Au atoms are magnetically polarized, as measured by x-ray magnetic circular dichroism, and ferromagnetically coupled with Fe atoms. Although the chemical stability of Au-Fe nanoparticles is larger than that of Fe nanoparticles, both the magnetic moment per Fe atom and the order temperature are smaller. These results suggest that electronic and magnetic properties are more influenced by the hybridization of the electronic bands in the Au-Fe solid solution than by size effects. On the other hand, the magneto-optical transitions allowed in the vis-nIR spectral regions are very similar. In addition, we also observe, after studying the properties of thermally treated samples, that the Au-Fe alloy is stabilized, not by surface effects, but by the combination of the out-of-equilibrium nature of the ion implantation technique and by changes in the properties due to size effects.

Coupling between magnetic and optical properties of stable Au-Fe solid solution nanoparticles

Science.gov (United States)

de Julián Fernández, C.; Mattei, G.; Paz, E.; Novak, R. L.; Cavigli, L.; Bogani, L.; Palomares, F. J.; Mazzoldi, P.; Caneschi, A.

2010-04-01

Au-Fe nanoparticles constitute one of the simplest prototypes of a multifunctional nanomaterial that can exhibit both magnetic and optical (plasmonic) properties. This solid solution, not feasible in the bulk phase diagram in thermal equilibrium, can be formed as a nanostructure by out-of-equilibrium processes. Here, the novel magnetic, optical and magneto-optical properties of ion-implanted Au-Fe solid solution nanoparticles dispersed in a SiO2 matrix are investigated and correlated. The surface plasmon resonance of the Au-Fe nanoparticles with almost equicomposition is strongly damped when compared to pure Au and to Au-rich Au-Fe nanoparticles. In all cases, the Au atoms are magnetically polarized, as measured by x-ray magnetic circular dichroism, and ferromagnetically coupled with Fe atoms. Although the chemical stability of Au-Fe nanoparticles is larger than that of Fe nanoparticles, both the magnetic moment per Fe atom and the order temperature are smaller. These results suggest that electronic and magnetic properties are more influenced by the hybridization of the electronic bands in the Au-Fe solid solution than by size effects. On the other hand, the magneto-optical transitions allowed in the vis-nIR spectral regions are very similar. In addition, we also observe, after studying the properties of thermally treated samples, that the Au-Fe alloy is stabilized, not by surface effects, but by the combination of the out-of-equilibrium nature of the ion implantation technique and by changes in the properties due to size effects.

Gyroscopic behavior exhibited by the optical Kerr effect in bimetallic Au–Pt nanoparticles suspended in ethanol

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fernández-Valdés, D.; Torres-Torres, C.; Martínez-González, C. L.; Trejo-Valdez, M.; Hernández-Gómez, L. H.; Torres-Martínez, R.

2016-01-01

The modification in the third-order nonlinear optical response exhibited by rotating bimetallic Au–Pt nanoparticles in an ethanol solution was analyzed. The samples were prepared by a sol–gel processing route. The anisotropy associated to the elemental composition of the nanoparticles was confirmed by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy measurements. The size of the nanoparticles varies in the range from 9 to 13 nm, with an average size of 11 nm. Changes in the spatial orientation of the nanomaterials automatically generated a variation in their plasmonic response evaluated by UV–Vis spectroscopy. A two-wave mixing experiment was conducted to explore an induced birefringence at 532 nm wavelength with nanosecond pulses interacting with the samples. A strong optical Kerr effect was identified to be the main responsible effect for the third-order nonlinear optical phenomenon exhibited by the nanoparticles. It was estimated that the rotation of inhomogeneous nanostructures can provide a remarkable change in the participation of different surface plasmon resonances, if they correspond to multimetallic nanoparticles. Potential applications for developing low-dimensional gyroscopic systems can be contemplated.

Gyroscopic behavior exhibited by the optical Kerr effect in bimetallic Au–Pt nanoparticles suspended in ethanol

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fernández-Valdés, D.; Torres-Torres, C., E-mail: ctorrest@ipn.mx, E-mail: crstorres@yahoo.com.mx; Martínez-González, C. L. [Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Sección de Estudios de Posgrado e Investigación, Escuela Superior de Ingeniería Mecánica y Eléctrica Unidad Zacatenco (Mexico); Trejo-Valdez, M. [Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Escuela Superior de Ingeniería Química e Industrias Extractivas (Mexico); Hernández-Gómez, L. H. [Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Sección de Estudios de Posgrado e Investigación, Escuela Superior de Ingeniería Mecánica y Eléctrica Unidad Zacatenco (Mexico); Torres-Martínez, R. [Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Centro de Investigación en Ciencia Aplicada y Tecnología Avanzada Unidad Querétaro (Mexico)

2016-07-15

The modification in the third-order nonlinear optical response exhibited by rotating bimetallic Au–Pt nanoparticles in an ethanol solution was analyzed. The samples were prepared by a sol–gel processing route. The anisotropy associated to the elemental composition of the nanoparticles was confirmed by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy measurements. The size of the nanoparticles varies in the range from 9 to 13 nm, with an average size of 11 nm. Changes in the spatial orientation of the nanomaterials automatically generated a variation in their plasmonic response evaluated by UV–Vis spectroscopy. A two-wave mixing experiment was conducted to explore an induced birefringence at 532 nm wavelength with nanosecond pulses interacting with the samples. A strong optical Kerr effect was identified to be the main responsible effect for the third-order nonlinear optical phenomenon exhibited by the nanoparticles. It was estimated that the rotation of inhomogeneous nanostructures can provide a remarkable change in the participation of different surface plasmon resonances, if they correspond to multimetallic nanoparticles. Potential applications for developing low-dimensional gyroscopic systems can be contemplated.

Enhanced optical output of InGaN/GaN near-ultraviolet light-emitting diodes by localized surface plasmon of colloidal silver nanoparticles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hong, Sang-Hyun; Kim, Jae-Joon; Jung, Yen-Sook; Kim, Dong-Yu; Park, Seong-Ju; Kang, Jang-Won; Yim, Sang-Youp

2015-01-01

We report on the characteristics of localized surface plasmon (LSP)-enhanced near-ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (NUV-LEDs) fabricated by using colloidal silver (Ag) nanoparticles (NPs). Colloidal Ag NPs were deposited on the 20 nm thick p-GaN spacer layer using a spray process. The optical output power of NUV-LEDs with colloidal Ag NPs was increased by 48.7% at 20 mA compared with NUV-LEDs without colloidal Ag NPs. The enhancement was attributed to increased internal quantum efficiency caused by the resonance coupling between excitons in the multiple quantum wells and the LSPs in the Ag NPs. (paper)

Chiral nanophotonics chiral optical properties of plasmonic systems

CERN Document Server

Schäferling, Martin

2017-01-01

This book describes the physics behind the optical properties of plasmonic nanostructures focusing on chiral aspects. It explains in detail how the geometry determines chiral near-fields and how to tailor their shape and strength. Electromagnetic fields with strong optical chirality interact strongly with chiral molecules and, therefore, can be used for enhancing the sensitivity of chiroptical spectroscopy techniques. Besides a short review of the latest results in the field of plasmonically enhanced enantiomer discrimination, this book introduces the concept of chiral plasmonic near-field sources for enhanced chiroptical spectroscopy. The discussion of the fundamental properties of these light sources provides the theoretical basis for further optimizations and is of interest for researchers at the intersection of nano-optics, plasmonics and stereochemistry. .

Progress in surface plasmon subwavelength optics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Douguo; Wang Pei; Jiao Xiaojin; Tang Lin; Lu Yonghua; Ming Hai

2005-01-01

Now great attention is being paid to the potential applications of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) in data storage, light generation, microscopy and bio-photonics. The authors review the properties of SPPs and topics of recent interest in surface plasmon subwavelength optics. (author)

Plasmonic reflectance anisotropy spectroscopy of metal nanoparticles on a semiconductor surface

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Comprehensive investigation of noble metal nanoparticles shape, size and material on the optical response of optimal plasmonic Y-splitter waveguides

Science.gov (United States)

Ahmadivand, Arash; Golmohammadi, Saeed

2014-01-01

With the purpose of guiding and splitting of optical power at C-band spectrum, we studied Y-shape splitters based on various shapes of nanoparticles as a plasmon waveguide. We applied different configurations of Gold (Au) and Silver (Ag) nanoparticles including spheres, rods and rings, to optimize the efficiency and losses of two and four-branch splitters. The best performance in light transportation specifically at telecom wavelength (λ≈1550 nm) is achieved by nanorings, due to an extra degree of freedom in their geometrical components. In addition, comparisons of several values for offset distance (doffset) of examined structures shows that Au nanoring splitters with feasible lower doffset have high quality in guiding and splitting of light through the structure. Finally, we studied four-branch Y-splitters based on Au and Ag nanorings with least possible offset distances to optimize the splitter performance. The power transmission as a key element is calculated for examined structures.

Three-dimensional plasmonic chiral tetramers assembled by DNA origami.

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Enhanced and Tunable Optical Quantum Efficiencies from Plasmon Bandwidth Engineering in Bimetallic CoAg Nanoparticles (Open Access Publisher’s Version)

Science.gov (United States)

2016-08-01

size for the Co-Ag systems . in Fig. 2(b). Fig. 2(c) compares the plasmon resonance energy and the bandwidth of the bimetallic systems as a function...nanoparticle shape and size effects on aluminum oxide-induced enhancement of exciton-plasmon coupling and quantum dot emission J. Appl. Phys. 118, 124302...thin film photovoltaics : A case-study on organic devices J. Appl. Phys. 116, 114510 (2014); 10.1063/1.4896167 Cascaded plasmon resonant field

Retardation effects on the dispersion and propagation of plasmons in metallic nanoparticle chains

Science.gov (United States)

Downing, Charles A.; Mariani, Eros; Weick, Guillaume

2018-01-01

We consider a chain of regularly-spaced spherical metallic nanoparticles, where each particle supports three degenerate localized surface plasmons. Due to the dipolar interaction between the nanoparticles, the localized plasmons couple to form extended collective modes. Using an open quantum system approach in which the collective plasmons are interacting with vacuum electromagnetic modes and which, importantly, readily incorporates retardation via the light-matter coupling, we analytically evaluate the resulting radiative frequency shifts of the plasmonic bandstructure. For subwavelength-sized nanoparticles, our analytical treatment provides an excellent quantitative agreement with the results stemming from laborious numerical calculations based on fully-retarded solutions to Maxwell’s equations. Indeed, the explicit expressions for the plasmonic spectrum which we provide showcase how including retardation gives rise to a logarithmic singularity in the bandstructure of transverse-polarized plasmons. We further study the impact of retardation effects on the propagation of plasmonic excitations along the chain. While for the longitudinal modes, retardation has a negligible effect, we find that the retarded dipolar interaction can significantly modify the plasmon propagation in the case of transverse-polarized modes. Moreover, our results elucidate the analogy between radiative effects in nanoplasmonic systems and the cooperative Lamb shift in atomic physics.

Optical cavity-assisted broadband optical transparency of a plasmonic metal film

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Zhengqi; Nie, Yiyou; Yuan, Wen; Liu, Xiaoshan; Huang, Shan; Gao, Huogui; Gu, Gang; Liu, Guiqiang; Chen, Jing

2015-01-01

We theoretically present a powerful method to achieve a continuous metal film structure with broadband optical transparency via introducing a dielectric Fabry–Pérot (FP) cavity. An incident optical field could be efficiently coupled and confined with the strong localized plasmons by the non-close-packed plasmonic crystal at the input part and could then become re-radiated output via the transmission channel supported by the dielectric cavity. The formed photonic-plasmonic system could therefore make the seamless metal film structure have a superior near-unity transparency (up to 97%) response and a broadband transparent spectrum with bandwidth >245 nm (with transmittance >90%) in the optical regime. The observed optical properties of the proposed structure can be highly tuned via varying the structural parameters. Based on the colloidal assembly method, the proposed plasmonic crystal can be fabricated in a large area. In addition, the achieved optical transparency can be retained in the extremely roughed metal film structure. Thereby, the findings could offer a feasible way to achieve a broadband transparent metal film structure and hold potential applications in transparent electrodes, touch screens and interactive electronics. (paper)

Plasmonic behaviour of phenylenediamine functionalised silver nanoparticles

Science.gov (United States)

Akmal Che Lah, Nurul; Samykano, Mahendran; Rafie Johan, Mohd; Syahierah Othman, Nuurul; Mawardi Saari, Mohd; Bey Fen, Leo; Zalikha Khalil, Nur

2017-09-01

The surface functionalisation of AgNPs has demonstrated improved capability for various applications by modifying their surface chemical conditions. In this study, AgNPs functionalised with p-phenylenediamine (PPD) ligand were prepared, and the plasmonic effects of the nanocomposites were then investigated. The synthesis and functionalisation of Ag nanocomposites were achieved through chemical modification reaction of naphthalene group through hydrothermal synthesis. The influence of the chemical modification reaction on the plasmonic behaviour and size variation were obtained via optical measurement techniques such as UV-visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis) for absorbance characteristic, photoluminescence for emission response and micro-Raman spectroscopy (MRS) for SERS study on the presence of regions containing AgNPs and PPD ligand. It was observed that the one-step process of deprotonation of the amino group on the aromatic rings gives the re-arrangement of the electron cloud towards the π-conjugated system. High-resolution transmission electron microscope (TEM) analysis showed the formation of the nanocomposites and the AgNPs (for ~4 and ~5 nm of diameter sizes) are well-dispersed over the PPD matrix. The nanocomposites are assembled into higher dimensional structures through coordination with functional PPD ligand and also increasing the PPD amount led to the increase in the surface area of the nanoparticles.

Sensitive plasmonic-photonic nanosensor as a morphologic mask

Science.gov (United States)

SalmanOgli, Ahmad; Salimi, Kouroush; Farhadnia, Farshad; Usta, Duygu Deniz

2017-08-01

In this study, a new nanosensor is assembled in the form of a phantom model to optically scan the breast for early cancer detection based on the plasmonic and plasmonic-photonic interaction phenomena. Sensing is carried out through a user-friendly method by improving imaging through the traditional optical tomography method. The novelty of the designed sensor is attributed to the coupling of the nanoparticle plasmonic near-field intensity to the far-field region (photonic mode interaction with the near-field plasmon resonance). It is shown that the plasmonic-photonic interaction has a dramatic influence on the gradient image and therefore, the edge detection and segmentation of the image are effectively altered. This is due to the fact that the plasmonic fields of the nanoparticles in the near- and far-field manipulate the field gradient, which leads to a modification of the intensity discontinuities at different interfaces. In fact, it is well-known that the fundamental idea behind edge detection is utilized to detect parts of the image where the intensity varies rapidly. Based on this knowledge, interestingly, it is shown that the segmentation and edge detection of the image are improved by the manipulating optical properties of the mask.

Near-field Spectroscopy of Surface Plasmons in Flat Gold Nanoparticles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Achermann, Marc; Shuford, Kevin L.; Schatz, George C.; Dahanayaka, D.H.; Bumm, Lloyd A; Klimov, Victor I.

2007-01-01

We use near-field interference spectroscopy with a broadband femtosecond, white-light probe to study local surface plasmon resonances in flat gold nanoparticles (FGNPs). Depending on nanoparticle dimensions, local near-field extinction spectra exhibit none, one, or two resonances in the range of visible wavelengths (1.6-2.6 eV). The measured spectra can be accurately described in terms of interference between the field emitted by the probe aperture and the field reradiated by driven FGNP surface plasmon oscillations. The measured resonances are in good agreement with those predicted by calculations using discrete dipole approximation. We observe that the amplitudes of these resonances are dependent upon the spatial position of the near-field probe, which indicates the possibility of spatially selective excitation of specific plasmon modes

Modeling molecular effects on plasmon transport: Silver nanoparticles with tartrazine

Science.gov (United States)

Arntsen, Christopher; Lopata, Kenneth; Wall, Michael R.; Bartell, Lizette; Neuhauser, Daniel

2011-02-01

Modulation of plasmon transport between silver nanoparticles by a yellow fluorophore, tartrazine, is studied theoretically. The system is studied by combining a finite-difference time-domain Maxwell treatment of the electric field and the plasmons with a time-dependent parameterized method number 3 simulation of the tartrazine, resulting in an effective Maxwell/Schrödinger (i.e., classical/quantum) method. The modeled system has three linearly arranged small silver nanoparticles with a radius of 2 nm and a center-to-center separation of 4 nm; the molecule is centered between the second and third nanoparticles. We initiate an x-polarized current on the first nanoparticle and monitor the transmission through the system. The molecule rotates much of the x-polarized current into the y-direction and greatly reduces the overall transmission of x-polarized current.

Angular plasmon response of gold nanoparticles arrays: approaching the Rayleigh limit

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marae-Djouda Joseph

2016-07-01

Full Text Available The regular arrangement of metal nanoparticles influences their plasmonic behavior. It has been previously demonstrated that the coupling between diffracted waves and plasmon modes can give rise to extremely narrow plasmon resonances. This is the case when the single-particle localized surface plasmon resonance (λLSP is very close in value to the Rayleigh anomaly wavelength (λRA of the nanoparticles array. In this paper, we performed angle-resolved extinction measurements on a 2D array of gold nano-cylinders designed to fulfil the condition λRA<λLSP. Varying the angle of excitation offers a unique possibility to finely modify the value of λRA, thus gradually approaching the condition of coupling between diffracted waves and plasmon modes. The experimental observation of a collective dipolar resonance has been interpreted by exploiting a simplified model based on the coupling of evanescent diffracted waves with plasmon modes. Among other plasmon modes, the measurement technique has also evidenced and allowed the study of a vertical plasmon mode, only visible in TM polarization at off-normal excitation incidence. The results of numerical simulations, based on the periodic Green’s tensor formalism, match well with the experimental transmission spectra and show fine details that could go unnoticed by considering only experimental data.

Plasmonic properties and enhanced fluorescence of gold and dye-doped silica nanoparticle aggregates

Science.gov (United States)

Green, Nathaniel Scott

scattering. Our aim is to promote heteroaggregation with functionalized silica nanoparticles while minimizing homoaggregation of silica-silica or gold-gold species. Reproducible production of multiple gold nanospheres about a dye-doped silica nanoparticle should lead to dramatic fluorescence brightness enhancements in solution. Gold nanorods can potentially be used to establish radiationless energy transfer between hetero dye-doped silica nanoparticles via gold nanorod plasmon mediated FRET by aggregating two different dye-doped silica nanoparticles preferentially at opposite ends of the nanorod. End-cap binding is accomplished by tuning the strength of gold binding ligands that functionalize the surface of the silica nanoparticles. The gold nanorod can then theoretically serve as a waveguide by employing the longitudinal plasmon as a non-radiative energy transfer agent between the two different fluorophores, giving rise to a new ultrafast signaling paradigm. Heteroaggregation of dye-doped silica nanoparticles and gold nanorods can be potentially employed to as nano waveguides. Construction and aggregation of functionalized silica and gold nano-materials provides an opportunity to advance the field of fluorescence. The synthesis of gold nano-particles allows control over their size and shape, which give rise to useful optical and electronic properties. Silica nanoparticles provide a framework allowing control over a requisite distance for increasing beneficial and deceasing non-radiative dye-metal interactions as well fluorophore protection. Our aim is to take advantage of fine-tuned synthetic control of functionalized nanomaterials to realize the great potential of solution based metal-enhanced fluorescence for future applications.

Evanescent waves in optics an introduction to plasmonics

CERN Document Server

Bertolotti, Mario; M Guzman, Angela

2017-01-01

This monograph provides an introductory discussion of evanescent waves and plasmons, describes their properties and uses, and shows how they are fundamental when operating with nanoscale optics. Far field optics is not suitable for the design, description, and operation of devices at this nanometre scale. Instead one must work with models based on near-field optics and surface evanescent waves. The new discipline of plasmonics has grown to encompass the generation and application of plasmons both as a travelling excitation in a nanostructure and as a stationary enhancement of the electrical field near metal nanosurfaces. The book begins with a brief review of the basic concepts of electromagnetism, then introduces evanescent waves through reflection and refraction, and shows how they appear in diffraction problems, before discussing the role that they play in optical waveguides and sensors. The application of evanescent waves in super-resolution devices is briefly presented, before plasmons are introduced. Th...

Harvesting multiple electron-hole pairs generated through plasmonic excitation of Au nanoparticles.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Youngsoo; Smith, Jeremy G; Jain, Prashant K

2018-05-07

Multi-electron redox reactions, although central to artificial photosynthesis, are kinetically sluggish. Amidst the search for synthetic catalysts for such processes, plasmonic nanoparticles have been found to catalyse multi-electron reduction of CO 2 under visible light. This example motivates the need for a general, insight-driven framework for plasmonic catalysis of such multi-electron chemistry. Here, we elucidate the principles underlying the extraction of multiple redox equivalents from a plasmonic photocatalyst. We measure the kinetics of electron harvesting from a gold nanoparticle photocatalyst as a function of photon flux. Our measurements, supported by theoretical modelling, reveal a regime where two-electron transfer from the excited gold nanoparticle becomes prevalent. Multiple electron harvesting becomes possible under continuous-wave, visible-light excitation of moderate intensity due to strong interband transitions in gold and electron-hole separation accomplished using a hole scavenger. These insights will help expand the utility of plasmonic photocatalysis beyond CO 2 reduction to other challenging multi-electron, multi-proton transformations such as N 2 fixation.

Plasmonic light-sensitive skins of nanocrystal monolayers

Science.gov (United States)

Akhavan, Shahab; Gungor, Kivanc; Mutlugun, Evren; Demir, Hilmi Volkan

2013-04-01

We report plasmonically coupled light-sensitive skins of nanocrystal monolayers that exhibit sensitivity enhancement and spectral range extension with plasmonic nanostructures embedded in their photosensitive nanocrystal platforms. The deposited plasmonic silver nanoparticles of the device increase the optical absorption of a CdTe nanocrystal monolayer incorporated in the device. Controlled separation of these metallic nanoparticles in the vicinity of semiconductor nanocrystals enables optimization of the photovoltage buildup in the proposed nanostructure platform. The enhancement factor was found to depend on the excitation wavelength. We observed broadband sensitivity improvement (across 400-650 nm), with a 2.6-fold enhancement factor around the localized plasmon resonance peak. The simulation results were found to agree well with the experimental data. Such plasmonically enhanced nanocrystal skins hold great promise for large-area UV/visible sensing applications.

Plasmon-enhanced absorption in a metal nanoparticles and photosynthetic molecules hybrid system

Science.gov (United States)

Fan, Zhiyuan; Govorov, Alexander

2010-03-01

Photosystem I from cyanobacteria is one of nature's most efficient light harvesting complexes, converting light energy into electronic energy with a quantum yield of 100% and an energy yield about 58%. It is very attractive to the nanotechnology community because of its nanoscale dimensions and excellent optoelectronic properties. This protein has the potential to be utilized in devices such as solar cells, electric switches, photo-detectors, etc. However, there is one limiting factor for potential applications of a single monolayer of these photosynthetic proteins. One monolayer absorbs less than 1% of sunlight's energy, despite their excellent optoelectronic properties. Recently, experiments [1] have been conducted to enhance light absorption with the assistance of metal nanoparticles as artificial antenna for the photosystem I. Here, we present a theoretical description of the strong plasmon-assisted interactions between the metal nanoparticles and the optical dipoles of the reaction centers observed in the experiments. The resonance and off-resonance plasmon effects enhance the electromagnetic fields around the photosystem-I molecules and, in this way, lead to enhanced absorption. [4pt] [1] I. Carmeli, I. Lieberman, L. Kraversky, Zhiyuan Fan, A. O. Govorov, G. Markovich, and S. Richter, submitted.

Multimodal Magnetic-Plasmonic Nanoparticles for Biomedical Applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shelley Stafford

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Magnetic plasmonic nanomaterials are of great interest in the field of biomedicine due to their vast number of potential applications, for example, in molecular imaging, photothermal therapy, magnetic hyperthermia and as drug delivery vehicles. The multimodal nature of these nanoparticles means that they are potentially ideal theranostic agents—i.e., they can be used both as therapeutic and diagnostic tools. This review details progress in the field of magnetic-plasmonic nanomaterials over the past ten years, focusing on significant developments that have been made and outlining the future work that still needs to be done in this fast emerging area. The review describes the main synthetic approaches to each type of magnetic plasmonic nanomaterial and the potential biomedical applications of these hybrid nanomaterials.

Control of light scattering by nanoparticles with optically-induced magnetic responses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Wei; Miroshnichenko, Andrey E.; Kivshar, Yuri S.

2014-01-01

Conventional approaches to control and shape the scattering patterns of light generated by different nanostructures are mostly based on engineering of their electric response due to the fact that most metallic nanostructures support only electric resonances in the optical frequency range. Recently, fuelled by the fast development in the fields of metamaterials and plasmonics, artificial optically-induced magnetic responses have been demonstrated for various nanostructures. This kind of response can be employed to provide an extra degree of freedom for the efficient control and shaping of the scattering patterns of nanoparticles and nanoantennas. Here we review the recent progress in this research direction of nanoparticle scattering shaping and control through the interference of both electric and optically-induced magnetic responses. We discuss the magnetic resonances supported by various structures in different spectral regimes, and then summarize the original results on the scattering shaping involving both electric and magnetic responses, based on the interference of both spectrally separated (with different resonant wavelengths) and overlapped dipoles (with the same resonant wavelength), and also other higher-order modes. Finally, we discuss the scattering control utilizing Fano resonances associated with the magnetic responses. (topical review - plasmonics and metamaterials)

Controlled in situ growth of tunable plasmonic self-assembled nanoparticle arrays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Verre, R; Fleischer, K; McGilp, J F; Fox, D; Behan, G; Zhang, H; Shvets, I V

2012-01-01

Self-assembled silver nanoparticle (NP) arrays were produced by deposition at glancing angles on transparent stepped Al 2 O 3 templates. The evolution of the plasmonic resonances has been monitored using reflection anisotropy spectroscopy (RAS) during growth. It is demonstrated that the morphology of the array can be tailored by changing the template structure, resulting in a large tunability of the optical resonances. In order to extract detailed information on the origin of the measured dichroic response of the system, a model based on dipolar interactions has been developed and the effect of tarnishing and morphological dispersion addressed. (paper)

Nonlinear bleaching, absorption, and scattering of 532-nm-irradiated plasmonic nanoparticles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liberman, V.; Sworin, M.; Kingsborough, R. P.; Geurtsen, G. P.; Rothschild, M.

2013-01-01

Single-pulse irradiation of Au and Ag suspensions of nanospheres and nanodisks with 532-nm 4-ns pulses has identified complex optical nonlinearities while minimizing material damage. For all materials tested, we observe competition between saturable absorption (SA) and reverse SA (RSA), with RSA behavior dominating for intensities above ∼50 MW/cm 2 . Due to reduced laser damage in single-pulse experiments, the observed intrinsic nonlinear absorption coefficients are the highest reported to date for Au nanoparticles. We find size dependence to the nonlinear absorption enhancement for Au nanoparticles, peaking in magnitude for 80-nm nanospheres and falling off at larger sizes. The nonlinear absorption coefficients for Au and Ag spheres are comparable in magnitude. On the other hand, the nonlinear absorption for Ag disks, when corrected for volume fraction, is several times higher. These trends in nonlinear absorption are correlated to local electric field enhancement through quasi-static mean-field theory. Through variable size aperture measurements, we also separate nonlinear scattering from nonlinear absorption. For all materials tested, we find that nonlinear scattering is highly directional and that its magnitude is comparable to that of nonlinear absorption. These results indicate methods to improve the efficacy of plasmonic nanoparticles as optical limiters in pulsed laser systems.

Plasmon-Based Colorimetric Nanosensors for Ultrasensitive Molecular Diagnostics.

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, Longhua; Li, Jinghong

2017-07-28

Colorimetric detection of target analytes with high specificity and sensitivity is of fundamental importance to clinical and personalized point-of-care diagnostics. Because of their extraordinary optical properties, plasmonic nanomaterials have been introduced into colorimetric sensing systems, which provide significantly improved sensitivity in various biosensing applications. Here we review the recent progress on these plasmonic nanoparticles-based colorimetric nanosensors for ultrasensitive molecular diagnostics. According to their different colorimetric signal generation mechanisms, these plasmonic nanosensors are classified into two categories: (1) interparticle distance-dependent colorimetric assay based on target-induced forming cross-linking assembly/aggregate of plasmonic nanoparticles; and (2) size/morphology-dependent colorimetric assay by target-controlled growth/etching of the plasmonic nanoparticles. The sensing fundamentals and cutting-edge applications will be provided for each of them, particularly focusing on signal generation and/or amplification mechanisms that realize ultrasensitive molecular detection. Finally, we also discuss the challenge and give our future perspective in this emerging field.

A nonlinear plasmonic resonator for three-state all-optical switching

KAUST Repository

Amin, Muhammad

2014-01-01

A nonlinear plasmonic resonator design is proposed for three-state all-optical switching at frequencies including near infrared and lower red parts of the spectrum. The tri-stable response required for three-state operation is obtained by enhancing nonlinearities of a Kerr medium through multiple (higher order) plasmons excited on resonator\\'s metallic surfaces. Indeed, simulations demonstrate that exploitation of multiple plasmons equips the proposed resonator with a multi-band tri-stable response, which cannot be obtained using existing nonlinear plasmonic devices that make use of single mode Lorentzian resonances. Multi-band three-state optical switching that can be realized using the proposed resonator has potential applications in optical communications and computing. © 2014 Optical Society of America.

A nonlinear plasmonic resonator for three-state all-optical switching

KAUST Repository

Amin, Muhammad; Farhat, Mohamed; Bagci, Hakan

2014-01-01

A nonlinear plasmonic resonator design is proposed for three-state all-optical switching at frequencies including near infrared and lower red parts of the spectrum. The tri-stable response required for three-state operation is obtained by enhancing nonlinearities of a Kerr medium through multiple (higher order) plasmons excited on resonator's metallic surfaces. Indeed, simulations demonstrate that exploitation of multiple plasmons equips the proposed resonator with a multi-band tri-stable response, which cannot be obtained using existing nonlinear plasmonic devices that make use of single mode Lorentzian resonances. Multi-band three-state optical switching that can be realized using the proposed resonator has potential applications in optical communications and computing. © 2014 Optical Society of America.

Nanoparticle array based optical frequency selective surfaces: theory and design.

Science.gov (United States)

Saeidi, Chiya; van der Weide, Daniel

2013-07-01

We demonstrate a synthesis procedure for designing a bandstop optical frequency selective surface (FSS) composed of nanoparticle (NP) elements. The proposed FSS uses two-dimensional (2-D) periodic arrays of NPs with subwavelength unit-cell dimensions. We derive equivalent circuit for a nanoparticle array (NPA) using the closed-form solution for a 2-D NPA excited by a plane wave in the limit of the dipole approximation, which includes contribution from both individual and collective plasmon modes. Using the extracted equivalent circuit, we demonstrate synthesis of an optical FSS using cascaded NPA layers as coupled resonators, which we validate with both circuit model and full-wave simulation for a third-order Butterworth bandstop prototype.

Investigation of thermo-optical characteristics of the interaction processes of laser radiation with silver nanoparticles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pustovalov, V K; Astafyeva, L G

2013-01-01

Metallic nanoparticles have been actively investigated in recent years by different optical and laser methods with the purpose of their applications in optoelectronics and photonics, chemistry, laser nanobiomedicine, optical diagnostics, and other fields. A major role among metallic nanoparticles is played by nanoparticles from the noble metals (silver, gold, etc). These particles have unique plasmonic properties (resonances in the range of wavelength 400–540 nm), which can be used for the absorption, scattering and transformation of laser energy. Analysis of the thermo-optical characteristics of the interaction processes of laser radiation with silver nanoparticles is carried out, taking into account absorption, scattering and extinction of laser radiation by nanoparticles, as well as the thermo-optical and other properties of nanoparticles. Estimations are made of the influence of these nanoparticle properties on the possible results of laser radiation interaction with silver nanoparticles, including heating, heat exchange, possible melting and evaporation, and processes in the ambient media. These results can be used in laser processing of silver nanoparticles and their applications in laser nanomedicine. (paper)

Compact plasmonic variable optical attenuator

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Leosson, Kristjan; Rosenzveig, Tiberiu; Hermannsson, Pétur Gordon

2008-01-01

We demonstrate plasmonic nanowire-based thermo-optic variable optical attenuators operating in the 1525-1625 nm wavelength range. The devices have a footprint as low as 1 mm, extinction ratio exceeding 40 dB, driving voltage below 3 V, and full modulation bandwidth of 1 kHz. The polarization...

Plasmon-enhanced scattering and charge transfer in few-layer graphene interacting with buried printed 2D-pattern of silver nanoparticles

Science.gov (United States)

Carles, R.; Bayle, M.; Bonafos, C.

2018-04-01

Hybrid structures combing silver nanoparticles and few-layer graphene have been synthetized by combining low-energy ion beam synthesis and stencil techniques. A single plane of metallic nanoparticles plays the role of an embedded plasmonic enhancer located in dedicated areas at a controlled nanometer distance from deposited graphene layers. Optical imaging, reflectance and Raman scattering mapping are used to measure the enhancement of electronic and vibrational properties of these layers. In particular electronic Raman scattering is shown as notably efficient to analyze the optical transfer of charge carriers between the systems and the presence of intrinsic and extrinsic defects.

Optical properties of supported core-shell and alloy silver/gold nanoparticles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hubenthal, Frank; Traeger, Frank [Universitaet Kassel (Germany)

2008-07-01

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 core-shell and alloy nanoparticles consisting of Ag and Au. The core-shell nanoparticles were made by subsequent deposition of Ag and Au atoms and vice versa on dielectric substrates followed by diffusion and nucleation. One of the most interesting among the numerous results is that the plasmon frequency can be tuned from 2.8 eV (442 nm) to 2.1 eV (590 nm) depending on the Au shell thickness. Subsequent 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 formation of alloy nanoparticles. Finally, we have measured the dephasing time T{sub 2} of the alloy nanoparticles by means of spectral hole burning. T{sub 2} amounts to 8.1{+-}1.6 fs, in good agreement with the dephasing time T{sub 2}=8.9 fs that is included in the dielectric function of the bulk.

Plasmonic properties of gold nanoparticles on silicon substrates: Understanding Fano-like spectra observed in reflection

Science.gov (United States)

Bossard-Giannesini, Léo; Cruguel, Hervé; Lacaze, Emmanuelle; Pluchery, Olivier

2016-09-01

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are known for their localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) that can be measured with UV-visible spectroscopy. AuNPs are often deposited on silicon substrates for various applications, and the LSPR is measured in reflection. In this case, optical spectra are measured by surface differential reflectance spectroscopy (SDRS) and the absorbance exhibits a negative peak. This article studies both experimentally and theoretically on the single layers of 16 nm diameter spherical gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) grafted on silicon. The morphology and surface density of AuNPs were investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The plasmon response in transmission on the glass substrate and in reflection on the silicon substrate is described by an analytical model based on the Fresnel equations and the Maxwell-Garnett effective medium theory (FMG). The FMG model shows a strong dependence to the incidence angle of the light. At low incident angles, the peak appears negatively with a shallow intensity, and at angles above 30°, the usual positive shape of the plasmon is retrieved. The relevance of the FMG model is compared to the Mie theory within the dipolar approximation. We conclude that no Fano effect is responsible for this derivative shape. An easy-to-use formula is derived that agrees with our experimental data.

Optical properties of Au colloids self-organized into rings via copolymer templates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lamarre, S. S. [Laval University, Department of Chemistry (Canada); Sarrazin, A.; Proust, J.; Yockell-Lelievre, H.; Plain, J. [University of Technology of Troyes, Laboratory of Nanotechnology, Instrumentation and Optics, Charles Delaunay Institute (France); Ritcey, A. M. [Laval University, Department of Chemistry (Canada); Maurer, T., E-mail: thomas.maurer@utt.fr [University of Technology of Troyes, Laboratory of Nanotechnology, Instrumentation and Optics, Charles Delaunay Institute (France)

2013-05-15

The investigation of the localized surface plasmon resonance for plasmonic nanoparticles has opened new perspectives for optical nanosensors. Nowadays, an issue in plasmonics is the development of large scale and low cost devices. We focus here on the Langmuir-Blodgett technique to self-organize gold nanoparticles ({approx}7 nm) into rings ({approx}60 nm) via polystyrene-b-polymethylmethacrylate templates. In particular, we investigated the optical properties of organized gold nanoparticle rings over large areas and report experimental evidence for plasmon resonances of both individual nanoparticles and collective modes. This paves the way for designing devices with multiple resonances in the visible-infra-red spectrum and developing optical sensors.

Multipole plasmons and their disappearance in few-nanometre silver nanoparticles

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Raza, Søren; Kadkhodazadeh, Shima; Christensen, Thomas

2015-01-01

to play a role. Here, applying electron energy-loss spectroscopy to individual silver nanoparticles encapsulated in silicon nitride, we observe besides the usual dipole resonance an additional surface plasmon resonance corresponding to higher angular momenta for nanoparticle radii as small as 4 nm. We...

PAME: plasmonic assay modeling environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adam Hughes

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Plasmonic assays are an important class of optical sensors that measure biomolecular interactions in real-time without the need for labeling agents, making them especially well-suited for clinical applications. Through the incorporation of nanoparticles and fiberoptics, these sensing systems have been successfully miniaturized and show great promise for in-situ probing and implantable devices, yet it remains challenging to derive meaningful, quantitative information from plasmonic responses. This is in part due to a lack of dedicated modeling tools, and therefore we introduce PAME, an open-source Python application for modeling plasmonic systems of bulk and nanoparticle-embedded metallic films. PAME combines aspects of thin-film solvers, nanomaterials and fiber-optics into an intuitive graphical interface. Some of PAME’s features include a simulation mode, a database of hundreds of materials, and an object-oriented framework for designing complex nanomaterials, such as a gold nanoparticles encased in a protein shell. An overview of PAME’s theory and design is presented, followed by example simulations of a fiberoptic refractometer, as well as protein binding to a multiplexed sensor composed of a mixed layer of gold and silver colloids. These results provide new insights into observed responses in reflectance biosensors.

Plasmon-enhanced second harmonic generation in semiconductor quantum dots close to metal nanoparticles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrea V. Bragas

2011-03-01

Full Text Available We report the enhancement of the optical second harmonic signal in non-centrosymmetric semiconductor CdS quantum dots, when they are placed in close contact with isolated silver nanoparticles. The intensity enhancement is about 1000. We also show that the enhancement increases when the incoming laser frequency $omega$ is tuned toward the spectral position of the silver plasmon at $2omega$, proving that the silver nanoparticle modifies the nonlinear emission.Received: 8 March 2011, Accepted: 30 May 2011; Edited by: L. Viña; Reviewed by: R. Gordon, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada; DOI: 10.4279/PIP.030002Cite as: P. M. Jais, C. von Bilderling, A. V. Bragas, Papers in Physics 3, 030002 (2011

The optical absorption of metal nanoparticles deposited on ZnO films

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Remeš, Zdeněk; Kromka, Alexander; Vaněček, Milan; Babchenko, Oleg; Stuchlíková, The-Ha; Červenka, Jiří; Hruška, Karel; Trung, T. Q.

2010-01-01

Roč. 207, č. 7 (2010), s. 1722-1725 ISSN 1862-6300 R&D Projects: GA MŠk LC510 EU Projects: European Commission(XE) 19670 - ATHLET Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10100521 Keywords : metal nanoparticles * morphology * optical properties * plasmons * ZnO Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 1.458, year: 2010

Orientational imaging of a single plasmonic nanoparticle using dark-field hyperspectral imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Mehta, Nishir; Mahigir, Amirreza; Veronis, Georgios; Gartia, Manas Ranjan

2017-08-01

Orientation of plasmonic nanostructures is an important feature in many nanoscale applications such as catalyst, biosensors DNA interactions, protein detections, hotspot of surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), and fluorescence resonant energy transfer (FRET) experiments. However, due to diffraction limit, it is challenging to obtain the exact orientation of the nanostructure using standard optical microscope. Hyperspectral Imaging Microscopy is a state-of-the-art visualization technology that combines modern optics with hyperspectral imaging and computer system to provide the identification and quantitative spectral analysis of nano- and microscale structures. In this work, initially we use transmitted dark field imaging technique to locate single nanoparticle on a glass substrate. Then we employ hyperspectral imaging technique at the same spot to investigate orientation of single nanoparticle. No special tagging or staining of nanoparticle has been done, as more likely required in traditional microscopy techniques. Different orientations have been identified by carefully understanding and calibrating shift in spectral response from each different orientations of similar sized nanoparticles. Wavelengths recorded are between 300 nm to 900 nm. The orientations measured by hyperspectral microscopy was validated using finite difference time domain (FDTD) electrodynamics calculations and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. The combination of high resolution nanometer-scale imaging techniques and the modern numerical modeling capacities thus enables a meaningful advance in our knowledge of manipulating and fabricating shaped nanostructures. This work will advance our understanding of the behavior of small nanoparticle clusters useful for sensing, nanomedicine, and surface sciences.

Tailoring optical complex field with spiral blade plasmonic vortex lens

Science.gov (United States)

Rui, Guanghao; Zhan, Qiwen; Cui, Yiping

2015-01-01

Optical complex fields have attracted increasing interests because of the novel effects and phenomena arising from the spatially inhomogeneous state of polarizations and optical singularities of the light beam. In this work, we propose a spiral blade plasmonic vortex lens (SBPVL) that offers unique opportunities to manipulate these novel fields. The strong interaction between the SBPVL and the optical complex fields enable the synthesis of highly tunable plasmonic vortex. Through theoretical derivations and numerical simulations we demonstrated that the characteristics of the plasmonic vortex are determined by the angular momentum (AM) of the light, and the geometrical topological charge of the SBPVL, which is govern by the nonlinear superposition of the pitch and the number of blade element. In addition, it is also shown that by adjusting the geometric parameters, SBPVL can be utilized to focus and manipulate optical complex field with fractional AM. This miniature plasmonic device may find potential applications in optical trapping, optical data storage and many other related fields. PMID:26335894

Near-unity transparency of a continuous metal film via cooperative effects of double plasmonic arrays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Zhengqi; Liu Guiqiang; Liu Xiaoshan; Huang Kuan; Chen Yuanhao; Fu Guolan; Zhou Haiqing

2013-01-01

Metal structures with high optical transparency and conductivity are of great importance for practical applications in optoelectronic devices. Here we investigate the transparency response of a continuous metal film sandwiched by double plasmonic nanoparticle arrays. The upper nanoparticle array shows efficient light trapping of the incident field, acting as a light input coupler, and the lower nanoparticle array shows a light release gate opening at the other side, acting as the light output coupler. The strong near-field light–matter interactions of the nano-scale separated plasmonic nanoparticles, the excitation of surface plasmon waves of the metal film, and their cooperative coupling effects result in broadband scattering cancellation and near-unity transparency (up to 96%) in the optical regime. The transparency response in such a structure can be efficiently modified by varying the gap distance of adjacent nanoparticles, dielectric environments, and the distance between the plasmonic array and the metal film. This motif may provide a new alternative approach to obtain transparent and highly conducting metal structures with potential applications in transparent conductors, plasmonic filters, and highly integrated light input and output components. (paper)

Electromagnetic field enhancement and spectrum shaping through plasmonically integrated optical vortices.

Science.gov (United States)

Ahn, Wonmi; Boriskina, Svetlana V; Hong, Yan; Reinhard, Björn M

2012-01-11

We introduce a new design approach for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) substrates that is based on molding the optical powerflow through a sequence of coupled nanoscale optical vortices "pinned" to rationally designed plasmonic nanostructures, referred to as Vortex Nanogear Transmissions (VNTs). We fabricated VNTs composed of Au nanodiscs by electron beam lithography on quartz substrates and characterized their near- and far-field responses through combination of computational electromagnetism, and elastic and inelastic scattering spectroscopy. Pronounced dips in the far-field scattering spectra of VNTs provide experimental evidence for an efficient light trapping and circulation within the nanostructures. Furthermore, we demonstrate that VNT integration into periodic arrays of Au nanoparticles facilitates the generation of high E-field enhancements in the VNTs at multiple defined wavelengths. We show that spectrum shaping in nested VNT structures is achieved through an electromagnetic feed-mechanism driven by the coherent multiple scattering in the plasmonic arrays and that this process can be rationally controlled by tuning the array period. The ability to generate high E-field enhancements at predefined locations and frequencies makes nested VNTs interesting substrates for challenging SERS applications. © 2011 American Chemical Society

Gold Nanoparticles with Externally Controlled, Reversible Shifts of Local Surface Plasmon Resonance Bands

Science.gov (United States)

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

Surface plasmon resonances, optical properties, and electrical conductivity thermal hystersis of silver nanofibers produced by the electrospinning technique.

Science.gov (United States)

Barakat, Nasser A M; Woo, Kee-Do; Kanjwal, Muzafar A; Choi, Kyung Eun; Khil, Myung Seob; Kim, Hak Yong

2008-10-21

In the present study, silver metal nanofibers have been successfully prepared by using the electrospinning technique. Silver nanofibers have been produced by electrospinning a sol-gel consisting of poly(vinyl alcohol) and silver nitrate. The dried nanofiber mats have been calcined at 850 degrees C in an argon atmosphere. The produced nanofibers do have distinct plasmon resonance compared with the reported silver nanoparticles. Contrary to the introduced shapes of silver nanoparticles, the nanofibers have a blue-shifted plasmon resonance at 330 nm. Moreover, the optical properties study indicated that the synthesized nanofibers have two band gap energies of 0.75 and 2.34 eV. An investigation of the electrical conductivity behavior of the obtained nanofibers shows thermal hystersis. These privileged physical features greatly widen the applications of the prepared nanofibers in various fields.

Deposition of plasmon gold–fluoropolymer nanocomposites

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Safonov, Alexey I., E-mail: safonov@itp.nsc.ru [Kutateladze Institute of Thermophysics SB RAS, Lavrentyev Ave. 1, 630090, Novosibirsk (Russian Federation); Sulyaeva, Veronica S. [Nikolaev Institute of Inorganic Chemistry SB RAS, Lavrentyev Ave. 3, 630090, Novosibirsk (Russian Federation); Timoshenko, Nikolay I.; Kubrak, Konstantin V.; Starinskiy, Sergey V. [Kutateladze Institute of Thermophysics SB RAS, Lavrentyev Ave. 1, 630090, Novosibirsk (Russian Federation)

2016-12-01

Degradation-resistant two-dimensional metal–fluoropolymer composites consisting of gold nanoparticles coated with a thin fluoropolymer film were deposited on a substrate by hot wire chemical vapour deposition (HWCVD) and ion sputtering. The morphology and optical properties of the obtained coatings were determined. The thickness of the thin fluoropolymer film was found to influence the position of the surface plasmon resonance peak. Numerical calculations of the optical properties of the deposited materials were performed using Mie theory and the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. The calculation results are consistent with the experimental data. The study shows that the position of the resonance peak can be controlled by changing the surface concentration of particles and the thickness of the fluoropolymer coating. The protective coating was found to prevent the plasmonic properties of the nanoparticles from changing for several months. - Highlights: • The gold–fluoropolymer composites are obtained by a combination of GJD and HWCVD. • The optical properties of composites were determined by experiments and calculation. • The dependence of SPR position on filling, NPs size and FP thickness were analyzed. • The plasmonic properties of the Au NPs are saved in the fluoropolymer matrix.

Optical Properties of Complex Plasmonic Materials Studied with Extended Effective Medium Theories Combined with Rigorous Coupled Wave Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elie Nadal

2018-02-01

Full Text Available In this study we fabricate gold nanocomposites and model their optical properties. The nanocomposites are either homogeneous films or gratings containing gold nanoparticles embedded in a polymer matrix. The samples are fabricated using a recently developed technique making use of laser interferometry. The gratings present original plasmon-enhanced diffraction properties. In this work, we develop a new approach to model the optical properties of our composites. We combine the extended Maxwell–Garnett model of effective media with the Rigorous Coupled Wave Analysis (RCWA method and compute both the absorption spectra and the diffraction efficiency spectra of the gratings. We show that such a semi-analytical approach allows us to reproduce the original plasmonic features of the composites and can provide us with details about their inner structure. Such an approach, considering reasonably high particle concentrations, could be a simple and efficient tool to study complex micro-structured system based on plasmonic components, such as metamaterials.

Probing surface plasmons in individual Ag nanoparticles in the ultra-violet spectral regime.

Science.gov (United States)

Chu, Ming-Wen; Sharma, Pradeep; Chang, Ching-Pin; Liou, Sz Chian; Tsai, Kun-Tong; Wang, Juen-Kai; Wang, Yuh-Lin; Chen, Cheng Hsuan

2009-06-10

Previous investigations of surface plasmons in Ag largely focused on their excitations in the visible spectral regime. Using scanning transmission electron microscopy with an electron beam of 0.2 nm in conjunction with electron energy-loss spectroscopy, we spectrally and spatially probe the surface plasmons in individual Ag nanoparticles (approximately 30 nm), grown on Si, in the ultra-violet spectral regime. The nanomaterials show respective sharp and broad surface-plasmon resonances at approximately 3.5 eV (approximately 355 nm) and approximately 7.0 eV (approximately 177 nm), and the correlated spectral calculations established their multipolar characteristics. The near-field distributions of the surface plasmons on the nanoparticles were also mapped out, revealing the predominant dipolar nature of the 3.5 eV excitation with obvious near-field enhancements at one end of the nano-object. The unveiled near-field enhancements have potential applications in plasmonics and molecular sensing.

Probing surface plasmons in individual Ag nanoparticles in the ultra-violet spectral regime

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chu, M-W; Chang, C-P; Liou, S C; Wang, J-K; Chen, C H; Sharma, Pradeep; Tsai, K-T; Wang, Y-L

2009-01-01

Previous investigations of surface plasmons in Ag largely focused on their excitations in the visible spectral regime. Using scanning transmission electron microscopy with an electron beam of 0.2 nm in conjunction with electron energy-loss spectroscopy, we spectrally and spatially probe the surface plasmons in individual Ag nanoparticles (∼30 nm), grown on Si, in the ultra-violet spectral regime. The nanomaterials show respective sharp and broad surface-plasmon resonances at ∼3.5 eV (∼355 nm) and ∼7.0 eV (∼177 nm), and the correlated spectral calculations established their multipolar characteristics. The near-field distributions of the surface plasmons on the nanoparticles were also mapped out, revealing the predominant dipolar nature of the 3.5 eV excitation with obvious near-field enhancements at one end of the nano-object. The unveiled near-field enhancements have potential applications in plasmonics and molecular sensing.

Electron photoemission in plasmonic nanoparticle arrays: analysis of collective resonances and embedding effects

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhukovsky, Sergei V.; Babicheva, Viktoriia; Uskov, Alexander

2014-01-01

We theoretically study the characteristics of photoelectron emission in plasmonic nanoparticle arrays. Nanoparticles are partially embedded in a semiconductor, forming Schottky barriers at metal/semiconductor interfaces through which photoelectrons can tunnel from the nanoparticle...... into the semiconductor; photodetection in the infrared range, where photon energies are below the semiconductor band gap (insufficient for band-to-band absorption in semiconductor), is therefore possible. The nanoparticles are arranged in a sparse rectangular lattice so that the wavelength of the lattice......-induced Rayleigh anomalies can overlap the wavelength of the localized surface plasmon resonance of the individual particles, bringing about collective effects from the nanoparticle array. Using full-wave numerical simulations, we analyze the effects of lattice constant, embedding depth, and refractive index step...

The substrate effect in electron energy-loss spectroscopy of localized surface plasmons in gold and silver nanoparticles

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kadkhodazadeh, Shima; Christensen, Thomas; Beleggia, Marco

2017-01-01

, as in optical measurements, the substrate material can modify the acquired signal. Here, we have investigated how the EELS signal recorded from supported silver and gold spheroidal nanoparticles at different electron beam impact parameter positions is affected by the choice of a dielectric substrate material...... and thickness. Consistent with previous optical studies, the presence of a dielectric substrate is found to redshift localized surface plasmons, increase their line-widths, and lead to increased prominence of higher order modes. The extent of these modifications heightens with increasing substrate permittivity...

Electrically Excited Plasmonic Nanoruler for Biomolecule Detection.

Science.gov (United States)

Dathe, André; Ziegler, Mario; Hübner, Uwe; Fritzsche, Wolfgang; Stranik, Ondrej

2016-09-14

Plasmon-based sensors are excellent tools for a label-free detection of small biomolecules. An interesting group of such sensors are plasmonic nanorulers that rely on the plasmon hybridization upon modification of their morphology to sense nanoscale distances. Sensor geometries based on the interaction of plasmons in a flat metallic layer together with metal nanoparticles inherit unique advantages but need a special optical excitation configuration that is not easy to miniaturize. Herein, we introduce the concept of nanoruler excitation by direct, electrically induced generation of surface plasmons based on the quantum shot noise of tunneling currents. An electron tunneling junction consisting of a metal-dielectric-semiconductor heterostructure is directly incorporated into the nanoruler basic geometry. With the application of voltage on this modified nanoruler, the plasmon modes are directly excited without any additional optical component as a light source. We demonstrate via several experiments that this electrically driven nanoruler possesses similar properties as an optically exited one and confirm its sensing capabilities by the detection of the binding of small biomolecules such as antibodies. This new sensing principle could open the way to a new platform of highly miniaturized, integrated plasmonic sensors compatible with monolithic integrated circuits.

Synthesis, characterization and optical properties of gelatin doped with silver nanoparticles

Science.gov (United States)

Mahmoud, K. H.; Abbo, M.

2013-12-01

In this study, silver nanoparticles were synthesized by chemical reduction of silver salt (AgNO3) solution. Formation of nanoparticles was confirmed by UV-visible spectrometry. The surface plasmon resonance peak is located at 430 nm. Doping of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) with gelatin biopolymer was studied. The silver content in the polymer matrix was in the range of 0.4-1 wt%. The formation of nanoparticles disappeared for silver content higher than 1 wt%. The morphology and interaction of gelatin doped with Ag NPs was examined by transmission electron microscopy and FTIR spectroscopy. The content of Ag NPs has a pronounced effect on optical and structural properties of gelatin. Optical parameters such as refractive index, complex dielectric constant were calculated. The dispersion of the refractive index was discussed in terms of the single - oscillator Wemple-DiDomenico model. Color properties of the prepared samples were discussed in the framework of CIE L*u*v* color space.

Plasmonic characterization of photo-induced silver nanoparticles extracted from silver halide based TEM film

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sudheer,, E-mail: sudheer@rrcat.gov.in; Tiwari, P.; Rai, V. N.; Srivastava, A. K. [Indus Synchrotrons Utilization Division, Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology Indore, Madhya Pradesh 452013 (India); Varshney, G. K. [Laser Bio-medical Applications & Instrumentation Division, Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology Indore, Madhya Pradesh 452013 (India)

2016-05-23

The plasmonic responses of silver nanoparticles extracted from silver halide based electron microscope film are investigated. Photo-reduction process is carried out to convert the silver halide grains into the metallic silver. The centrifuge technique is used for separating the silver nanoparticles from the residual solution. Morphological study performed by field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) shows that all the nanoparticles have an average diameter of ~120 nm with a high degree of mono dispersion in size. The localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) absorption peak at ~537 nm confirms the presence of large size silver nanoparticles.

Highly Controlled Synthesis and Super-Radiant Photoluminescence of Plasmonic Cube-in-Cube Nanoparticles.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Jeong-Eun; Kim, Sungi; Son, Jiwoong; Lee, Yeonhee; Nam, Jwa-Min

2016-12-14

The plasmonic properties of metal nanostructures have been heavily utilized for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) and metal-enhanced fluorescence (MEF), but the direct photoluminescence (PL) from plasmonic metal nanostructures, especially with plasmonic coupling, has not been widely used as much as SERS and MEF due to the lack of understanding of the PL mechanism, relatively weak signals, and the poor availability of the synthetic methods for the nanostructures with strong PL signals. The direct PL from metal nanostructures is beneficial if these issues can be addressed because it does not exhibit photoblinking or photobleaching, does not require dye-labeling, and can be employed as a highly reliable optical signal that directly depends on nanostructure morphology. Herein, we designed and synthesized plasmonic cube-in-cube (CiC) nanoparticles (NPs) with a controllable interior nanogap in a high yield from Au nanocubes (AuNCs). In synthesizing the CiC NPs, we developed a galvanic void formation (GVF) process, composed of replacement/reduction and void formation steps. We unraveled the super-radiant character of the plasmonic coupling-induced plasmon mode which can result in highly enhanced PL intensity and long-lasting PL, and the PL mechanisms of these structures were analyzed and matched with the plasmon hybridization model. Importantly, the PL intensity and quantum yield (QY) of CiC NPs are 31 times and 16 times higher than those of AuNCs, respectively, which have shown the highest PL intensity and QY reported for metallic nanostructures. Finally, we confirmed the long-term photostability of the PL signal, and the signal remained stable for at least 1 h under continuous illumination.

Optical and electrical effects of plasmonic nanoparticles in high-efficiency hybrid solar cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Fu, Wei-Fei; Chen, Xiaoqiang; Yang, Xi; Wang, Ling; Shi, Ye; Shi, Minmin; Li, Han-Ying; Jen, Alex K-Y; Chen, Jun-Wu; Cao, Yong; Chen, Hong-Zheng

2013-10-28

Plasmonics have been proven to be an effective way to harness more incident light to achieve high efficiency in photovoltaic devices. Herein, we explore the possibility that plasmonics can be utilized to enhance light trapping and power conversion efficiency (PCE) for polymer-quantum dot (QD) hybrid solar cells (HSCs). Based on a low band-gap polymer poly[2,6-(4,4-bis-(2-ethylhexyl)-4H-cyclopenta[2,1-b;3,4-b']-dithiophene)-alt-4,7-(2,1,3-benzothiadiazole)] (PCPDTBT) and a CdSe QD bulk-heterojunction (BHJ) system, gold nanoparticles were doped at different locations of the devices. Successfully, an improved PCE of 3.20 ± 0.22% and 3.16 ± 0.15% was achieved by doping the hole transporting layer and the active layer, respectively, which are among the highest values reported for CdSe QD based HSCs. A detailed study of processing, characterization, microscopy, and device fabrication is conducted to understand the underlying mechanism for the enhanced device performance. The success of this work provides a simple and generally applicable approach to enhance light harnessing of polymer-QD hybrid solar cells.

Fabrication of large area plasmonic nanoparticle grating structure on silver halide based transmission electron microscope film and its application as a surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy substrate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sudheer,; Tiwari, P.; Singh, M. N.; Sinha, A. K.; Rai, V. N.; Srivastava, A. K.; Bhartiya, S.; Mukherjee, C.

2015-01-01

The plasmonic responses of silver nanoparticle grating structures of different periods made on silver halide based electron microscope film are investigated. Raster scan of the conventional scanning electron microscope (SEM) is used to carry out electron beam lithography for fabricating the plasmonic nanoparticle grating (PNG) structures. Morphological characterization of the PNG structures, carried out by the SEM and the atomic force microscope, indicates that the depth of the groove decreases with a decrease in the grating period. Elemental characterization performed by the energy dispersive spectroscopy and the x-ray diffraction shows the presence of nanoparticles of silver in the PNG grating. The optical characterization of the gratings shows that the localized surface plasmon resonance peak shifts from 366 to 378 nm and broadens with a decrease in grating period from 10 to 2.5 μm. The surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy of the Rhodamine-6G dye coated PNG structure shows the maximum enhancement by two orders of magnitude in comparison to the randomly distributed silver nanoparticles having similar size and shape as the PNG structure

Three-Dimensional Optical Trapping of a Plasmonic Nanoparticle using Low Numerical Aperture Optical Tweezers

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Brzobohatý, Oto; Šiler, Martin; Trojek, Jan; Chvátal, Lukáš; Karásek, Vítězslav; Paták, Aleš; Pokorná, Zuzana; Mika, Filip; Zemánek, Pavel

2015-01-01

Roč. 5, JAN 29 (2015), 08106:1-9 ISSN 2045-2322 R&D Projects: GA ČR GB14-36681G Institutional support: RVO:68081731 Keywords : discrete-dipole approximation * gold nanoparticles * radiation forces * spectroscopy Subject RIV: BH - Optics, Masers, Lasers Impact factor: 5.228, year: 2015

Detection of Volatile Organic Compound Gas Using Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance of Gold Nanoparticles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sri Nengsih; Akrajas Ali Umar; Muhamad Mat Salleh; Muhammad Yahaya

2011-01-01

This paper reports on the detection of several organic vapors using the unique characteristic of localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) gold nanoparticles. Gold nanoparticles on quartz substrate were prepared using seed mediated growth method. In a typical process, gold nanoparticles with average size ca. 36 nm were obtained to densely grown on the substrate. Detection of gas was based on the change in the LSPR of the gold nanoparticles film upon the exposure to the gas sample. It was found that gold nanoparticles were sensitive to the presence of volatile organic compound (VOC) gas from the change in the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) intensity. The mechanism for the detection of VOCs gas will be discussed. (author)

Plasmon-assisted photoluminescence enhancement of SiC nanocrystals by proximal silver nanoparticles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, N.; Dai, D.J.; Fan, J.Y.

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► We studied metal surface plasmon-enhanced photoluminescence in SiC nanocrystals. ► The integrated emission intensity can be enhanced by 17 times. ► The coupling between SiC emission and Ag plasmon oscillation induces the enhancement. ► The enhancement is tunable with varied spacing thickness of electrolytes. - Abstract: Plasmon-enhanced photoluminescence has wide application potential in many areas, whereas the underlying mechanism is still in debate. We report the photoluminescence enhancement in SiC nanocrystal–Ag nanoparticle coupled system spaced by the poly(styrene sulfonic acid) sodium salt/poly(allylamine hydrochloride) polyelectrolyte bilayers. The integrated luminescence intensity can be improved by up to 17 times. Our analysis indicates that the strong coupling between the SiC nanocrystals and the surface plasmon oscillation of the silver nanoparticles is the major cause of the luminescence enhancement. These findings will help to understand the photoluminescence enhancement mechanism as well as widen the applications of the SiC nanocrystals in photonics and life sciences.

Hybrid plasmonic systems: from optical transparencies to strong coupling and entanglement

Science.gov (United States)

Gray, Stephen K.

2018-02-01

Classical electrodynamics and quantum mechanical models of quantum dots and molecules interacting with plasmonic systems are discussed. Calculations show that just one quantum dot interacting with a plasmonic system can lead to interesting optical effects, including optical transparencies and more general Fano resonance features that can be tailored with ultrafast laser pulses. Such effects can occur in the limit of moderate coupling between quantum dot and plasmonic system. The approach to the strong coupling regime is also discussed. In cases with two or more quantum dots within a plasmonic system, the possibility of quantum entanglement mediated through the dissipative plasmonic structure arises.

Plasmonic nanoparticle films for solar cell applications fabricated by size-selective aerosol deposition

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pfeiffer, T.V.; Ortiz Gonzalez, J.; Santbergen, R.; Tan, H.; Schmidt-Ott, A.; Zeman, M.; Smets, A.H.M.

2014-01-01

A soft deposition method for incorporating surface plasmon resonant metal nanoparticles within photovoltaic devices was studied. This self-assembly method provides excellent control over both nanoparticle size and surface coverage. Films of spherical Ag nanoparticles with diameter of ?100 nm were

Optical and Electrical Performance of MOS-Structure Silicon Solar Cells with Antireflective Transparent ITO and Plasmonic Indium Nanoparticles under Applied Bias Voltage.

Science.gov (United States)

Ho, Wen-Jeng; Sue, Ruei-Siang; Lin, Jian-Cheng; Syu, Hong-Jang; Lin, Ching-Fuh

2016-08-10

This paper reports impressive improvements in the optical and electrical performance of metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS)-structure silicon solar cells through the incorporation of plasmonic indium nanoparticles (In-NPs) and an indium-tin-oxide (ITO) electrode with periodic holes (perforations) under applied bias voltage. Samples were prepared using a plain ITO electrode or perforated ITO electrode with and without In-NPs. The samples were characterized according to optical reflectance, dark current voltage, induced capacitance voltage, external quantum efficiency, and photovoltaic current voltage. Our results indicate that induced capacitance voltage and photovoltaic current voltage both depend on bias voltage, regardless of the type of ITO electrode. Under a bias voltage of 4.0 V, MOS cells with perforated ITO and plain ITO, respectively, presented conversion efficiencies of 17.53% and 15.80%. Under a bias voltage of 4.0 V, the inclusion of In-NPs increased the efficiency of cells with perforated ITO and plain ITO to 17.80% and 16.87%, respectively.

Optical and Electrical Performance of MOS-Structure Silicon Solar Cells with Antireflective Transparent ITO and Plasmonic Indium Nanoparticles under Applied Bias Voltage

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wen-Jeng Ho

2016-08-01

Full Text Available This paper reports impressive improvements in the optical and electrical performance of metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS-structure silicon solar cells through the incorporation of plasmonic indium nanoparticles (In-NPs and an indium-tin-oxide (ITO electrode with periodic holes (perforations under applied bias voltage. Samples were prepared using a plain ITO electrode or perforated ITO electrode with and without In-NPs. The samples were characterized according to optical reflectance, dark current voltage, induced capacitance voltage, external quantum efficiency, and photovoltaic current voltage. Our results indicate that induced capacitance voltage and photovoltaic current voltage both depend on bias voltage, regardless of the type of ITO electrode. Under a bias voltage of 4.0 V, MOS cells with perforated ITO and plain ITO, respectively, presented conversion efficiencies of 17.53% and 15.80%. Under a bias voltage of 4.0 V, the inclusion of In-NPs increased the efficiency of cells with perforated ITO and plain ITO to 17.80% and 16.87%, respectively.

Green preparation and spectroscopic characterization of plasmonic silver nanoparticles using fruits as reducing agents

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hyllested, Jes Ærøe; Espina Palanco, Marta; Hagen, Nicolai

2015-01-01

Cl. This explains only modest enhancement factors for near-infrared-excited surface enhanced Raman scattering. In addition to the surface plasmon band, UV-visible absorption spectra show features in the UV range which indicates also the presence of small silver clusters, such as Ag42+. The increase of the plasmon...... absorption correlates with the decrease of absorption band in the UV. This confirms the evolution of silver nanoparticles from silver clusters. The presence of various silver clusters on the surface of the “green” plasmonic silver nanoparticles is also supported by a strong multi-color luminesce signal...

Deposition of plasmon gold-fluoropolymer nanocomposites

Science.gov (United States)

Safonov, Alexey I.; Sulyaeva, Veronica S.; Timoshenko, Nikolay I.; Kubrak, Konstantin V.; Starinskiy, Sergey V.

2016-12-01

Degradation-resistant two-dimensional metal-fluoropolymer composites consisting of gold nanoparticles coated with a thin fluoropolymer film were deposited on a substrate by hot wire chemical vapour deposition (HWCVD) and ion sputtering. The morphology and optical properties of the obtained coatings were determined. The thickness of the thin fluoropolymer film was found to influence the position of the surface plasmon resonance peak. Numerical calculations of the optical properties of the deposited materials were performed using Mie theory and the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. The calculation results are consistent with the experimental data. The study shows that the position of the resonance peak can be controlled by changing the surface concentration of particles and the thickness of the fluoropolymer coating. The protective coating was found to prevent the plasmonic properties of the nanoparticles from changing for several months.

Spontaneous Self-Formation of 3D Plasmonic Optical Structures.

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Inhee; Shin, Yonghee; Song, Jihwan; Hong, SoonGweon; Park, Younggeun; Kim, Dongchoul; Kang, Taewook; Lee, Luke P

2016-08-23

Self-formation of colloidal oil droplets in water or water droplets in oil not only has been regarded as fascinating fundamental science but also has been utilized in an enormous number of applications in everyday life. However, the creation of three-dimensional (3D) architectures by a liquid droplet and an immiscible liquid interface has been less investigated than other applications. Here, we report interfacial energy-driven spontaneous self-formation of a 3D plasmonic optical structure at room temperature without an external force. Based on the densities and interfacial energies of two liquids, we simulated the spontaneous formation of a plasmonic optical structure when a water droplet containing metal ions meets an immiscible liquid polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) interface. At the interface, the metal ions in the droplet are automatically reduced to form an interfacial plasmonic layer as the liquid PDMS cures. The self-formation of both an optical cavity and integrated plasmonic nanostructure significantly enhances the fluorescence by a magnitude of 1000. Our findings will have a huge impact on the development of various photonic and plasmonic materials as well as metamaterials and devices.

Noble metal nanostructures for double plasmon resonance with tunable properties

Science.gov (United States)

Petr, M.; Kylián, O.; Kuzminova, A.; Kratochvíl, J.; Khalakhan, I.; Hanuš, J.; Biederman, H.

2017-02-01

We report and compare two vacuum-based strategies to produce Ag/Au materials characterized by double plasmon resonance peaks: magnetron sputtering and method based on the use of gas aggregation sources (GAS) of nanoparticles. It was observed that the double plasmon resonance peaks may be achieved by both of these methods and that the intensities of individual localized surface plasmon resonance peaks may be tuned by deposition conditions. However, in the case of sputter deposition it was necessary to introduce a separation dielectric interlayer in between individual Ag and Au nanoparticle films which was not the case of films prepared by GAS systems. The differences in the optical properties of sputter deposited bimetallic Ag/Au films and coatings consisted of individual Ag and Au nanoparticles produced by GAS is ascribed to the divers mechanisms of nanoparticles formation.

Advances in optoplasmonic sensors – combining optical nano/microcavities and photonic crystals with plasmonic nanostructures and nanoparticles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xavier Jolly

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Nanophotonic device building blocks, such as optical nano/microcavities and plasmonic nanostructures, lie at the forefront of sensing and spectrometry of trace biological and chemical substances. A new class of nanophotonic architecture has emerged by combining optically resonant dielectric nano/microcavities with plasmonically resonant metal nanostructures to enable detection at the nanoscale with extraordinary sensitivity. Initial demonstrations include single-molecule detection and even single-ion sensing. The coupled photonic-plasmonic resonator system promises a leap forward in the nanoscale analysis of physical, chemical, and biological entities. These optoplasmonic sensor structures could be the centrepiece of miniaturised analytical laboratories, on a chip, with detection capabilities that are beyond the current state of the art. In this paper, we review this burgeoning field of optoplasmonic biosensors. We first focus on the state of the art in nanoplasmonic sensor structures, high quality factor optical microcavities, and photonic crystals separately before proceeding to an outline of the most recent advances in hybrid sensor systems. We discuss the physics of this modality in brief and each of its underlying parts, then the prospects as well as challenges when integrating dielectric nano/microcavities with metal nanostructures. In Section 5, we hint to possible future applications of optoplasmonic sensing platforms which offer many degrees of freedom towards biomedical diagnostics at the level of single molecules.

Template assisted synthesis and optical properties of gold nanoparticles.

Science.gov (United States)

Fodor, Petru; Lasalvia, Vincenzo

2009-03-01

A hybrid nanofabrication method (interference lithography + self assembly) was explored for the fabrication of arrays of gold nanoparticles. To ensure the uniformity of the nanoparticles, a template assisted synthesis was used in which the gold is electrodeposited in the pores of anodized aluminum membranes. The spacing between the pores and their ordering is controlled in the first fabrication step of the template in which laser lithography and metal deposition are used to produce aluminum films with controlled strain profiles. The diameter of the pores produced after anodizing the aluminum film in acidic solution determines the diameter of the gold particles, while their aspect ratio is controlled through the deposition time. Optical absorbance spectroscopy is used to evaluate the ability to tune the nanoparticles plasmon resonance spectra through control over their size and aspect ratio.

DNA-Nanotechnology-Enabled Chiral Plasmonics: From Static to Dynamic.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Chao; Duan, Xiaoyang; Liu, Na

2017-12-19

The development of DNA nanotechnology, especially the advent of DNA origami, has made DNA ideally suited to construct nanostructures with unprecedented complexity and arbitrariness. As a fully addressable platform, DNA origami can be used to organize discrete entities in space through DNA hybridization with nanometer accuracy. Among a variety of functionalized particles, metal nanoparticles such as gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) feature an important pathway to endow DNA-origami-assembled nanostructures with tailored optical functionalities. When metal particles are placed in close proximity, their particle plasmons, i.e., collective oscillations of conduction electrons, can be coupled together, giving rise to a wealth of interesting optical phenomena. Nevertheless, characterization methods that can read out the optical responses from plasmonic nanostructures composed of small metal particles, and especially can optically distinguish in situ their minute conformation changes, are very few. Circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy has proven to be a successful means to overcome these challenges because of its high sensitivity in discrimination of three-dimensional conformation changes. In this Account, we discuss a variety of static and dynamic chiral plasmonic nanostructures enabled by DNA nanotechnology. In the category of static plasmonic systems, we first show chiral plasmonic nanostructures based on spherical AuNPs, including plasmonic helices, toroids, and tetramers. To enhance the CD responses, anisotropic gold nanorods with larger extinction coefficients are utilized to create chiral plasmonic crosses and helical superstructures. Next, we highlight the inevitable evolution from static to dynamic plasmonic systems along with the fast development of this interdisciplinary field. Several dynamic plasmonic systems are reviewed according to their working mechanisms. We first elucidate a reconfigurable plasmonic cross structure that can execute DNA-regulated conformational

Integrated optical isolators using magnetic surface plasmon (Presentation Recording)

Science.gov (United States)

Shimizu, Hiromasa; Kaihara, Terunori; Umetsu, Saori; Hosoda, Masashi

2015-09-01

Optical isolators are one of the essential components to protect semiconductor laser diodes (LDs) from backward reflected light in integrated optics. In order to realize optical isolators, nonreciprocal propagation of light is necessary, which can be realized by magnetic materials. Semiconductor optical isolators have been strongly desired on Si and III/V waveguides. We have developed semiconductor optical isolators based on nonreciprocal loss owing to transverse magneto-optic Kerr effect, where the ferromagnetic metals are deposited on semiconductor optical waveguides1). Use of surface plasmon polariton at the interface of ferromagnetic metal and insulator leads to stronger optical confinement and magneto-optic effect. It is possible to modulate the optical confinement by changing the magnetic field direction, thus optical isolator operation is proposed2, 3). We have investigated surface plasmons at the interfaces between ferrimagnetic garnet/gold film, and applications to waveguide optical isolators. We assumed waveguides composed of Au/Si(38.63nm)/Ce:YIG(1700nm)/Si(220nm)/Si , and calculated the coupling lengths between Au/Si(38.63nm)/Ce:YIG plasmonic waveguide and Ce:YIG/Si(220nm)/Si waveguide for transversely magnetized Ce:YIG with forward and backward directions. The coupling length was calculated to 232.1um for backward propagating light. On the other hand, the coupling was not complete, and the length was calculated to 175.5um. The optical isolation by using the nonreciprocal coupling and propagation loss was calculated to be 43.7dB when the length of plasmonic waveguide is 700um. 1) H. Shimizu et al., J. Lightwave Technol. 24, 38 (2006). 2) V. Zayets et al., Materials, 5, 857-871 (2012). 3) J. Montoya, et al, J. Appl. Phys. 106, 023108, (2009).

Mechanical control of the plasmon coupling with Au nanoparticle arrays fixed on the elastomeric film via chemical bond

Science.gov (United States)

Bedogni, Elena; Kaneko, Satoshi; Fujii, Shintaro; Kiguchi, Manabu

2017-03-01

We have fabricated Au nanoparticle arrays on the flexible poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) film. The nanoparticles were bound to the film via a covalent bond by a ligand exchange reaction. Thanks to the strong chemical bonding, highly stable and uniformly dispersed Au nanoparticle arrays were fixed on the PDMS film. The Au nanoparticle arrays were characterized by the UV-vis, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). The UV-vis and SEM measurements showed the uniformity of the surface-dispersed Au nanoparticles, and SERS measurement confirmed the chemistry of the PDMS film. Reflecting the high stability and the uniformity of the Au nanoparticle arrays, the plasmon wavelength of the Au nanoparticles reversely changed with modulation of the interparticle distance, which was induced by the stretching of the PDMS film. The plasmon wavelength linearly decreased from 664 to 591 nm by stretching of 60%. The plasmon wavelength shift can be explained by the change in the strength of the plasmon coupling which is mechanically controlled by the mechanical strain.

Synthesis methods of gold nanoparticles for Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance (LSPR sensor applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Samsuri Nurul Diyanah

2017-01-01

Full Text Available 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.

Plasmonic response and SERS modulation in electrochemical applied potentials

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Martino, G. Di; Turek, V. A.; Tserkezis, Christos

2017-01-01

We study the optical response of individual nm-wide plasmonic nanocavities using a nanoparticle-on-mirror design utilised as an electrode in an electrochemical cell. In this geometry Au nanoparticles are separated from a bulk Au film by an ultrathin molecular spacer, giving intense and stable Ram...

Robustness of the far-field response of nonlocal plasmonic ensembles

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tserkezis, Christos; Maack, Johan Rosenkrantz; Liu, Zhaowei

2016-01-01

Contrary to classical predictions, the optical response of few-nm plasmonic particles depends on particle size due to effects such as nonlocality and electron spill-out. Ensembles of such nanoparticles are therefore expected to exhibit a nonclassical inhomogeneous spectral broadening due to size...... distribution. For a normal distribution of free-electron nanoparticles, and within the simple nonlocal hydrodynamic Drude model, both the nonlocal blueshift and the plasmon linewidth are shown to be considerably affected by ensemble averaging. Size-variance effects tend however to conceal nonlocality...... to a lesser extent when the homogeneous size-dependent broadening of individual nanoparticles is taken into account, either through a local size-dependent damping model or through the Generalized Nonlocal Optical Response theory. The role of ensemble averaging is further explored in realistic distributions...

Surface Plasmon Wave Adapter Designed with Transformation Optics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhang, Jingjing; Xiao, Sanshui; Wubs, Martijn

2011-01-01

On the basis of transformation optics, we propose the design of a surface plasmon wave adapter which confines surface plasmon waves on non-uniform metal surfaces and enables adiabatic mode transformation of surface plasmon polaritons with very short tapers. This adapter can be simply achieved...... with homogeneous anisotropic naturally occurring materials or subwavelength grating-structured dielectric materials. Full wave simulations based on a finite-element method have been performed to validate our proposal....

Control of Resonances and Optical Properties of Plasmonic-Patch Metamaterials

Science.gov (United States)

2012-08-01

nanostructures made of plasmonic materials like gold and silver can resonantly interact with radiation over a range of wavelengths from micro...specific metal nanostructures, such as nanorods, hemispheres, nanocrescent arrays, nanorings , dimers, nanoprisms, nanocrystals, nanoparticles in a periodic...known that nanostructures made of plasmonic materials like gold and silver can resonantly interact with radiation over a range of wavelengths from micro

Coherently-enabled environmental control of optics and energy transfer pathways of hybrid quantum dot-metallic nanoparticle systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Hatef, Ali; Sadeghi, Seyed M; Fortin-Deschênes, Simon; Boulais, Etienne; Meunier, Michel

2013-03-11

It is well-known that optical properties of semiconductor quantum dots can be controlled using optical cavities or near fields of localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPRs) of metallic nanoparticles. In this paper we study the optics, energy transfer pathways, and exciton states of quantum dots when they are influenced by the near fields associated with plasmonic meta-resonances. Such resonances are formed via coherent coupling of excitons and LSPRs when the quantum dots are close to metallic nanorods and driven by a laser beam. Our results suggest an unprecedented sensitivity to the refractive index of the environment, causing significant spectral changes in the Förster resonance energy transfer from the quantum dots to the nanorods and in exciton transition energies. We demonstrate that when a quantum dot-metallic nanorod system is close to its plasmonic meta-resonance, we can adjust the refractive index to: (i) control the frequency range where the energy transfer from the quantum dot to the metallic nanorod is inhibited, (ii) manipulate the exciton transition energy shift of the quantum dot, and (iii) disengage the quantum dot from the metallic nanoparticle and laser field. Our results show that near meta-resonances the spectral forms of energy transfer and exciton energy shifts are strongly correlated to each other.

Tunable all-optical plasmonic rectifier in nanoscale metal-insulator-metal waveguides.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Yi; Wang, Xiaomeng; Deng, Haidong; Guo, Kangxian

2014-10-15

We propose a tunable all-optical plasmonic rectifier based on the nonlinear Fano resonance in a metal-insulator-metal plasmonic waveguide and cavities coupling system. We develop a theoretical model based on the temporal coupled-mode theory to study the device physics of the nanoscale rectifier. We further demonstrate via the finite difference time domain numerical experiment that our idea can be realized in a plasmonic system with an ultracompact size of ~120×800  nm². The tunable plasmonic rectifier could facilitate the all-optical signal processing in nanoscale.

RESSONÂNCIA DE PLASMON DE SUPERFÍCIE LOCALIZADO E APLICAÇÃO EM BIOSSENSORES E CÉLULAS SOLARES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jacqueline Ferreira Leite Santos

Full Text Available Within the last decades, the research on nanoparticles presenting localized surface plasmon resonance has increased constantly. In these materials, the interaction between electrons and incident light results in charge separation, enhancement of the electromagnetic field on the nanoparticles surface and in unique optical properties. Although many metals such as gold, silver, copper and aluminum present localized surface plasmon resonance within the visible range, gold and silver are the most commonly studied metals, due to the chemical inertia of gold and intense plasmon resonance from silver. In this review, we provide a description of the origin of localized surface plasmon resonance through the works developed by Mie, Maxwell and Maxwell-Garnett and a description of many examples of application of plasmonic nanoparticles on biosensors and solar cells, detailing the contribution of these plasmonic nanoparticles on the performance of these devices.

Raman scattering enhancement in photon-plasmon resonance mediated metal-dielectric microcavity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guddala, Sriram; Narayana Rao, D.; Dwivedi, Vindesh K.; Vijaya Prakash, G.

2013-01-01

Here, we report the photon-plasmon interaction scheme and enhanced field strengths resulted into the amplification of phonon in a novel microcavity. A metal-dielectric microcavity, with unified cavity photonic mode and localized surface plasmon resonances, is visualized by impregnating the gold nanoparticles into the deep see-through nano-sized pores of porous silicon microcavity. The intense optical field strengths resulting from the photon-plasmon interactions are probed by both resonant and non-resonant Raman scattering experiments. Due to photon-plasmon-phonon interaction mechanism, several orders of enhancement in the intensity of scattered Raman Stokes photon (at 500 cm −1 ) are observed. Our metal nanoparticle-microcavity hybrid system shows the potential to improve the sensing figure of merit as well as the applications of plasmonics for optoelectronics, photovoltaics, and related technologies

Directional radiation of Babinet-inverted optical nanoantenna integrated with plasmonic waveguide

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Jineun; Roh, Young-Geun; Cheon, Sangmo; Jeong Kim, Un; Hwang, Sung Woo; Park, Yeonsang; Lee, Chang-Won

2015-07-01

We present a Babinet-inverted optical nanoantenna integrated with a plasmonic waveguide. Using an integrated nanoantenna, we can couple the plasmon guide mode in a metal-insulator-metal (MIM) structure into the resonant antenna feed directly. The resonantly excited feed slot then radiates to free space and generates a magnetic dipole-like far-field pattern. The coupling efficiency of the integrated nanoantenna is calculated as being approximately 19% using a three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain (3D FDTD) simulation. By adding an auxiliary groove structure along with the feed, the radiation direction can be controlled similar to an optical Yagi-Uda antenna. We also determine, both theoretically and experimentally, that groove depth plays a significant role to function groove structure as a reflector or a director. The demonstrated Babinet-inverted optical nanoantenna integrated with a plasmonic waveguide can be used as a “plasmonic via” in plasmonic nanocircuits.

Preparation of gold nanoparticles for plasmonic applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Benkovicova, Monika, E-mail: monika.benkovicova@savba.sk [Institute of Physics SAS, Dubravska cesta 9, 845 11 Bratislava (Slovakia); Polymer Institute SAS, Dubravska cesta 9, 845 41 Bratislava (Slovakia); Vegso, Karol; Siffalovic, Peter; Jergel, Matej; Luby, Stefan; Majkova, Eva [Institute of Physics SAS, Dubravska cesta 9, 845 11 Bratislava (Slovakia)

2013-09-30

We present a simple hot injection method for the preparation of colloidal solutions of hydrophobic spherical gold nanoparticles with the diameter around 20 nm and size dispersion below 20%. Various surfactants with different lengths of hydrocarbon chains, such as oleylamine, 1-octadecanethiol, poly (N-vinylpyrrolidone), and AgNO{sub 3} in 1,5-pentanediol, were used for sterical stabilization in the colloidal solution. The hydrodynamic nanoparticle size and size dispersion were determined by the dynamic light scattering (DLS) while the small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) from the colloidal solution provided information on the size of the metallic nanoparticle core (without surfactant). Plasmon enhanced resonant absorption peaks between 500 nm and 600 nm were detected by the UV–VIS spectrophotometry. The nanoparticle arrays on silicon prepared by solvent evaporation or Langmuir-Schaefer method were inspected by high-resolution scanning electron microscopy and grazing-incidence SAXS (GISAXS). The presence of side maxima in the GISAXS pattern gives evidence of the nanoparticle ordering by self-assembly while very close values of the interparticle distance derived from GISAXS and the nanoparticle size derived from DLS indicate a close-packed order. - Highlights: ► Preparation of gold nanoparticles by use a various of surfactants ► Preparation of monodisperse nanoparticles ► Characterization of nanoparticles on a solid substrate.

Fabrication of Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance Fiber Probes Using Ionic Self-Assembled Gold Nanoparticles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miao Wan

2010-07-01

Full Text Available An nm-thickness composite gold thin film consisting of gold nanoparticles and polyelectrolytes is fabricated through ionic self-assembled multilayers (ISAM technique and is deposited on end-faces of optical fibers to construct localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR fiber probes. We demonstrate that the LSPR spectrum induced by ISAM gold films can be fine-tuned through the ISAM procedure. We investigate variations of reflection spectra of the probe with respect to the layer-by-layer adsorption of ISAMs onto end-faces of fibers, and study the spectral variation mechanism. Finally, we demonstrated using this fiber probe to detect the biotin-streptavidin bioconjugate pair. ISAM adsorbed on optical fibers potentially provides a simple, fast, robust, and low-cost, platform for LSPR biosensing applications.

SERS microscopy: plasmonic nanoparticle probes and biomedical applications

Science.gov (United States)

Gellner, M.; Schütz, M.; Salehi, M.; Packeisen, J.; Ströbel, P.; Marx, A.; Schmuck, C.; Schlücker, S.

2010-08-01

Nanoparticle probes for use in targeted detection schemes and readout by surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) comprise a metal core, Raman reporter molecules and a protective shell. One design of SERS labels specifically optimized for biomedical applications in conjunction with red laser excitation is based on tunable gold/silver nanoshells, which are completely covered by a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of Raman reporters. A shell around the SAM-coated metal core stabilizes the colloid and prevents particle aggregation. The optical properties and SERS efficiencies of these plasmonic nanostructures are characterized both experimentally and theoretically. Subsequent bioconjugation of SERS probes to ligands such as antibodies is a prerequisite for the selective detection of the corresponding target molecule via the characteristic Raman signature of the label. Biomedical imaging applications of SERS-labeled antibodies for tumor diagnostics by SERS microscopy are presented, using the localization of the tumor suppressor p63 in prostate tissue sections as an example.

Surface Plasmon Resonance of Counterions coated Charged Silver Nanoparticles and Application in Bio-interaction

Science.gov (United States)

Ghosh, Goutam; Panicker, Lata; Naveen Kumar, N.; Mallick, Vivek

2018-05-01

Silver nanoparticles (SNPs) play very significant roles in biomedical applications, e.g., biosensors in numerous assays for quantitative detection, and the surface chemistry adds an important factor in that. In this investigation, we coated SNPs either by anionic citrates, like tri-lithium citrate (TLC) or tri-potassium citrate (TKC) which are associated with Li+ or K+ counterions, respectively; or by cationic surfactants, like cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) or cetylpyridinium iodide (CPI) which are associated with Cl‑ or I‑ counterions, respectively, at the surface of nanoparticles. Our aim was to study (i) how the counterions affect the optical property of SNPs and (ii) the interaction of coated SNPs with a protein, hen egg white lysozyme (HEWL). Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS) techniques were used to measure the size, and UV absorption spectroscopy was used to characterize the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) band of SNPs. ζ-potential, fluorescence quenching and circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy techniques were used for characterizing the protein-nanoparticles interaction.

Green synthesis of biopolymer-silver nanoparticle nanocomposite: an optical sensor for ammonia detection.

Science.gov (United States)

Pandey, Sadanand; Goswami, Gopal K; Nanda, Karuna K

2012-11-01

Biopolymer used for the production of nanoparticles (NPs) has attracted increasing attention. In the presence article we use aqueous solution of polysaccharide Cyamopsis tetragonaloba commonly known as guar gum (GG), from plants. GG acts as reductive preparation of silver nanoparticles which are found to be powder X-ray diffraction technique. Aqueous ammonia sensing study of polymer/silver nanoparticles nanocomposite (GG/AgNPs NC) was performed by optical method based on surface plasmon resonance (SPR). The performances of optical sensor were investigated which provide the excellent result. The response time of 2-3 s and the detection limit of ammonia solution, 1 ppm were found at room temperature. Thus, in future this room temperature optical ammonia sensor can be used for clinical and medical diagnosis for detecting low ammonia level in biological fluids, such as plasma, sweat, saliva, cerebrospinal liquid or biological samples in general for various biomedical applications in human. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Surface plasmon resonance caused by gold nanoparticles formed on sprayed TiO{sub 2} films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oja Acik, I., E-mail: ilona.oja@ttu.ee [Department of Materials Science, Tallinn University of Technology, Ehitajate tee 5, 19086 Tallinn (Estonia); Dolgov, L. [Institute of Physics, University of Tartu, Riia 142, 51014 Tartu (Estonia); Krunks, M.; Mere, A.; Mikli, V. [Department of Materials Science, Tallinn University of Technology, Ehitajate tee 5, 19086 Tallinn (Estonia); Pikker, S.; Loot, A.; Sildos, I. [Institute of Physics, University of Tartu, Riia 142, 51014 Tartu (Estonia)

2014-02-28

Titania films covered by gold nanoparticles are prepared by combination of spray pyrolysis and spin-coating methods. Proposed combination of techniques is prospective for photovoltaic coatings with plasmonic properties. The prepared TiO{sub 2} films with Au nanoparticles demonstrate variation in size of the gold nanocrystallites from 36 to 56 nm depending on the concentration of the HAuCl{sub 4}∙ 3H{sub 2}O solution and plasmonic light extinction in the spectral range of 600–650 nm. It is shown that gold nanocrystallites enhance Raman scattering from the underlying thin TiO{sub 2} film. - Highlights: • TiO{sub 2} thin films with Au-nanoparticles were produced by chemical solution methods. • The size and shape of Au-nanoparticles are controlled by the [HAuCl{sub 4}∙ 3H{sub 2}O]. • Plasmon light extinction was tuned from 600 to 650 nm by changing [HAuCl{sub 4}∙ 3H{sub 2}O]. • Raman scattering intensity of TiO{sub 2} films is enhanced by the Au-nanoparticles.

Preparation and immobilization of noble metal nanoparticles for plasmonic solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Ruoli; Pitzer, Martin; Hu, DongZhi; Schaadt, Daniel M. [Institut fuer Angewandte Physik, Karlsruher Institut fuer Technologie (KIT), Karlsruhe (Germany); DFG Centrum fuer Funktionelle Nanostrukturen (CFN), KIT (Germany); Fruk, Ljiljana [DFG Centrum fuer Funktionelle Nanostrukturen (CFN), KIT (Germany)

2011-07-01

Thin-film solar cells are of high interest due to good electrical properties and low material consumption. Traditional thin-film cells, however, have considerable transmission losses because of the reduced absorption volume. A promising way to enhance absorption in the active layer is the light-trapping by plasmonic nanostructures. Metallic nanoparticles have in particular shown large enhancement of the photocurrent in thin-film devices. In this poster, we present preparation of Au,Ag and Pt nanoparticles by polyol method and seed mediated methods for use in plasmonic solar cells. Polyol method typically uses ethylene glycol as the solvent and reducing agent,and in seed-mediated synthesis small nanoparticle seeds are first prepared and then used to promote the growth of different shapes of nanoparticles. We particularly focus on the use of nanocubes and nanospheres for solar cell design. Following the nanoparticle preparation, a new method to immobilize particles on GaAs surfaces via covalent chemical bonds has been developed which prevents agglomerations and allows control of the surface density. Photocurrent spectra of GaAs pin solar cells with and without particles have been recorded. These measurements show the dependence of the photocurrent enhancement on particle material, shape and density.

Estimation of sensing characteristics for refractory nitrides based gain assisted core-shell plasmonic nanoparticles

Science.gov (United States)

Shishodia, Manmohan Singh; Pathania, Pankaj

2018-04-01

Refractory transition metal nitrides such as zirconium nitride (ZrN), hafnium nitride (HfN) and titanium nitride (TiN) have emerged as viable alternatives to coinage metals based plasmonic materials, e.g., gold (Au) and silver (Ag). The present work assesses the suitability of gain assisted ZrN-, HfN- and TiN-based conventional core-shell nanoparticles (CCSNPs) and multilayered core-shell nanoparticles (MCSNPs) for refractive index sensing. We report that the optical gain incorporation in the dielectric layer leads to multifold enhancement of the scattering efficiency (Qsca), substantial reduction of the spectral full width at half maximum, and a higher figure of merit (FOM). In comparison with CCSNPs, the MCSNP system exhibits superior sensing characteristics such as higher FOM, ˜ 45% reduction in the critical optical gain, response shift towards the biological window, and higher degree of tunability. Inherent biocompatibility, growth compatibility, chemical stability and flexible spectral tuning of refractory nitrides augmented by superior sensing properties in the present work may pave the way for refractory nitrides based low cost sensing.

Surface plasmon enhanced organic light emitting diodes by gold nanoparticles with different sizes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gao, Chia-Yuan; Chen, Ying-Chung [Department of Electrical Engineering, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan (China); Chen, Kan-Lin [Department of Electronic Engineering, Fortune Institute of Technology, Kaohsiung, Taiwan (China); Huang, Chien-Jung, E-mail: chien@nuk.edu.tw [Department of Applied Physics, National University of Kaohsiung, Kaohsiung, Taiwan (China)

2015-11-30

Highlights: • Different varieties, sizes, and shapes for nanoparticles will generate different surface plasmon resonance effects in the devices. • The red-shift phenomenon for absorption peaks is because of an increasing contribution of higher-order plasmon modes for the larger gold nanoparticles. • The mobility of electrons in the electron-transport layer of organic light-emitting diodes is a few orders of magnitude lower than that of holes in the hole-transport layer of organic light-emitting diodes. - Abstract: The influence of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) with different sizes doped into (poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) poly(styrenesulfonate)) (PEDOT:PSS) on the performance of organic light-emitting diodes is investigated in this study. The current efficiency of the device, at a current density of 145 mA/cm, with PEDOT:PSS doped with GNPs of 8 nm is about 1.57 times higher than that of the device with prime PEDOT:PSS because the absorption peak of GNPs is closest to the photoluminescence peak of the emission layer, resulting in maximum surface plasmon resonance effect in the device. In addition, the surface-enhanced Raman scattering spectroscopy also reveals the maximum surface plasmon resonance effect in the device when the mean particle size of GNPs is 8 nm.

A Study on the Plasmonic Properties of Silver Core Gold Shell Nanoparticles: Optical Assessment of the Particle Structure

Science.gov (United States)

Mott, Derrick; Lee, JaeDong; Thi Bich Thuy, Nguyen; Aoki, Yoshiya; Singh, Prerna; Maenosono, Shinya

2011-06-01

This paper reports a qualitative comparison between the optical properties of a set of silver core, gold shell nanoparticles with varying composition and structure to those calculated using the Mie solution. To achieve this, silver nanoparticles were synthesized in aqueous phase from a silver hydroxide precursor with sodium acrylate as dual reducing-capping agent. The particles were then coated with a layer of gold with controllable thickness through a reduction-deposition process. The resulting nanoparticles reveal well defined optical properties that make them suitable for comparison to ideal calculated results using the Mie solution. The discussion focuses on the correlation between the synthesized core shell nanoparticles with varying Au shell thickness and the Mie solution results in terms of the optical properties. The results give insight in how to design and synthesize silver core, gold shell nanoparticles with controllable optical properties (e.g., SPR band in terms of intensity and position), and has implications in creating nanoparticle materials to be used as biological probes and sensing elements.

Atmospheric pulsed laser deposition of plasmonic nanoparticle films of silver with flowing gas and flowing atmospheric plasma

Science.gov (United States)

Khan, T. M.; Pokle, A.; Lunney, J. G.

2018-04-01

Two methods of atmospheric pulsed laser deposition of plasmonic nanoparticle films of silver are described. In both methods the ablation plume, produced by a 248 nm, 20 ns excimer laser in gas, is strongly confined near the target and forms a nanoparticle aerosol. For both the flowing gas, and the atmospheric plasma from a dielectric barrier discharge plasma source, the aerosol is entrained in the flow and carried to a substrate for deposition. The nanoparticle films produced by both methods were examined by electron microscopy and optical absorption spectroscopy. With plasma assistance, the deposition rate was significantly enhanced and the film morphology altered. With argon gas, isolated nanoparticles of 20 nm size were obtained, whereas in argon plasma, the nanoparticles are aggregated in clusters of 90 nm size. Helium gas also leads to the deposition of isolated nanoparticles, but with helium plasma, two populations of nanoparticles are observed: one of rounded particles with a mean size of 26 nm and the other of faceted particles with a mean size 165 nm.

Plasmonic percolation: Plasmon-manifested dielectric-to-metal transition

KAUST Repository

Chen, Huanjun

2012-08-28

Percolation generally refers to the phenomenon of abrupt variations in electrical, magnetic, or optical properties caused by gradual volume fraction changes of one component across a threshold in bicomponent systems. Percolation behaviors have usually been observed in macroscopic systems, with most studies devoted to electrical percolation. We report on our observation of plasmonic percolation in Au nanorod core-Pd shell nanostructures. When the Pd volume fraction in the shell consisting of palladium and water approaches the plasmonic percolation threshold, ∼70%, the plasmon of the nanostructure transits from red to blue shifts with respect to that of the unshelled Au nanorod. This plasmonic percolation behavior is also confirmed by the scattering measurements on the individual core-shell nanostructures. Quasistatic theory and numerical simulations show that the plasmonic percolation originates from a positive-to-negative transition in the real part of the dielectric function of the shell as the Pd volume fraction is increased. The observed plasmonic percolation is found to be independent of the metal type in the shell. Moreover, compared to the unshelled Au nanorods with similar plasmon wavelengths, the Au nanorod core-Pd shell nanostructures exhibit larger refractive index sensitivities, which is ascribed to the expulsion of the electric field intensity from the Au nanorod core by the adsorbed Pd nanoparticles. © 2012 American Chemical Society.

Plasmonic percolation: Plasmon-manifested dielectric-to-metal transition

KAUST Repository

Chen, Huanjun; Wang, Feng; Li, Kun; Woo, Katchoi; Wang, Jianfang; Li, Quan; Sun, Ling Dong; Zhang, Xixiang; Lin, Haiqing; YAN, Chunhua

2012-01-01

Percolation generally refers to the phenomenon of abrupt variations in electrical, magnetic, or optical properties caused by gradual volume fraction changes of one component across a threshold in bicomponent systems. Percolation behaviors have usually been observed in macroscopic systems, with most studies devoted to electrical percolation. We report on our observation of plasmonic percolation in Au nanorod core-Pd shell nanostructures. When the Pd volume fraction in the shell consisting of palladium and water approaches the plasmonic percolation threshold, ∼70%, the plasmon of the nanostructure transits from red to blue shifts with respect to that of the unshelled Au nanorod. This plasmonic percolation behavior is also confirmed by the scattering measurements on the individual core-shell nanostructures. Quasistatic theory and numerical simulations show that the plasmonic percolation originates from a positive-to-negative transition in the real part of the dielectric function of the shell as the Pd volume fraction is increased. The observed plasmonic percolation is found to be independent of the metal type in the shell. Moreover, compared to the unshelled Au nanorods with similar plasmon wavelengths, the Au nanorod core-Pd shell nanostructures exhibit larger refractive index sensitivities, which is ascribed to the expulsion of the electric field intensity from the Au nanorod core by the adsorbed Pd nanoparticles. © 2012 American Chemical Society.

One-dimensional self-assembly of gold nanoparticles for tunable surface plasmon resonance properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Yong; Matsubara, Shigemasha; Nogami, Masayuki; Shi Jianlin; Huang Weiming

2006-01-01

The localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) is a collective oscillation of the nanoparticle conduction electrons. LSPR excitation in silver and gold nanoparticles produces strong extinction and scattering spectra that in recent years have been used for important sensing and spectroscopy applications. Tuning the optoelectronic properties by controlling coupled SP modes in metals is one of the major challenges in the area of metal nanomaterials. Here we develop a simple method to fabricate linear-chainlike aggregates of gold nanoparticles (so-called nanochains), tuning the linear optical properties in a wide wavelength range from visible to the near infrared. The aggregation behaviour and linear self-assembly mechanism of citrate-stabilized gold colloids as provoked by the addition of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) are also analysed. The CTAB with appropriate concentration serves as the 'glue' that can link the {100} facets of two neighbour Au NPs, which leads to an anisotropic distribution of the residual surface charge, and this extrinsic electric dipole formation is responsible for the linear organization of the gold NPs into short chains

In situ Raman scattering study on a controllable plasmon-driven surface catalysis reaction on Ag nanoparticle arrays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dai, Z G; Xiao, X H; Zhang, Y P; Ren, F; Wu, W; Zhang, S F; Zhou, J; Jiang, C Z; Mei, F

2012-01-01

Control of the plasmon-driven chemical reaction for the transformation of 4-nitrobenzenethiol to p,p′-dimercaptoazobenzene by Ag nanoparticle arrays was studied. The Ag nanoparticle arrays were fabricated by means of nanosphere lithography. By changing the PS particle size, the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) peaks of the Ag nanoparticle arrays can be tailored from 460 to 560 nm. The controlled reaction process was monitored by in situ surface-enhanced Raman scattering. The reaction can be dramatically influenced by varying the duration of laser exposure, Ag nanoparticle size, laser power and laser excitation wavelength. The maximum reaction speed was achieved when the LSPR wavelength of the Ag nanoparticle arrays matched the laser excitation wavelength. The experimental results reveal that the strong LSPR can effectively drive the transfer of the ‘hot’ electrons that decay from the plasmon to the reactants. The experimental results were confirmed by theoretical calculations. (paper)

Effect of surface roughness on substrate-tuned gold nanoparticle gap plasmon resonances.

Science.gov (United States)

Lumdee, Chatdanai; Yun, Binfeng; Kik, Pieter G

2015-03-07

The effect of nanoscale surface roughness on the gap plasmon resonance of gold nanoparticles on thermally evaporated gold films is investigated experimentally and numerically. Single-particle scattering spectra obtained from 80 nm diameter gold particles on a gold film show significant particle-to-particle variation of the peak scattering wavelength of ±28 nm. The experimental results are compared with numerical simulations of gold nanoparticles positioned on representative rough gold surfaces, modeled based on atomic force microscopy measurements. The predicted spectral variation and average resonance wavelength show good agreement with the measured data. The study shows that nanometer scale surface roughness can significantly affect the performance of gap plasmon-based devices.

Nonlocal inhomogeneous broadening in plasmonic nanoparticle ensembles

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tserkezis, Christos; Maack, Johan Rosenkrantz; Liu, Z.

Nonclassical effects are increasingly more relevant in plasmonics as modern nanofabrication techniques rapidly approach the extreme nanoscale limits, for which departing from classical electrodynamics becomes important. One of the largest-scale necessary corrections towards this direction...... is to abandon the local response approximation (LRA) and take the nonlocal response of the metal into account, typically through the simple hydrodynamic Drude model (HDM), which predicts a sizedependent deviation of plasmon modes from the quasistatic (QS) limit. While this behaviour has been explored for simple...... metallic nanoparticles (NPs) or NP dimers, the possibility of inhomogeneous resonance broadening due to size variation in a large NP collection and the resulting spectral overlap of modes (as depicted in Fig. 1), has been so far overlooked. Here we study theoretically the effect of nonlocality on ensemble...

Plasmonic Gold Nanorod Dispersions with Electrical and Optical Tunability

Science.gov (United States)

Grabowski, Christopher; Mahoney, Clare; Park, Kyoungweon; Jawaid, Ali; White, Timothy; Vaia, Richard

The transmissive, absorptive, electrical, and thermal properties of plasmonic gold nanorods (NRs) have led to their employment in a broad range of applications. These electro-optical properties - governed by their size, shape, and composition - are widely and precisely tunable during synthesis. Gold NRs show promise for large scale optical elements as they have been demonstrated to align faster than liquid crystal films (μs) at low fields (1 V/ μm). Successfully dispersing a high volume fraction of gold NRs requires a strategy to control particle-particle separation and thus avoid aggregation. Herein, we discuss the role of theta temperature and the ability to swell or collapse the chains of polymer-grafted gold NRs to alter the interaction potential between particles. UV-Vis spectroscopy, scattering, and electrical susceptibility characterization methods were employed to determine nanoparticle dispersion along with the degree of gold NR alignment. The development of new agile photonic materials, controllable with both light and electric fields, will help address emerging needs in laser hardening (agile filters) and variable transmission visors.

Effect of metal nanoparticles on energy spectra and optical properties of peripheral light-harvesting LH2 complexes from photosynthetic bacteria

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goliney, I.Yu.; Sugakov, V.I.; Valkunas, L.; Vertsimakha, G.V.

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Excitons of light-harvesting complexes (LH2) hybridize with plasmon modes. ► Light absorption of LH2 is enhanced by a metal nanoparticle. ► Using nanoshells allows reaching resonance between molecular and plasmons. ► Metal nanoparticles introduce additional channel of excitation decay. ► Light-harvesting may gain from the proper positioning of nanoshells. -- Abstract: The paper explores the theoretical possibility of affecting optical spectra and the quantum yield of the energy transfer in the peripheral light-harvesting complexes (LH2) from photosynthetic bacteria by placing a metal nanoparticle or a nanoshell nearby. An increased probability of the excitonic transition in the LH2 arises due to the borrowing of the oscillator strength from surface plasmons of the metal particle or the nanoshell. While both absorption and quenching of the excitations increase in the vicinity to a metal nanoparticle, having opposite effects, the total yield of the excitation transfer to reaction centers is shown to grow in the certain range of parameters.

Effect of metal nanoparticles on energy spectra and optical properties of peripheral light-harvesting LH2 complexes from photosynthetic bacteria

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Goliney, I.Yu., E-mail: igoliney@kinr.kiev.ua [Institute for Nuclear Research, National Academy of Science of Ukraine, 47 Nauki pr., 03680 Kyiv (Ukraine); Sugakov, V.I. [Institute for Nuclear Research, National Academy of Science of Ukraine, 47 Nauki pr., 03680 Kyiv (Ukraine); Valkunas, L. [Center for Physical Sciences and Technology, Savanoriu Ave. 231, 02300 Vilnius (Lithuania); Department of Theoretical Physics, Vilnius University, Sauletekio 9, Build. 3, 10222 Vilnius (Lithuania); Vertsimakha, G.V. [Institute for Nuclear Research, National Academy of Science of Ukraine, 47 Nauki pr., 03680 Kyiv (Ukraine)

2012-08-24

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Excitons of light-harvesting complexes (LH2) hybridize with plasmon modes. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Light absorption of LH2 is enhanced by a metal nanoparticle. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Using nanoshells allows reaching resonance between molecular and plasmons. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Metal nanoparticles introduce additional channel of excitation decay. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Light-harvesting may gain from the proper positioning of nanoshells. -- Abstract: The paper explores the theoretical possibility of affecting optical spectra and the quantum yield of the energy transfer in the peripheral light-harvesting complexes (LH2) from photosynthetic bacteria by placing a metal nanoparticle or a nanoshell nearby. An increased probability of the excitonic transition in the LH2 arises due to the borrowing of the oscillator strength from surface plasmons of the metal particle or the nanoshell. While both absorption and quenching of the excitations increase in the vicinity to a metal nanoparticle, having opposite effects, the total yield of the excitation transfer to reaction centers is shown to grow in the certain range of parameters.

Plasmonic gold nanoparticles for ZnO-nanotube photoanodes in dye-sensitized solar cell application

Science.gov (United States)

Abd-Ellah, Marwa; Moghimi, Nafiseh; Zhang, Lei; Thomas, Joseph. P.; McGillivray, Donald; Srivastava, Saurabh; Leung, Kam Tong

2016-01-01

Surface modification of nanostructured metal oxides with metal nanoparticles has been extensively used to enhance their nanoscale properties. The unique properties of metal nanoparticles associated with their controllable dimensions allow these metal nanoparticles to be precisely engineered for many applications, particularly for renewable energy. Here, a simple electrodeposition method to synthesize gold nanoparticles (GNPs) on electrochemically grown ZnO nanotubes (NTs) is reported. The size distribution and areal density of the GNPs can be easily controlled by manipulating the concentration of AuCl3 electrolyte solution, and the deposition time, respectively. An excellent enhancement in the optical properties of ZnO NTs surface-decorated with GNPs (GNP/ZnO-NT), especially in the visible region, is attributed to their surface plasmon resonance. The plasmonic effects of GNPs, together with the large specific surface area of ZnO NTs, can be used to significantly enhance the dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) properties. Furthermore, the Schottky barrier at the Au/ZnO interface could prevent electron back transfer from the conduction band of ZnO to the redox electrolyte and thus could substantially increase electron injection in the ZnO conduction band, which would further improve the overall performance of the constructed DSSCs. The GNP/ZnO-NT photoanode has been found to increase the efficiency of the DSSC significantly to 6.0% from 4.7% of the pristine ZnO-NT photoanode, together with corresponding enhancements in short-circuit current density from 10.4 to 13.1 mA cm-2 and in fill factor from 0.60 to 0.75, while the open-circuit voltage remain effectively unchanged (from 0.60 to 0.61 V). Surface decoration with GNPs therefore provides an effective approach to creating not only a high specific surface area for superior loading of dye molecules, but also higher absorbance capability due to their plasmonic effect, all of which lead to excellent performance enhancement

Optical absorption of carbon-gold core-shell nanoparticles

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Zhaolong; Quan, Xiaojun; Zhang, Zhuomin; Cheng, Ping

2018-01-01

In order to enhance the solar thermal energy conversion efficiency, we propose to use carbon-gold core-shell nanoparticles dispersed in liquid water. This work demonstrates theoretically that an absorbing carbon (C) core enclosed in a plasmonic gold (Au) nanoshell can enhance the absorption peak while broadening the absorption band; giving rise to a much higher solar absorption than most previously studied core-shell combinations. The exact Mie solution is used to evaluate the absorption efficiency factor of spherical nanoparticles in the wavelength region from 300 nm to 1100 nm as well as the electric field and power dissipation profiles inside the nanoparticles at specified wavelengths (mostly at the localized surface plasmon resonance wavelength). The field enhancement by the localized plasmons at the gold surfaces boosts the absorption of the carbon particle, resulting in a redshift of the absorption peak with increased peak height and bandwidth. In addition to spherical nanoparticles, we use the finite-difference time-domain method to calculate the absorption of cubic core-shell nanoparticles. Even stronger enhancement can be achieved with cubic C-Au core-shell structures due to the localized plasmonic resonances at the sharp edges of the Au shell. The solar absorption efficiency factor can exceed 1.5 in the spherical case and reach 2.3 in the cubic case with a shell thickness of 10 nm. Such broadband absorption enhancement is in great demand for solar thermal applications including steam generation.

Synthesis and characterization of plasmon resonant gold nanoparticles and graphene for photovoltaics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Giangregorio, M.M., E-mail: michelaria.giangregorio@ba.imip.cnr.it [Institute of Methodology and of Plasmas, IMIP-CNR, Department of Chemistry, University of Bari, via Orabona, 4 70126 Bari (Italy); Losurdo, M.; Bianco, G.V.; Dilonardo, E.; Capezzuto, P.; Bruno, G. [Institute of Methodology and of Plasmas, IMIP-CNR, Department of Chemistry, University of Bari, via Orabona, 4 70126 Bari (Italy)

2013-05-15

Here we discuss the use in solar cells of graphene grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and of plasmonic gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) deposited by sputtering. The Au NPs have been coupled with a-Si heterojunction solar cells, with an organic active layer used in organic photovoltaics, and with graphene. Extensive characterization of those three systems by the optical technique of spectroscopic ellipsometry, which is suitable to monitor and analyze the plasmon resonance of the Au NPs, by the microstructural technique of Raman spectroscopy, which is suitable to analyze graphene properties and doping, and by atomic force microscopy has been carried out. Those techniques highlighted interactions between Au NPs and silicon, polymer and graphene, which lead to variation in the plasmon resonance of Au NPs and consequently in the characteristics of the Au NPs/Si, Au NPs/polymer and Au NPs/graphene hybrids. Specifically, we found that an optimal size and density of Au NPs are able to enhance the efficiency of c-Si/a-Si heterojunction solar cells and that exceeding with Au NPs size and density causes device shortcut because of interface interdiffusion between silicon and gold. To discuss organic photovoltaics, Au NPs have been combined with an electro-donating conjugated polymer, the poly[1,4bis(2-thienyl)-2,5-bis-(2-ethyl-hexyloxyphenylenes)]. We found that there is a strong correlation between the thickness and morphology of the organic active layer, which affects the energy and amplitude of the Au NPs plasmon resonance. Finally, Au NPs have been deposited on graphene. We found that Au NPs show the plasmon resonance in the region where graphene is transparent and also yield p-type doping of graphene decreasing its sheet resistance.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Modeling, fabrication and high power optical characterization of plasmonic waveguides

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lavrinenko, Andrei; Lysenko, Oleg

2015-01-01

This paper describes modeling, fabrication and high power optical characterization of thin gold films embedded in silicon dioxide. The propagation vector of surface plasmon polaritons has been calculated by the effective index method for the wavelength range of 750-1700 nm and film thickness of 15......, 30 and 45 nm. The fabrication process of such plasmonic waveguides with width in the range of 1-100 μm and their quality inspection are described. The results of optical characterization of plasmonic waveguides using a high power laser with the peak power wavelength 1064 nm show significant deviation...... from the linear propagation regime of surface plasmon polaritons at the average input power of 100 mW and above. Possible reasons for this deviation are heating of the waveguides and subsequent changes in the coupling and propagation losses....

Optimization and Application of Reflective LSPR Optical Fiber Biosensors Based on Silver Nanoparticles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jiangping Chen

2015-05-01

Full Text Available In this study, we developed a reflective localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR optical fiber sensor, based on silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs. To enhance the sensitivity of the LSPR optical sensor, two key parameters were optimized, the length of the sensing area and the coating time of the Ag NPs. A sensing length of 1.5 cm and a 1-h coating time proved to be suitable conditions to produce highly sensitive sensors for biosensing. The optimized sensor has a high refractive index sensitivity of 387 nm/RIU, which is much higher than that of other reported individual silver nanoparticles in solutions. Moreover, the sensor was further modified with antigen to act as a biosensor. Distinctive wavelength shifts were found after each surface modification step. In addition, the reflective LSPR optical fiber sensor has high reproducibility and stability.

Coulomb Blockade Plasmonic Switch.

Science.gov (United States)

Xiang, Dao; Wu, Jian; Gordon, Reuven

2017-04-12

Tunnel resistance can be modulated with bias via the Coulomb blockade effect, which gives a highly nonlinear response current. Here we investigate the optical response of a metal-insulator-nanoparticle-insulator-metal structure and show switching of a plasmonic gap from insulator to conductor via Coulomb blockade. By introducing a sufficiently large charging energy in the tunnelling gap, the Coulomb blockade allows for a conductor (tunneling) to insulator (capacitor) transition. The tunnelling electrons can be delocalized over the nanocapacitor again when a high energy penalty is added with bias. We demonstrate that this has a huge impact on the plasmonic resonance of a 0.51 nm tunneling gap with ∼70% change in normalized optical loss. Because this structure has a tiny capacitance, there is potential to harness the effect for high-speed switching.

Optical enhancement effects of plasmonic nanostructures on organic photovoltaic cells

KAUST Repository

Park, Hui Joon; Guo, L. Jay

2015-01-01

.g. hundreds of nanometers). Especially, the performances of OPVs with plasmonic nanoparticles in photoactive and buffer layers and with periodic nanostructures were investigated. Furthermore, nanoimprint lithography-based nanofabrication processes that can

Dynamic thermal effects of epidermal melanin and plasmonic nanoparticles during photoacoustic breast imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Ghassemi, Pejhman; Wang, Quanzeng; Pfefer, T. Joshua

2016-03-01

Photoacoustic Tomography (PAT) employs high-power near-infrared (near-IR) laser pulses to generate structural and functional information on tissue chromophores up to several centimeters below the surface. Such insights may facilitate detection of breast cancer - the most common cancer in women. PAT mammography has been the subject of extensive research, including techniques based on exogenous agents for PAT contrast enhancement and molecular specificity. However, photothermal safety risks of PAT due to strong chromophores such as epidermal melanin and plasmonic nanoparticles have not been rigorously studied. We have used computational and experimental approaches to elucidate highly dynamic optical-thermal processes during PAT. A Monte Carlo model was used to simulate light propagation at 800 and 1064 nm in a multi-layer breast tissue geometry with different epidermal pigmentation levels and a tumorsimulating inclusion incorporating nanoparticles. Energy deposition results were then used in a bioheat transfer model to simulate temperature transients. Experimental measurements involved multi-layer hydrogel phantoms with inclusions incorporating gold nanoparticles. Phantom optical properties were measured using the inverse adding-doubling technique. Thermal imaging was performed as phantoms were irradiated with 5 ns near-IR pulses. Scenarios using 10 Hz laser irradiation of breast tissue containing various nanoparticle concentrations were implemented experimentally and computationally. Laser exposure levels were based on ANSI/IEC limits. Surface temperature measurements were compared to corresponding simulation data. In general, the effect of highly pigmented skin on temperature rise was significant, whereas unexpectedly small levels of temperature rise during nanoparticle irradiation were attributed to rapid photodegradation. Results provide key initial insights into light-tissue interactions impacting the safety and effectiveness of PAT.

Quantum bus of metal nanoring with surface plasmon polaritons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lin Zhirong; Guo Guoping; Tu Tao; Li Haiou; Zou Changling; Ren Xifeng; Guo Guangcan; Chen Junxue; Lu Yonghua

2010-01-01

We develop an architecture for distributed quantum computation using quantum bus of plasmonic circuits and spin qubits in self-assembled quantum dots. Deterministic quantum gates between two distant spin qubits can be reached by using an adiabatic approach in which quantum dots couple with highly detuned plasmon modes in a metallic nanoring. Plasmonic quantum bus offers a robust and scalable platform for quantum optics experiments and the development of on-chip quantum networks composed of various quantum nodes, such as quantum dots, molecules, and nanoparticles.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Science.gov (United States)

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.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

Double-Slot Hybrid Plasmonic Ring Resonator Used for Optical Sensors and Modulators

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xu Sun

2015-11-01

Full Text Available An ultra-high sensitivity double-slot hybrid plasmonic (DSHP ring resonator, used for optical sensors and modulators, is developed. Due to high index contrast, as well as plasmonic enhancement, a considerable part of the optical energy is concentrated in the narrow slots between Si and plasmonic materials (silver is used in this paper, which leads to high sensitivity to the infiltrating materials. By partial opening of the outer plasmonic circular sheet of the DSHP ring, a conventional side-coupled silicon on insulator (SOI bus waveguide can be used. Experimental results demonstrate ultra-high sensitivity (687.5 nm/RIU of the developed DSHP ring resonator, which is about five-times higher than for the conventional Si ring with the same geometry. Further discussions show that a very low detection limit (5.37 × 10−6 RIU can be achieved after loaded Q factor modifications. In addition, the plasmonic metal structures offer also the way to process optical and electronic signals along the same hybrid plasmonic circuits with small capacitance (~0.275 fF and large electric field, which leads to possible applications in compact high-efficiency electro-optic modulators, where no extra electrodes for electronic signals are required.

Ultracompact all-optical logic gates based on nonlinear plasmonic nanocavities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yang Xiaoyu

2016-09-01

Full Text Available In this study, nanoscale integrated all-optical XNOR, XOR, and NAND logic gates were realized based on all-optical tunable on-chip plasmon-induced transparency in plasmonic circuits. A large nonlinear enhancement was achieved with an organic composite cover layer based on the resonant excitation-enhancing nonlinearity effect, slow light effect, and field confinement effect provided by the plasmonic nanocavity mode, which ensured a low excitation power of 200 μW that is three orders of magnitude lower than the values in previous reports. A feature size below 600 nm was achieved, which is a one order of magnitude lower compared to previous reports. The contrast ratio between the output logic states “1” and “0” reached 29 dB, which is among the highest values reported to date. Our results not only provide an on-chip platform for the study of nonlinear and quantum optics but also open up the possibility for the realization of nanophotonic processing chips based on nonlinear plasmonics.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Ultrathin and Nanostructured Au Films with Gradient of Effective Thickness. Optical and Plasmonic Properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tomilin, S V; Berzhansky, V N; Shaposhnikov, A N; Prokopov, A R; Milyukova, E T; Karavaynikov, A V; Tomilina, O A

2016-01-01

In present work the results of investigation of optical (transmission spectra) and plasmonic (surface plasmon-polariton resonance) properties of ultrathin and nanostructured Au films are presents. Methods and techniques for the syntheses of samples of ultrathin and nanostructured metallic films, and for the experimental studies of optical and plasmonic properties are representative. Au films on SiO 2 (optic glass) substrates were investigated. (paper)

Exciton-plasmon quantum metastates: self-induced oscillations of plasmon fields in the absence of decoherence in nanoparticle molecules

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sadeghi, S. M., E-mail: seyed.sadeghi@uah.edu [University of Alabama in Huntsville, Department of Physics and Nano and Mirco Device Center (United States)

2016-02-15

We investigate formation of unique quantum states (metastates) in quantum dot-metallic nanoparticle systems via self-induced coherent dynamics generated by interaction of these systems with a visible and an infrared laser fields. In such metastates, the quantum decoherence rates of the quantum dots can become zero and even negative while they start to rapidly change with time. Under these conditions, the energy dissipation rates and plasmon fields of the nanoparticle systems undergo undamped oscillations with gigahertz frequency, while the amplitudes of both visible and the infrared laser fields are considered to be time-independent. These dynamics also lead to variation of the plasmon absorption of the metallic nanoparticles between high and nearly zero values, forming electromagnetically induced transparency oscillations. We show that under these conditions, the effective transition energies and broadening of the quantum dots undergo oscillatory dynamics, highlighting the unique aspects of the metastates. These results extend the horizon for investigation of light-matter interaction in the presence of zero or negative polarization dephasing rates with strong time dependency.

Advanced materials for improving biosensing performances of propagating and localized plasmonic transducers

Science.gov (United States)

Manera, M. G.; Colombelli, A.; Convertino, A.; Rella, S.; De Lorenzis, E.; Taurino, A.; Malitesta, C.; Rella, R.

2015-05-01

Among all transduction methodologies reported in the field of solid state optical chemical sensors, the attention has been focused onto the optical sensing characterization by using propagating and localized surface plasmon resonance (SPR) techniques. The research in this field is always oriented in the improvement of the sensing features in terms of sensitivity and limits of detection. To this purpose different strategies have been proposed to realize advanced materials for high sensitive plasmonic devices. In this work nanostructured silica nanowires decorated by gold nanoparticles and active magneto-plasmonic transductors are considered as new biosensing transductors useful to increase the performance of sensitive devices.

Plasmonic Gold Decorated MWCNT Nanocomposite for Localized Plasmon Resonance Sensing

Science.gov (United States)

Ozhikandathil, J.; Badilescu, S.; Packirisamy, M.

2015-01-01

The synergism of excellent properties of carbon nanotubes and gold nanoparticles is used in this work for bio-sensing of recombinant bovine growth hormones (rbST) by making Multi Wall Carbon Nanotubes (MWCNT) locally optically responsive by augmenting it optical properties through Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance (LSPR). To this purpose, locally gold nano particles decorated gold–MWCNT composite was synthesized from a suspension of MWCNT bundles and hydrogen chloroauric acid in an aqueous solution, activated ultrasonically and, then, drop-casted on a glass substrate. The slow drying of the drop produces a “coffee ring” pattern that is found to contain gold–MWCNT nanocomposites, accumulated mostly along the perimeter of the ring. The reaction is studied also at low-temperature, in the vacuum chamber of the Scanning Electron Microscope and is accounted for by the local melting processes that facilitate the contact between the bundle of tubes and the gold ions. Biosensing applications of the gold–MWCNT nanocomposite using their LSPR properties are demonstrated for the plasmonic detection of traces of bovine growth hormone. The sensitivity of the hybrid platform which is found to be 1 ng/ml is much better than that measuring with gold nanoparticles alone which is only 25 ng/ml. PMID:26282187

Structure and Plasmonic Properties of Thin PMMA Layers with Ion-Synthesized Ag Nanoparticles

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Popok, Vladimir; Hanif, Muhammad; Mackova, Anna

2015-01-01

nanoparticles above the surface. The synthesized nanoparticles can be split into two groups: (i) located at the surface and (ii) fully embedded in the shallow layer. These two groups provide corresponding spectral bands related to localized surface plasmon resonance. The bands demonstrate considerable intensity...

Introduction to metal-nanoparticle plasmonics

CERN Document Server

Pelton, Matthew

2013-01-01

Based on a popular article in Laser and Photonics Reviews, this book provides an explanation and overview of the techniques used to model, make, and measure metal nanoparticles, detailing results obtained and what they mean. It covers the properties of coupled metal nanoparticles, the nonlinear optical response of metal nanoparticles, and the phenomena that arise when light-emitting materials are coupled to metal nanoparticles. It also provides an overview of key potential applications and offers explanations of computational and experimental techniques giving readers a solid grounding

Design of a plasmonic back reflector using Ag nanoparticles with a mirror support for an a-Si:H solar cell

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chanse D. Hungerford

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Plasmonic nanoparticles have unique optical properties and these properties are affected by any surrounding structures, or lack thereof. Nanoparticles are often added to a device without fully assessing the effect that each interface will have on the nanoparticle’s response. In this work, we simulate and fabricate devices utilizing hemispherical nanoparticles integrated into the back reflector of an amorphous silicon solar cell. 3D finite difference time domain simulations were used to calculate the optical absorption of a 300nm amorphous silicon layer as a function of the size of the nanoparticles, the distance between the nanoparticles and the active layer, and the distance between the nanoparticles and the mirror. Two transparent conducting oxides, aluminum doped zinc oxide and indium tin oxide, are investigated to determine the importance of the material properties between the nanoparticles and mirror. Silver hemispherical nanoparticles with a diameter of 150nm placed directly on the a-Si:H and a 60nm aluminum doped zinc oxide layer between the nanoparticles and the mirror lead to a maximum absorption increase of 7.2% in the 500nm to 800nm wavelength range. Experimental devices confirmed the trends predicted by theory but did not achieve enhancement, likely due to fabrication challenges. Fabricating a solar cell with the simulated design requires a high quality transparent conductive oxide and high control over the nanoparticle size distribution.

Coupling between plasmonic films and nanostructures: from basics to applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maurer Thomas

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Plasmonic film-nanoparticles coupled systems have had a renewed interest for the past 5 years both for the richness of the provided plasmonic modes and for their high technological potential. Many groups started to investigate the optical properties of film-nanoparticles coupled systems, as to whether the spacer layer thickness is tens of nanometers thick or goes down to a few nanometers or angstroms, even reaching contact. This article reviews the recent breakthroughs in the physical understanding of such coupled systems and the different systems where nanoparticles on top of the spacer layer are either isolated/random or form regular arrays. The potential for applications, especially as perfect absorbers or transmitters is also put into evidence.

An optimized surface plasmon photovoltaic structure using energy transfer between discrete nano-particles.

Science.gov (United States)

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).

Ultrafast optical control of terahertz surface plasmons in subwavelength hole-arrays at room temperature

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Azad, Abul Kalam [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Chen, Hou - Tong [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Taylor, Antoinette [Los Alamos National Laboratory; O' Hara, John [Los Alamos National Laboratory

2010-12-10

Extraordinary optical transmission through subwavelength metallic hole-arrays has been an active research area since its first demonstration. The frequency selective resonance properties of subwavelength metallic hole arrays, generally known as surface plasmon polaritons, have potential use in functional plasmonic devices such as filters, modulators, switches, etc. Such plasmonic devices are also very promising for future terahertz applications. Ultrafast switching or modulation of the resonant behavior of the 2-D metallic arrays in terahertz frequencies is of particular interest for high speed communication and sensing applications. In this paper, we demonstrate optical control of surface plasmon enhanced resonant terahertz transmission in two-dimensional subwavelength metallic hole arrays fabricated on gallium arsenide based substrates. Optically pumping the arrays creates a conductive layer in the substrate reducing the terahertz transmission amplitude of both the resonant mode and the direct transmission. Under low optical fluence, the terahertz transmission is more greatly affected by resonance damping than by propagation loss in the substrate. An ErAs:GaAs nanoisland superlattice substrate is shown to allow ultrafast control with a switching recovery time of {approx}10 ps. We also present resonant terahertz transmission in a hybrid plasmonic film comprised of an integrated array of subwavelength metallic islands and semiconductor holes. A large dynamic transition between a dipolar localized surface plasmon mode and a surface plasmon resonance near 0.8 THz is observed under near infrared optical excitation. The reversal in transmission amplitude from a stopband to a passband and up to {pi}/2 phase shift achieved in the hybrid plasmonic film make it promising in large dynamic phase modulation, optical changeover switching, and active terahertz plasmonics.

Polarization-resolved characterization of plasmon waves supported by an anisotropic metasurface

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Samusev, Anton; Mukhin, Ivan; Malureanu, Radu

2017-01-01

Optical metasurfaces have great potential to form a platform for manipulation of surface waves. A plethora of advanced surface-wave phenomena such as negative refraction, self-collimation and channeling of 2D waves can be realized through on-demand engineering of dispersion properties of a periodic...... metasurface. In this letter, we report on polarization-resolved measurement of dispersion of plasmon waves supported by an anisotropic metasurface. We demonstrate that a subdiffractive array of strongly coupled resonant plasmonic nanoparticles supports both TE and TM plasmon modes at optical frequencies...... polarization degree of freedom for surface waves, our results open new routes for designing planar on-chip devices for surface photonics....

Plasmonic Metallurgy Enabled by DNA.

Science.gov (United States)

Ross, Michael B; Ku, Jessie C; Lee, Byeongdu; Mirkin, Chad A; Schatz, George C

2016-04-13

Mixed silver and gold plasmonic nanoparticle architectures are synthesized using DNA-programmable assembly, unveiling exquisitely tunable optical properties that are predicted and explained both by effective thin-film models and explicit electrodynamic simulations. These data demonstrate that the manner and ratio with which multiple metallic components are arranged can greatly alter optical properties, including tunable color and asymmetric reflectivity behavior of relevance for thin-film applications. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Coupling of a single active nanoparticle to a polymer-based photonic structure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dam Thuy Trang Nguyen

2016-03-01

Full Text Available The engineered coupling between a guest moiety (molecule, nanoparticle and the host photonic nanostructure may provide a great enhancement of the guest optical response, leading to many attractive applications. In this article, we describe briefly the basic concept and some recent progress considering the coupling of a single nanoparticle into a photonic structure. Different kinds of nanoparticles of great interest including quantum dots and nitrogen-vacancy centers in nanodiamond for single photon source, nonlinear nanoparticles for efficient nonlinear effect and sensors, magnetic nanoparticles for Kerr magneto-optical effect, and plasmonic nanoparticles for ultrafast optical switching and sensors, are briefly reviewed. We focus further on the coupling of plasmonic gold nanoparticles and polymeric photonic structures by optimizing theoretically the photonic structures and developing efficient way to realize desired hybrid structures. The simple and low-cost fabrication technique, the optical enhancement of the fluorescent nanoparticles induced by the photonic structure, as well as the limitations, challenges and appealing prospects are discussed in details.

Faradaurate nanomolecules: a superstable plasmonic 76.3 kDa cluster.

Science.gov (United States)

Dass, Amala

2011-12-07

Information on the emergence of the characteristic plasmonic optical properties of nanoscale noble-metal particles has been limited, due in part to the problem of preparing homogeneous material for ensemble measurements. Here, we report the identification, isolation, and mass spectrometric and optical characterization of a 76.3 kDa thiolate-protected gold nanoparticle. This giant molecule is far larger than any metal-cluster compound, those with direct metal-to-metal bonding, previously known as homogeneous molecular substances, and is the first to exhibit clear plasmonic properties. The observed plasmon emergence phenomena in nanomolecules are of great interest, and the availability of absolutely homogeneous and characterized samples is thus critical to establishing their origin. © 2011 American Chemical Society

Controlled elaboration of large-area plasmonic substrates by plasma process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pugliara, A; Despax, B; Makasheva, K; Bonafos, C; Carles, R

2015-01-01

Elaboration in a controlled way of large-area and efficient plasmonic substrates is achieved by combining sputtering of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and plasma polymerization of the embedding dielectric matrix in an axially asymmetric, capacitively coupled RF discharge maintained at low gas pressure. The plasma parameters and deposition conditions were optimized according to the optical response of these substrates. Structural and optical characterizations of the samples confirm the process efficiency. The obtained results indicate that to deposit a single layer of large and closely situated AgNPs, a high injected power and short sputtering times must be privileged. The plasma-elaborated plasmonic substrates appear to be very sensitive to any stimuli that affect their plasmonic response. (paper)

Coherent confinement of plasmonic field in quantum dot-metallic nanoparticle molecules.

Science.gov (United States)

Sadeghi, S M; Hatef, A; Fortin-Deschenes, Simon; Meunier, Michel

2013-05-24

Interaction of a hybrid system consisting of a semiconductor quantum dot and a metallic nanoparticle (MNP) with a laser beam can replace the intrinsic plasmonic field of the MNP with a coherently normalized field (coherent-plasmonic or CP field). In this paper we show how quantum coherence effects in such a hybrid system can form a coherent barrier (quantum cage) that spatially confines the CP field. This allows us to coherently control the modal volume of this field, making it significantly smaller or larger than that of the intrinsic plasmonic field of the MNP. We investigate the spatial profiles of the CP field and discuss how the field barrier depends on the collective states of the hybrid system.

Waveguide-Plasmon Polaritons Enhance Transverse Magneto-Optical Kerr Effect

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lars E. Kreilkamp

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Magneto-optical effects in ferrimagnetic or ferromagnetic materials are usually too weak for potential applications. The transverse magneto-optical Kerr effect (TMOKE in ferromagnetic films is typically on the order of 0.1%. Here, we demonstrate experimentally the enhancement of TMOKE due to the interaction of particle plasmons in gold nanowires with a photonic waveguide consisting of magneto-optical material, where hybrid waveguide-plasmon polaritons are excited. We achieve a large TMOKE that modulates the transmitted light intensity by 1.5%, accompanied by high transparency of the system. Our concept may lead to novel devices of miniaturized photonic circuits and switches, which are controllable by an external magnetic field.

Hybrid plasmonic nanodevices: Switching mechanism for the nonlinear emission

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bragas, Andrea V. [Departamento de Física, FCEyN, Universidad de Buenos Aires, IFIBA CONICET, 1428 Buenos Aires (Argentina); Singh, Mahi R. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Western University, London (Canada)

2014-03-31

Control of the light emission at the nanoscale is of central interest in nanophotonics due to the many applications in very different fields, ranging from quantum information to biophysics. Resonant excitation of surface plasmon polaritons in metal nanoparticles create nanostructured and enhanced light fields around those structures, which produce their strong interaction in a hybrid nanodevice with other plasmonic or non-plasmonic objects. This interaction may in turn also modulate the far field with important consequences in the applications. We show in this paper that the nonlinear emission from semiconductor quantum dots is strongly affected by the close presence of metal nanoparticles, which are resonantly excited. Using a pulsed laser, optical second harmonic is generated in the quantum dot, and it is highly enhanced when the laser is tuned around the nanoparticle plasmon resonance. Even more interesting is the demonstration of a switching mechanism, controlled by an external continuous-wave field, which can enhance or extinguish the SH signal, even when the pulsed laser is always on. Experimental observations are in excellent agreement with the theoretical calculations, based on the dipole-dipole near-field coupling of the objects forming the hybrid system.

Hotspot-mediated non-dissipative and ultrafast plasmon passage

Science.gov (United States)

Roller, Eva-Maria; Besteiro, Lucas V.; Pupp, Claudia; Khorashad, Larousse Khosravi; Govorov, Alexander O.; Liedl, Tim

2017-08-01

Plasmonic nanoparticles hold great promise as photon handling elements and as channels for coherent transfer of energy and information in future all-optical computing devices. Coherent energy oscillations between two spatially separated plasmonic entities via a virtual middle state exemplify electron-based population transfer, but their realization requires precise nanoscale positioning of heterogeneous particles. Here, we show the assembly and optical analysis of a triple-particle system consisting of two gold nanoparticles with an inter-spaced silver island. We observe strong plasmonic coupling between the spatially separated gold particles, mediated by the connecting silver particle, with almost no dissipation of energy. As the excitation energy of the silver island exceeds that of the gold particles, only quasi-occupation of the silver transfer channel is possible. We describe this effect both with exact classical electrodynamic modelling and qualitative quantum-mechanical calculations. We identify the formation of strong hotspots between all particles as the main mechanism for the lossless coupling and thus coherent ultrafast energy transfer between the remote partners. Our findings could prove useful for quantum gate operations, as well as for classical charge and information transfer processes.

On the origin of nonlocal damping in plasmonic monomers and dimers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tserkezis, Christos; Yan, Wei; Hsieh, Wenting

2017-01-01

The origin and importance of nonlocal damping is discussed through simulations with the generalized nonlocal optical response (GNOR) theory, in conjunction with time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) calculations and equivalent circuit modeling, for some of the most typical plasmonic...... architectures: metal–dielectric interfaces, metal–dielectric–metal gaps, spherical nanoparticles and nanoparticle dimers. It is shown that diffusive damping, as introduced by the convective–diffusive GNOR theory, describes well the enhanced losses and plasmon broadening predicted by ab initio...... the interface. Diffusive nonlocal theories provide therefore an efficient means to tackle plasmon damping when electron tunneling can be safely disregarded, without the need to resort to more accurate, but time-consuming fully quantum-mechanical studies....

Templated green synthesis of plasmonic silver nanoparticles in onion epidermal cells suitable for surface-enhanced Raman and hyper-Raman scattering

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Palanco, Marta Espina; Mogensen, Klaus Bo; Guehlke, Marina

2016-01-01

We report fast and simple green synthesis of plasmonic silver nanoparticles in the epidermal cells of onions after incubation with AgNO3 solution. The biological environment supports the generation of silver nanostructures in two ways. The plant tissue delivers reducing chemicals for the initial...... for one-and two-photon-excited spectroscopy such as surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) and surface enhanced hyper-Raman scattering (SEHRS). Our studies demonstrate a templated green preparation of enhancing plasmonic nanoparticles and suggest a new route to deliver silver nanoparticles as basic...... building blocks of plasmonic nanosensors to plants by the uptake of solutions of metal salts....

Hot Carrier Generation and Extraction of Plasmonic Alloy Nanoparticles.

Science.gov (United States)

Valenti, Marco; Venugopal, Anirudh; Tordera, Daniel; Jonsson, Magnus P; Biskos, George; Schmidt-Ott, Andreas; Smith, Wilson A

2017-05-17

The conversion of light to electrical and chemical energy has the potential to provide meaningful advances to many aspects of daily life, including the production of energy, water purification, and optical sensing. Recently, plasmonic nanoparticles (PNPs) have been increasingly used in artificial photosynthesis (e.g., water splitting) devices in order to extend the visible light utilization of semiconductors to light energies below their band gap. These nanoparticles absorb light and produce hot electrons and holes that can drive artificial photosynthesis reactions. For n-type semiconductor photoanodes decorated with PNPs, hot charge carriers are separated by a process called hot electron injection (HEI), where hot electrons with sufficient energy are transferred to the conduction band of the semiconductor. An important parameter that affects the HEI efficiency is the nanoparticle composition, since the hot electron energy is sensitive to the electronic band structure of the metal. Alloy PNPs are of particular importance for semiconductor/PNPs composites, because by changing the alloy composition their absorption spectra can be tuned to accurately extend the light absorption of the semiconductor. This work experimentally compares the HEI efficiency from Ag, Au, and Ag/Au alloy nanoparticles to TiO 2 photoanodes for the photoproduction of hydrogen. Alloy PNPs not only exhibit tunable absorption but can also improve the stability and electronic and catalytic properties of the pure metal PNPs. In this work, we find that the Ag/Au alloy PNPs extend the stability of Ag in water to larger applied potentials while, at the same time, increasing the interband threshold energy of Au. This increasing of the interband energy of Au suppresses the visible-light-induced interband excitations, favoring intraband excitations that result in higher hot electron energies and HEI efficiencies.

Spectral dependence of nonlinear optical absorption of silica glass with copper nanoparticles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Golubev, A N; Nikitin, S I; Smirnov, M A; Stepanov, A L

2011-01-01

The nonlinear optical properties of silica glass with copper nanoparticles synthesized by ion implantation were investigated by z-scan method in nanosecond time scale. The reverse saturation absorption (RSA) at the wavelength range of 450–540 nm and saturation absorption (SA) at 550–585 nm were observed. It was supposed that the two-photon electron absorption from bound of d-states determined the RSA effect and the SA is due to saturation of plasmon excitation.

Nanoparticle movement: Plasmonic forces and physical constraints

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Batson, P.E.; Reyes-Coronado, A.; Barrera, R.G.; Rivacoba, A.; Echenique, P.M.; Aizpurua, J.

2012-01-01

Nanoparticle structures observed in aberration-corrected electron microscopes exhibit many types of behavior, some of which are dominated by intrinsic conditions, unrelated to the microscope environment. Some behaviors are clearly driven by the electron beam, however, and the question arises as to whether these are similar to intrinsic mechanisms, useful for understanding nanoscale behavior, or whether they should be regarded as unwanted modification of as-built specimens. We have studied a particular kind of beam–specimen interaction – plasmon dielectric forces caused by the electric fields imposed by a passing swift electron – identifying four types of forced motion, including both attractive and repulsive forces on single nanoparticles, and coalescent and non-coalescent forces in groups of two or more nanoparticles. We suggest that these forces might be useful for deliberate electron beam guided movement of nanoparticles. -- Highlights: ► We investigate the interaction of metal nanoparticles with a high energy electron beam. ► We find forces ranging from 0.1 to 50 pN forces between the metal particles and the beam. ► At moderate distances, dielectric forces are usually small and attractive. ► At sub-Nm distances the forces become repulsive, pushing nanoparticles away from the electron beam. ► While the repulsive behavior is predicted by electromagnetic theory, the detailed origin of the behavior is not yet understood.

Size-dependent endocytosis of gold nanoparticles studied by three-dimensional mapping of plasmonic scattering images

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lee Chia-Wei

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Understanding the endocytosis process of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs is important for the drug delivery and photodynamic therapy applications. The endocytosis in living cells is usually studied by fluorescent microscopy. The fluorescent labeling suffers from photobleaching. Besides, quantitative estimation of the cellular uptake is not easy. In this paper, the size-dependent endocytosis of AuNPs was investigated by using plasmonic scattering images without any labeling. Results The scattering images of AuNPs and the vesicles were mapped by using an optical sectioning microscopy with dark-field illumination. AuNPs have large optical scatterings at 550-600 nm wavelengths due to localized surface plasmon resonances. Using an enhanced contrast between yellow and blue CCD images, AuNPs can be well distinguished from cellular organelles. The tracking of AuNPs coated with aptamers for surface mucin glycoprotein shows that AuNPs attached to extracellular matrix and moved towards center of the cell. Most 75-nm-AuNPs moved to the top of cells, while many 45-nm-AuNPs entered cells through endocytosis and accumulated in endocytic vesicles. The amounts of cellular uptake decreased with the increase of particle size. Conclusions We quantitatively studied the endocytosis of AuNPs with different sizes in various cancer cells. The plasmonic scattering images confirm the size-dependent endocytosis of AuNPs. The 45-nm-AuNP is better for drug delivery due to its higher uptake rate. On the other hand, large AuNPs are immobilized on the cell membrane. They can be used to reconstruct the cell morphology.

Plasmonic heating from indium nanoparticles on a floating microporous membrane for enhanced solar seawater desalination.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Lulu; Xing, Jun; Wen, Xinglin; Chai, Jianwei; Wang, Shijie; Xiong, Qihua

2017-09-14

Passive solar evaporation represents a promising and environmentally benign method of water purification/desalination. Plasmonic nanoparticles have been demonstrated as an effective approach for enhancing solar steam generation through a plasmonic heating effect, nonetheless the efficiency is constrained by unnecessary bulk heating of the entire liquid volume, while the noble metals commonly used are not cost-effective in terms of availability and their sophisticated preparation. Herein, a paper-like plasmonic device consisting of a microporous membrane and indium nanoparticles (In NPs/MPM) is fabricated through a simple thermal evaporation method. Due to the light-weight and porous nature of the device, the broadband light absorption properties, and theoretically the excellent plasmonic heating effect from In NP which could be even higher than gold, silver and aluminium nanoparticles, our device can effectively enhance solar water evaporation by floating on the water surface and its utility has been demonstrated in the solar desalination of a real seawater sample. The durability of the device in solar seawater desalination has also been investigated over multiple cycles with stable performances. This portable device could provide a solution for individuals to do water/seawater purification in under-developed areas with limited/no access to electricity or a centralized drinking water supply.

Optical pumping of a single hole spin in a p-doped quantum dot coupled to a metallic nanoparticle

Science.gov (United States)

Antón, M. A.; Carreño, F.; Melle, Sonia; Calderón, Oscar G.; Cabrera-Granado, E.; Singh, Mahi R.

2013-05-01

The preparation of quantum states with a defined spin is analyzed in a hybrid system consisting of a p-doped semiconductor quantum dot (QD) coupled to a metallic nanoparticle. The quantum dot is described as a four-level atom-like system using the density matrix formalism. The lower levels are Zeeman-split hole spin states and the upper levels correspond to positively charged excitons containing a spin-up, spin-down hole pair and a spin electron. A metallic nanoparticle with spheroidal geometry is placed in close proximity to the quantum dot, and its effects are considered in the quasistatic approximation. A linearly polarized laser field drives two of the optical transitions of the QD and produces localized surface plasmons in the nanoparticle which act back upon the QD. The frequencies of these localized plasmons are very different along the two principal axes of the nanoparticle, thus producing an anisotropic modification of the spontaneous emission rates of the allowed optical transitions which is accompanied by local-field corrections. This effect translates into a preferential acceleration of some of the optical pathways and therefore into a fast initialization of the QD by excitation with a short optical pulse. The population transfer between the lower levels of the QD and the fidelity is analyzed as a function of the nanoparticle's aspect ratio, the external magnetic field, and the Rabi frequency of the driving field. It is also shown that the main effect of the local-field corrections is a lengthening of the time elapsed to reach the steady-state. The hole spin is predicted to be successfully cooled from 5 to 0.04 K at a magnetic field of 4.6 T applied in the Voigt geometry.

Large third-order optical nonlinearity in vertically oriented mesoporous silica thin films embedded with Ag nanoparticles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tan, Min; Liu, Qiming, E-mail: qmliu@whu.edu.cn [Wuhan University, Key Laboratory of Artificial Micro- and Nano-structures of Ministry of Education, School of Physics and Technology (China)

2016-12-15

Taking advantage of the channel confinement of mesoporous films to prevent the agglomeration of Ag nanoparticles to achieve large third-order optical nonlinearity in amorphous materials, Ag-loaded composite mesoporous silica film was prepared by the electrochemical deposition method on ITO substrate. Ag ions were firstly transported into the channels of mesoporous film by the diffusion and binding force of channels, which were reduced to nanoparticles by applying suitable voltage. The existence and uniform distribution of Ag nanoparticles ranging in 1–10 nm in the mesoporous silica thin films were exhibited by UV spectrophotometer, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements. The third-order optical nonlinearity induced by Ag nanoparticles was studied by the Z-scan technique. Due to the local field surface plasmon resonance, the maximum third-order nonlinear optical susceptibility of Ag-loaded composite mesoporous silica film is 1.53×10{sup −10} esu, which is 1000 times larger than that of the Ag-contained chalcogenide glasses which showed large nonlinearity in amorphous materials.

Synthesis and optical properties of polyurethane foam modified with silver nanoparticles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Apyari, V V; Volkov, P A; Dmitrienko, S G

2012-01-01

This paper for the first time describes peculiarities of synthesis of polyurethane foam modified with silver nanoparticles as a potential material for optical sensors in analytical chemistry. We found that the unique sorptional properties of polyurethane foam gave an opportunity to perform such a synthesis by two different approaches. The first one was based on sorption of previously synthesized in-solution nanoparticles by polyurethane foam, the second one consisted in preparation of nanoparticles directly in polyurethane foam matrix. This possibility is novel and interesting for practical use because the nanoparticles in polyurethane foam are capable of surface plasmon resonance. The influence of different factors during the synthesis was investigated and the optimal conditions were found. The samples prepared were characterized by diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. On the basis of the results obtained we first suggested that this material is attractive from the viewpoint of analytical chemistry as a convenient analytical form for determination of oxidants and reductants

Coupling of Er light emissions to plasmon modes on In{sub 2}O{sub 3}: Sn nanoparticle sheets in the near-infrared range

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Matsui, Hiroaki, E-mail: hiroaki@ee.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp; Tabata, Hitoshi [Department of Bioengineering, The University of Tokyo, 1-3-7 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656 (Japan); Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Systems, The University of Tokyo, 1-3-7 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656 (Japan); Badalawa, Wasanthamala; Nomura, Wataru; Yatsui, Takashi; Ohtsu, Motoichi [Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Systems, The University of Tokyo, 1-3-7 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656 (Japan); Hasebe, Takayuki [Central Customs Laboratory, Ministry of Finance, 5-3-6 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba 270-0882 (Japan); Furuta, Shinya [Tomoe Works Co. Ltd., 1-3-6 Namiyoke, Minato-ku, Osaka 552-0001 (Japan)

2014-07-28

Near-infrared Er photoluminescence (PL) is markedly modified using a plasmonic In{sub 2}O{sub 3}: Sn nanoparticle (NP) sheet. Modeling and optical measurements reveal the presence of different electric fields (E-field) in the NP sheet. The local E-field excited at the interface between the NP sheet and Er-emitting layer of ZnO contributes significantly towards the spectral modifications of Er PL due to matching with the photon energy of Er PL. We also determine the critical temperature for Er PL modifications, which is related to the energy transfer efficiency between Er transition dipoles in ZnO and the plasmon modes on the NP sheet.

Effect of Interface energy and electron transfer on shape, plasmon resonance and SERS activity of supported surfactant-free gold nanoparticles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Giangregorio, Maria M. [Institute of Inorganic Methodologies and of Plasmas, CNR-IMIP; Dastmalchi, Babak [Ames Laboratory; Suvorova, Alexandra [University of Western Australia; Bianco, Giuseppe V. [Institute of Inorganic Methodologies and of Plasmas, CNR-IMIP; Hingerl, Kurt [Johannes Kepler University Linz; Bruno, Giovanni [Institute of Inorganic Methodologies and of Plasmas, CNR-IMIP; Losurdo, Maria [Institute of Inorganic Methodologies and of Plasmas, CNR-IMIP

2014-01-01

For device integration purposes plasmonic metal nanoparticles must be supported/deposited on substrates. Therefore, it is important to understand the interaction between surfactant-free plasmonic metal nanoparticles and different substrates, as well as to identify factors that drive nanoparticles nucleation and formation. Here we show that for nanoparticles grown directly on supports, the substrate/nanoparticle interfacial energy affects the equilibrium shape of nanoparticles. Therefore, oblate, spherical and prolate Au nanoparticles (NPs) with different shapes have been deposited by radiofrequency sputtering on substrates with different characteristics, namely a dielectric oxide Al2O3 (0001), a narrow bandgap semiconductor Si (100), and a polar piezoelectric wide bandgap semiconductor 4H–SiC (0001). We demonstrate that the higher the substrate surface energy, the higher the interaction with the substrate, resulting in flat prolate Au nanoparticles. The resulting localized surface plasmon resonance characteristics of Au NPs/Al2O3, Au NPs/Si and Au NPs/SiC have been determined by spectroscopic ellipsometry and correlated with their structure and shape studied by transmission electron microscopy. Finally, we have demonstrated the diverse response of the tailored plasmonic substrates as ultrasensitive SERS chemical sensors. Flat oblates Au NPs on SiC result in an enhanced and more stable SERS response. The experimental findings are validated by numerical simulations of electromagnetic fields.

The inhibition of optical excitations and enhancement of Rabi flopping in hybrid quantum dot-metallic nanoparticle systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sadeghi, S M

2009-01-01

We study the inhibition of optical excitation and enhancement of Rabi flopping and frequency in semiconductor quantum dots via plasmonic effects. This is done by demonstrating that the interaction of a quantum dot with a laser field in the vicinity of a metallic nanoparticle can be described in terms of optical Bloch equations with a plasmically normalized Rabi frequency. We show that in the weak-field regime plasmonic effects can suppress the interband transitions, inhibiting exciton generation. In the strong-field regime these effects delay the response of the quantum dot to the laser field and enhance Rabi flopping. We relate these to the conversion of Rabi frequency from a real quantity into a complex and strongly frequency-dependent quantity as plasmonic effects become significant. We show that, within the strong-field regime, in the wavelength range where real and imaginary parts of this frequency reach their maxima, a strongly frequency-dependent enhancement of carrier excitation can happen.

Studying substrate effects on localized surface plasmons in an individual silver nanoparticle using electron energy-loss spectroscopy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fujiyoshi, Yoshifumi; Nemoto, Takashi; Kurata, Hiroki, E-mail: kurata@eels.kuicr.kyoto-u.ac.jp

2017-04-15

In this study, electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) in conjunction with scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) was used to investigate surface plasmons in a single silver nanoparticle (NP) on a magnesium oxide substrate, employing an incident electron trajectory parallel to the substrate surface. This parallel irradiation allowed a direct exploration of the substrate effects on localized surface plasmon (LSP) excitations as a function of the distance from the substrate. The presence of the substrate was found to lower the symmetry of the system, such that the resonance energies of LSPs were dependent on the polarization direction relative to the substrate surface. The resulting mode splitting could be detected by applying different electron trajectories, providing results similar to those previously obtained from optical studies using polarized light. However, the LSP maps obtained by STEM-EELS analysis show an asymmetric intensity distribution with the highest intensity at the top surface of the NP (that is, far from the substrate), a result that is not predicted by optical simulations. We show that modifications of the applied electric field by the substrate cause this asymmetric intensity distribution in the LSP maps.

Integration of plasmonic Ag nanoparticles as a back reflector in ultra-thin Cu(In,Ga)Se_2 solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yin, Guanchao; Steigert, Alexander; Andrae, Patrick; Goebelt, Manuela; Latzel, Michael; Manley, Phillip; Lauermann, Iver; Christiansen, Silke; Schmid, Martina

2015-01-01

Graphical abstract: Plasmonic Ag nanoparticles as a back reflector in ultra-thin Cu(In,Ga)Se_2 (CIGSe) solar cells are investigated. Ag diffusion is successfully passivated by reducing the substrate temperature and introducing a 50 nm atomic layer deposition (ALD) prepared Al_2O_3 film. This clears the thermal obstacle in incorporating Ag nanoparticles in CIGSe solar cells. Simulations show that Ag nanoparticles have the potential to greatly enhance the light absorption in ultra-thin CIGSe solar cells. - Highlights: • Ag nanoparticles are able to diffuse through ITO substrate into CIGSe absorber even at a low substrate temperature of 440 °C. • The direction (inserting a dielectric passivation layer) to thermally block the Ag diffusion and the requirements for the passivation layer are indicated and generalized. • An atomic layer deposited Al_2O_3 layer is experimentally proved to be able to thermally passivate the Ag nanoparticles, which clears the thermal obstacle in using Ag nanoparticles as a back reflector in ultra-thin CIGSe solar cells. • It is theoretically proved that the Ag nanoparticles as a back reflector have the potential to effectively enhance the absorption in ultra-thin CIGSe solar cells. - Abstract: Integration of plasmonic Ag nanoparticles as a back reflector in ultra-thin Cu(In,Ga)Se_2 (CIGSe) solar cells is investigated. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results show that Ag nanoparticles underneath a Sn:In_2O_3 back contact could not be thermally passivated even at a low substrate temperature of 440 °C during CIGSe deposition. It is shown that a 50 nm thick Al_2O_3 film prepared by atomic layer deposition is able to block the diffusion of Ag, clearing the thermal obstacle in utilizing Ag nanoparticles as a back reflector in ultra-thin CIGSe solar cells. Via 3-D finite element optical simulation, it is proved that the Ag nanoparticles show the potential to contribute the effective absorption in CIGSe solar cells.

Impact of the Excitation Source and Plasmonic Material on Cylindrical Active Coated Nano-Particles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Richard W. Ziolkowski

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Electromagnetic properties of cylindrical active coated nano-particles comprised of a silica nano-cylinder core layered with a plasmonic concentric nano-shell are investigated for potential nano-sensor applications. Particular attention is devoted to the near-field properties of these particles, as well as to their far-field radiation characteristics, in the presence of an electric or a magnetic line source. A constant frequency canonical gain model is used to account for the gain introduced in the dielectric part of the nano-particle, whereas three different plasmonic materials (silver, gold, and copper are employed and compared for the nano-shell layers.

Study of Chemistry and Structure-Property Relationship on Tunable Plasmonic Nanostructures

Science.gov (United States)

Jing, Hao

In this dissertation, the rational design and controllable fabrication of an array of novel plasmonic nanostructures with geometrically tunable optical properties are demonstrated, including metal-semiconductor hybrid hetero-nanoparticles, bimetallic noble metal nanoparticles and hollow nanostructures (nanobox and nanocage). Firstly, I have developed a robust wet chemistry approach to the geometry control of Ag-Cu2O core-shell nanoparticles through epitaxial growth of Cu2O nanoshells on the surfaces of various Ag nanostructures, such as quasi-spherical nanoparticles, nanocubes, and nanocuboids. Precise control over the core and the shell geometries enables me to develop detailed, quantitative understanding of how the Cu2O nanoshells introduce interesting modifications to the resonance frequencies and the extinction spectral line shapes of multiple plasmon modes of the Ag cores. Secondly, I present a detailed and systematic study of the controlled overgrowth of Pd on Au nanorods. The overgrowth of Pd nanoshells with fine-controlled dimensions and architectures on single-crystalline Au nanorods through seed-mediated growth protocol in the presence of various surfactants is investigated. Thirdly, I have demonstrated that creation of high-index facets on subwavelength metallic nanoparticles provides a unique approach to the integration of desired plasmonic and catalytic properties on the same nanoparticle. Through site-selective surface etching of metallic nanocuboids whose surfaces are dominated by low-index facets, I have controllably fabricated nanorice and nanodumbbell particles, which exhibit drastically enhanced catalytic activities arising from the catalytically active high index facets abundant on the particle surfaces. And the nanorice and nanodumbbell particles also possess appealing tunable plasmonic properties that allow us to gain quantitative insights into nanoparticle-catalyzed reactions with unprecedented sensitivity and detail through time

Surface plasmon optics for biosensors with advanced sensitivity and throughput

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Toma, M.

2012-01-01

Plasmonic biosensors represent a rapidly advancing technology which enables rapid and sensitive analysis of target analytes. This thesis focuses on novel metallic and polymer structures for plasmonic biosensors based on surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and surface plasmon-enhanced fluorescence (SPF). It comprises four projects addressing key challenges concerning the enhancement of sensitivity and throughput. In the project 1, an advanced optical platform is developed which relies on reference-compensated angular spectroscopy of hydrogel-guided waves. The developed optical setup provides superior refractive index resolution of 1.2×10 -7 RIU and offers an attractive platform for direct detection of small analytes which cannot be analyzed by regular SPR biosensors. The project 2 carries out theoretical study of SPR imaging with advanced lateral resolution by utilizing Bragg scattered surface plasmons (BSSPs) on sub-wavelength metallic gratings. The results reveal that the proposed concept provides better lateral resolution and fidelity of the images. This feature opens ways for high-throughput SPR biosensors with denser arrays of sensing spots. The project 3 investigates surface plasmon coupled-emission from fluorophores in the vicinity of plasmonic Bragg-gratings. The experimental results provide leads on advancing the collection efficiency of fluorescence light by controlling the directions of fluorescence emission. This functionality can directly improve the sensitivity of fluorescence-based assays. In the last project 4, a novel sensing scheme with actively tuneable plasmonic structures is developed by employing thermo-responsive hydrogel binding matrix. The hydrogel film simultaneously serves as a large capacity binding matrix and provides means for actuating of surface plasmons through reversible swelling and collapsing of the hydrogel. This characteristic is suitable for multiplexing of sensing channels in fluorescence-based biosensor scheme (author)

Subnanometric stabilization of plasmon-enhanced optical microscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yano, Taka-aki; Ichimura, Taro; Kuwahara, Shota; Verma, Prabhat; Kawata, Satoshi

2012-01-01

We have demonstrated subnanometric stabilization of tip-enhanced optical microscopy under ambient condition. Time-dependent thermal drift of a plasmonic metallic tip was optically sensed at subnanometer scale, and was compensated in real-time. In addition, mechanically induced displacement of the tip, which usually occurs when the amount of tip-applied force varies, was also compensated in situ. The stabilization of tip-enhanced optical microscopy enables us to perform long-time and robust measurement without any degradation of optical signal, resulting in true nanometric optical imaging with high reproducibility and high precision. The technique presented is applicable for AFM-based nanoindentation with subnanometric precision. (paper)

Femtosecond Laser Irradiation of Plasmonic Nanoparticles in Polymer Matrix: Implications for Photothermal and Photochemical Material Alteration

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Anton A. Smirnov

2014-11-01

Full Text Available We analyze the opportunities provided by the plasmonic nanoparticles inserted into the bulk of a transparent medium to modify the material by laser light irradiation. This study is provoked by the advent of photo-induced nano-composites consisting of a typical polymer matrix and metal nanoparticles located in the light-irradiated domains of the initially homogeneous material. The subsequent irradiation of these domains by femtosecond laser pulses promotes a further alteration of the material properties. We separately consider two different mechanisms of material alteration. First, we analyze a photochemical reaction initiated by the two-photon absorption of light near the plasmonic nanoparticle within the matrix. We show that the spatial distribution of the products of such a reaction changes the symmetry of the material, resulting in the appearance of anisotropy in the initially isotropic material or even in the loss of the center of symmetry. Second, we analyze the efficiency of a thermally-activated chemical reaction at the surface of a plasmonic particle and the distribution of the product of such a reaction just near the metal nanoparticle irradiated by an ultrashort laser pulse.

Probing plasmons in three dimensions by combining complementary spectroscopies in a scanning transmission electron microscope

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hachtel, J A; Haglund, R F; Pantelides, S T; Marvinney, C; Mayo, D; Mouti, A; Lupini, A R; Chisholm, M F; Mu, R; Pennycook, S J

2016-01-01

The nanoscale optical response of surface plasmons in three-dimensional metallic nanostructures plays an important role in many nanotechnology applications, where precise spatial and spectral characteristics of plasmonic elements control device performance. Electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) and cathodoluminescence (CL) within a scanning transmission electron microscope have proven to be valuable tools for studying plasmonics at the nanoscale. Each technique has been used separately, producing three-dimensional reconstructions through tomography, often aided by simulations for complete characterization. Here we demonstrate that the complementary nature of the two techniques, namely that EELS probes beam-induced electronic excitations while CL probes radiative decay, allows us to directly obtain a spatially- and spectrally-resolved picture of the plasmonic characteristics of nanostructures in three dimensions. The approach enables nanoparticle-by-nanoparticle plasmonic analysis in three dimensions to aid in the design of diverse nanoplasmonic applications. (paper)

The role of morphology and coupling of gold nanoparticles in optical breakdown during picosecond pulse exposures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yevgeniy R. Davletshin

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a theoretical study of the interaction of a 6 ps laser pulse with uncoupled and plasmon-coupled gold nanoparticles. We show how the one-dimensional assembly of particles affects the optical breakdown threshold of its surroundings. For this purpose we used a fully coupled electromagnetic, thermodynamic and plasma dynamics model for a laser pulse interaction with gold nanospheres, nanorods and assemblies, which was solved using the finite element method. The thresholds of optical breakdown for off- and on-resonance irradiated gold nanosphere monomers were compared against nanosphere dimers, trimers, and gold nanorods with the same overall size and aspect ratio. The optical breakdown thresholds had a stronger dependence on the optical near-field enhancement than on the mass or absorption cross-section of the nanostructure. These findings can be used to advance the nanoparticle-based nanoscale manipulation of matter.

Bio-inspired evaporation through plasmonic film of nanoparticles at the air-water interface.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Zhenhui; Liu, Yanming; Tao, Peng; Shen, Qingchen; Yi, Nan; Zhang, Fangyu; Liu, Quanlong; Song, Chengyi; Zhang, Di; Shang, Wen; Deng, Tao

2014-08-27

Plasmonic gold nanoparticles self-assembled at the air-water interface to produce an evaporative surface with local control inspired by skins and plant leaves. Fast and efficient evaporation is realized due to the instant and localized plasmonic heating at the evaporative surface. The bio-inspired evaporation process provides an alternative promising approach for evaporation, and has potential applications in sterilization, distillation, and heat transfer. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Graphene as a local probe to investigate near-field properties of plasmonic nanostructures

Science.gov (United States)

Wasserroth, Sören; Bisswanger, Timo; Mueller, Niclas S.; Kusch, Patryk; Heeg, Sebastian; Clark, Nick; Schedin, Fredrik; Gorbachev, Roman; Reich, Stephanie

2018-04-01

Light interacting with metallic nanoparticles creates a strongly localized near-field around the particle that enhances inelastic light scattering by several orders of magnitude. Surface-enhanced Raman scattering describes the enhancement of the Raman intensity by plasmonic nanoparticles. We present an extensive Raman characterization of a plasmonic gold nanodimer covered with graphene. Its two-dimensional nature and energy-independent optical properties make graphene an excellent material for investigating local electromagnetic near-fields. We show the localization of the near-field of the plasmonic dimer by spatial Raman measurements. Energy- and polarization-dependent measurements reveal the local near-field resonance of the plasmonic system. To investigate the far-field resonance we perform dark-field spectroscopy and find that near-field and far-field resonance energies differ by 170 meV, much more than expected from the model of a damped oscillator (40 meV).

Local refractive index sensitivity of plasmonic nanoparticles

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Piliarik, Marek; Kvasnička, Pavel; Galler, N.; Krenn, J. R.; Homola, Jiří

2011-01-01

Roč. 19, č. 10 (2011), s. 9213-9220 ISSN 1094-4087 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR KAN200670701; GA MŠk OC09058 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z20670512 Keywords : Surface plasmon resonance * Subwavelength structures, nanostructures * Optical sensing and sensors Subject RIV: JA - Electronics ; Optoelectronics, Electrical Engineering Impact factor: 3.587, year: 2011

Recent Progress on Plasmon-Enhanced Fluorescence

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Dong Jun

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The optically generated collective electron density waves on metal–dielectric boundaries known as surface plasmons have been of great scientific interest since their discovery. Being electromagnetic waves on gold or silver nanoparticle’s surface, localised surface plasmons (LSP can strongly enhance the electromagnetic field. These strong electromagnetic fields near the metal surfaces have been used in various applications like surface enhanced spectroscopy (SES, plasmonic lithography, plasmonic trapping of particles, and plasmonic catalysis. Resonant coupling of LSPs to fluorophore can strongly enhance the emission intensity, the angular distribution, and the polarisation of the emitted radiation and even the speed of radiative decay, which is so-called plasmon enhanced fluorescence (PEF. As a result, more and more reports on surface-enhanced fluorescence have appeared, such as SPASER-s, plasmon assisted lasing, single molecule fluorescence measurements, surface plasmoncoupled emission (SPCE in biological sensing, optical orbit designs etc. In this review, we focus on recent advanced reports on plasmon-enhanced fluorescence (PEF. First, the mechanism of PEF and early results of enhanced fluorescence observed by metal nanostructure will be introduced. Then, the enhanced substrates, including periodical and nonperiodical nanostructure, will be discussed and the most important factor of the spacer between molecule and surface and wavelength dependence on PEF is demonstrated. Finally, the recent progress of tipenhanced fluorescence and PEF from the rare-earth doped up-conversion (UC and down-conversion (DC nanoparticles (NPs are also commented upon. This review provides an introduction to fundamentals of PEF, illustrates the current progress in the design of metallic nanostructures for efficient fluorescence signal amplification that utilises propagating and localised surface plasmons.

Surface plasmon resonance optical cavity enhanced refractive index sensing

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Giorgini, A.; Avino, S.; Malara, P.; Gagliardi, G.; Casalino, M.; Coppola, G.; Iodice, M.; Adam, Pavel; Chadt, Karel; Homola, Jiří; De Natale, P.

2013-01-01

Roč. 38, č. 11 (2013), s. 1951-1953 ISSN 0146-9592 R&D Projects: GA ČR GBP205/12/G118 Institutional support: RVO:67985882 Keywords : Resonators * Surface plasmons * Optical sensing and sensors Subject RIV: BH - Optics, Masers, Lasers Impact factor: 3.179, year: 2013

Optimized spacer layer thickness for plasmonic-induced enhancement of photocurrent in a-Si:H

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Saleh, Z. M., E-mail: zaki.saleh@aauj.edu, E-mail: zakimsaleh@yahoo.com; Nasser, H.; Özkol, E.; Günöven, M.; Abak, K. [Middle East Technical University, Center for Solar Energy Research and Applications (GÜNAM) (Turkey); Canli, S. [Middle East Technical University, Central Laboratory (Turkey); Bek, A.; Turan, R. [Middle East Technical University, Center for Solar Energy Research and Applications (GÜNAM) (Turkey)

2015-10-15

Plasmonic interfaces consisting of silver nanoparticles of different sizes (50–100 nm) have been processed by the self-assembled dewetting technique and integrated to hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) using SiNx spacer layers to investigate the dependence of optical trapping enhancement on spacer layer thickness through the enhancements in photocurrent. Samples illuminated from the a-Si:H side exhibit a localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) that is red-shifted with the increasing particle size and broadened into the red with the increasing spacer layer thickness. The photocurrent measured in a-Si:H is not only consistent with the red-shift and broadening of the LSPR, but exhibits critical dependence on the spacer layer thickness also. The samples with plasmonic interfaces and a SiNx spacer layer exhibit appreciable enhancement of photocurrent compared with flat a-Si:H reference depending on the size of the Ag nanoparticle. Simulations conducted on one-dimensional square structures exhibit electric fields that are localized near the plasmonic structures but extend appreciably into the higher refractive index a-Si:H. These simulations produce a clear red-shift and broadening of extinction spectra for all spacer layer thicknesses and predict an enhancement in photocurrent in agreement with experimental results. The spectral dependence of photocurrent for six plasmonic interfaces with different Ag nanoparticle sizes and spacer layer thicknesses are correlated with the optical spectra and compared with the simulations to predict an optimal spacer layer thickness.

Synthesis and bioconjugation of gold nanoparticles as potential molecular probes for light-based imaging techniques

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rayavarapu, Raja Gopal; Petersen, Wilma; Ungureanu, Constantin; Post, Janine N.; van Leeuwen, Ton G.; Manohar, Srirang

2007-01-01

We have synthesized and characterized gold nanoparticles (spheres and rods) with optical extinction bands within the "optical imaging window." The intense plasmon resonant driven absorption and scattering peaks of these nanoparticles make them suitable as contrast agents for optical imaging

Detection of Biomolecular Binding Through Enhancement of Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance (LSPR by Gold Nanoparticles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Min-Gon Kim

2009-03-01

Full Text Available To amplify the difference in localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR spectra of gold nano-islands due to intermolecular binding events, gold nanoparticles were used. LSPR-based optical biosensors consisting of gold nano-islands were readily made on glass substrates using evaporation and heat treatment. Streptavidin (STA and biotinylated bovine serum albumin (Bio-BSA were chosen as the model receptor and the model analyte, respectively, to demonstrate the effectiveness of this detection method. Using this model system, we were able to enhance the sensitivity in monitoring the binding of Bio-BSA to gold nano-island surfaces functionalized with STA through the addition of gold nanoparticle-STA conjugates. In addition, SU-8 well chips with gold nano-island surfaces were fabricated through a conventional UV patterning method and were then utilized for image detection using the attenuated total reflection mode. These results suggest that the gold nano-island well chip may have the potential to be used for multiple and simultaneous detection of various bio-substances.

Tunable Optical Properties of Metal Nanoparticle Sol-Gel Composites

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, David D.; Snow, Lanee A.; Sibille, Laurent; Ignont, Erica

2001-01-01

We demonstrate that the linear and non-linear optical properties of sol-gels containing metal nanoparticles are highly tunable with porosity. Moreover, we extend the technique of immersion spectroscopy to inhomogeneous hosts, such as aerogels, and determine rigorous bounds for the average fractional composition of each component, i.e., the porosity of the aerogel, or equivalently, for these materials, the catalytic dispersion. Sol-gels containing noble metal nanoparticles were fabricated and a significant blue-shift in the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) was observed upon formation of an aerogel, as a result of the decrease in the dielectric constant of the matrix upon supercritical extraction of the solvent. However, as a result of chemical interface damping and aggregation this blue-shift does not strictly obey standard effective medium theories. Mitigation of these complications is achieved by avoiding the use of alcohol and by annealing the samples in a reducing atmosphere.

Influence of plasmon coupling on the photoluminescence of ZnS/Ag nanoparticles obtained by laser irradiation in liquid

Science.gov (United States)

Moos, Rafaela; Graff, Ismael L.; de Oliveira, Vinicius S.; Schreiner, Wido H.; Bezerra, Arandi G.

2017-10-01

We investigate the photoluminescence, optical absorption and structural properties of ZnS submitted to laser irradiation in water and isopropyl alcohol. Nanoparticles were produced by irradiating micro-sized ZnS particles dispersed in both liquids, with and without the addition of Ag nanoparticles, taking advantage of the laser-assisted fragmentation effect. When ZnS microparticles are irradiated either in pure water or isopropyl alcohol a considerable size reduction is achieved (from micra to few nanometers). The photoluminescence of these nanoparticles mainly occurs in the UV, centered at 350 nm, and with smaller intensity in the visible, centered at 600 nm. Irradiation of ZnS microparticles dispersed in colloidal silver triggers a reaction between both materials, modifying its optical absorption and photoluminescent properties. After irradiation of ZnS in alcohol containing Ag nanoparticles, a giant increase of the UV photoluminescence is observed. Interestingly, when the irradiation is performed in aqueous Ag nanoparticles colloids, the photoluminescence suffers a red-shift towards the violet-blue. The data show that core-shell (Ag-ZnO) nanostructures are formed after irradiation and the visible emission likely originates from the ZnO shell grown around silver nanoparticles. The presence of Ag nanoparticles in the liquid medium promotes a stronger absorption of the laser beam during irradiation due to the coupling with the surface plasmon resonance, fostering intense reactions among ZnS, Ag nanoparticles, and the liquid medium. Our study shows that with a simple change of the liquid medium wherein the irradiation is conducted the photoluminescence can be tuned from UV to visible and core-shell nanostructures can be obtained.

Plasmonics analysis of nanostructures for bioapplications

Science.gov (United States)

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

A novel U-bent plastic optical fibre local surface plasmon resonance sensor based on a graphene and silver nanoparticle hybrid structure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jiang, Shouzhen; Li, Zhe; Zhang, Chao; Gao, Saisai; Li, Zhen; Li, Chonghui; Yang, Cheng; Liu, Mei; Qiu, Hengwei; Liu, Yanjun

2017-01-01

In this work, we have presented a novel local surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) sensor based on the U-bent plastic optical fibre (U-POF). Firstly, a layer of discontinuous silver (Ag) thin film was deposited on the U-POF and then the Ag film was covered by a layer of cladding synthesized by polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), graphene and silver nanoparticles forming the PVA/G/AgNPs@Ag film. The normalized transmittance spectrum of the LSPR sensor have been collected in a range of the refractive index (RI) from 1.330 to 1.3657 in ethanol solution, and 700.3 nm/RIU sensitivity of the developed LSPR sensor has been demonstrated. By experiments, we demonstrated that the graphene could improve the sensitivity of the LSPR sensor and delay the oxidation process of the AgNPs effectively to keep the stability of the LSPR sensor. The LSPR sensor also exhibited good sensitivity and linearity in the detection of glucose solutions. This work shows that the developed LSPR sensor may have promising applications in biosensing. (paper)

Dynamical coupling of plasmons and molecular excitations by hybrid quantum/classical calculations: time-domain approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sakko, Arto; Rossi, Tuomas P; Nieminen, Risto M

2014-01-01

The presence of plasmonic material influences the optical properties of nearby molecules in untrivial ways due to the dynamical plasmon-molecule coupling. We combine quantum and classical calculation schemes to study this phenomenon in a hybrid system that consists of a Na 2 molecule located in the gap between two Au/Ag nanoparticles. The molecule is treated quantum-mechanically with time-dependent density-functional theory, and the nanoparticles with quasistatic classical electrodynamics. The nanoparticle dimer has a plasmon resonance in the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum, and the Na 2 molecule has an electron-hole excitation in the same energy range. Due to the dynamical interaction of the two subsystems the plasmon and the molecular excitations couple, creating a hybridized molecular-plasmon excited state. This state has unique properties that yield e.g. enhanced photoabsorption compared to the freestanding Na 2 molecule. The computational approach used enables decoupling of the mutual plasmon-molecule interaction, and our analysis verifies that it is not legitimate to neglect the backcoupling effect when describing the dynamical interaction between plasmonic material and nearby molecules. Time-resolved analysis shows nearly instantaneous formation of the coupled state, and provides an intuitive picture of the underlying physics. (paper)

Optimization of extraordinary optical absorption in plasmonic and dielectric structures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dühring, Maria Bayard; Sigmund, Ole

2013-01-01

Extraordinary optical absorption (EOA) can be obtained by plasmonic surface structuring. However, studies that compare the performance of these plasmonic devices with similar structured dielectric devices are rarely found in the literature. In this work we show different methods to enhance the EOA...... by optimizing the geometry of the surface structuring for both plasmonic and dielectric devices, and the optimized performances are compared. Two different problem types with periodic structures are considered. The first case shows that strips of silicon on a surface can increase the absorption in an underlying...... it is important to compare the absorption performance of plasmonic devices with similarly structured dielectric devices in order to find the best possible solution....

Synthesis and bioconjugation of gold nanoparticles as potential molecular probes for light-based imaging techniques

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rayavarapu, R.G.; Petersen, Wilhelmina; Ungureanu, C.; Post, Janine Nicole; van Leeuwen, Ton; Manohar, Srirang

2007-01-01

We have synthesized and characterized gold nanoparticles (spheres and rods) with optical extinction bands within the “optical imaging window.” The intense plasmon resonant driven absorption and scattering peaks of these nanoparticles make them suitable as contrast agents for optical imaging

Study on the effect of nanoparticle bimetallic coreshell Au-Ag for sensitivity enhancement of biosensor based on surface plasmon resonance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Widayanti; Abraha, K

2016-01-01

Bimetallic Au-Ag core-shell, a type of composite spherical nanoparticle consisting of a spherical Au core covered by Ag shell, have been used as active material for biomolecular analyte detection based on surface plasmon resonance (SPR) spectroscopy. SPR technology evolved into a key technology for characterization of biomolecular interaction. In this paper, we want to show the influence of nanoparticle bimettalic Au-Ag coreshell for optic respon of LSPR biosensor through attenuated total reflection (ATR) spectrum. The method consist of several steps begin from make a model LSPR system with Kretschmann configuration, dielectric function determination of composite bimetallic coreshell nanoparticle using effective medium theory approximation and the last is reflectivity calculation for size variation of core and shell bimetallic nanoparticle. Our result show that, by varying the radius of core and shell thickness, the peak of the reflectivity (ATR spectrum) shifted to the different angle of incident light and the addition of coreshell in SPR biosensor leads to enhancement the sensitivity. (paper)

Transparent conducting oxides for electro-optical plasmonic modulators

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Babicheva, Viktoriia; Boltasseva, Alexandra; Lavrinenko, Andrei V.

2015-01-01

The ongoing quest for ultra-compact opticaldevices has reached a bottleneck due to the diffractionlimit in conventional photonics. New approaches that providesubwavelength optical elements, and therefore leadto miniaturization of the entire photonic circuit, are urgentlyrequired. Plasmonics, whic...

Nano-fabricated plasmonic optical transformer

Science.gov (United States)

Choo, Hyuck; Cabrini, Stefano; Schuck, P. James; Liang, Xiaogan; Yablonovitch, Eli

2015-06-09

The present invention provides a plasmonic optical transformer to produce a highly focuses optical beam spot, where the transformer includes a first metal layer, a dielectric layer formed on the first metal layer, and a second metal layer formed on the dielectric layer, where the first metal layer, the dielectric layer, and the second layer are patterned to a shape including a first section having a first cross section, a second section following the first section having a cross-section tapering from the first section to a smaller cross-section, and a third section following the second section having a cross-section matching the tapered smaller cross-section of the second section.

Plasmonic Colloidal Nanoantennas for Tip-Enhanced Raman Spectrocopy

Science.gov (United States)

Dill, Tyler J.

Plasmonic nanoantennas that a support localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) are capable of confining visible light to subwavelength dimensions due to strong electromagnetic field enhancement at the probe tip. Nanoantenna enable optical methods such as tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS), a technique that uses scanning probe microscopy tips to provide chemical information with nanoscale spatial resolution and single-molecule sensitivities. The LSPR supported by the probe tip is extremely sensitive to the nanoscale morphology of the nanoantenna. Control of nanoscale morphology is notoriously difficult to achieve, resulting in TERS probes with poor reproducibility. In my thesis, I demonstrate high-performance, predictable, and broadband nanospectroscopy probes that are fabricated by self-assembly. Shaped metal nanoparticles are organized into dense layers and deposited onto scanning probe tips. When coupled to a metal substrate, these probes support a strong optical resonance in the gap between the substrate and the probe, producing dramatic field enhancements. I show through experiment and electromagnetic modeling that close-packed but electrically isolated nanoparticles are electromagnetically coupled. Hybridized LSPRs supported by self-assembled nanoparticles with a broadband optical response, giving colloidal nanoantenna a high tolerance for geometric variation resulting from fabrication. I find that coupled nanoparticles act as a waveguide, transferring energy from many neighboring nanoparticles towards the active TERS apex. I also use surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) to characterize the effects of nanoparticle polydispersity and gap height on the Raman enhancement. These colloidal probes have consistently achieved dramatic Raman enhancements in the range of 108-109 with sub-50 nm spatial resolution. Furthermore, in contrast to other nanospectroscopy probes, these colloidal probes can be fabricated in a scalable fashion with a batch

Optical absorption enhancement by inserting ZnO optical spacer in plasmonic organic solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

N'Konou, Kekeli; Torchio, Philippe

2018-01-01

Optical absorption enhancement (AE) using coupled optical spacer and plasmonic effects in standard and inverted organic solar cells (OSCs) are demonstrated using the finite-difference time-domain numerical method. The influence of an added zinc oxide (ZnO) optical spacer layer inserted below the active layer in standard architecture is first theoretically investigated while the influence of varying the ZnO cathodic buffer layer thickness in inverted design is studied on AE. Then, the embedding of a square periodic array of core-shell silver-silica nanospheres (Ag@SiO2 NSs) at different positions in standard and inverted OSCs is performed while AE and short-circuit current density (Jsc) are calculated. As a result of previous combined effects, the optimized standard plasmonic OSCs present 15% and 79.45% enhancement in J over the reference with and without ZnO optical spacer layer, respectively, and a 16% increase of AE when Ag@SiO2 NSs are placed on top of the PEDOT:PSS layer. Compared to the inverted OSC reference, the plasmonic OSCs present 26% and 27% enhancement in J and AE, respectively, when the Ag@SiO2 NSs are located on top of the ZnO layer. Furthermore, the spatial position of these NSs in such OSCs is a key parameter for increasing light absorption via enhanced electromagnetic field distribution.

Complete Au@ZnO core-shell nanoparticles with enhanced plasmonic absorption enabling significantly improved photocatalysis

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Yiqiang; Sun, Yugang; Zhang, Tao; Chen, Guozhu; Zhang, Fengshou; Liu, Dilong; Cai, Weiping; Li, Yue; Yang, Xianfeng; Li, Cuncheng

2016-05-01

Nanostructured ZnO exhibits high chemical stability and unique optical properties, representing a promising candidate among photocatalysts in the field of environmental remediation and solar energy conversion. However, ZnO only absorbs the UV light, which accounts for less than 5% of total solar irradiation, significantly limiting its applications. In this article, we report a facile and efficient approach to overcome the poor wettability between ZnO and Au by carefully modulating the surface charge density on Au nanoparticles (NPs), enabling rapid synthesis of Au@ZnO core-shell NPs at room temperature. The resulting Au@ZnO core-shell NPs exhibit a significantly enhanced plasmonic absorption in the visible range due to the Au NP cores. They also show a significantly improved photocatalytic performance in comparison with their single-component counterparts, i.e., the Au NPs and ZnO NPs. Moreover, the high catalytic activity of the as-synthesized Au@ZnO core-shell NPs can be maintained even after many cycles of photocatalytic reaction. Our results shed light on the fact that the Au@ZnO core-shell NPs represent a promising class of candidates for applications in plasmonics, surface-enhanced spectroscopy, light harvest devices, solar energy conversion, and degradation of organic pollutants.Nanostructured ZnO exhibits high chemical stability and unique optical properties, representing a promising candidate among photocatalysts in the field of environmental remediation and solar energy conversion. However, ZnO only absorbs the UV light, which accounts for less than 5% of total solar irradiation, significantly limiting its applications. In this article, we report a facile and efficient approach to overcome the poor wettability between ZnO and Au by carefully modulating the surface charge density on Au nanoparticles (NPs), enabling rapid synthesis of Au@ZnO core-shell NPs at room temperature. The resulting Au@ZnO core-shell NPs exhibit a significantly enhanced plasmonic

Fiber Optic Surface Plasmon Resonance-Based Biosensor Technique: Fabrication, Advancement, and Application.

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Gaoling; Luo, Zewei; Liu, Kunping; Wang, Yimin; Dai, Jianxiong; Duan, Yixiang

2016-05-03

Fiber optic-based biosensors with surface plasmon resonance (SPR) technology are advanced label-free optical biosensing methods. They have brought tremendous progress in the sensing of various chemical and biological species. This review summarizes four sensing configurations (prism, grating, waveguide, and fiber optic) with two ways, attenuated total reflection (ATR) and diffraction, to excite the surface plasmons. Meanwhile, the designs of different probes (U-bent, tapered, and other probes) are also described. Finally, four major types of biosensors, immunosensor, DNA biosensor, enzyme biosensor, and living cell biosensor, are discussed in detail for their sensing principles and applications. Future prospects of fiber optic-based SPR sensor technology are discussed.

Room-Temperature and Aqueous-Phase Synthesis of Plasmonic Molybdenum Oxide Nanoparticles for Visible-Light-Enhanced Hydrogen Generation.

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Jiayuan; Kuwahara, Yasutaka; Wen, Meicheng; Navlani-García, Miriam; Mori, Kohsuke; An, Taicheng; Yamashita, Hiromi

2016-09-06

A straightforward aqueous synthesis of MoO3-x nanoparticles at room temperature was developed by using (NH4 )6 Mo7 O24 ⋅4 H2 O and MoCl5 as precursors in the absence of reductants, inert gas, and organic solvents. SEM and TEM images indicate the as-prepared products are nanoparticles with diameters of 90-180 nm. The diffuse reflectance UV-visible-near-IR spectra of the samples indicate localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) properties generated by the introduction of oxygen vacancies. Owing to its strong plasmonic absorption in the visible-light and near-infrared region, such nanostructures exhibit an enhancement of activity toward visible-light catalytic hydrogen generation. MoO3-x nanoparticles synthesized with a molar ratio of Mo(VI) /Mo(V) 1:1 show the highest yield of H2 evolution. The cycling catalytic performance has been investigated to indicate the structural and chemical stability of the as-prepared plasmonic MoO3-x nanoparticles, which reveals its potential application in visible-light catalytic hydrogen production. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Engineering Gold Nanorod-Based Plasmonic Nanocrystals for Optical Applications

KAUST Repository

Huang, Jianfeng

2015-09-01

Plasmonic nanocrystals have a unique ability to support localized surface plasmon resonances and exhibit rich and intriguing optical properties. Engineering plasmonic nanocrystals can maximize their potentials for specific applications. In this dissertation, we developed three unprecedented Au nanorod-based plasmonic nanocrystals through rational design of the crystal shape and/or composition, and successfully demonstrated their applications in light condensation, photothermal conversion, and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). The “Au nanorod-Au nanosphere dimer” nanocrystal was synthesized via the ligand-induced asymmetric growth of a Au nanosphere on a Au nanorod. This dimeric nanostructure features an extraordinary broadband optical absorption in the range of 400‒1400nm, and it proved to be an ideal black-body material for light condensation and an efficient solar-light harvester for photothermal conversion. The “Au nanorod (core) @ AuAg alloy (shell)” nanocrystal was built through the epitaxial growth of homogeneously alloyed AuAg shells on Au nanorods by precisely controlled synthesis. The resulting core-shell structured, bimetallic nanorods integrate the merits of the AuAg alloy with the advantages of anisotropic nanorods, exhibiting strong, stable and tunable surface plasmon resonances that are essential for SERS applications in a corrosive environment. The “high-index faceted Au nanorod (core) @ AuPd alloy (shell)” nanocrystal was produced via site-specific epitaxial growth of AuPd alloyed horns at the ends of Au nanorods. The AuPd alloyed horns are bound with high-index side facets, while the Au nanorod concentrates an intensive electric field at each end. This unique configuration unites highly active catalytic sites with strong SERS sites into a single entity and was demonstrated to be ideal for in situ monitoring of Pd-catalyzed reactions by SERS. The synthetic strategies developed here are promising towards the fabrication of

Chip-integrated ultrawide-band all-optical logic comparator in plasmonic circuits.

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Cuicui; Hu, Xiaoyong; Yang, Hong; Gong, Qihuang

2014-01-27

Optical computing opens up the possibility for the realization of ultrahigh-speed and ultrawide-band information processing. Integrated all-optical logic comparator is one of the indispensable core components of optical computing systems. Unfortunately, up to now, no any nanoscale all-optical logic comparator suitable for on-chip integration applications has been realized experimentally. Here, we report a subtle and effective technical solution to circumvent the obstacles of inherent Ohmic losses of metal and limited propagation length of SPPs. A nanoscale all-optical logic comparator suitable for on-chip integration applications is realized in plasmonic circuits directly. The incident single-bit (or dual-bit) logic signals can be compared and the comparison results are endowed with different logic encodings. An ultrabroad operating wavelength range from 700 to 1000 nm, and an ultrahigh output logic-state contrast-ratio of more than 25 dB are realized experimentally. No high power requirement is needed. Though nanoscale SPP light source and the logic comparator device are integrated into the same plasmonic chip, an ultrasmall feature size is maintained. This work not only paves a way for the realization of complex logic device such as adders and multiplier, but also opens up the possibility for realizing quantum solid chips based on plasmonic circuits.

Plasmonic nanoparticle chain in a light field: a resonant optical sail.

Science.gov (United States)

Albaladejo, Silvia; Sáenz, Juan José; Marqués, Manuel I

2011-11-09

Optical trapping and driving of small objects has become a topic of increasing interest in multidisciplinary sciences. We propose to use a chain made of metallic nanoparticles as a resonant light sail, attached by one end point to a transparent object and propelling it by the use of electromagnetic radiation. Driving forces exerted on the chain are theoretically studied as a function of radiation's wavelength and chain's alignments with respect to the direction of radiation. Interestingly, there is a window in the frequency spectrum in which null-torque equilibrium configuration, with minimum geometric cross section, corresponds to a maximum in the driving force.

Quantitative assessment of hyperspectral imaging in detection of plasmonic nanoparticles: a modified contrast-detail analysis approach

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Jianting; Chen, Yu; Pfefer, T. Joshua

2016-03-01

Hyperspectral reflectance imaging (HRI) is an emerging imaging modality being applied for clinical indications such as tissue oximetry, and cancer detection based on endogenous biological constituents including plasmonic nanoparticles. However, there is currently a lack of standardized test methods for objective, quantitative evaluation of HRI system performance. Contrast-detail analysis (CDA) is a phantom-based test method commonly used to evaluate medical imaging devices (e.g., mammography systems) in terms of their lower detection limit. We investigated a modified CDA (mCDA) method to quantify the detectability of gold nanoparticles by HRI systems. Silicone-based turbid phantoms containing micro-fluidic channels were developed for the mCDA tests. Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) phantom materials were doped with chromophores and scatterers to achieve biologically relevant optical properties (OPs). Molds were used to produce cylindrical channels of diameters 0.3 to 1.65 mm and depths of 0.2 mm inside the phantoms. Channels were filled with a mixture of hemoglobin and concentrations of gold nanorods (GNR) and measured with our HRI system. The contrast of GNRs was solved with a spectral unmixing algorithm from the reflectance spectra. The lowest detectable concentration was determined as a function of inclusion size and depth and plotted as modified contrast detail curve (mCDC). mCDCs were used to compare the detectabilities of the HRI system with different data processing algorithms. It is demonstrated that our mCDA test method involving turbid microchannel phantoms can help to elucidate the combined performance of imaging devices and plasmonic nanoparticle contrast agents. This approach may be useful for performing clinical trial standardization and device re-calibration, thus ensuring quality control and clinical performance.

Engineering surface plasmon based fiber-optic sensors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dhawan, Anuj; Muth, John F.

2008-01-01

Ordered arrays of nanoholes with subwavelength diameters, and submicron array periodicity were fabricated on the tips of gold-coated optical fibers using focused ion beam (FIB) milling. This provided a convenient platform for evaluating extraordinary transmission of light through subwavelength apertures and allowed the implementation of nanostructures for surface plasmon engineered sensors. The fabrication procedure was straightforward and implemented on single mode and multimode optical fibers as well as etched and tapered fiber tips. Control of the periodicity and spacing of the nanoholes allowed the wavelength of operation to be tailored. Large changes in optical transmission were observed at the designed wavelengths, depending on the surrounding refractive index, allowing the devices to be used as fiber-optic sensors

Engineering surface plasmon based fiber-optic sensors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dhawan, Anuj [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, NC State University, Raleigh, NC 27606 (United States); Muth, John F. [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, NC State University, Raleigh, NC 27606 (United States)], E-mail: muth@unity.ncsu.edu

2008-04-15

Ordered arrays of nanoholes with subwavelength diameters, and submicron array periodicity were fabricated on the tips of gold-coated optical fibers using focused ion beam (FIB) milling. This provided a convenient platform for evaluating extraordinary transmission of light through subwavelength apertures and allowed the implementation of nanostructures for surface plasmon engineered sensors. The fabrication procedure was straightforward and implemented on single mode and multimode optical fibers as well as etched and tapered fiber tips. Control of the periodicity and spacing of the nanoholes allowed the wavelength of operation to be tailored. Large changes in optical transmission were observed at the designed wavelengths, depending on the surrounding refractive index, allowing the devices to be used as fiber-optic sensors.

Deterministic Construction of Plasmonic Heterostructures in Well-Organized Arrays for Nanophotonic Materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Xiaoying; Biswas, Sushmita; Jarrett, Jeremy W; Poutrina, Ekaterina; Urbas, Augustine; Knappenberger, Kenneth L; Vaia, Richard A; Nealey, Paul F

2015-12-02

Plasmonic heterostructures are deterministically constructed in organized arrays through chemical pattern directed assembly, a combination of top-down lithography and bottom-up assembly, and by the sequential immobilization of gold nanoparticles of three different sizes onto chemically patterned surfaces using tailored interaction potentials. These spatially addressable plasmonic chain nanostructures demonstrate localization of linear and nonlinear optical fields as well as nonlinear circular dichroism. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Investigation of change of tumor optical properties after laser-induced plasmon-resonant photothermal treatment of transplanted tumors in rats

Science.gov (United States)

Genin, Vadim D.; Genina, Elina A.; Bucharskaya, Alla B.; Tuchin, Valery V.; Khlebtsov, Nikolay G.; Terentyuk, Georgy S.; Bashkatov, Alexey N.

2018-04-01

The paper presents the investigation of change of tumor optical properties of the rat tumor doped by gold nanoparticles after laser-induced plasmon-resonant photothermal treatment. To obtain the model tumors the rats have been implanted by suspension of alveolar kidney cancer cells. An hour before the experiment the animals have been injected by the suspension of gold nanorods intratumorally. For irradiation a diode laser with wavelength 808 nm has been used. After the irradiation the tumor has been removed and sliced. Spectra of total and collimated transmission and diffuse reflectance of the samples of different layers of the tumors have been measured in the wavelength range 350-2500 nm. Absorption, scattering, reduced scattering coefficients and scattering anisotropy factor of tumor tissues have been calculated with inverse adding-doubling method. The results of the experiment have shown that after doping the tumor tissue by the plasmon resonant nanoparticles and NIR laser irradiating, there is the decreases of absorption as well as scattering properties of the tumor and surrounding tissues. However, despite the sufficiently high temperature on the surface (about 80°C), the changes in the center of the tumor are insignificant.

Bifacial DNA origami-directed discrete, three-dimensional, anisotropic plasmonic nanoarchitectures with tailored optical chirality.

Science.gov (United States)

Lan, Xiang; Chen, Zhong; Dai, Gaole; Lu, Xuxing; Ni, Weihai; Wang, Qiangbin

2013-08-07

Discrete three-dimensional (3D) plasmonic nanoarchitectures with well-defined spatial configuration and geometry have aroused increasing interest, as new optical properties may originate from plasmon resonance coupling within the nanoarchitectures. Although spherical building blocks have been successfully employed in constructing 3D plasmonic nanoarchitectures because their isotropic nature facilitates unoriented localization, it still remains challenging to assemble anisotropic building blocks into discrete and rationally tailored 3D plasmonic nanoarchitectures. Here we report the first example of discrete 3D anisotropic gold nanorod (AuNR) dimer nanoarchitectures formed using bifacial DNA origami as a template, in which the 3D spatial configuration is precisely tuned by rationally shifting the location of AuNRs on the origami template. A distinct plasmonic chiral response was experimentally observed from the discrete 3D AuNR dimer nanoarchitectures and appeared in a spatial-configuration-dependent manner. This study represents great progress in the fabrication of 3D plasmonic nanoarchitectures with tailored optical chirality.

Flexible long-range surface plasmon polariton single-mode waveguide for optical interconnects

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vernoux, Christian; Chen, Yiting; Markey, Laurent

2018-01-01

We present the design, fabrication and characterization of long-range surface plasmon polariton waveguide arrays with materials, mainly silicones, carefully selected with the aim to be used as mechanically flexible single-mode optical interconnections, the socalled "plasmonic arc" working at 1.55μm...

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

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Gold nanostars reshaping and plasmon tuning mechanism

Science.gov (United States)

Kedia, Abhitosh; Kumar, P. Senthil

2013-02-01

Au nanostars are multi-branched nanoparticles with sharp tips which display enhanced plasmonic applications in SERS and nanophotonics. It has already been well documented that polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) dispersed in DMF solvent medium act as a unique candidate for realization of this 3-D complex branched metal nanostructures even under normal conditions. Interestingly, controlled addition of propanol to DMF brings about significant changes in the morphology of these gold nanostars visualized through gradual blue shifting of the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) from 920 to 600 nm. Modified interaction between DMF-PVP arising due to introduction of alcohol results in fine tuning of LSPR correlated with corresponding aesthetic changes as clearly evidenced from TEM images. Thus, our ability in synthesizing anisotropic metal nanoparticles with wavelength tunable LSPRs through a simple yet elegant chemical solution synthesis procedure opens up a gamut of new applications in both linear and nonlinear optical spectroscopy.

Luminescent tracks of high-energy photoemitted electrons accelerated by plasmonic fields

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Di Vece Marcel

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The emission of an electron from a metal nanostructure under illumination and its subsequent acceleration in a plasmonic field forms a platform to extend these phenomena to deposited nanoparticles, which can be studied by state-of-the-art confocal microscopy combined with femtosecond optical excitation. The emitted and accelerated electrons leave defect tracks in the immersion oil, which can be revealed by thermoluminescence. These photographic tracks are read out with the confocal microscope and have a maximum length of about 80 μm, which corresponds to a kinetic energy of about 100 keV. This energy is consistent with the energy provided by the intense laser pulse combined with plasmonic local field enhancement. The results are discussed within the context of the rescattering model by which electrons acquire more energy. The visualization of electron tracks originating from plasmonic field enhancement around a gold nanoparticle opens a new way to study with confocal microscopy both the plasmonic properties of metal nano objects as well as high energy electron interaction with matter.

Surface-Plasmon-Enhanced Emissions of Phosphors with Au Nanoparticles Embedded in ITO

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Ja-Yeon [Korea Photonics Technology Institute (KOPTI), Gwangju (Korea, Republic of); Oh, Seung Jong; Park, Hyun-Sun; Kim, Min-Woo; Cho, Yoo-Hyun; Kwon, Min-Ki [Chosun University, Gwangju (Korea, Republic of)

2017-03-15

Au nanoparticles were embedded in a transparent conducting layer of indium tin oxide in order to evaluate the feasibility of applying a surface-plasmon (SP)-enhanced phosphor to light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The efficiency of the phosphor was improved by energy matching between the phosphor and the SP of the Au nanoparticles. After the density of the Au nanoparticles and the thickness of the spacer layer had been optimized, the efficiency of a green phosphor was improved by 64% compared to that of an isolated green phosphor. This work provides a way to fabricate high-efficiency LEDs with high color-rendering indices and wide color gamuts in white LEDs.

Ion beam induced optical and surface modification in plasmonic nanostructures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Singh, Udai B., E-mail: udaibhansingh123@gmail.com; Gautam, Subodh K.; Kumar, Sunil; Hooda, Sonu; Ojha, Sunil; Singh, Fouran

2016-07-15

In present work, ion irradiation induced nanostructuring has been exploited as an efficient and effective tool for synthesis of coupled plasmonics nanostructures by using 1.2 MeV Xe ions on Au/ZnO/Au system deposited on glass substrate. The results are correlated on the basis of their optical absorption, surface morphologies and enhanced sensitivity of evolved phonon modes by using UV Visible spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Raman spectroscopy (RS), respectively. Optical absorbance spectra of plasmonic nanostructures (NSs) show a decrease in band gap, which may be ascribed to the formation of defects with ion irradiation. The surface morphology reveals the formation of percolated NSs upon ion irradiation and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) study clearly shows the formation of multilayer system. Furthermore, RS measurements on samples are studied to understand the enhanced sensitivity of ion irradiation induced phonon mode at 573 cm{sup −1} along with other modes. As compared to pristine sample, a stronger and pronounced evolution of these phonon modes is observed with further ion irradiation, which indicates localized surface plasmon results with enhanced intensity of phonon modes of Zinc oxide (ZnO) material. Thus, such plasmonic NSs can be used as surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates.

Colorimetric Detection Based on Localised Surface Plasmon Resonance Optical Characteristics for the Detection of Hydrogen Peroxide Using Acacia Gum–Stabilised Silver Nanoparticles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eman Alzahrani

2017-02-01

Full Text Available The use of nanoparticles in sensing is attracting the interest of many researchers. The aim of this work was to fabricate Acacia gum–stabilised silver nanoparticles (SNPs using green chemistry to use them as a highly sensitive and cost-effective localised surface plasmon resonance (LSPR colorimeter sensor for the determination of reactive oxygen species, such as hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 . Silver nanoparticles were fabricated by the reduction of an inorganic precursor silver nitrate solution (AgNO 3 using white sugar as the reducing reagent and Acacia gum as the stabilising reagent and a sonication bath to form uniform silver nanoparticles. The fabricated nanoparticles were characterised by visual observation, ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis spectrophotometry, transmission electron microscopy (TEM analysis, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDAX, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR. The TEM micrographs of the synthesised nanoparticles showed the presence of spherical nanoparticles with sizes of approximately 10 nm. The EDAX spectrum result confirmed the presence of silver (58%, carbon (30%, and oxygen (12%. Plasmon colorimetric sensing of H 2 O 2 solution was investigated by introducing H 2 O 2 solution into Acacia gum–capped SNP dispersion, and the change in the LSPR band in the UV-Vis region of spectra was monitored. In this study, it was found that the yellow colour of Acacia gum–stabilised SNPs gradually changed to transparent, and moreover, a remarkable change in the LSPR absorbance strength was observed. The calibration curve was linear over 0.1–0.00001 M H 2 O 2 , with a correlation estimation ( R 2 of .953. This was due to the aggregation of SNPs following introduction of the H 2 O 2 solution. Furthermore, the fabricated SNPs were successfully used to detect H 2 O 2 solution in a liquid milk sample, thereby demonstrating the ability of the fabricated SNPs to detect H 2 O 2

Rapid one-pot propargylamine synthesis by plasmon mediated catalysis with gold nanoparticles on ZnO under ambient conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

González-Béjar, María; Peters, Kate; Hallett-Tapley, Geniece L; Grenier, Michel; Scaiano, Juan C

2013-02-28

Surface plasmon excitation of gold nanoparticles on ZnO in the presence of an aldehyde, an amine and phenylacetylene led to rapid and selective formation of propargylamines with good yields (50-95%) at room temperature. Plasmon mediated catalysis is the best available route for this ternary coupling.

Static and ultrafast optical properties of nanolayered composites. Gold nanoparticles embedded in polyelectrolytes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kiel, Mareike

2012-08-16

In the course of this thesis gold nanoparticle/polyelectrolyte multilayer structures were prepared, characterized, and investigated according to their static and ultrafast optical properties. Using the dip-coating or spin-coating layer-by-layer deposition method, gold-nanoparticle layers were embedded in a polyelectrolyte environment with high structural perfection. Typical structures exhibit four repetition units, each consisting of one gold-particle layer and ten double layers of polyelectrolyte (cationic+anionic polyelectrolyte). The structures were characterized by X-ray reflectivity measurements, which reveal Bragg peaks up to the seventh order, evidencing the high stratification of the particle layers. In the same measurements pronounced Kiessig fringes were observed, which indicate a low global roughness of the samples. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) images verified this low roughness, which results from the high smoothing capabilities of polyelectrolyte layers. This smoothing effect facilitates the fabrication of stratified nanoparticle/polyelectrolyte multilayer structures, which were nicely illustrated in a transmission electron microscopy image. The samples' optical properties were investigated by static spectroscopic measurements in the visible and UV range. The measurements revealed a frequency shift of the reflectance and of the plasmon absorption band, depending on the thickness of the polyelectrolyte layers that cover a nanoparticle layer. When the covering layer becomes thicker than the particle interaction range, the absorption spectrum becomes independent of the polymer thickness. However, the reflectance spectrum continues shifting to lower frequencies (even for large thicknesses). The range of plasmon interaction was determined to be in the order of the particle diameter for 10 nm, 20 nm, and 150 nm particles. The transient broadband complex dielectric function of a multilayer structure was determined experimentally by ultrafast pump

Controlling the plasmonic surface waves of metallic nanowires by transformation optics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, Yichao; Yuan, Jun; Yin, Ge; Ma, Yungui, E-mail: yungui@zju.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory of Modern Optical Instrumentation, Centre for Optical and Electromagnetic Research, College of Optical Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058 (China); He, Sailing [State Key Laboratory of Modern Optical Instrumentation, Centre for Optical and Electromagnetic Research, College of Optical Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058 (China); Department of Electromagnetic Engineering, School of Electrical Engineering, Royal Institute of Technology, S-100 44 Stockholm (Sweden)

2015-07-06

In this letter, we introduce the technique of using transformation optics to manipulate the mode states of surface plasmonic waves of metallic nanowire waveguides. As examples we apply this technique to design two optical components: a three-dimensional (3D) electromagnetic mode rotator and a mode convertor. The rotator can rotate the polarization state of the surface wave around plasmonic nanowires by arbitrarily desired angles, and the convertor can transform the surface wave modes from one to another. Full-wave simulation is performed to verify the design and efficiency of our devices. Their potential application in photonic circuits is envisioned.

Metallic nanoshells with semiconductor cores: optical characteristics modified by core medium properties.

Science.gov (United States)

Bardhan, Rizia; Grady, Nathaniel K; Ali, Tamer; Halas, Naomi J

2010-10-26

It is well-known that the geometry of a nanoshell controls the resonance frequencies of its plasmon modes; however, the properties of the core material also strongly influence its optical properties. Here we report the synthesis of Au nanoshells with semiconductor cores of cuprous oxide and examine their optical characteristics. This material system allows us to systematically examine the role of core material on nanoshell optical properties, comparing Cu(2)O core nanoshells (ε(c) ∼ 7) to lower core dielectric constant SiO(2) core nanoshells (ε(c) = 2) and higher dielectric constant mixed valency iron oxide nanoshells (ε(c) = 12). Increasing the core dielectric constant increases nanoparticle absorption efficiency, reduces plasmon line width, and modifies plasmon energies. Modifying the core medium provides an additional means of tailoring both the near- and far-field optical properties in this unique nanoparticle system.

Photonic crystals with plasmonic patterns: novel type of the heterostructures for enhanced magneto-optical activity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khokhlov, N E; Belotelov, V I; Prokopov, A R; Shaposhnikov, A N; Berzhansky, V N; Kozhaev, M A; Andreev, S N; Zvezdin, A K; Ravishankar, Ajith P; Achanta, Venu Gopal; Bykov, D A

2015-01-01

A multilayer structure consisting of a magnetophotonic crystal with a rare-earth iron garnet microresonator layer and plasmonic grating deposited on it was fabricated and studied in order to combine functionalities of photonic and plasmonic crystals. The plasmonic pattern allows excitation of the hybrid plasmonic-waveguide modes localized in dielectric Bragg mirrors of the magnetophotonic crystal or waveguide modes inside its microresonator layer. These modes give rise to the additional resonances in the optical spectra of the structure and to the enhancement of the magneto-optical effects. The Faraday effect increases by about 50% at the microresonator modes while the transverse magneto-optical Kerr effect demonstrates pronounced peculiarities at both hybrid waveguide modes and microresonator modes and increases by several times with respect to the case of the bare magnetophotonic crystal without the metal grating. (paper)

Plasmon-exciton-polariton lasing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ramezani, M.; Halpin, A.; Fernández-Dominguez, A.I.; Feist, J.; Rodriguez, S.R.K.; Gómez-Rivas, J.; Garcia-Vidal, F.J.

2016-01-01

Strong coupling of Frenkel excitons with surface plasmons leads to the formation of bosonic quasi-particles known as plasmon-exciton-polaritons (PEPs).Localized surface plasmons in nanoparticles are lossy due to radiative and nonradiative decays, which has hampered the realization of polariton

[INVITED] Recent advances in surface plasmon resonance based fiber optic chemical and biosensors utilizing bulk and nanostructures

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Plasmonic biosensors.

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Surface plasmon resonance sensor based on golden nanoparticles and cold vapour generation technique for the detection of mercury in aqueous samples

Science.gov (United States)

Castillo, Jimmy; Chirinos, José; Gutiérrez, Héctor; La Cruz, Marie

2017-09-01

In this work, a surface plasmon resonance sensor for determination of Hg based on golden nanoparticles was developed. The sensor follows the change of the signal from solutions in contact with atomic mercury previously generated by the reaction with sodium borohydride. Mie theory predicts that Hg film, as low as 5 nm, induced a significant reduction of the surface plasmon resonance signal of 40 nm golden nanoparticles. This property was used for quantification purposes in the sensor. The device provide limits of detection of 172 ng/L that can compared with the 91 ng/L obtained with atomic fluorescence, a common technique used for Hg quantification in drinking water. This result was relevant, considering that it was not necessary to functionalize the nanoparticles or use nanoparticles deposited in a substrate. Also, thanks that Hg is released from the matrix, the surface plasmon resonance signal was not affected by concomitant elements in the sample.

Performance limits of plasmon-enhanced organic photovoltaics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Karatay, Durmus U.; Ginger, David S., E-mail: ginger@chem.washington.edu [Department of Physics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195 (United States); Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195 (United States); Salvador, Michael [Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195 (United States); Yao, Kai [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195 (United States); Jen, Alex K.-Y. [Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195 (United States); Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195 (United States)

2014-07-21

We use a combination of experiment and modeling to explore the promise and limitations of using plasmon-resonant metal nanoparticles to enhance the device performance of organic photovoltaics (OPVs). We focus on optical properties typical of the current generation of low-bandgap donor polymers blended with the fullerene (6,6)-phenyl C{sub 71}-butyric acid methyl ester (PC{sub 71}BM) and use the polymer poly(indacenodithiophene-co-phenanthro[9,10-b]quinoxaline) (PIDT-PhanQ) as our test case. We model the optical properties and performance of these devices both in the presence and absence of a variety of colloidal silver nanoparticles. We show that for these materials, device performance is sensitive to the relative z-position and the density of nanoparticles inside the active layer. Using conservative estimates of the internal quantum efficiency for the PIDT-PhanQ/PC{sub 71}BM blend, we calculate that optimally placed silver nanoparticles could yield an enhancement in short-circuit current density of over 31% when used with ∼ 80-nm-thick active layers, resulting in an absolute increase in power conversion efficiency of up to ∼2% for the device based on optical engineering.

Inkjet-Printed Biofunctional Thermo-Plasmonic Interfaces for Patterned Neuromodulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Kang, Hongki; Lee, Gu-Haeng; Jung, Hyunjun; Lee, Jee Woong; Nam, Yoonkey

2018-02-27

Localized heat generation by the thermo-plasmonic effect of metal nanoparticles has great potential in biomedical engineering research. Precise patterning of the nanoparticles using inkjet printing can enable the application of the thermo-plasmonic effect in a well-controlled way (shape and intensity). However, a universally applicable inkjet printing process that allows good control in patterning and assembly of nanoparticles with good biocompatibility is missing. Here we developed inkjet-printing-based biofunctional thermo-plasmonic interfaces that can modulate biological activities. We found that inkjet printing of plasmonic nanoparticles on a polyelectrolyte layer-by-layer substrate coating enables high-quality, biocompatible thermo-plasmonic interfaces across various substrates (rigid/flexible, hydrophobic/hydrophilic) by induced contact line pinning and electrostatically assisted nanoparticle assembly. We experimentally confirmed that the generated heat from the inkjet-printed thermo-plasmonic patterns can be applied in micrometer resolution over a large area. Lastly, we demonstrated that the patterned thermo-plasmonic effect from the inkjet-printed gold nanorods can selectively modulate neuronal network activities. This inkjet printing process therefore can be a universal method for biofunctional thermo-plasmonic interfaces in various bioengineering applications.

Synthesis and optical properties of silver nanoparticles

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Jaiveer; Kaurav, Netram; Choudhary, K. K.; Okram, Gunadhor S.

2015-07-01

The preparation of stable, uniform silver nanoparticles by reduction of silver acetate by ethylene glycol (EG) is reported in the present paper. It is a simple process of recent interest for obtaining silver nanoparticles. The samples were characterized by X-Ray diffraction (XRD), which reveals an average particle size (D) of 38 nm. The UV/Vis spectra show that an absorption peak, occurring due to surface plasmon resonance (SPR), exists at 319 nm.

Manipulation of plasmonic wavefront and light–matter interaction in metallic nanostructures: A brief review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Jia-Fang; Li Zhi-Yuan

2014-01-01

The control and application of surface plasmons (SPs), is introduced with particular emphasis on the manipulation of the plasmonic wavefront and light–matter interaction in metallic nanostructures. We introduce a direct design methodology called the surface wave holography method and show that it can be readily employed for wave-front shaping of near-infrared light through a subwavelength hole, it can also be used for designing holographic plasmonic lenses for SPs with complex wavefronts in the visible band. We also discuss several issues of light–matter interaction in plasmonic nanostructures. We show theoretically that amplification of SPs can be achieved in metal nanoparticles incorporated with gain media, leading to a giant reduction of surface plasmon resonance linewidth and enhancement of local electric field intensity. We present an all-analytical semiclassical theory to evaluate spaser performance in a plasmonic nanocavity incorporated with gain media described by the four-level atomic model. We experimentally demonstrate amplified spontaneous emission of SP polaritons and their amplification at the interface between a silver film and a polymer film doped with dye molecules. We discuss various aspects of microscopic and macroscopic manipulation of fluorescent radiation from gold nanorod hybrid structures in a system of either a single nanoparticle or an aligned group of nanoparticles. The findings reported and reviewed here could help others explore various approaches and schemes to manipulate plasmonic wavefront and light–matter interaction in metallic nanostructures for potential applications, such as optical displays, information integration, and energy harvesting technologies. (topical review - plasmonics and metamaterials)

Seed Mediated Growth of Gold Nanoparticles Based on Liquid Arc Discharge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ashkarran, Ali Akbar

2013-01-01

We report studies on the growth of gold nanoparticles by a seed-mediated approach in solution. The synthetic method is adapted from one we published earlier (Ashkarran et al. Appl. Phys. A 2009, 96, 423). The synthesized gold nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), dynamic light scattering (DLS), UV-Vis spectroscopy, optical imaging and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Optical absorption spectroscopy of the prepared samples at 15 A arc current in HAuCl 4 solution shows a surface plasmon resonance around 520 nm. It is found that sodium citrate acts as a stabilizer and surface capping agent of the colloidal nanoparticles. The intensity of the plasmonic peak of the prepared gold nanoparticles for 1 minute arc duration gradually increases due to seed mediation for up to 6 hours. The formation time of gold nanoparticles at higher seed concentrations is less than that at lower seed concentrations. (plasma technology)

Optical properties of electrically connected plasmonic nanoantenna dimer arrays

Science.gov (United States)

Zimmerman, Darin T.; Borst, Benjamin D.; Carrick, Cassandra J.; Lent, Joseph M.; Wambold, Raymond A.; Weisel, Gary J.; Willis, Brian G.

2018-02-01

We fabricate electrically connected gold nanoantenna arrays of homodimers and heterodimers on silica substrates and present a systematic study of their optical properties. Electrically connected arrays of plasmonic nanoantennas make possible the realization of novel photonic devices, including optical sensors and rectifiers. Although the plasmonic response of unconnected arrays has been studied extensively, the present study shows that the inclusion of nanowire connections modifies the device response significantly. After presenting experimental measurements of optical extinction for unconnected dimer arrays, we compare these to measurements of dimers that are interconnected by gold nanowire "busbars." The connected devices show the familiar dipole response associated with the unconnected dimers but also show a second localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) that we refer to as the "coupled-busbar mode." Our experimental study also demonstrates that the placement of the nanowire along the antenna modifies the LSPR. Using finite-difference time-domain simulations, we confirm the experimental results and investigate the variation of dimer gap and spacing. Changing the dimer gap in connected devices has a significantly smaller effect on the dipole response than it does in unconnected devices. On the other hand, both LSPR modes respond strongly to changing the spacing between devices in the direction along the interconnecting wires. We also give results for the variation of E-field strength in the dimer gap, which will be important for any working sensor or rectenna device.

Plasmonic resonance-enhanced local photothermal energy deposition by aluminum nanoparticles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chong Xinyuan; Jiang Naibo; Zhang Zhili; Roy, Sukesh; Gord, James R.

2013-01-01

Local energy deposition of aluminum nanoparticles (Al NPs) by localized surface plasmon resonance-enhanced photothermal effects is demonstrated. Low-power light stimuli are efficiently and locally concentrated to trigger the oxidation reactions of Al NPs because of the large ohmic absorption and high reactivity of the Al. Numerical simulations show that both ultraviolet and visible light are more efficient than infrared light for photothermal energy coupling. The natural oxidation layer of alumina is found to have minimum impact on the energy deposition because of its negligible dielectric losses. The near-field distributions of the electric field indicate that slight aggregation induces much higher local enhancement, especially at the interface region of multiple contacting nanoparticles.

Plasmonic photocatalysts based on silver nanoparticles - layered double hydroxides for efficient removal of toxic compounds using solar light

Science.gov (United States)

Gilea, Diana; Radu, Teodora; Muresanu, Mihaela; Carja, Gabriela

2018-06-01

Plasmon-enhanced photocatalysis holds important promise for chemical processes and outcomes. We present here the self-assemblies of silver nanoparticles (AgNP)/layered double hydroxides (LDHs: MeAlLDHs with Me2+ = Zn2+;Mg2+) and their derived AgNP/MMOs (type AgNP/MgAl2O4; AgNP/ZnO/ZnAl2O4) as novel plasmonic photocatalysts exhibiting activity for phenol photodegradation from aqueous solution by solar-light. The fabrication procedure of AgNP/LDHs assemblies is simple and cost effective and is based on the in-situ synthesis of AgNP on the LDHs matrices during the reconstruction of MgAlLDH and ZnAlLDH in the aqueous solution of Ag2SO4. The tested catalysts were thoroughly investigated - techniques to obtain information on their crystalline structure (XRD), surface properties (XPS), morphological features (TEM) and optical properties (UV-vis). The results show that the solar photocatalytic response of the catalysts is ascribed to the plasmonic response of AgNP though the catalytic efficiency is strongly influenced by the composition of the MeAlLDHs. The best photocatalytic performance was obtained on AgNP/ZnAlLDH750 catalyst that degraded 100% of phenol after 80 min of irradiation with solar light. The results reveal the high potential to tailor AgNP/LDHs and AgNP/MMOs as efficient photo-functional plasmonic hybrids for waste-water cleaning.

Effect of the size of silver nanoparticles on SERS signal enhancement

Science.gov (United States)

He, Rui Xiu; Liang, Robert; Peng, Peng; Norman Zhou, Y.

2017-08-01

The localized surface plasmon resonance arising from plasmonic materials is beneficial in solution-based and thin-film sensing applications, which increase the sensitivity of the analyte being tested. Silver nanoparticles from 35 to 65 nm in diameter were synthesized using a low-temperature method and deposited in a monolayer on a (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES)-functionalized glass slide. The effect of particle size on monolayer structure, optical behavior, and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is studied. While increasing particle size decreases particle coverage, it also changes the localized surface plasmon resonance and thus the SERS activity of individual nanoparticles. Using a laser excitation wavelength of 633 nm, the stronger localized surface plasmon resonance coupling to this excitation wavelength at larger particle sizes trumps the loss in surface coverage, and greater SERS signals are observed. The SERS signal enhancement accounts for the higher SERS signal, which was verified using a finite element model of a silver nanoparticle dimer with various nanoparticle sizes and separation distances.

Coupling effects in 3D plasmonic structures templated by Morpho butterfly wings.

Science.gov (United States)

He, Jiaqing; Shen, Qingchen; Yang, Shuai; He, Gufeng; Tao, Peng; Song, Chengyi; Wu, Jianbo; Deng, Tao; Shang, Wen

2018-01-03

This paper presents the study of the coupling effects of three dimensional (3D) plasmonic nanostructures templated by Morpho butterfly wings. Different from the random deposition of metallic nanoparticles (NPs) or conformal coating of metallic layers on butterfly wings reported previously, the 3D plasmonic nanostructures studied in this work consist of gold (Au) nanostrips quasi-periodically arranged in 3D, which allows us to investigate the plasmonic coupling effects. Through refractive index (RI) matching, the plasmonic coupling can be differentiated from the optical contribution of butterfly wings. By tuning the deposition thickness of Au from 30 to 90 nm, the plasmonic coupling effects between the 3D Au nanostrips are gradually enhanced. In particular, the near-field coupling results in two resonant modes and enhances the surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) signals.

Pulsed magneto-motive ultrasound imaging to detect intracellular accumulation of magnetic nanoparticles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mehrmohammadi, Mohammad; Qu Min; Sokolov, Konstantin V; Emelianov, Stanislav Y; Ma, Li L; Johnston, Keith P; Romanovicz, Dwight K

2011-01-01

As applications of nanoparticles in medical imaging and biomedicine rapidly expand, the interactions of nanoparticles with living cells have become an area of active interest. For example, intracellular accumulation of nanoparticles-an important part of cell-nanoparticle interaction-has been well studied using plasmonic nanoparticles and optical or optics-based techniques due to the change in optical properties of the nanoparticle aggregates. However, magnetic nanoparticles, despite their wide range of clinical applications, do not exhibit plasmonic-resonant properties and therefore their intracellular aggregation cannot be detected by optics-based imaging techniques. In this study, we investigated the feasibility of a novel imaging technique-pulsed magneto-motive ultrasound (pMMUS)-to identify intracellular accumulation of endocytosed magnetic nanoparticles. In pMMUS imaging a focused, high intensity, pulsed magnetic field is used to excite the cells labeled with magnetic nanoparticles, and ultrasound imaging is then used to monitor the mechanical response of the tissue. We demonstrated previously that clusters of magnetic nanoparticles amplify the pMMUS signal in comparison to the signal from individual nanoparticles. Here we further demonstrate that pMMUS imaging can identify interaction between magnetic nanoparticles and living cells, i.e. intracellular accumulation of nanoparticles within the cells. The results of our study suggest that pMMUS imaging can not only detect the presence of magnetic nanoparticles but also provides information about their intracellular accumulation non-invasively and in real-time.

Localized surface plasmons modulated nonlinear optical processes in metal film-coupled and upconversion nanocrystals-coated nanoparticles (Conference Presentation)

Science.gov (United States)

Lei, Dangyuan

2016-09-01

In the first part of this talk, I will show our experimental investigation on the linear and nonlinear optical properties of metal film-coupled nanosphere monomers and dimers both with nanometric gaps. We have developed a new methodology - polarization resolved spectral decomposition and color decoding to "visualizing" unambiguously the spectral and radiation properties of the complex plasmonic gap modes in these hybrid nanostructures. Single-particle spectroscopic measurements indicate that these hybrid nanostructures can simultaneously enhance several nonlinear optical processes, such as second harmonic generation, two-photon absorption induced luminescence, and hyper-Raman scattering. In the second part, I will show how the polarization state of the emissions from sub-10 nm upconversion nanocrystals (UCNCs) can be modulated when they form a hybrid complex with a gold nanorod (GNR). Our single-particle scattering experiments expose how an interplay between excitation polarization and GNR orientation gives rise to an extraordinary polarized nature of the upconversion emissions from an individual hybrid nanostructure. We support our results by numerical simulations and, using Förster resonance energy transfer theory, we uncover how an overlap between the UCNC emission and GNR extinction bands as well as the mutual orientation between emission and plasmonic dipoles jointly determine the polarization state of the UC emissions.

On the origin of nonlocal damping in plasmonic monomers and dimers

Science.gov (United States)

Tserkezis, Christos; Yan, Wei; Hsieh, Wenting; Sun, Greg; Khurgin, Jacob B.; Wubs, Martijn; Mortensen, N. Asger

2017-09-01

The origin and importance of nonlocal damping is discussed through simulations with the generalized nonlocal optical response (GNOR) theory, in conjunction with time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) calculations and equivalent circuit modeling, for some of the most typical plasmonic architectures: metal-dielectric interfaces, metal-dielectric-metal gaps, spherical nanoparticles and nanoparticle dimers. It is shown that diffusive damping, as introduced by the convective-diffusive GNOR theory, describes well the enhanced losses and plasmon broadening predicted by ab initio calculations in few-nm particles or few-to-sub-nm gaps. Through the evaluation of a local effective dielectric function, it is shown that absorptive losses appear dominantly close to the metal surface, in agreement with TDDFT and the mechanism of Landau damping due to generation of electron-hole pairs near the interface. Diffusive nonlocal theories provide therefore an efficient means to tackle plasmon damping when electron tunneling can be safely disregarded, without the need to resort to more accurate, but time-consuming fully quantum-mechanical studies.

Silver nanoparticles plasmonic effect on eosin and rhodamine 6G luminescence in various media

Science.gov (United States)

Samusev, Ilia G.; Tikhomirova, Nadezhda S.; Slezhkin, Vasiliy A.; Zyubin, Andrey Yu.; Bryukhanov, Valery V.; Tsibulnikova, Anna V.

2016-11-01

The plasmonic enhancement and quenching of phosphorescence and fluorescence of the anionic (eosin) and cationic (rhodamine 6G) dyes have been studied in various environments: silver nanoparticles of silver hydrosol citrate in water, in polymer films and on the surface of nanoporous silica in order to determine the kinetic and spectral effects on the dye luminescence. Depending on the silver nanoparticles concentration both the enhancement and quenching of the dyes phosphorescence and fluorescence have been detected. The mechanism of interaction between the excited molecules and silver nanoparticles has been discussed.

Physics Based Investigations of DNA Supercoiling and of Plasmonic Nanoparticles for Photothermal Cancer Therapy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nørregaard, Kamilla

into subcutaneous tumor xenografts in mice. To better understand the photo-physical properties, the plasmonic heating of the resonant and non-resonant nanoparticles was also compared using an in vitro temperature sensitive assay. This assay enabled measurements of the heat generation of single NIR irradiated...... nanoparticles and con rmed that the resonant silica-gold nanoshells were superior to the non-resonant nanoparticles. These ndings were in agreement with numerical photo-absorption calculations. The presented comparative study is a novel strategy to quantify the photothermal e ect at a single particle level...

Optical and thermal investigation of GeO2–PbO thin films doped with Au and Ag nanoparticles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carvalho, E.A.; Carmo, A.P.; Bell, M.J.V.; Anjos, V.; Kassab, L.R.P.; Silva, D.M. da

2012-01-01

The present work reports on the thermo-optical study of germanate thin films doped with Au and Ag nanoparticles. Transmission Electron Microscopy images, UV–visible absorption and Micro-Raman scattering evidenced the presence of nanoparticles and the formation of collective excitations, the so called surface plasmons. Moreover, the effects of the metallic nanoparticles in the thermal properties of the films were observed. The thermal lens technique was proposed to evaluate the Thermal Diffusivity (D) of the samples. It furnishes superficial spatial resolution of about 100 μm, so it is appropriate to study inhomogeneous samples. It is shown that D may change up to a factor 3 over the surface of a film because of the differences in the nanoparticles concentration distribution.

Optical Properties of Linoleic Acid Protected Gold Nanoparticles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ratan Das

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Linoleic acid-protected gold nanoparticles have been synthesized through the chemical reduction of tetrachloroaurate ions by ethanol in presence of sodium linoleate. The structure of these nanoparticles is investigated using transmission electron microscopy, which shows that the Au nanoparticles are spherical in shape with a narrow size distribution which ranges from 8 to 15 nm. Colloidal dispersion of gold nanoparticles in cyclohexane exhibits absorption bands in the ultraviolet-visible range due to surface plasmon resonance, with absorption maximum at 530 nm. Fluorescence spectra of gold nanoparticles also show an emission peak at 610 nm when illuminated at 450 nm. UV-Vis spectroscopy reveals that these nanoparticles remain stable for 10 days.

Plasmonic tunnel junctions for single-molecule redox chemistry.

Science.gov (United States)

de Nijs, Bart; Benz, Felix; Barrow, Steven J; Sigle, Daniel O; Chikkaraddy, Rohit; Palma, Aniello; Carnegie, Cloudy; Kamp, Marlous; Sundararaman, Ravishankar; Narang, Prineha; Scherman, Oren A; Baumberg, Jeremy J

2017-10-20

Nanoparticles attached just above a flat metallic surface can trap optical fields in the nanoscale gap. This enables local spectroscopy of a few molecules within each coupled plasmonic hotspot, with near thousand-fold enhancement of the incident fields. As a result of non-radiative relaxation pathways, the plasmons in such sub-nanometre cavities generate hot charge carriers, which can catalyse chemical reactions or induce redox processes in molecules located within the plasmonic hotspots. Here, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy allows us to track these hot-electron-induced chemical reduction processes in a series of different aromatic molecules. We demonstrate that by increasing the tunnelling barrier height and the dephasing strength, a transition from coherent to hopping electron transport occurs, enabling observation of redox processes in real time at the single-molecule level.

The influence of shell thickness of Au@TiO2 core-shell nanoparticles on the plasmonic enhancement effect in dye-sensitized solar cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Wei-Liang; Lin, Fan-Cheng; Yang, Yu-Chen; Huang, Chen-Hsien; Gwo, Shangjr; Huang, Michael H; Huang, Jer-Shing

2013-09-07

Plasmonic core-shell nanoparticles (PCSNPs) can function as nanoantennas and improve the efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). To achieve maximum enhancement, the morphology of PCSNPs needs to be optimized. Here we precisely control the morphology of Au@TiO2 PCSNPs and systematically study its influence on the plasmonic enhancement effect. The enhancement mechanism was found to vary with the thickness of the TiO2 shell. PCSNPs with a thinner shell mainly enhance the current, whereas particles with a thicker shell improve the voltage. While pronounced plasmonic enhancement was found in the near infrared regime, wavelength-independent enhancement in the visible range was observed and attributed to the plasmonic heating effect. Emission lifetime measurement confirms that N719 molecules neighboring nanoparticles with TiO2 shells exhibit a longer lifetime than those in contact with metal cores. Overall, PCSNPs with a 5 nm shell give the highest efficiency enhancement of 23%. Our work provides a new synthesis route for well-controlled Au@TiO2 core-shell nanoparticles and gains insight into the plasmonic enhancement in DSSCs.

Direct transfer of subwavelength plasmonic nanostructures on bioactive silk films.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Dianmin; Tao, Hu; Trevino, Jacob; Mondia, Jessica P; Kaplan, David L; Omenetto, Fiorenzo G; Dal Negro, Luca

2012-11-27

By a reusable transfer fabrication technique, we demonstrate high-fidelity fabrication of metal nanoparticles, optical nanoantennas, and nanohole arrays directly on a functional silk biopolymer. The ability to reproducibly pattern silk biopolymers with arbitrarily complex plasmonic arrays is of importance for a variety of applications in optical biosensing, tissue engineering, cell biology, and the development of novel bio-optoelectronic medical devices. Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Synthesis and characterization of silver nanoparticles from Alpinia calcarata by Green approach and its applications in bactericidal and nonlinear optics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pugazhendhi, S.; Kirubha, E. [Department of Physics, Anna University, Chennai 600 025 (India); Palanisamy, P.K. [Department of Medical Physics, Anna University, Chennai 600 025 (India); Gopalakrishnan, R., E-mail: krgkrishnan@yahoo.com [Department of Physics, Anna University, Chennai 600 025 (India)

2015-12-01

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Alpinia calcarata root extract was used for the synthesis Ag nanoparticle. • AgNPs show remarkable stability at 25–30 °C. • The morphologies of the AgNPs were analyzed using HRTEM. • AgNPs exhibit good nonlinear optical behaviour and antimicrobial activities. - Abstract: Development of green route for the synthesis of nanoparticles with plant extracts plays a very important role in nanotechnology without any toxicity chemicals. Herein we report a new approach to synthesize silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using aqueous extract of Alpinia calcarata root as a reducing as well as stabilizing agent. The crystal structure and purity of the synthesized AgNPs were studied using Powder X-ray Diffraction analysis. The Surface Plasmon Resonance bands of synthesized silver nanoparticles have been obtained and monitored using UV–Visible spectrum. The morphologies of the AgNPs were analyzed using High resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The elements present in the A. calcarata extract were determined by the inductively coupled plasma-optical emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Silver nanoparticles from A. calcarata possess very good antimicrobial activity which was confirmed by resazurin dye reduction assay method and thus it is a potential source of antimicrobial agent. The synthesized Ag nanoparticles exhibit good optical nonlinearity and the nonlinear optical studies have been carried out by Z-scan technique.

Synthesis and characterization of silver nanoparticles from Alpinia calcarata by Green approach and its applications in bactericidal and nonlinear optics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pugazhendhi, S.; Kirubha, E.; Palanisamy, P.K.; Gopalakrishnan, R.

2015-01-01

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Alpinia calcarata root extract was used for the synthesis Ag nanoparticle. • AgNPs show remarkable stability at 25–30 °C. • The morphologies of the AgNPs were analyzed using HRTEM. • AgNPs exhibit good nonlinear optical behaviour and antimicrobial activities. - Abstract: Development of green route for the synthesis of nanoparticles with plant extracts plays a very important role in nanotechnology without any toxicity chemicals. Herein we report a new approach to synthesize silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using aqueous extract of Alpinia calcarata root as a reducing as well as stabilizing agent. The crystal structure and purity of the synthesized AgNPs were studied using Powder X-ray Diffraction analysis. The Surface Plasmon Resonance bands of synthesized silver nanoparticles have been obtained and monitored using UV–Visible spectrum. The morphologies of the AgNPs were analyzed using High resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The elements present in the A. calcarata extract were determined by the inductively coupled plasma-optical emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Silver nanoparticles from A. calcarata possess very good antimicrobial activity which was confirmed by resazurin dye reduction assay method and thus it is a potential source of antimicrobial agent. The synthesized Ag nanoparticles exhibit good optical nonlinearity and the nonlinear optical studies have been carried out by Z-scan technique.

Chemical and Biological Sensing with a Fiber Optic Surface Plasmon Resonance Device

Science.gov (United States)

Shevchenko, Yanina

Fiber biosensors have emerged as an alternative to other optical sensor platforms which utilize bulkier optical elements. Sensors manufactured using optical fiber offer considerable advantages over traditional platforms, such as simple manufacturing process, small size and possibility for in situ and remote measurements. The possibility to manufacture a compact sensor with very few optical elements and package it into a portable hand-held device makes it particularly useful in many biomedical applications. Such applications generate a growing demand for an improved understanding of how fiber sensors function as well as for sensor optimization techniques so later these devices can suit the needs of the applications they are developed for. Research presented in this thesis is focused on a development of a plasmonic fiber biosensor and its application towards biochemical sensing. The fiber sensor used in this study integrates plasmonics with tilted Bragg grating technology, creating a versatile sensing solution. Plasmonics alone is an established phenomenon that is widely employed in many sensing applications. The Bragg grating is also a well-researched optical component that has been extensively applied in telecommunication. By combining both plasmonics and Bragg gratings, it is possible to design a compact and very sensitive chemical sensor. The presented work focuses on the characterization and optimization of the fiber sensor so later it could be applied in biochemical sensing. It also explores several applications including real-time monitoring of polymer adsorption, detection of thrombin and cellular sensing. All applications are focused on studying processes that are very different in their nature and thus the various strengths of the developed sensing platform were leveraged to suit the requirements of these applications.

Enhanced thermal lens effect in gold nanoparticle-doped Lyotropic liquid crystal by nanoparticle clustering probed by Z-scan technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gomez, S.L.; Lenart, V.M.

2015-01-01

This work presents an experimental study of the thermal lens effect in Au nanoparticles-doped lyotropic liquid crystals under cw 532 nm optical excitation. Spherical Au nanoparticles of about 12 nm were prepared by Turkevich’s method, and the lyotropic liquid crystal was a ternary mixture of SDS, 1-DeOH, and water that exhibits an isotropic phase at room temperature. The lyotropic matrix induces aggregation of the nanoparticles, leading to a broad and a red-shifted surface plasmon resonance. The thermal nonlinear optical refraction coefficient n 2 increases as a power of number density of nanoparticles, being possible to address this behavior to nanoparticle clustering. (author)

Enhanced thermal lens effect in gold nanoparticle-doped Lyotropic liquid crystal by nanoparticle clustering probed by Z-scan technique

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gomez, S.L.; Lenart, V.M., E-mail: sgomez@uepg.br [Universidade Estadual de Ponta Grossa (UEPG), PR (Brazil). Dept. de Fisica; Turchiello, R.T. [Universidade Federal Tecnologica do Parana (UFTPR), Ponta Grossa, PR (Brazil). Dept. de Fisica; Goya, G.F. [Department of Condensed Matter Physics, Aragon Institute of Nanoscience, Zaragoza (Spain)

2015-10-01

This work presents an experimental study of the thermal lens effect in Au nanoparticles-doped lyotropic liquid crystals under cw 532 nm optical excitation. Spherical Au nanoparticles of about 12 nm were prepared by Turkevich’s method, and the lyotropic liquid crystal was a ternary mixture of SDS, 1-DeOH, and water that exhibits an isotropic phase at room temperature. The lyotropic matrix induces aggregation of the nanoparticles, leading to a broad and a red-shifted surface plasmon resonance. The thermal nonlinear optical refraction coefficient n{sub 2} increases as a power of number density of nanoparticles, being possible to address this behavior to nanoparticle clustering. (author)

Terahertz plasmon and surface-plasmon modes in cylindrical metallic nanowires

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu Ping; Xu Wen; Li Long-Long; Lu Tie-Cheng; Wu Wei-Dong

2014-01-01

We present a theoretical study on collective excitation modes associated with plasmon and surface-plasmon oscillations in cylindrical metallic nanowires. Based on a two-subband model, the dynamical dielectric function matrix is derived under the random-phase approximation. An optic-like branch and an acoustic-like branch, which are free of Landau damping, are observed for both plasmon and surface-plasmon modes. Interestingly, for surface-plasmon modes, we find that two branches of the dispersion relation curves converge at a wavevector q z = q max beyond which no surface-plasmon mode exists. Moreover, we examine the dependence of these excitation modes on sample parameters such as the radius of the nanowires. It is found that in metallic nanowires realized by state-of-the-art nanotechnology the intra- and inter-subband plasmon and surface-plasmon frequencies are in the terahertz bandwidth. The frequency of the optic-like modes decreases with increasing radius of the nanowires, whereas that of the acoustic-like modes is not sensitive to the variation of the radius. This study is pertinent to the application of metallic nanowires as frequency-tunable terahertz plasmonic devices. (condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties)

Light-induced electronic non-equilibrium in plasmonic particles.

Science.gov (United States)

Kornbluth, Mordechai; Nitzan, Abraham; Seideman, Tamar

2013-05-07

We consider the transient non-equilibrium electronic distribution that is created in a metal nanoparticle upon plasmon excitation. Following light absorption, the created plasmons decohere within a few femtoseconds, producing uncorrelated electron-hole pairs. The corresponding non-thermal electronic distribution evolves in response to the photo-exciting pulse and to subsequent relaxation processes. First, on the femtosecond timescale, the electronic subsystem relaxes to a Fermi-Dirac distribution characterized by an electronic temperature. Next, within picoseconds, thermalization with the underlying lattice phonons leads to a hot particle in internal equilibrium that subsequently equilibrates with the environment. Here we focus on the early stage of this multistep relaxation process, and on the properties of the ensuing non-equilibrium electronic distribution. We consider the form of this distribution as derived from the balance between the optical absorption and the subsequent relaxation processes, and discuss its implication for (a) heating of illuminated plasmonic particles, (b) the possibility to optically induce current in junctions, and (c) the prospect for experimental observation of such light-driven transport phenomena.

Plasmon-induced selective carbon dioxide conversion on earth-abundant aluminum-cuprous oxide antenna-reactor nanoparticles.

Science.gov (United States)

Robatjazi, Hossein; Zhao, Hangqi; Swearer, Dayne F; Hogan, Nathaniel J; Zhou, Linan; Alabastri, Alessandro; McClain, Michael J; Nordlander, Peter; Halas, Naomi J

2017-06-21

The rational combination of plasmonic nanoantennas with active transition metal-based catalysts, known as 'antenna-reactor' nanostructures, holds promise to expand the scope of chemical reactions possible with plasmonic photocatalysis. Here, we report earth-abundant embedded aluminum in cuprous oxide antenna-reactor heterostructures that operate more effectively and selectively for the reverse water-gas shift reaction under milder illumination than in conventional thermal conditions. Through rigorous comparison of the spatial temperature profile, optical absorption, and integrated electric field enhancement of the catalyst, we have been able to distinguish between competing photothermal and hot-carrier driven mechanistic pathways. The antenna-reactor geometry efficiently harnesses the plasmon resonance of aluminum to supply energetic hot-carriers and increases optical absorption in cuprous oxide for selective carbon dioxide conversion to carbon monoxide with visible light. The transition from noble metals to aluminum based antenna-reactor heterostructures in plasmonic photocatalysis provides a sustainable route to high-value chemicals and reaffirms the practical potential of plasmon-mediated chemical transformations.Plasmon-enhanced photocatalysis holds promise for the control of chemical reactions. Here the authors report an Al@Cu 2 O heterostructure based on earth abundant materials to transform CO 2 into CO at significantly milder conditions.

Dependency of plasmon resonance sensitivity of colloidal gold nanoparticles on the identity of surrounding ionic media

Science.gov (United States)

Mehrdel, B.; Aziz, A. Abdul

2018-03-01

The plasmon resonance sensitivity of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) in sodium chloride (NaCl) liquid in near-infrared to the visible spectral region was investigated. The correlation between NaCl concentration and refractive index was analyzed using concentration dependency and Lorenz-Lorenz methods. The first derivative method was applied to the measured absorption spectra to quantitatively evaluate the plasmon resonance sensitivity. To understand the influence of the identity of the surrounding medium on the plasmon resonance sensitivity, experiments were repeated by replacing NaCl with sodium hydroxide (NaOH), followed by phosphate buffered saline (PBS). Experimental results showed that NaCl is the most effective ionic surrounding medium, which gives prominent plasmon resonance response. AuNPs size can have a significant influence on the plasmon resonance sensitivity. For tiny AuNPs (∼10 nm AuNPs), the plasmon resonance is insensitive to the identity of the surrounding medium due to their low cross-section value.

Impact of the Excitation Source and Plasmonic Material on Cylindrical Active Coated Nano-Particles

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Arslanagic, Samel; Liu, Yan; Malureanu, Radu

2011-01-01

Electromagnetic properties of cylindrical active coated nano-particles comprised of a silica nano-cylinder core layered with a plasmonic concentric nano-shell are investigated for potential nano-sensor applications. Particular attention is devoted to the near-field properties of these particles...

Structural characterization and plasmonic properties of two-dimensional arrays of hydrophobic large gold nanoparticles fabricated by Langmuir-Blodgett technique

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ishida, Takuya; Tachikiri, Yuki; Sako, Takayuki [Department of Materials Physics and Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyushu University, 744 Moto-oka, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka 819-0395 (Japan); Takahashi, Yukina, E-mail: yukina@mail.cstm.kyushu-u.ac.jp [Department of Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Engineering, Kyushu University, 744 Moto-oka, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka 819-0395 (Japan); Yamada, Sunao, E-mail: yamada@mail.cstm.kyushu-u.ac.jp [Department of Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Engineering, Kyushu University, 744 Moto-oka, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka 819-0395 (Japan); Center for Future Chemistry, Kyushu University, 744 Moto-oka, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka 819-0395 (Japan)

2017-05-15

Highlights: • Hydrophobic gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) by our method were large and stable enough. • Two-dimensional (2D) arrays of the AuNPs were obtained by Langmuir-Blodgett method with polyethylene glycol. • The plasmon resonant wavelength of the 2D arrays can be controlled by the diameter. - Abstract: We have succeeded in fabricating two-dimensional (2D) arrays of larger gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) (diameters 17, 28, and 48 nm) by Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) method. Although the particle size of AuNPs is one of the most important factors in order to control the optical properties of 2D arrays, there have been reported only the size of less than ∼20 nm. This is a first report on the bottom-up fabrication of 2D arrays consisting of hydrophobic AuNP with the diameter of ∼50 nm, of which the size is expected to obtain maximum near-field effects. Octadecylthiolate-capped AuNPs (ODT-AuNPs) which were prepared by our method could be re-dispersed in chloroform even after drying completely, realizing the spreading of the colloidal chloroform solution onto the water surface. Accordingly, densely-packed 2D LB films of ODT-AuNPs could be fabricated on an indium-tin-oxide substrate, when water as the subphase and polyethylene glycol (PEG) as an amphiphilic agent were used. PEG played an important role to form densely-packed film uniformly due to increasing affinity between hydrophobic AuNP and water. Absorption spectra of the films revealed that the resonance wavelengths of plasmon oscillation through interparticle plasmon coupling were clearly correlated with the particle sizes rather than deposition densities.

Plasmon mediated non-photochemical nucleation of nanoparticles by circularly polarized light

OpenAIRE

Karpov, Victor G.; Grigorchuk, Nicholas I.

2014-01-01

We predict nucleation of pancake shaped metallic nanoparticles having plasmonic frequencies in resonance with a non-absorbed circularly polarized electromagnetic field. We show that the same field can induce nucleation of randomly oriented needle shaped particles. The probabilities of these shapes are estimated vs. field frequency and strength, material parameters, and temperature. This constitutes a quantitative model of non-photochemical laser induced nucleation (NPLIN) consistent with the ...

Functionally graded poly(dimethylsiloxane)/silver nanocomposites with tailored broadband optical absorption

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nikolaou, P.; Mina, C.; Constantinou, M.; Koutsokeras, L.E.; Constantinides, G. [Research Unit for Nanostructured Materials Systems, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering, PO Box 50329, 3603 Limassol (Cyprus); Lidorikis, E.; Avgeropoulos, A. [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Ioannina, 45110 Ioannina (Greece); Kelires, P.C. [Research Unit for Nanostructured Materials Systems, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering, PO Box 50329, 3603 Limassol (Cyprus); Patsalas, P., E-mail: ppats@physics.auth.gr [Physics Department, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki 54124 (Greece)

2015-04-30

In this work, we produce functionally graded nanocomposites consisting of silver (Ag) plasmonic nanoparticles (PNPs) supported in a poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) matrix. PDMS was selected due to its high optical transparency, nontoxicity and ease of use. The Ag PNPs were formed by annealing sputtered Ag ultra-thin films and were subsequently capped by a spin-coated PDMS layer. We investigate the factors that affect their plasmonic behavior, such as the PNP size, the annealing conditions and the surrounding environment. In order to achieve broadband absorption, we developed PDMS/Ag(PNPs) multilayers with graded PNP size. Thus, we demonstrate the significance of the stacking sequence of various plasmonic layers sandwiched between PDMS layers and its potential for tailoring the plasmonic response of multilayer structure. As a demonstration of this approach, we deposited a specially designed multilayer structure, whose optical extinction resembles the solar emission spectrum. - Highlights: • Elastomers are combined with plasmonic nanoparticles. • The plasmonic effects in stratified media are identified. • Broadband absorption similar to solar emission is achieved.

Structural control of nonlinear optical absorption and refraction in dense metal nanoparticle arrays.

Science.gov (United States)

Kohlgraf-Owens, Dana C; Kik, Pieter G

2009-08-17

The linear and nonlinear optical properties of a composite containing interacting spherical silver nanoparticles embedded in a dielectric host are studied as a function of interparticle separation using three dimensional frequency domain simulations. It is shown that for a fixed amount of metal, the effective third-order nonlinear susceptibility of the composite chi((3))(omega) can be significantly enhanced with respect to the linear optical properties, due to a combination of resonant surface plasmon excitation and local field redistribution. It is shown that this geometry-dependent susceptibility enhancement can lead to an improved figure of merit for nonlinear absorption. Enhancement factors for the nonlinear susceptibility of the composite are calculated, and the complex nature of the enhancement factors is discussed.

Electro-optic polymeric reflection modulator based on plasmonic metamaterial

Science.gov (United States)

Abbas, A.; Swillam, M.

2018-02-01

A novel low power design for polymeric Electro-Optic reflection modulator is proposed based on the Extraordinary Reflection of light from multilayer structure consisting of a plasmonic metasurface with a periodic structure of sub wavelength circular apertures in a gold film above a thin layer of EO polymer and above another thin gold layer. The interference of the different reflected beams from different layer construct the modulated beam, The applied input driving voltage change the polymer refractive index which in turn determine whether the interference is constructive or destructive, so both phase and intensity modulation could be achieved. The resonant wavelength is tuned to the standard telecommunication wavelength 1.55μm, at this wavelength the reflection is minimum, while the absorption is maximum due to plasmonic resonance (PR) and the coupling between the incident light and the plasmonic metasurface.

Gold-Copper alloy “nano-dumplings” with tunable compositions and plasmonic properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Verma, Manoj; Kedia, Abhitosh; Kumar, P. Senthil

2016-01-01

The unique yet tunable optical properties of plasmonic metal nanoparticles have made them attractive targets for a wide range of applications including nanophotonics, molecular sensing, catalysis etc. Such diverse applications that require precisely stable / reproducible plasmonic properties depend sensitively on the particle morphology ie. the shape, size and constituents. Herein, we systematically study the size / shape controlled synthesis of gold-copper “dumpling” shaped alloy nanoparticles by simultaneous reduction of gold and copper salts in the PVP-methanol solute-solvent system, by effectively utilizing the efficient but mild reduction as well as capping abilities of Poly (N-vinylpyrrolidone). Introduction of copper salts not only yielded the alloy nanoparticles, but also slowed down the growth process to maintain high mono-dispersity of the new shapes evolved. Copper and gold has different lattice constants (0.361 and 0.408 nm respectively) and hence doping/addition/replacement of copper atoms to gold FCC unit cell introduces strain into the lattice which is key parameter to the shape evolution in anisotropic nanoparticles. Synthesized alloy nanoparticles were characterized by UV-visible absorption spectroscopy, XRD and TEM imaging.

Numerical Analysis of Efficiency Enhancement in Plasmonic Thin-Film Solar Cells by Using the SILVACO TCAD Simulator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim Un-Chol; Jiang Xiao-Qing

2012-01-01

A physical model for simulating plasmonic solar cells (SCs) using the SILVACO TCAD simulator is established and the effects of some factors on the efficiency enhancement of the amorphous silicon thin film SCs are simulated. Through this simulation, it is demonstrated that our method can successfully simulate the optical and electrical properties of plasmonic solar cells without the overestimation of the characteristics and without the neglect of parameter change in the device operation process. It is shown that not only the size and kind of metal nanoparticles but also other factors, such as the surrounding medium, the distance from the bottom of particles to the device surface, and the light incident angle, play important roles in the optical and electrical properties of plasmonic SCs. (condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties)

Plasmon enhanced fluorescence with aggregated shell-isolated nanoparticles.

Science.gov (United States)

Osorio-Román, Igor O; Guerrero, Ariel R; Albella, Pablo; Aroca, Ricardo F

2014-10-21

Shell-isolated nanoparticles (SHINs) nanostructures provide a versatile substrate where the localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPRs) are well-defined. For SHINEF, the silver (or gold) metal core is protected by the SiO2 coating, which is thicker than the critical distance for minimum quenching by the metal. In the present work, it is shown that an increase in the SHINEF enhancement factor may be achieved by inducing SHIN aggregation with electrolytes in solution. The proof of concept is demonstrated using NaCl as aggregating agent, although other inorganic salts will also aggregate SHIN nanoparticles. As much as a 10-fold enhancement in the SHINEF enhancement factor (EF) may be achieved by tuning the electrolyte concentrations in solution. The SHINEF experiments include the study of the aggregation effect controlling gold SHIN's surface concentration via spraying. Au-SHINs are sprayed onto layer-by-layer (LbL) and Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films, and samples are fabricated using fluorophores with low and also high quantum yield.

Silicon as a virtual plasmonic material: Acquisition of its transient optical constants and the ultrafast surface plasmon-polariton excitation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Danilov, P. A.; Ionin, A. A.; Kudryashov, S. I., E-mail: sikudr@sci.lebedev.ru; Makarov, S. V.; Rudenko, A. A. [Lebedev Physical Institute (Russian Federation); Saltuganov, P. N. [Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (State University) (Russian Federation); Seleznev, L. V.; Yurovskikh, V. I.; Zayarny, D. A. [Lebedev Physical Institute (Russian Federation); Apostolova, T. [Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Institute for Nuclear Research and Nuclear Energetics (Bulgaria)

2015-06-15

Ultrafast intense photoexcitation of a silicon surface is complementarily studied experimentally and theoretically, with its prompt optical dielectric function obtained by means of time-resolved optical reflection microscopy and the underlying electron-hole plasma dynamics modeled numerically, using a quantum kinetic approach. The corresponding transient surface plasmon-polariton (SPP) dispersion curves of the photo-excited material were simulated as a function of the electron-hole plasma density, using the derived optical dielectric function model, and directly mapped at several laser photon energies, measuring spatial periods of the corresponding SPP-mediated surface relief nanogratings. The unusual spectral dynamics of the surface plasmon resonance, initially increasing with the increase in the electron-hole plasma density but damped at high interband absorption losses induced by the high-density electron-hole plasma through instantaneous bandgap renormalization, was envisioned through the multi-color mapping.

Plasmonic Effects of Metallic Nanoparticles on Enhancing Performance of Perovskite Solar Cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Qi; Zhang, Chenxi; Deng, Xueshuang; Zhu, Hongbing; Li, Zhiqiang; Wang, Zengbo; Chen, Xiaohong; Huang, Sumei

2017-10-11

We report systematic design and formation of plasmonic perovskite solar cells (PSCs) by integrating Au@TiO 2 core-shell nanoparticles (NPs) into porous TiO 2 and/or perovskite semiconductor capping layers. The plasmonic effects in the formed PSCs are examined. The most efficient configuration is obtained by incorporating Au@TiO 2 NPs into both the porous TiO 2 and the perovskite capping layers, which increases the power conversion efficiency (PCE) from 12.59% to 18.24%, demonstrating over 44% enhancement, compared with the reference device without the metal NPs. The PCE enhancement is mainly attributed to short-circuit current improvement. The plasmonic enhancement effects of Au@TiO 2 core-shell nanosphere photovoltaic composites are explored based on the combination of UV-vis absorption spectroscopy, external quantum efficiency (EQE), photocurrent properties, and photoluminescence (PL). The addition of Au@TiO 2 nanospheres increased the rate of exciton generation and the probability of exciton dissociation, enhancing charge separation/transfer, reducing the recombination rate, and facilitating carrier transport in the device. This study contributes to understanding of plasmonic effects in perovskite solar cells and also provides a promising approach for simultaneous photon energy and electron management.

Broadband light trapping in thin film solar cells with self-organized plasmonic nano-colloids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mendes, Manuel J.; Mateus, Tiago; Lyubchyk, Andriy; Águas, Hugo; Ferreira, Isabel; Fortunato, Elvira; Martins, Rodrigo; Morawiec, Seweryn; Priolo, Francesco; Crupi, Isodiana

2015-01-01

The intense light scattered from metal nanoparticles sustaining surface plasmons makes them attractive for light trapping in photovoltaic applications. However, a strong resonant response from nanoparticle ensembles can only be obtained if the particles have monodisperse physical properties. Presently, the chemical synthesis of colloidal nanoparticles is the method that produces the highest monodispersion in geometry and material quality, with the added benefits of being low-temperature, low-cost, easily scalable and of allowing control of the surface coverage of the deposited particles. In this paper, novel plasmonic back-reflector structures were developed using spherical gold colloids with appropriate dimensions for pronounced far-field scattering. The plasmonic back reflectors are incorporated in the rear contact of thin film n-i-p nanocrystalline silicon solar cells to boost their photocurrent generation via optical path length enhancement inside the silicon layer. The quantum efficiency spectra of the devices revealed a remarkable broadband enhancement, resulting from both light scattering from the metal nanoparticles and improved light incoupling caused by the hemispherical corrugations at the cells’ front surface formed from the deposition of material over the spherically shaped colloids. (paper)

Stacked optical antennas for plasmon propagation in a 5 nm-confined cavity

KAUST Repository

Saeed, A.; Panaro, S.; Zaccaria, R. Proietti; Raja, W.; Liberale, Carlo; Dipalo, M.; Messina, G. C.; Wang, H.; De Angelis, F.; Toma, A.

2015-01-01

The sub-wavelength concentration and propagation of electromagnetic energy are two complementary aspects of plasmonics that are not necessarily co-present in a single nanosystem. Here we exploit the strong nanofocusing properties of stacked optical antennas in order to highly concentrate the electromagnetic energy into a 5nm metal-insulator-metal (MIM) cavity and convert free radiation into guided modes. The proposed nano-architecture combines the concentration properties of optical nanoantennas with the propagation capability of MIM systems, paving the way to highly miniaturized on-chip plasmonic waveguiding. © 2015, Nature Publishing Group. All rights reserved.

Stacked optical antennas for plasmon propagation in a 5 nm-confined cavity

KAUST Repository

Saeed, A.

2015-06-09

The sub-wavelength concentration and propagation of electromagnetic energy are two complementary aspects of plasmonics that are not necessarily co-present in a single nanosystem. Here we exploit the strong nanofocusing properties of stacked optical antennas in order to highly concentrate the electromagnetic energy into a 5nm metal-insulator-metal (MIM) cavity and convert free radiation into guided modes. The proposed nano-architecture combines the concentration properties of optical nanoantennas with the propagation capability of MIM systems, paving the way to highly miniaturized on-chip plasmonic waveguiding. © 2015, Nature Publishing Group. All rights reserved.

Reflection-based fibre-optic refractive index sensor using surface plasmon resonance

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Hlubina, P.; Kadulová, M.; Ciprian, D.; Sobota, Jaroslav

2014-01-01

Roč. 9, August 19 (2014), 14033:1-5 ISSN 1990-2573 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) LO1212 Keywords : surface plasmon resonance * fibre-optic sensor * spectral interrogation technique * aqueous solutions of ethanol * refractive index Subject RIV: BH - Optics, Masers, Lasers Impact factor: 1.231, year: 2014

Plasmonic Nanoprobes for Stimulated Emission Depletion Nanoscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Cortés, Emiliano; Huidobro, Paloma A; Sinclair, Hugo G; Guldbrand, Stina; Peveler, William J; Davies, Timothy; Parrinello, Simona; Görlitz, Frederik; Dunsby, Chris; Neil, Mark A A; Sivan, Yonatan; Parkin, Ivan P; French, Paul M W; Maier, Stefan A

2016-11-22

Plasmonic nanoparticles influence the absorption and emission processes of nearby emitters due to local enhancements of the illuminating radiation and the photonic density of states. Here, we use the plasmon resonance of metal nanoparticles in order to enhance the stimulated depletion of excited molecules for super-resolved nanoscopy. We demonstrate stimulated emission depletion (STED) nanoscopy with gold nanorods with a long axis of only 26 nm and a width of 8 nm. These particles provide an enhancement of up to 50% of the resolution compared to fluorescent-only probes without plasmonic components irradiated with the same depletion power. The nanoparticle-assisted STED probes reported here represent a ∼2 × 10 3 reduction in probe volume compared to previously used nanoparticles. Finally, we demonstrate their application toward plasmon-assisted STED cellular imaging at low-depletion powers, and we also discuss their current limitations.

On-chip plasmon-induced transparency based on plasmonic coupled nanocavities.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Yu; Hu, Xiaoyong; Yang, Hong; Gong, Qihuang

2014-01-17

On-chip plasmon-induced transparency offers the possibility of realization of ultrahigh-speed information processing chips. Unfortunately, little experimental progress has been made to date because it is difficult to obtain on-chip plasmon-induced transparency using only a single meta-molecule in plasmonic circuits. Here, we report a simple and efficient strategy to realize on-chip plasmon-induced transparency in a nanoscale U-shaped plasmonic waveguide side-coupled nanocavity pair. High tunability in the transparency window is achieved by covering the pair with different organic polymer layers. It is possible to realize ultrafast all-optical tunability based on pump light-induced refractive index change of a graphene cover layer. Compared with previous reports, the overall feature size of the plasmonic nanostructure is reduced by more than three orders of magnitude, while ultrahigh tunability of the transparency window is maintained. This work also provides a superior platform for the study of the various physical effects and phenomena of nonlinear optics and quantum optics.

Plasmonic gold nanoparticles for detection of fungi and human cutaneous fungal infections.

Science.gov (United States)

Sojinrin, Tobiloba; Conde, João; Liu, Kangze; Curtin, James; Byrne, Hugh J; Cui, Daxiang; Tian, Furong

2017-07-01

Fungi, which are common in the environment, can cause a multitude of diseases. Warm, humid conditions allow fungi to grow and infect humans via the respiratory, digestive and reproductive tracts, genital area and other bodily interfaces. Fungi can be detected directly by microscopy, using the potassium hydroxide test, which is the gold standard and most popular method for fungal screening. However, this test requires trained personnel operating specialist equipment, including a fluorescent microscope and culture facilities. As most acutely infected patients seek medical attention within the first few days of symptoms, the optimal diagnostic test would be rapid and self-diagnostic simplifying and improving the therapeutic outcome. In suspensions of gold nanoparticles, Aspergillus niger can cause a colour change from red to blue within 2 min, as a result of changes in nanoparticle shape. A similar colour change was observed in the supernatant of samples of human toenails dispersed in water. Scanning electron microscopy, UV/Vis and Raman spectroscopy were employed to monitor the changes in morphology and surface plasmon resonance of the nanoparticles. The correlation of colour change with the fungal infection was analysed using the absorbance ratio at 520 nm/620 nm. We found a decrease in the ratio when the fungi concentration increased from 1 to 16 CFU/mL, with a detection limit of 10 CFU/mL. The test had an 80% sensitivity and a 95% specificity value for the diagnosis of athlete's foot in human patients. This plasmonic gold nanoparticle-based system for detection of fungal infections measures the change in shape of gold nanoparticles and generates coloured solutions with distinct tonality. Our application has the potential to contribute to self-diagnosis and hygiene control in laboratories/hospitals with fewer resources, just using the naked eye. Graphical abstract Colorimetric method for fungi detection with gold nano particles.

Enhanced magneto-plasmonic effect in Au/Co/Au multilayers caused by exciton–plasmon strong coupling

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hamidi, S.M., E-mail: m_hamidi@sbu.ac.ir; Ghaebi, O.

2016-09-15

In this paper, we have investigated magneto optical Kerr rotation using the strong coupling of exciton–plasmon. For this purpose, we have demonstrated strong coupling phenomenon using reflectometry measurements. These measurements revealed the formation of two split polaritonic extrema in reflectometry as a function of wavelength. Then we have shown exciton–plasmon coupling in dispersion diagram which presented an anti-crossing between the polaritonic branches. To assure the readers of strong coupling, we have shown an enhanced magneto-optical Kerr rotation by comparing the reflectometry results of strong coupling of surface Plasmon polariton of Au/Co/Au multilayer and R6G excitons with surface Plasmon polariton magneto-optical kerr effect experimental setup. - Highlights: • The magneto optical Kerr rotation has been investigated by using the strong coupling of exciton–plasmon. • We have shown exciton–plasmon coupling in dispersion diagram which presented an anti-crossing between the polaritonic branches. • Strong coupling of surface plasmon polariton and exciton have been yielded to the enhanced magneto-optical Kerr effect. • Plasmons in Au/Co/Au multilayer and exciton in R6G have been coupled to enhance magneto-optical activity.

Quantitative optical extinction-based parametric method for sizing a single core-shell Ag-Ag2O nanoparticle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Santillan, J M J; Scaffardi, L B; Schinca, D C

2011-01-01

This paper develops a parametric method for determining the core radius and shell thickness in small silver-silver-oxide core-shell nanoparticles (Nps) based on single particle optical extinction spectroscopy. The method is based on the study of the relationship between plasmon peak wavelength, full width at half maximum (FWHM) and contrast of the extinction spectra as a function of core radius and shell thickness. This study reveals that plasmon peak wavelength is strongly dependent on shell thickness, whereas FWHM and contrast depend on both variables. These characteristics may be used for establishing an easy and fast stepwise procedure to size core-shell NPs from single particle absorption spectrum. The importance of the method lies in the possibility of monitoring the growth of the silver-oxide layer around small spherical silver Nps in real time. Using the electrostatic approximation of Mie theory, core-shell single particle extinction spectra were calculated for a silver particle's core size smaller than about 20 nm and different thicknesses of silver oxide around it. Analysis of the obtained curves shows a very particular characteristic of the plasmon peak of small silver-silver-oxide Nps, expressed in the fact that its position is strongly dependent on oxide thickness and weakly dependent on the core radius. Even a very thin oxide layer shifts the plasmon peak noticeably, enabling plasmon tuning with appropriate shell thickness. This characteristic, together with the behaviour of FWHM and contrast of the extinction spectra can be combined into a parametric method for sizing both core and shell of single silver Nps in a medium using only optical information. In turn, shell thickness can be related to oxygen content in the Np's surrounding media. The method proposed is applied to size silver Nps from single particle extinction spectrum. The results are compared with full optical spectrum fitting using the electrostatic approximation in Mie theory. The method

Localized Surface Plasmon-Enhanced Electroluminescence in OLEDs by Self-Assembly Ag Nanoparticle Film

Science.gov (United States)

He, Xiaoxiao; Wang, Wenjun; Li, Shuhong; Wang, Qingru; Zheng, Wanquan; Shi, Qiang; Liu, Yunlong

2015-12-01

We fabricated Ag nanoparticle (NP) film in organic light emission diodes (OLEDs), and a 23 times increase in electroluminescence (EL) at 518 nm was probed by time-resolved EL measurement. The luminance and relative external quantum efficiency (REQE) were increased by 5.4 and 3.7 times, respectively. There comes a new energy transport way that localized surface plasmons (LSPs) would absorb energy that corresponds to the electron-hole pair before recombination, promoting the formation of electron-hole pair and exciting local surface plasmon resonance (LSPR). The extended lifetime of Alq3 indicates the existence of strong interaction between LSPR and exciton, which decreases the nonradiative decay rate of OLEDs.

Nonlinear graphene plasmonics

Science.gov (United States)

Ooi, Kelvin J. A.; Tan, Dawn T. H.

2017-10-01

The rapid development of graphene has opened up exciting new fields in graphene plasmonics and nonlinear optics. Graphene's unique two-dimensional band structure provides extraordinary linear and nonlinear optical properties, which have led to extreme optical confinement in graphene plasmonics and ultrahigh nonlinear optical coefficients, respectively. The synergy between graphene's linear and nonlinear optical properties gave rise to nonlinear graphene plasmonics, which greatly augments graphene-based nonlinear device performance beyond a billion-fold. This nascent field of research will eventually find far-reaching revolutionary technological applications that require device miniaturization, low power consumption and a broad range of operating wavelengths approaching the far-infrared, such as optical computing, medical instrumentation and security applications.

Magneto-optical response of Cu/NiFe/Cu nanostructure under surface plasmon resonance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mahmoodi, S. [Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, University of Kashan, Kashan, 87317 (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Moradi, M., E-mail: m.moradi@kashanu.ac.ir [Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, University of Kashan, Kashan, 87317 (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Mohseni, S.M. [Department of Physics, Shahid Beheshti University, Evin, Tehran, 19839 (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2016-12-15

In this paper, we present theoretical and experimental studies about the surface plasmon resonance effects on the magneto-optical activity of Cu/NiFe/Cu nanostructures as a function of layers thickness and light incident angle. Device fabrication was done by an oblique deposition technique with RF magnetron sputtering to carefully cover fine step thickness variation of all constituted layers. Angular dependent transverse Kerr response of samples was measured in the Kretschmann configuration at a fixed wavelength of 632 nm. At an optimum layer thickness and incident angle, significant amplification of the transverse Kerr effect was observed. Enhancement in the transverse Kerr effect can be realized by hybridization of surface plasmon excitation and cavity resonance in the plasmonic nanostructure. Experimental results were in qualitative agreement with modeling based on the 4×4 transfer matrix formalism. - Highlights: • Large magneto-optical response in Cu/NiFe/Cu multilayer nanostructure is achieved. • Layer thickness and sequence are studied to find large transverse Kerr signal. • Hybridization of surface plasmon excitation and cavity resonance were done.

A novel C-shaped, gold nanoparticle coated, embedded polymer waveguide for localized surface plasmon resonance based detection.

Science.gov (United States)

Prabhakar, Amit; Mukherji, Soumyo

2010-12-21

In this study, a novel embedded optical waveguide based sensor which utilizes localized surface plasmon resonance of gold nanoparticles coated on a C-shaped polymer waveguide is being reported. The sensor, as designed, can be used as an analysis chip for detection of minor variations in the refractive index of its microenvironment, which makes it suitable for wide scale use as an affinity biosensor. The C-shaped waveguide coupled with microfluidic channel was fabricated by single step patterning of SU8 on an oxidized silicon wafer. The absorbance due to the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of SU8 waveguide bound gold nano particle (GNP) was found to be linear with refractive index changes between 1.33 and 1.37. A GNP coated C-bent waveguide of 200 μ width with a bend radius of 1 mm gave rise to a sensitivity of ~5 ΔA/RIU at 530 nm as compared to the ~2.5 ΔA/RIU (refractive index units) of the same dimension bare C-bend SU8 waveguide. The resolution of the sensor probe was ~2 × 10(-4) RIU.

Revealing Nanostructures through Plasmon Polarimetry.

Science.gov (United States)

Kleemann, Marie-Elena; Mertens, Jan; Zheng, Xuezhi; Cormier, Sean; Turek, Vladimir; Benz, Felix; Chikkaraddy, Rohit; Deacon, William; Lombardi, Anna; Moshchalkov, Victor V; Vandenbosch, Guy A E; Baumberg, Jeremy J

2017-01-24

Polarized optical dark-field spectroscopy is shown to be a versatile noninvasive probe of plasmonic structures that trap light to the nanoscale. Clear spectral polarization splittings are found to be directly related to the asymmetric morphology of nanocavities formed between faceted gold nanoparticles and an underlying gold substrate. Both experiment and simulation show the influence of geometry on the coupled system, with spectral shifts Δλ = 3 nm from single atoms. Analytical models allow us to identify the split resonances as transverse cavity modes, tightly confined to the nanogap. The direct correlation of resonance splitting with atomistic morphology allows mapping of subnanometre structures, which is crucial for progress in extreme nano-optics involving chemistry, nanophotonics, and quantum devices.

Optical properties and extinction spectroscopy to characterize the synthesis of amine capped silver nanoparticles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Roldan, Maria Virginia [Laboratorio de Materiales Ceramicos, FCEIyA, IFIR, UNR, Rosario (Argentina)], E-mail: vroldan@fceia.unr.edu.ar; Scaffardi, Lucia B. [CIOp - CONICET, CIC, c.c. 124, 1900 La Plata (Argentina) and Area Departamental de Ciencias Basicas, Facultad de Ingenieria, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, La Plata (Argentina); Sanctis, Oscar de [Laboratorio de Materiales Ceramicos, FCEIyA, IFIR, UNR, Rosario (Argentina); Pellegri, Nora [Laboratorio de Materiales Ceramicos, FCEIyA, IFIR, UNR, Rosario (Argentina)], E-mail: pellegri@fceia.unr.edu.ar

2008-12-20

The present work describes a method for preparation of Ag nanoparticles from chemical reduction of AgNO{sub 3} in ethanol with ATS [N-[3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl] diethylenetriamine] as surface modifier. We study the influence of different parameters such as concentration, time, temperature and reductor agents on the size and shape of the nanoparticles. We present the morphologic and structural characterization of samples by UV-vis extinction spectroscopy, Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Particularly, using optical extinction spectroscopy, the present work shows the analysis of size evolution in the fabrication process of spherical silver nanoparticles. This evolution is studied as a function of the time elapsed between the beginning of the reaction and the extraction of the sample (temporal delayed synthesis), and as a function of the temperature during the chemical reaction. In both the cases, we propose the study of the plasmon width as a useful, simple and inexpensive method for analysis of the mean radius, specially, for values below 6 nm.

Optical properties and extinction spectroscopy to characterize the synthesis of amine capped silver nanoparticles