Properties of plasmonic arrays produced by pulsed-laser nanostructuring of thin Au films.

Katarzyna Grochowska,Peter A Atanasov,Gerard Śliwiński,Carla Bittencourt,Katarzyna Siuzdak,Nikolay N Nedyalkov,Anna Dikovska

doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.219

Katarzyna Grochowska, Peter A Atanasov + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3762/bjnano.5.219

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Abstract

A brief description of research advances in the area of short-pulse-laser nanostructuring of thin Au films is followed by examples of experimental data and a discussion of our results on the characterization of structural and optical properties of gold nanostructures. These consist of partially spherical or spheroidal nanoparticles (NPs) which have a size distribution (80 ± 42 nm) and self-organization characterized by a short-distance order (length scale ≈140 nm). For the NP shapes produced, an observably broader tuning range (of about 150 nm) of the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) band is obtained by renewal thin film deposition and laser annealing of the NP array. Despite the broadened SPR bands, which indicate damping confirmed by short dephasing times not exceeding 4 fs, the self-organized Au NP structures reveal quite a strong enhancement of the optical signal. This was consistent with the near-field modeling and micro-Raman measurements as well as a test of the electrochemical sensing capability.

Highlights

The capability of pulsed-laser beams to deliver energy to a precise space at a precise time stimulated developments of laser technology and a variety of applications in scientific research and in the fields of medicine, metrology and optoelectronic devices
The reproducibly functionalized nanostructures are documented by numerous experimental data and the scaling-up potential of this technique is an additional advantage from the perspective of possible applications [6,7,8]
The self-organization of structures represents an important characteristic resulting from the laser nanostructuring (LNS) process and is observed in numerous works [29,30]

Summary

Introduction

The capability of pulsed-laser beams to deliver energy to a precise space at a precise time stimulated developments of laser technology and a variety of applications in scientific research and in the fields of medicine, metrology and optoelectronic devices. This can be caused by the presence of large particles in the arrays and by the NP size distribution, neither of which are taken into account in the calculations conducted for the average size NPs. The structureless peaks in Figure 2a indicate a relatively strong dipolar response to irradiation, even in the case of this self-organized nanostructure.

Results

Conclusion