Strong Surface Plasmon Resonance Research Articles

Environmentally friendly use of silver nanoparticles prepared with Anchusa azurea flower to detect mercury (II) ions

ABSTRACT In this study, the extract obtained from the flowers of the Anchusa azurea (AA) plant was mixed with silver nitrate to obtain silver nanoparticles. The ion sensing ability of the obtained bio-sourced silver nanoparticles in aqueous solutions was investigated and the presence of Hg2+ ions was determined colorimetrically. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) prepared on Green Chemistry method, which is both an environmentally friendly and cost-effective synthesis technique, were characterised using different analytical tools. The mean particle size of AA-AgNPs from transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images was determined to be 22 nm in diameter. XRD measurements showed that the crystallite sizes of the synthesised AgNPs were in the face-centred cubic crystal structure with an average size of 22 nm, which is consistent with TEM results. AA-AgNPs showed absorption at 435 nm, indicating that AgNPs exhibit a strong surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and play a role in stabilisation. AgNPs synthesised with Anchusa azurea flowers were observed using UV-vis spectroscopy to selectively and sensitively detect mercury ions (Hg2+). When Hg2+ in aqueous solution was added to the AgNPs, the overall absorbance dramatically decreased and the colour changed from yellow to colourless. This study shows that AA-AgNPs can be used as a cost-effective material in optical sensors for colorimetric determinations.

Infrared light driven overall water vapor splitting on a plasmonic semiconductor p-n heterojunction photocatalyst

Photocatalytic overall water splitting (OWS) has yet to be realized on plasmonic semiconductor photocatalysts. In this work, we reported a plasmonic heterojunction of p-Cu1.81S/n-CdS with homogeneously distributed p-type and n-type domains in a single nanoparticle. The plasmonic heterojunction displays a strong localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) absorption peak at 1480 nm and can drive the OWS into hydrogen and oxygen under infrared light (IR) irradiation. The IR light-induced hot electrons and holes in Cu1.81S nanodisks alone can split water vapor into hydrogen and oxygen, but with poor efficiency. Surprisingly, the plasmonic p-Cu1.81S/n-CdS heterojunction shows significantly improved IR light-driven OWS performance. Under the irradiation of IR light (λ > 800 nm), the hydrogen and oxygen production rates were 0.73 mmol gcat−1 h−1 and 0.33 mmol gcat−1 h−1, respectively. The heterojunction photocatalyst delivered a solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency (STH) of 0.02 % under AM 1.5G irradiation. The present study has demonstrated that plasmonic semiconductors are promising photocatalysts for harvesting IR light for green hydrogen generation.

In Situ Construction of Interface with Photothermal and Mutual Catalytic Effect for Efficient Solar-Driven Reversible Hydrogen Storage of MgH2.

Hydrogen storage in MgH2 is an ideal solution for realizing the safe storage of hydrogen. High operating temperature, however, is required for hydrogen storage of MgH2 induced by high thermodynamic stability and kinetic barrier. Herein, flower-like microspheres uniformly constructed by N-doped TiO2 nanosheets coated with TiN nanoparticles are fabricated to integrate the light absorber and thermo-chemical catalysts at a nanometer scale for driving hydrogen storage of MgH2 using solar energy. N-doped TiO2 is in situ transformed into TiNxOy and Ti/TiH2 uniformly distributed inside of TiN matrix during cycling, in which TiN and Ti/TiHx pairs serve as light absorbers that exhibit strong localized surface plasmon resonance effect with full-spectrum light absorbance capability. On the other hand, it is theoretically and experimentally demonstrated that the intimate interface between TiH2 and MgH2 can not only thermodynamically and kinetically promote H2 desorption from MgH2 but also simultaneously weaken Ti─H bonds and hence in turn improve H2 desorption from the combination of weakened Ti─H and Ti─H bonds. The uniform integration of photothermal and catalytic effect leads to the direct action of localized heat generated from TiN on initiating the catalytic effect in realizing hydrogen storage of MgH2 with a capacity of 6.1wt.% under 27 sun.

High-sensitivity refractive index sensor based on strong localized surface plasmon resonance.

This study proposes two types of composite structures based on gold nano circular and nano square rings on a gold thin film for plasmonic refractive index sensing. The finite-difference time-domain method was used for simulation and analysis. The nano square ring composite structure showed superior performance, with five surface plasmon resonance modes, and a peak sensitivity and figure of merit in a liquid environment of 1600nm/RIU and 86R I U -1, respectively. The sensing performances of localized surface plasmon resonance modes of both structures are superior to those of the propagating surface plasmon resonance modes. The proposed composite structures can provide a reference for refractive index sensing and have broad application prospects in bio-chemistry.

Scalable synthesis of Au@CeO2 nanozyme for development of colorimetric lateral flow immunochromatographic assay to sensitively detect heart-type fatty acid binding protein

Nanozymes with core@shell nanostructure are considered promising biolabeling materials for their multifunctional properties. In this work, a simple one-pot strategy has been proposed for scalable synthesis of gold@cerium dioxide core@shell nanoparticles (Au@CeO2 NPs) with strong localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) absorption and high peroxidase-like catalytic activity by redox reactions of Ce3+ ions and AuCl4− ions in diluted ammonia solution under room temperature. A colorimetric lateral flow immunochromatographic assay (LFIA) has been successfully fabricated for sensitive detection of heart-type fatty acid binding protein (H-FABP, an early cardiac biomarker) by using the Au@CeO2 NPs as reporters. The as-developed LFIA with Au@CeO2 NP reporter (termed as Au@CeO2-LFIA) exhibits a dynamic range of nearly two orders of magnitude, and a limit of detection (LOD) as low as 0.35 ng mL−1 H-FABP with nanozyme-triggered 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) colorimetric amplification. Furthermore, the practicality of Au@CeO2-LFIA has been demonstrated by profiling the concentrations of H-FABP in 156 blood samples of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients, and satisfactory results are obtained.

High enhancement, low cost, large area surface enhanced Raman scattering substrates all by atomic layer deposition on porous filter paper

We successfully developed an atomic layer deposition (ALD) method for making Ag noble nanoparticles on cheap, commercial filter paper consisting of three-dimensional porous glass fibers and investigated the evolution of Ag nanostructures with some key process parameters. By tuning Ag particle sizes and controlling the cycle numbers of ALD deposited Ag films, we were able to obtain high-density isolated Ag nanoparticles with average sizes in 3–9 nm without the formation of agglomerates and continuous Ag films. We proved the presence of strong localized surface plasmon resonance peaks near a target wavelength of 632 nm. We further proved the presence of surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) signals on the Ag coated filter paper substrates using pyridine as the test analyte. Our results demonstrate that ALD is a very promising technique for a rational design of SERS substrates and, thus, has great potential for the fabrication of large-area, low-cost SERS substrates for future commercial applications, as compared to other existing techniques.

Recent advance on fiber optic SPR/LSPR-based ultra-sensitive biosensors using novel structures and emerging signal amplification strategies

Biomarkers with ultralow concentration in the actual samples play a vital role in the clinical disease diagnosis, infectious disease screening, food security, and environmental monitoring. Fiber optic (FO)-based surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) biosensors attract immense attention for in situ, and rapid detection due to their merits of miniaturized devices, easy integration, and low cost, showing great promising for point of care point-of-caring test. In order to achieve ultrasensitive detection of biomarkers, great effort focused on design of a sensitive FO-based biosensor on the aspect of novel FO probes and signal amplification strategies. Firstly, novel FO probes, including gating and new structure-based, were develop to adjust the light propagation and allow intensely interaction between the light and metal film or nanoparticles, which excites strong SPR or LSPR for sensitive biosensor. Then, nanomaterials on FO surface improved the intensity of electromagnetic fields or provided a good scaffold to modify with more recognition element for signal amplification. Nucleic acid circuits get rid of the limitation of the signal-to-target ratio of 1:1 and exhibited high efficiency to amplify the signal. These efforts have also led to the application of FO-SPR and LSPR sensors for detection of various targets, such as cells, nucleic acids, proteins, and small molecules. In the review, we summarized the important progress of the ultrasensitive FO-based biosensor about emerging FO probes and signal amplification strategies, also discussed its opportunities and challenges for the point-of-caring test. The review aims to promote the application of the FO-SPR and LSPR from experiments to real samples.

Surface Plasmon Resonance Enhanced Photoelectrochemical Sensing of Cysteine Based on Au Nanoparticle-Decorated ZnO@graphene Quantum Dots.

In this work, Au nanoparticle-decorated ZnO@graphene core-shell quantum dots (Au-ZnO@graphene QDs) were successfully prepared and firstly used to modify an ITO electrode for the construction of a novel photoelectrochemical biosensor (Au-ZnO@graphene QDs/ITO). Characterization of the prepared nanomaterials was conducted using transmission electron microscopy, steady-state fluorescence spectroscopy and the X-ray diffraction method. The results indicated that the synthesized ternary nanomaterials displayed excellent photoelectrochemical performance, which was much better than that of ZnO@graphene QDs and pristine ZnO quantum dots. The graphene and ZnO quantum dots formed an effective interfacial electric field, enhancing photogenerated electron-hole pairs separation and leading to a remarkable improvement in the photoelectrochemical performance of ZnO@graphene QDs. The strong surface plasmon resonance effect achieved by directly attaching Au nanoparticles to ZnO@graphene QDs led to a notable increase in the photocurrent response through electrochemical field effect amplification. Based on the specifical recognition between cysteine and Au-ZnO@graphene QDs/ITO through the specificity of Au-S bonds, a light-driven photoelectrochemical sensor was fabricated for cysteine detection. The novel photoelectrochemical biosensor exhibited outstanding analytical capabilities in detecting cysteine with an extremely low detection limit of 8.9 nM and excellent selectivity. Hence, the Au-ZnO@graphene QDs is a promising candidate as a novel advanced photosensitive material in the field of photoelectrochemical biosensing.

Electromechanically reconfigurable plasmonic nanoslits for efficient nano-opto-electro-mechanical tuning

Plasmonic metamaterials with strong localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPRs) have been improved by incorporating a nano-opto-electro-mechanical system (NOEMS) for tunable optical and electrical responses. However, conventional NOEMS devices suffer from the inefficient free-space coupling due to the limited design of reconfigurable antennas and the low optical tunability due to electrostatic pull-in of moving parts. In this paper, we propose efficient mid-infrared plasmonic nanoslits with variable nanometer-sized gaps giving rise to broad optical tunability. Our finite element method (FEM) analysis shows that by applying a voltage bias to asymmetric nanoslits supported on dielectric pillars, the gap width can be increased by more than 60 nm from an initial 1 nm. The large change in gap width results in a significant spectral shift in reflectance, while maintaining strong free-space coupling and a constant full width at half maximum (FWHM). We also analyze the effect of geometrical parameters on the nanometer-sized gap width and optical responses. Our nanoslits with simple geometry resulting in efficient optical coupling show promise for improving active metasurfaces and electromechanically tunable plasmonic devices.

A Three-Dimensional Hydrophobic Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Sensor via a Silver-Coated Polytetrafluoroethylene Membrane for the Direct Trace Detection of Molecules in Water.

We report a three-dimensional (3D) SERS substrate consisting of a silver nanoparticle (AgNP) coating on the skeleton-fiber surfaces of a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) membrane. Simple thermal evaporation was employed to deposit Ag onto the PTFE membrane to produce grape-shaped AgNPs. The 3D-distributed AgNPs exhibit not only strong localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) but also strong hydrophobic performance. High-density hotspots via silver nano-grape structures and nanogaps, the large 3D interaction volume, and the large total surface area, in combination with the hydrophobic enrichment of the specimen, facilitate high-sensitivity sensing performance of such a SERS substrate for the direct detection of low-concentration molecules in water. An enhancement factor of up to 1.97 × 1010 was achieved in the direct detection of R6G molecules in water with a concentration of 10-13 mol/L. The lowest detection limit of 100 ppt was reached in the detection of melamine in water. Such a SERS sensor may have potential applications in food-safety control, environmental water pollution monitoring, and biomedical analysis.

Highly stable localized surface plasmon resonance of Cu nanoparticles obtained via oxygen plasma irradiation.

Copper nanoparticles (CuNPs) possess strong localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) in visible light. However, CuNPs are not chemically stable in air, which has seriously hindered the applications based on the LSPR of CuNPs. We developed an artificial method to passivate CuNPs as Al naturally does in air, preventing the oxidation of CuNPs through swift oxidation of the surface atoms via oxygen plasma irradiation. A hemispheric core-shell structure of CuNPs uniformly covered by a dense CuO shell (CuNPs@d-CuO) was constructed. The 4 nm d-CuO shell can prevent CuNPs from further oxidation. As a result, the LSPR of the CuNPs is stable in air over 180 days.

Hollow cubic CuSe@CdS with tunable size for plasmon-induced Vis-NIR driven photocatalytic properties.

The rational design of the dimension and geometry of a plasmonic semiconductor cocatalyst is vitally important for efficient utilization of near-infrared (NIR) light and superior photocatalytic hydrogen generation. Herein, hollow cubic CuSe@CdS composites with different sizes and strong localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) were prepared by selenizing size-tunable Cu2O templates and loading CdS nanoparticles. The size of hollow cubic CuSe can affect the surface area and the conduction band potential through the size effect, regulating the carrier behavior of the CuSe@CdS heterojunction. The CuSe@CdS composites show enhanced and wide absorption in the full spectrum due to the LSPR effect of CuSe. Meanwhile, the composites show excellent photocatalytic hydrogen capacity in the full spectrum in a 0.35 M Na2S/0.25 M Na2SO3 sacrificial reagent solution. The best hydrogen production rate of CSCE2 is 1.518 mmol g-1 h-1 (5.54 times higher than that of CdS) under Vis light (780 > λ > 420 nm) irradiation and 0.28 mmol g-1 h-1 under NIR light (λ > 780 nm) illumination. Interestingly, the photocatalytic activity for H2 under Vis-NIR light (λ > 420 nm) is about 3 times (up to 4.45 mmol g-1 h-1) higher than that without NIR light assistance, due to the photothermal effect. Various analyses and DFT calculations demonstrate that the p-n heterojunction formed in the composites consists of p-type CuSe and n-type CdS, which achieves efficient carrier transfer and separation under the synergistic effect of the size effect and the photothermal effect. In addition, the expansion of the photocatalytic performance to the NIR range is mainly due to the "hot-electron" injection mechanism induced by the LSPR effect of CuSe. The reasonable design coupled with the plasmonic materials offers a new path to achieving the highly efficient conversion of solar energy to hydrogen energy.

Plasmonic silver and gold nanoparticles: shape- and structure-modulated plasmonic functionality for point-of-caring sensing, bio-imaging and medical therapy.

Silver and gold nanoparticles have found extensive biomedical applications due to their strong localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) and intriguing plasmonic properties. This review article focuses on the correlation among particle geometry, plasmon properties and biomedical applications. It discusses how particle shape and size are tailored via controllable synthetic approaches, and how plasmonic properties are tuned by particle shape and size, which are embodied by nanospheres, nanorods, nanocubes, nanocages, nanostars and core-shell composites. This article summarizes the design strategies for the use of silver and gold nanoparticles in plasmon-enhanced fluorescence, surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), electroluminescence, and photoelectrochemistry. It especially discusses how to use plasmonic nanoparticles to construct optical probes including colorimetric, SERS and plasmonic fluorescence probes (labels/reporters). It also demonstrates the employment of Ag and Au nanoparticles in polymer- and paper-based microfluidic devices for point-of-care testing (POCT). In addition, this article highlights how to utilize plasmonic nanoparticles for in vitro and in vivo bio-imaging based on SERS, fluorescence, photoacoustic and dark-field models. Finally, this article shows perspectives in plasmon-enhanced photothermal and photodynamic therapy.

The role of oxide supports in constructing plasma-treated gold nanocatalysts for visible light photocatalytic oxidation of CO

Supported Au nanocatalysts are highly attractive plasmonic nanostructures for visible light (VL) photocatalysis due to their significant promise in direct conversion of solar to chemical energy. A promising strategy to prepare high-performance supported plasmonic Au nanocatalysts is treating the catalysts with plasma, where the support holds the key to constructing active Au-support interfaces by interacting with Au nanoparticles. Herein the role of oxide supports in constructing plasma-treated plasmonic Au nanocatalysts for VL photocatalytic oxidation of CO is studied by comparing effect of plasma treatment on typical oxides of TiO2, CeO2 and Al2O3 supported Au nanocatalysts. After O2 plasma treatment, CeO2 supported Au nanocatalyst obtains the highest intrinsic catalytic activity due to its high dispersion of Au nanoparticles induced by strong interaction between CeO2 and Au and strong oxygen activation ability. The O2 plasma treatment enables TiO2 supported Au nanocatalyst to exhibit the largest enhancement in catalytic activity under VL irradiation, which originates from the favorable hot-electron transfer process. This process is not only attributed to the strong surface plasmon resonance of Au nanoparticles and large numbers of Au-TiO2 interfacial sites that result from moderate interaction between TiO2 and Au, but also depends on the low Schottky barrier height at Au-TiO2 interface due to the small work function difference between TiO2 and metallic Au. This investigation deepens the understanding of the role of oxide supports in constructing plasma-treated supported Au nanocatalysts, and can be instructive for the design and optimization of plasmonic Au nanocatalysts for VL photocatalytic reactions.

In Situ Fabrication of Heterogeneous Co/Nanoporous Carbon Nano-Islands for Excellent Electromagnetic Wave Absorption.

High-performance electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorbers are essential for addressing electromagnetic pollution and military security. However, challenges remain in realizing cost-effectiveness and modulating absorbing properties. In this study, heterogeneous Co/nanoporous carbon (NPC) nano-islands are prepared by efficient method co-precipitation combined with in situ pyrolysis. The multi-regulation strategy of morphology, graphitization, and defect density is achieved by modulating the pyrolysis temperature. Adjusting the pyrolysis temperature can effectively balance the conductivity and defect density, optimizing the impedance matching and enhancing the attenuation. Furthermore, it facilitates obtaining the appropriate shape and size of Co magnetic nanoparticles (Co-MNPs), triggering strong surface plasmon resonance. This resonance, in turn, bolsters the synergy of dielectric and magnetic loss. The incorporation of porous nanostructures not only optimizes impedance matching and enhances multiple reflections but also improves interfacial polarization. Additionally, the presence of enriched defects and heteroatom doping significantly enhances dipole polarization. Notably, the absorber exhibits an impressive minimum reflection loss (RLmin) of -73.87dB and a maximum effective absorption bandwidth (EABmax) of 6.64GHz. The combination of efficient fabrication methods, a performance regulation strategy through pyrolysis temperature modulation, and radar cross section (RCS) simulation provides a high-performance EMW absorber and can pave the way for large-scale applications.

Nanotip-Induced Electric Field for Hydrogen Catalysis.

Local electric field induced by the lightning-rod effect attracts great attention for regulating the local microenvironment and electronic properties of active sites. Nevertheless, local electric-field-assisted applications are mainly limited to metals with strong surface plasmonic resonance properties (e.g., Au, Ag, and Cu). Herein, we fabricate RuCu snow-like nanosheets (SNSs) with high-curvature nanotips for enhancing the hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Theoretical simulations show that RuCu SNSs can induce a strong local electric field around the sharp nanotips, which favors the accumulation of OH- for HOR and H+ for HER. Cu incorporation can modulate the binding strength of OH* and H*, leading to significantly enhanced HOR and HER performance. Impressively, the mass activity of RuCu SNSs for alkaline HOR is 31.3 times higher than that of RuCu nanocrystals without sharp tips. Besides, the required overpotential for reaching 10 mA cm-2 during HER over RuCu SNSs is 14.0 mV.

Tungsten Nitride with a Two-Dimensional Multilayer Structure for Boosting the Surface-Enhanced Raman Effect.

The development of high-performance surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates is an urgent and important task. Here, tungsten nitride (WN) with a two-dimensional (2D) multilayer structure has been successfully prepared through a nitriding WO2.90 precursor. In addition to the highly active "hot spots" formed on the surface of the WN sheets, a large number of gaps between the nanosheets also exhibit a strong local surface plasmon resonance effect, which greatly improves the SERS activity. Evaluated as the SERS substrate, the WN with a 2D multilayer structure exhibits good SERS characteristics and good homogeneity and stability, even after strong acid, strong alkali, or long-term light treatment. Significantly, typical environmental contaminants such as dichlorophenol and butylated hydroxyanisole also exhibit strong Raman enhancement signals. This research provides a new method for designing inexpensive, high-activity, and universal SERS substrates.

SERS and machine learning based effective feature extraction for detection and identification of amphetamine analogs

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is extensively researched in diverse disciplines due to its sensitivity and non-destructive nature. It is particularly considered a potential and promising technology for rapid on-site screening in drug detection. In this investigation, a technique was developed for fabricating nanocrystals of Ag@Au SNCs. Ag@Au SNCs, as the basic material of SERS, can detect amphetamine at concentrations as low as 1 μg/mL. The Ag@Au SNCs exhibits a strong surface plasmon resonance effect, which amplifies molecular signals. The SERS spectra of ten substances, including amphetamine and its analogs, showed a strong peak signal. To establish a qualitative distinction, we examined the Raman spectra and conducted density functional theory (DFT) calculations on the ten aforementioned species. The DFT calculation enabled us to determine the vibrational frequency and assign normal modes, thereby facilitating the qualitative differentiation of amphetamines and its analogs. Furthermore, the SERS spectrum of the ten mentioned substances was analysed using the support vector machine learning algorithm, which yielded a discrimination accuracy of 98.0 %.

Optical Microfiber Coated with WS2‐Supported Gold Nanobipyramids: Ultrasensitive Detecting Prostate Cancer Extracellular Vesicles in Complex Human Samples

AbstractUltrasensitive and rapid detection of single extracellular vesicles (EV) in complex biological samples requires a biosensor that possesses remarkable specificity, cost‐effectiveness, and ease of use; however, this remains a big challenge owing to the small size and high heterogeneity of EV in samples. Although reported biosensors can detect biomarkers in complex biological samples, tedious preprocessing procedures, low sensitivity, and expensive and complicated production hinder their use in early‐stage cancer diagnostics. To address these issues, an optical microfiber modified with WS2‐supported gold nanobipyramid (Au NBPs) nanointerfaces for the ultrasensitive assay of prostate cancer (PC) exosomes is proposed. Owing to the strong localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) hotspots of the Au NBPs coupled with the WS2 nanointerface, the sensor could ultrasensitively detect exosomes with an ultralow limit of detection (LODs) of 23.5 particles mL−1 in phosphate‐buffered saline (PBS) solution and 570.6 particles mL−1 in 10% serum. The LOD of 23.5 particles mL−1 is two orders of magnitude lower than those reported for other cutting‐edge techniques. Based on this sensing scheme, the sensor can distinguish PC serum from healthy serum, and successfully diagnose patients’ whole blood by capturing and sizing a single bioparticle. This work presents a novel method for analyzing whole blood with ultrahigh sensitivity.

Cascade amplification of optical absorption on III–V semiconductors via plasmon-coupled graphene

Plasmons in graphene (Gr) show many fascinating characteristics, such as dynamic tunability, strong field confinement of light-matter interaction, and highly responsive, which has been widely exploited for a number of applications, including photodetectors, optical modulators, and sensors. In this paper, graphene plasmons (GPs) were motivated by implanting Au nanoparticles (Au NPs) into Ta2O5 thin layers adjacent to the Gr film, and the strong localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) effect has been proposed and demonstrated by placing the GPs structure on a III–V semiconductor quantum well saturable absorber (SA). It has been substantiated that the heightened interaction between light and Gr via LSPR predominantly occurs through the mechanisms of resonant energy transfer and local electromagnetic field enhancement, rather than direct electron transfer. Significant improvement on the nonlinear characteristics of the GPs modulated III–V semiconductor SA has been observed with a 17.1% large modulation depth and obviously improved working stability. A 1550 nm passive mode-locked laser has been successfully constructed with a pulse width down to 523 fs by integrating the SA into the laser cavity. This work lays the foundation for the development of high-performance mode-locked lasers and also demonstrates the substantial enhancement of nonlinear optical properties of various materials not limited to III–V semiconductors provided by this GPs' modulated structure; hence, these findings offer extensive prospects for applications in various photonics and optoelectronic devices.