Tunable Plasmon Resonance Research Articles

Silica Nanoparticles Coated with Smaller Au Nanoparticles for the Enhancement of Optical Oxygen Sensing

In the vicinity of metal nanostructures, phosphorescent intensity can be greatly enhanced through the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR). The enhancement of phosphorescence intensity in noble-metal nanoparticle (NP) systems is highly dependent on the overlap of the absorbance peak of a noble metal with that of phosphorescent dyes. When the peak of the NPs’ absorption spectra has a maximum overlap with that of these dyes, the phosphorescence enhancement is the largest. Here, we use a seeded growth method to synthesize SiO2/Au NPs with tunable plasmonic resonance and compare their phosphorescence enhancement for an oxygen range of 0–21%. The measurement sensitivity of oxygen is strongly dependent on the enhancement of phosphorescence. When used with PtTFPP, when the absorbance peak of the SiO2/Au NPs has a maximum overlap with that of PtTFPP, the phosphorescence enhancement factor is as high as 7; the sensitivity of oxygen concentration is as high as 75. Moreover, we also optimize the performance by varying the number of NPs to eliminate the nonradiative energy-transfer (NRET) process and self-quenching.

Silver nanoparticle-embedded titania nanobelts with tunable electronic band structures and plasmonic resonance for photovoltaic application

Metallic silver nanoparticle (NP)-embedded single-crystalline titania (Ag@TiO2) nanobelts have been prepared by a new process with use of sodium titanates sequentially from ion exchange, thermal hydrogenation to post-calcination. The structural transformation involved and their morphology were characterized. This work explored photovoltaic efficiency of these composite nanobelts as anode materials in dye-sensitized solar cells and their electronic and energy band properties, which correlate with the Ag content. Optical absorption and photoluminescence analyses reveal core Ag NP-induced localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) and mediated electron transfer within the titania shell. According to Mott-Schottky analysis, the Ag addition causes an increase in the donor density and an upshift in the flat-band potential of the oxide host. The investigated Ag@TiO2 cells produced higher photocurrents and open-circuit voltages than the bare TiO2 one, and the best performance was attained with a marked enhancement by 72% in the photovoltaic efficiency. As indicated by electrochemical impedance analysis, the Ag-added nanobelts are beneficial to rapid electron diffusion and electron lifetime, so that they promote charge collection efficiency. Synergistic combination of plasmonic resonance, electronic conduction and Fermi-level upshift is a plausible strategy to functionalize the one-dimensional core-shell Ag@TiO2 nanostructures for optoelectronic applications.

Facile synthesis of Au@Ag core–shell nanorod with bimetallic synergistic effect for SERS detection of thiabendazole in fruit juice

This study presented an effective and sensitive SERS substrate for rapid detection of thiabendazole (TBZ) in fruit samples. A core–shell gold/silver nanorod (Au@Ag NRs) has been synthesized as a bimetallic SERS-active substrate. The obtained substrate showed an excellent SERS effect because of the tunable plasmon resonance of Au NRs, the significantly enhanced effect of silver, and the bimetallic synergistic effect of Au@Ag NRs. Under optimal conditions, the substrate was used to detect TBZ in fresh apple juice and peach juice with limits of detection of 0.032 and 0.034 ppm respectively. In addition, the recovery rate was within a satisfactory range of 95–101%, indicating that the Au@Ag NRs substrate could be a SERS detection platform for fruit pesticides residues with great development potential.

Efficient White Light Emission from Ga/Ga2O3 Hybrid Nanoparticles

AbstractGallium (Ga) emerges as a promising material in plasmonics mainly due to its extraordinary properties, such as changeable material phase, tunable plasmon resonances across the ultraviolet to near‐infrared spectral range, and remarkable chemical stability. Here, the efficient white light emission from gallium oxide (Ga2O3) nanoparticles doped with liquid Ga nanodots, which are fabricated by using a laser‐induced oxidation method is reported. The quantum efficiency of Ga/Ga2O3 hybrid nanoparticles is found to be ≈1.3%, which is nearly two orders of magnitude larger than that of liquid Ga nanoparticles. It is revealed that the existence of Schottky barrier and hotspots in Ga/Ga2O3 nanoparticles plays a crucial role in enhancing the quantum efficiency. As an example of practical applications, high‐quality optical data storage is demonstrated by exploiting the controllable formation of Ga/Ga2O3 nanoparticles on a platform of disordered Ga nanoislands. These results suggest the potential applications of Ga/Ga2O3 hybrid nanoparticles in the development of nanoscale light sources and data storage devices.

Experimental tuning of AuAg nanoalloy plasmon resonances assisted by machine learning method

Plasmonic nanostructures based on AuAg nanoalloys were fabricated by thermal annealing of metallic films in an argon atmosphere. The nanoalloys were chosen because they can extend the wavelength range in which plasmon resonance occurs and thus allow the design of plasmonic platforms with the desired parameters. The influence of initial fabrication parameters and experimental conditions on the formation of nanostructures was investigated. For the surface morphology studies, chemical composition analysis and nanograin structure, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDS) and High-Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HR TEM) measurements were performed. The position of the resonance band was successfully tuned in the 100 nm range. The EDS together with the XPS analysis confirmed the formation of an alloy with the aspect ratio of individual metals in a single nanoisland similar to the ratio of the thicknesses of the initially sputtered layers. The experimental research was complemented by the neural network model, which enables the calculation of the absorbance peak depending on the thickness of Au and Ag layers and the annealing time. The proposed model of machine learning makes it possible to fine-tune the desired position of the plasmon resonance.

Confined structure regulations of molybdenum oxides for efficient tumor photothermal therapy

Molybdenum oxide nanoparticles (NPs) with tunable plasmonic resonance in the near-infrared region display superior semiconducting features and photothermal properties, which are highly related to the crystalline and defective structures such as oxygen deficiencies. However, fundamental understanding on the structure-function relationship between crystalline/defective structures and photothermal properties is still unclear. To address this, herein, we have developed an “in-situ confined oxidation-reduction” strategy to regulate the defect features of molybdenum oxide NPs in the dual-mesoporous silica nanoreactor. Especially, the effects of crystalline structure/oxygen defects of molybdenum oxides on the photothermal performances were investigated by facilely tuning the amount of molybdenum resource and the reduction temperature. As a photothermal nanoagent, the optimal defective molybdenum oxide NPs encapsulated in PEGylated porous silica nanoreactor (designated as MoO3−x@PPSNs) exhibit excellent biological stability and strong localized surface plasmon resonance effect in near-infrared absorption range with the highest photothermal conversion efficiency up to 78.7% under 808 nm laser irradiation. More importantly, the remarkable photothermal effects of MoO3−xPPSNs were comprehensively demonstrated both in vitro and in vivo. Consequently, we envision that the plasmonic MoO3−x NPs in a biocompatible porous silica nano-reactor could be used as an efficient photothermal therapy agent for photothermal ablation of tumors.

Numerical Study on the Surface Plasmon Resonance Tunability of Spherical and Non-Spherical Core-Shell Dimer Nanostructures.

The near-field enhancement and localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) on the core-shell noble metal nanostructure surfaces are widely studied for various biomedical applications. However, the study of the optical properties of new plasmonic non-spherical nanostructures is less explored. This numerical study quantifies the optical properties of spherical and non-spherical (prolate and oblate) dimer nanostructures by introducing finite element modelling in COMSOL Multiphysics. The surface plasmon resonance peaks of gold nanostructures should be understood and controlled for use in biological applications such as photothermal therapy and drug delivery. In this study, we find that non-spherical prolate and oblate gold dimers give excellent tunability in a wide range of biological windows. The electromagnetic field enhancement and surface plasmon resonance peak can be tuned by varying the aspect ratio of non-spherical nanostructures, the refractive index of the surrounding medium, shell thickness, and the distance of separation between nanostructures. The absorption spectra exhibit considerably greater dependency on the aspect ratio and refractive index than the shell thickness and separation distance. These results may be essential for applying the spherical and non-spherical nanostructures to various absorption-based applications.

Luminescence and sensitivity enhancement of oxygen sensors through tuning the spectral overlap between luminescent dyes and SiO2@Ag nanoparticles

AbstractWe utilized a seeded growth method to synthesize SiO2@Ag NPs with tunable plasmonic resonance peak to investigate the effect of spectral overlap between the SiO2@Ag plasmonic resonance spectrum and the PtTFPP‐based oxygen sensors’ absorbance spectra on luminescence enhancement and performance optimization. An organic silicate was used as the matrix. Oxygen‐sensors were produced by directly casting the mixture of NPs and dyes with silicate gels onto glass slides. Oxygen‐induced spectral response of the PtTFPP was obtained as the analytical signal. Our results show that when the plasmonic resonance spectrum of SiO2@Ag has a maximum wavelength overlap with the absorbance spectra of dyes, the Stern‐Volmer slopes were enhanced by almost an order of magnitude. At 21% O2, the Stern‐Volmer plot achieved a maximum seven‐fold increase over the oxygen sensor without the metal‐enhanced luminescence. Our results also show that 10% wt NPs is the optimal amount for the PtTFPP‐SiO2@Ag based oxygen sensors that can eliminate self‐quenching and the NRET process. These data confirm that the spectral overlap between the dyes and noble metal NPs and how to eliminate self‐quenching and the NRET process are vital to high‐sensitive oxygen sensors. We have also shown that our fabrication process of these oxygen sensors is repeatable.

Niobium nitride plasmonic perfect absorbers for tunable infrared superconducting nanowire photodetection.

Quantum technologies such as quantum computing and quantum cryptography exhibit rapid progress. This requires the provision of high-quality photodetectors and the ability to efficiently detect single photons. Hence, conventional avalanche photodiodes for single photon detection are not the first choice anymore. A better alternative are superconducting nanowire single photon detectors, which use the superconducting to normal conductance phase transition. One big challenge is to reduce the product between recovery time and detection efficiency. To address this problem, we enhance the absorption using resonant plasmonic perfect absorber effects, to reach near-100% absorption over small areas. This is aided by the high resonant absorption cross section and the angle insensitivity of plasmonic resonances. In this work we present a superconducting niobium nitride plasmonic perfect absorber structure and use its tunable plasmonic resonance to create a polarization dependent photodetector with near-100% absorption efficiency in the infrared spectral range. Further we fabricated a detector and investigated its response to an external light source. We also demonstrate the resonant plasmonic behavior which manifests itself through a polarization dependence detector response.

Tunable plasmonic resonator using conductivity modulated Bragg reflectors

We design a tunable plasmonic resonator that may have applications in sensing and plasmon generation—our design uses graphene-based Bragg reflectors of periodically modulated conductivity. Specifically, we explore and utilize the ability to use an array of Gaussian conductivity gratings as fully reflecting mirrors for surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) propagating along a two-dimensional graphene sheet sandwiched between two dielectric materials. Graphene supports SPPs in the near-infrared to terahertz (THz) regime of the electromagnetic spectrum compared to those observed in metal-dielectric systems. Our resonator is fundamentally different from other similar published resonator designs because the distributed reflectors provide light confinement in both the horizontal and the vertical directions. As a result, the resonator is compact in the vertical-direction as we no longer use traditional mirrors or dielectric assisted gratings. Besides, conventional resonator designs only support a single, fixed resonant frequency, set by the mirror reflectivity and the cavity material’s properties. The versatility of graphene is that its Fermi energy can be electrically varied, thus allowing us to change the peak reflectivity of the graphene Bragg-grating without physically changing its physical dimensions. Therefore, by varying the Bragg wavelength, we can shift the resonance frequency of the cavity. One use of our resonator is in plasmonic lasers. We illustrate this use by analyzing the resonator parameters such as the linewidth and the quality factor of the plasmonic resonator.

Electrically Tunable All-PCM Visible Plasmonics.

The realization of electrically tunable plasmonic resonances in the ultraviolet (UV) to visible spectral band is particularly important for active nanophotonic device applications. However, the plasmonic resonances in the UV to visible wavelength range cannot be tuned due to the lack of tunable plasmonic materials. Here, we experimentally demonstrate tunable plasmonic resonances at visible wavelengths using a chalcogenide semiconductor alloy such as antimony telluride (Sb2Te3), by switching the structural phase of Sb2Te3 from amorphous to crystalline. We demonstrate the excitation of a propagating surface plasmon with a high plasmonic figure of merit in both amorphous and crystalline phases of Sb2Te3 thin films. We show polarization-dependent and -independent plasmonic resonances by fabricating one and two-dimensional periodic nanostructures in Sb2Te3 thin films, respectively. Moreover, we demonstrate electrically tunable plasmonic resonances using a microheater integrated with the Sb2Te3/Si device. The developed electrically tunable Sb2Te3-based plasmonic devices could find applications in the development of active color filters.

Tunable and stable localized surface plasmon resonance in SrMoO4 for enhanced visible light driven nitrogen reduction

Tunable and stable localized surface plasmon resonance in SrMoO4 for enhanced visible light driven nitrogen reduction

Electrically enhanced graphene-metal plasmonic antenna for infrared sensing

An optical graphene-metal hybrid antenna geometry, permitting the efficient tuning of plasmon resonance with unity absorption is reported. The total optical absorption and optical field enhancement are accomplished by designing a graphene-metal antenna. The antenna is comprised of gold hexagon radiator with bilayer graphene on the top, functioning as a double plasmonic resonant structure. The tunability of absorption and optical field enhancement is realized by electrical gating. The strong coupling takes place between the gold plasmons and graphene plasmons, resulting in the strong enhancement of optical fields. The proposed design is modeled in CST Microwave Studio and is simulated through FDTD solver. Moreover, the dynamic tuning of the resonance frequency and optical absorption is achieved by increasing the chemical potential of graphene layers through gate voltage. The tuning range of the designed antenna is optimized in a bandwidth starting from 30 THz to 34 THz. Although at 33 THz the antenna meets matching conditions by having high input impedance, low admittance, and almost unity absorption. The functioning bandwidth of the antenna is preferable for plasmonic applications i.e. infrared sensing and imaging, where high absorption and enhanced field characteristics are required.

Au Nanobead Chains with Tunable Plasmon Resonance and Intense Optical Scattering: Scalable Green Synthesis, Monte Carlo Assembly Kinetics, Discrete Dipole Approximation Modeling, and Nano-Biophotonic Application

The development of optically tunable and intensely scattering materials is of wide interest in biophotonics and medicine, provided they are biocompatible. Highly linear, tunable, narrow-gap, and in...

Wide Band Gap Al and In Co-doped ZnO Films for Near-Infrared Plasmonic Application

In transparent conducting oxide films, tuning of plasmonic resonance is directly controlled by free electron concentration and thus by activated dopants. In this study, large area AlxInyZn1-x-yO thin films at various concentrations were prepared by spray coating using water as a solvent. The effect of Al/In dopant ratio on the structural, electrical, optical, and plasmonic properties was investigated. Tuning of optical response to a well-defined plasmon resonance is correlated to the above properties of AlxInyZn1-x-yO films. Theoretical fitting based on the Drude-Lorentz (D-L) theory was utilized for extracting the dielectric spectra and cross-over wavelength (ωc). The studies revealed plasmonic properties in NIR for the films with Al/In ratios of A5I5, A2.5I7.5, and A0I10, indicating In as the most activated dopant. Surface plasmon mode simulated using the extracted permittivity values showed the influence of mobility of these films on the broadening of the dip. The minimum plasmonic loss suggests the suitability as an alternative plasmonic material in the near infrared.

Au nanoring arrays with tunable morphological features and plasmonic resonances

Gold nanoring arrays are widely applied in various fields benefitting from their localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) properties. A key advantage of gold nanoring arrays is that the dipole resonance peak can be systematically tuned by changing the dimensions of gold nanoring arrays. However, most of the currently reported methods for preparing gold nanoring arrays cannot conveniently control the heights of the nanorings at a low cost. Here we introduce a facile method for preparing gold nanoring arrays with tunable plasmonic resonances using colloidal lithography. The dimensions of the nanorings including diameters, lattice constants, even the heights of the nanorings can be conveniently varied. Fourier transform near-infrared (FT-NIR) absorption spectroscopy was used to obtain the plasmonic resonance spectra of the nanoring arrays. All the prepared gold nanoring arrays exhibited a strong NIR or infrared (IR) plasmonic resonance which can be tuned by varying the nanoring dimensions. This versatile method can also be used to fabricate other types of plasmonic nanostructures, such as gold nanocone arrays. The obtained gold nanoring arrays as well as nanocone arrays may have potential applications in surface-enhanced spectroscopy or plasmonic sensing.

Tuning of Two-Dimensional Plasmon-Exciton Coupling in Full Parameter Space: A Polaritonic Non-Hermitian System.

Non-Hermitian photonic systems with gains and/or losses have recently emerged as a powerful approach for topology-protected optical transport and novel device applications. To date, most of these systems employ coupled optical systems of diffraction-limited dielectric waveguides or microcavities, which exchange energy spatially or temporally. Here, we introduce a diffraction-unlimited approach using a plasmon-exciton coupling (polariton) system with tunable plasmonic resonance (energy and line width) and coupling strength. By designing a chirped silver nanogroove cavity array and coupling a single tungsten disulfide monolayer with a large contrast in resonance line width, we show the tuning capability through energy level anticrossing and plasmon-exciton hybridization (line width crossover), as well as spontaneous symmetry breaking across the exceptional point at zero detuning. This two-dimensional hybrid material system can be applied as a scalable and integratable platform for non-Hermitian photonics, featuring seamless integration of two-dimensional materials, broadband tuning, and operation at room temperature.

Plasmons and magnetoplasmon resonances in nanorings

Plasmonic sensors based on metallic nanorings benefit from resonances covering a wide spectral range and homogeneous cavity fields. Here, we explore the potential for nanorings in active plasmonics by examining the tunability of plasmon resonances due to external magnetic fields. Within the electrostatic approximation, we compute plasmon resonances and their shifts in magnetic fields for both solid and planar nanorings. In particular, solid nanorings of circular, elliptical, and disk-shaped cross sections are critically examined and compared to planar rings. Overall, we find that magnetoplasmon shifts in nanorings are greatly reduced compared to standard nanoparticles. However, flat geometries are found to be preferable and allow for relatively large shifts.

Atomic-level ablation of Au@Ag NRs using ultrafast laser excitation.

Metallic nanorods (NRs) are an important class of materials with widespread applications because of their appealing tunable plasmon resonances, high photothermal conversion efficiency, and chemical stability. It is essential to control the shape and atomic structures of metallic NRs for practical applications. Laser processing of metallic NRs relying on light-matter interactions provides many opportunities. However, the atomic-level fabrication of NRs remains a challenge, and the understanding of laser-induced ablation is still limited. Here, we proposed the atomic-level ablation of Au@Ag NRs using ultrafast laser excitation, which suggests that the near-field effect plays a key role in comparison with thermal evaporation. Through ultrafast laser pulse excitation, abundant atomic steps are fabricated in Au@Ag NRs, which can enhance the surface activity. We suggest that this study highlights the role of the laser near-field effect and also provides a facile strategy to tailor the external shape of metallic NRs at the atomic level, opening a pathway to design metallic NRs for energy and environmental applications.

Palladium-rich plasmonic nanorattles with enhanced LSPRs via successive galvanic replacement mediated by co-reduction.

Catalytic transformations under light irradiation have been extensively demonstrated by the excitation of the localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPRs) in noble metal-based nanoparticles. To fully harness the potential of noble metal-based nanocatalysts, it is fundamentally imperative to explore hybrid nano-systems with the most desirable enhanced LSPRs and intrinsic catalytic activities. Pd-containing hollow multimetallic nanostructures transformed from the sacrificial template of Ag via galvanic replacement reaction (GRR) offer such ideal platforms to gain quantitative insights into nanoparticle-catalyzed reactions. In this work, we successfully fabricated Pd-rich plasmonic nanorattles by means of co-reduction mediated GRR using CTAC-stabilized Au@Ag nanocuboids as templates and H2PdCl4 as a Pd precursor in the presence of ascorbic acid (AA) acting as a mild reducing agent. Successive titration of Au@Ag nanocuboids with the Pd precursor in the presence of AA modulates the rate of the galvanic replacement reaction as well as effective diffusion of Pd into the Ag matrix, resulting in increased dimensions and enlarged cavity sizes. Reduction of oxidized Ag+ back to Ag0 by AA, along with the deposition of Pd to form homogeneously mixed bimetallic layers not only prevents LSPRs peak from damping with increasing Pd content but also ensures the enhanced catalytic activities. Through precise control of added H2PdCl4 titrant, an unconventional steep increase in extinction intensity accompanied by tunable plasmon resonances shifted towards the NIR spectral region was experimentally observed due to the increasing physical cross-sections and plasmon hybridization in hollow nanorattles. Four colloids of Pd-rich nanorattles obtained by addition of different amounts of the H2PdCl4 titrant were used as catalysts for reduction of 4-nitrothiophenol in the presence of NaBH4 monitored by SERS.