Enhanced transmissions through a gold film with arrays of subwavelength holes are theoretically studied, employing the rigid full vectorial three dimensional finite difference time domain method. Influence of air-holes shape to the transmission is firstly studied, which confirms two different resonances attributing to the enhanced transmission: the localized waveguide resonance and periodic surface plasmon resonances. For the film coated with dielectric layers, calculated results show that in the wavelength region of interest the localized waveguide resonant mode attributes to sensing rather than the periodic gold-glass surface plasmon mode. Although the detected peak is fairly broad and the shift is not too pronounced, we emphasize the contribution for sensing from the localized waveguide resonant mode, which may opens up new ways to design surface plasmon based sensors.
The electromagnetic response of subwavelength wires coated with a graphene monolayer illuminated by a linearly polarized plane waves is investigated. The results show that the scattering and extintion cross-sections of the coated wire can be dramatically enhanced when the incident radiation resonantly excites localized surface plasmons. The enhancements occur for p--polarized incident waves and for excitation frequencies that correspond to complex poles in the coefficients of the multipole expansion for the scattered field. By dynamically tuning the chemical potential of graphene, the spectral…
This work analyzes the emission and radiation properties of a single optical emitter embedded in a graphene-coated subwavelength wire. We discuss the modifications of the spontaneous emission rate and the radiation efficiency as a function of the position and orientation of the dipole inside the wire. Our results show that these quantities can be enhanced by several orders of magnitude when the emission frequency coincides with one of the resonance frequencies of the graphene-coated wire. In particular, high-order plasmon resonances are excited when the emitter is moved from the wire center. T…
Electromagnetic response is studied for clusters of subwavelength graphene-coated nanowires illuminated by a linearly polarized plane wave in the terahertz frequency range. The solution of the scattering problem is obtained with the Lorenz-Mie theory and the multiple cylinder scattering formalism. The results show that normalized scattering cross-sections of nanowire clusters can be drastically changed by the symmetry breaking introduced into the cluster's design. This effect is due to excitation of dark modes and is observed only for the incident wave of TE-polarization.
Plasmonic optical tweezers are a ubiquitous tool for the precise manipulation of nanoparticles and biomolecules at low photon flux, while femtosecond-laser optical tweezers can probe the nonlinear optical properties of the trapped species with applications in biological diagnostics. In order to adopt plasmonic optical tweezers in real-world applications, it is essential to develop large-scale fabrication processes without compromising the trapping efficiency. Here, we develop a novel platform for continuous wave (CW) and femtosecond plasmonic optical tweezers, based on gold-coated black silico…
We apply the technique of far-field interferometry to measure the properties of surface waves generated by two-dimensional (2D) single subwavelength slit-groove structures on gold films. The effective surface index of refraction measured for the surface wave propagating over a distance of more than 12 microns is determined to be 1.016 with a measurement uncertainty of 0.004, to within experimental uncertainty of the expected bound surface plasmon-polariton (SPP) value for a Au/Air interface of 1.018. We compare these measurements to finite-difference-time-domain (FDTD) numerical simulations of…
We present a theoretical study of the spontaneous emission of a line dipole source embedded in a graphene--coated subwavelength wire of arbitrary shape. The modification of the emission and the radiation efficiencies are calculated by means of a rigorous electromagnetic method based on Green's second identity. Enhancement of these efficiencies is observed when the emission frequency coincides with one of the plasmonic resonance frequencies of the wire. The relevance of the dipole emitter position and the dipole moment orientation are evaluated. We present calculations of the near--field distri…
Based on the Lorenz-Mie theory, we derive analytical expressions of radiative and nonradiative transition rates for different orientations of a point dipole emitter in the vicinity of an infinitely long circular cylinder of arbitrary radius. Special attention is devoted to the spontaneous decay rate of a dipole emitter near a subwavelength-diameter nanowire coated with a graphene monolayer. We show that plasmonic Fano resonances associated with light scattering by graphene-coated nanowires appear in the Purcell factor as a function of transition wavelength. Furthermore, the Fano line shape of …
Silica-coated gold nanoparticles are commonly employed in biomedical photoacoustic (PA) imaging applications. We investigate theoretically and experimentally the PA signal generation by silica-coated gold nanospheres in water. Our theoretical model considers thermoelastic expansion in the long-pulse illumination regime, and the PA signals are determined based on a semi-analytical solution to the thermal diffusion equations and a finite-difference in time domain (FDTD) solution to the thermoelastic equations. Both the influence of interfacial thermal (Kapitza) resistance at the gold-water bound…
We report on the enhancement of surface plasmon resonances in a holey bidimensional grating of subwavelength size, drilled in a gold thin film coated by a graphene sheet. The enhancement originates from the coupling between charge carriers in graphene and gold surface plasmons. The main plasmon resonance peak is located around 1.5 microns. A lower constraint on the gold-induced doping concentration of graphene is specified and the interest of this architecture for molecular sensing is also highlighted.
We experimentally study the optical second harmonic generation (SHG) from deep subwavelength gold-silver heterodimer and silver-silver and gold-gold homodimers. Our results show that the SHG from the heterodimer is about an order of magnitude more intense. In contrast, calculations based on known theory suggest that it is the silver-silver homodimer that should have the upper hand, putting the present theoretical view at odds with our experimental findings. Following this observation, we propose a dynamic model where nonlinearity emerges not from the material particles themselves but form the …
The optical transmission and reflection in between two metalized optical fiber tips is studied in the optical near-field and far-field domains. Besides aluminum-coated tips for near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM), specifically developed gold-coated fiber tips cut by focused ion beam (FIB) are investigated. Transverse transmission maps of sub-wavelength width clearly evidence optical near-field coupling between the tips for short tip distances and becomes essentially Gaussian-shaped for larger distances in the far-field regime. Moreover concentric reflection fringes observed for NSOM-…
Using simulations and theoretical arguments we investigate the specular reflection of a perforated gold film deposited on a glass substrate. A square lattice of cylindrical holes is assumed to produce the periodic lateral corrugation needed to hybridize the surface plasmons with radiative states. It is shown that, contrasting transmission approaches, a knowledge of the reflection on either side of the film provides separate information on the gold-vacuum surface plasmons and on the gold-glass interface plasmons. Recent experimental data on a specific implementation of this system are reexamine…
We investigate the subwavelength imaging capacity of a two-dimensional fanned-out plasmonic waveguide array, formed by air channels surrounded by gold metal layers for operation at near-infrared wavelengths, via finite element simulations. High resolution is achieved on one side of the device by tapering down the channel width while simultaneously maintaining propagation losses of a few dB. On the other, low-resolution side, output couplers are designed to optimize coupling to free space and to minimize channel cross talk via surface plasmons. Point sources separated by λ/15 can still be clear…
A coupled magnetic resonator waveguide, composed of a contacting gold nanosphere chain on a gold slab, is proposed and investigated. A broadband coherent magnetic plasmon mode can be excited in this one dimensional nanostructure. By employing the Lagrangian formalism and the Fourier transform method, the dispersion properties of the wave vector and group velocity of the magnetic plasmon mode are investigated. Small group velocity can be obtained from this system which can be applied as subwavelength slow wave waveguides.
We demonstrate engineering of the spectral content and polarization of photoluminescence (PL) from arrayed gold nanoparticles atop a subwavelength-thin dielectric spacer and optically-thick gold film, a configuration that supports gap-surface plasmon resonances (GSPRs). Choice of shapes and dimensions of gold nanoparticles influences the GSPR wavelength and polarization characteristics, thereby allowing us to enhance and spectrally mold the plasmon-assisted PL while simultaneously controlling its polarization. In order to understand the underlying physics behind the plasmon-enhanced PL, we dev…
Due to their many potential applications, there is an increasing interest in studying hybrid systems composed of optically active media and plasmonic metamaterials. In this work we focus on a particular system which consists of an optically active silica core covered by a gold shell. We find that the spaser (surface plasmon amplification by stimulated emission of radiation) conditions can be found at the poles of the scattering cross section of the system, a result that remains valid beyond the geometry studied. We explored a wide range of parameters that cover most of the usual experimental c…
In this letter, we propose a new proof-of-concept of optical nano-tweezer on the basis of a pair of dielectric rectangular rods capable of generating a novel class of controlled finite-volume near field light capsules. The finite-difference time-domain simulations of light spatial structure and optical trapping forces of the gold nanoparticle immersed in water demonstrate the physical concept of an in-plane subwavelength optical capsule, integrated with the microfluidic mesoscale device. It is shown that refractive index and distance between dielectric rectangular rods can control the shape an…
The performance of organic solar cells (OSCs) can be greatly improved by incorporating silica-coated gold nanorods (Au@SiO2 NRs) at the interface between the hole transporting layer and the active layer due to the plasmonic effect. The silica shell impedes the aggregation effect of the Au NRs in ethanol solution as well as the server charge recombination on the surface of the Au NRs otherwise they would bring forward serious reduction in open circuit voltage when incorporating the Au NRs at the positions in contact with the active materials. As a result, while the high open circuit voltage bei…
The purpose of this comment is first to correct a misapprehension of the role played by composite wave diffraction on surface-wave generation at subwavelength structures and second to point out that periodic Bloch structures are unnecessary for the efficient production of the surface plasmon polariton (SPP) guided mode either as traveling or standing waves. Guided surface waves originate from simple slit or groove edges illuminated under normal incidence, and one-dimensional (1-D) surface cavities from these standing waves are easily realized.
We report experimental results on heterodyne holographic microscopy of subwavelength-sized gold particles. The apparatus uses continuous green laser illumination of the metal beads in a total internal reflection configuration for dark-field operation. Detection of the scattered light at the illumination wavelength on a charge-coupled device array detector enables 3D localization of brownian particles in water
We demonstrate theoretically that a subwavelength spherical dielectric nanoparticle coated with a gain shell forms a nanolaser. Lasing modes of such a nanolaser are associated with the Mie resonances of the nanoparticle. We establish a general condition for the lasing threshold and show that the use of high refractive index dielectric media allows for lasing with a threshold significantly lower than that for nanolasers incorporating lossy plasmonic metals.
Due to local field enhancement and subwavelength confinements, nano-plasmonics provide numerous novel applications. Simultaneously, as an efficient nanoscale heat generator from inherent absorption, thermo-plasmonics is emerging as an important branch. However, although significant temperature increase is involved in applications, detailed characterization of metal permittivity at different temperatures and corresponding thermo-derivative are lacking. In this work, we extract the permittivity of gold from 300K to the annealing temperature of 570K. By comparing annealed and unannealed films, mo…
The measurement and control of the temperature in microscopic systems, which are increasingly required in diverse applications, are fundamentally important. Yet, the measurement of the three-dimensional (3D) temperature distribution in microscopic systems has not been demonstrated. Here, we propose and experimentally demonstrate the measurement of the 3D temperature distribution by exploiting the temperature dependency of the refractive index (RI). Measurement of the RI distribution of water makes it possible to quantitatively obtain its 3D temperature distribution above a glass substrate coat…
Graphene exhibits unique material properties and in electromagnetic wave technology, it raises the prospect of devices miniaturized down to the atomic length scale. Here we study split-ring resonator metamaterials made from graphene and we compare them to gold-based metamaterials. We find that graphene's huge reactive response derived from its large kinetic inductance allows for deeply subwavelength resonances, although its resonance strength is reduced due to higher dissipative loss damping and smaller dipole coupling. Nevertheless, tightly stacked graphene rings may provide for negative perm…
The enhancement of the photoluminescence of quantum dots induced by an optical nanoantenna has been studied considerably, but there is still significant interest in optimizing and miniaturizing such structures, especially when accompanied by an experimental demonstration. Most of the realizations use plasmonic platforms, and some also use all-dielectric nanoantennas, but hybrid dielectric-plasmonic (subwavelength) nanostructures have been very little explored. In this paper, we propose and demonstrate single subwavelength hybrid dielectric-plasmonic optical nanoantennas coupled to localized qu…
Light polarization is a key aspect of modern optics. Current methods for polarization control utilize birefringence and dichroism of anisotropic materials or of arrays of anisotropically shaped nanostructures. Based on collective optical effects, the resulting components remain much larger than the wavelength of light, which limits design strategies. Here, we present a travelling-wave plasmonic antenna that overcomes this limit using a gold-coated helical nanowire non-radiatively fed with a dipolar aperture nanoantenna. Our non-resonant hybrid nanoantenna enables tightly confined circularly po…
Recent years have witnessed growing interest in the development of small-footprint lasers for potential applications in small-volume sensing and on-chip optical communications. Surface-plasmons, electromagnetic modes evanescently confined to metal-dielectric interfaces, offer an effective route to achieving lasing at nanometer-scale dimensions when resonantly amplified in contact with a gain-medium. Here, we achieve visible frequency ultra-narrow linewidth lasing at room-temperature by leveraging surface plasmons propagating in an open Fabry-Perot cavity formed by a flat metal surface coated w…
The plasmonic amplification of non-linear vibrational sum frequency spectroscopy (SFG) at the surfaces of gold nanoparticles is systematically investigated by tuning the incident visible wavelength. The SFG spectra of dodecanethiol-coated gold nanoparticles chemically deposited on silicon are recorded for twenty visible wavelengths. The vibrational intensities of thiol methyl stretches extracted from the experimental measurements vary with the visible color of the SFG process and show amplification by coupling to plasmonics. Since the enhancement is maximal in the orange-red region rather than…
We propose a novel dielectric bow-tie nanocavity consisting of two tip-to-tip opposite triangle semiconductor nanowires, whose end faces are coated by silver nanofilms. Based on the advantages of the dielectric slot and tip structures, and the high reflectivity from the silver mirror, light can be confined in this nanocavity with low loss. We demonstrate that the mode excited in this nanocavity has a deep subwavelength mode volume of 2.8*10^-4 um3 and a high quality factor of 4.9*10^4 (401.3), consequently an ultrahigh Purcell factor of 1.6*10^7 (1.36*10^5), at 4.5 K (300 K) around the resonan…
Large reflection losses at interfaces in light emitting semiconductor devices cause a significant reduction in their light emission and energy efficiencies. Metal nanoparticle (NP) surface coatings have been demonstrated to increase the light extraction efficiency from planar high refractive index semiconductor surfaces. This emission enhancement in Au NP-coated ZnO is widely attributed to involvement of a green (~ 2.5 eV) deep level ZnO defect exciting localized surface plasmons in the NPs that non-radiatively decay into hot electrons, which return to ZnO and radiatively recombine. In this wo…
This paper reports on the excitation of surface plasmons on gold-coated nanofibre tips by side-illumination with a laser beam and the coupling of the surface plasmons to the optical fiber. The measurements show a strong dependence of the coupling efficiency on the incidence angle with a maximum coupling efficiency on the order of few percent. Moreover, the fibre tip was used as scanning probe device for measuring the beam waist of a focussed laser beam. This work is motivated by the goal to use such plasmonic nanofibre tips in quantum optics experiments with cold atoms.
We report on the generation, and momentum space distribution of fluorescence emission from individual SiO2 microsphere on dye coated Au mirror. The molecular fluorescence emission mediated via whispering gallery modes of the sphere is studied using polarization resolved optical energy-momentum micro-spectroscopy. Our experiments reveal intensity dependence of split modes of the cavity as a function of in-plane wavevector and emission polarization in the far field. The exotic far-field distribution can be understood by sphere-image sphere model that further reveals the polarization dependence o…
In this letter, we study the scattering of light by a single subwavelength slit in a metal screen. In contrast to previous theoretical works, we provide a microscopic description of the scattering process by emphasizing the generation of surface plasmons at the slit apertures. The analysis is supported by a rigorous formalism based on a normal-mode-decomposition technique and by a semi-analytical model which provides accurate formulae for the plasmonic generation strengths. The generation is shown to be fairly efficient for metals with a low conductivity, like gold in the visible regime. Verif…
A novel photonic thermal diode concept operating in the near field and capitalizing on the temperature-dependence of coupled surface polariton modes in nanostructures is proposed. The diode concept utilizes terminals made of the same material supporting surface polariton modes in the infrared, but with dissimilar structures. The specific diode design analyzed in this Letter involves a thin film and a bulk, both made of 3C silicon carbide, separated by a subwavelength vacuum gap. High rectification efficiency is obtained by tuning the antisymmetric resonant modes of the thin film, resulting fro…
Robust topological edge modes may evolve into complex-frequency modes when a physical system becomes non-Hermitian. We show that, while having negligible forward optical extinction cross section, a conjugate pair of such complex topological edge modes in a non-Hermitian $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric system can give rise to an anomalous sideway scattering when they are simultaneously excited by a plane wave. We propose a realization of such scattering state in a linear array of subwavelength resonators coated with gain media. The prediction is based on an analytical two-band model and verified by ri…
Surface plasmon, with its unique capability to concentrate light into sub-wavelength volume, has enabled great advances in photon science, ranging from nano-antenna and single-molecule Raman scattering to plasmonic waveguide and metamaterials. In many applications it is desirable to control the surface plasmon resonance in situ with electric field. Graphene, with its unique tunable optical properties, provides an ideal material to integrate with nanometallic structures for realizing such control. Here we demonstrate effective modulation of the plasmon resonance in a model system composed of hy…
Confining light in extreme subwavelength scales is a tantalizing task. In this work, we report a study of individual plasmonic film-coupled nanostar resonators where plasmonic optical modes are trapped in ultrasmall volumes. Individual gold nanostars, separated from a flat gold film by a thin dielectric spacer layer, exhibit a strong light confinement within the sub-10 nm volume of the nanostar's tips and the film. Through dark field scattering measurements of many individual nanostars, a statistical observation of the scattered spectra is obtained and compared with extensive simulation data t…
Open subwavelength cylindrical resonators of finite height are widely used in various photonics applications. Circular cylindrical resonators are particularly important in nanophotonics, since they are relatively easy to fabricate and can be designed to exhibit different resonance effects. In this paper, an efficient and robust numerical method is developed for computing resonant modes of circular cylinders which may have a few layers and may be embedded in a layered background. The resonant modes are complex-frequency outgoing solutions of the Maxwell's equations with no sources or incident w…
We demonstrate gold coated polymer surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates with a pair of complementary structures--positive and inverted pyramids array structures fabricated by multiple-step molding and replication process. The uniform SERS enhancement factors over the entire device surfaces were measured as 7.2 X 10^4 for positive pyramids substrate while 1.6 X 10^6 for inverted pyramids substrate with Rhodamine 6G as the target analyte. Based on the optical reflection measurement and FDTD simulation result, the enhancement factor difference is attributed to plasmon resonance mat…
Colouration by surface nanostructuring has attracted a great deal of attention by the virtue of making use of environment-friendly recyclable materials and generating non-bleaching colours [1-8]. Recently, it was found possible to delegate the task of colour printing to laser post-processing that modifies carefully designed and fabricated nanostructures [9,10]. Here we take the next crucial step in the development of structural colour printing by dispensing with preformed nanostructures and using instead near-percolation metal films atop dielectric-metal sandwiches, i.e., near-percolation plas…
