Coupling Behaviors of Surface Plasmon Polariton and Localized Surface Plasmon with an InGaN/GaN Quantum Well

Plasmonics - Surface plasmon (SP) coupling behaviors of an InGaN/GaN quantum well (QW) with surface plasmon polariton (SPP) induced on a smooth Ag-film/GaN interface and localized surface plasmon...     

Long-Range Surface Plasmon Polaritons for Efficient Optical Coupling in AlGaN/GaN Quantum Well Infrared Photodetector

In this paper, the supermodes, long-range surface plasmon polaritons (LRSPPs), have been theoretically studied to enhance the optical coupling of AlGaN/GaN quantum well infrared photodetector (QWIP) based on gold–Si₃N₄ hybrid architecture. The electromagnetic field, energy flow, and current density are analyzed by finite element method (FEM). In time domain, the electric field component E _z and current density J _z perpendicular to the multi-quantum wells (MQWs) are symmetric and asymmetric distributions over the gold grating, respectively, which precisely prove the existence of LRSPPs. The averaged |E _z |² across the whole quantum well region reaches 1.51?(V/m)² when the electric field intensity (|E ₀|²) of normal incidence is 1?(V/m)² at 4.65 μm. Extraordinarily low loss of the LRSPPs results in a coupling efficiency enhancement ratio of 2.23 in AlGaN/GaN QWIP compared with that obtained via bare gold grating with different polarized sources, exhibiting great potential for application in the focal plane arrays.     

InGaN/GaN MQW Photoluminescence Enhancement by Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance on Isolated Ag Nanoparticles

Spectroscopic study of photoluminescence (PL) enhancement due to the coupling of the light emitters in InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs) with the localized surface plasmon (LSP) resonance on silver (Ag) nanoparticles (NPs) is performed using the confocal microscopy and scanning near-field optical microscopy (SNOM) techniques. The paper is focused on revealing the emission enhancement due to coupling with a single metal nanoparticle. The enhancement is confirmed by time-resolved study of differential transmission (DT). The enhancement suppression caused by potential fluctuations due to the variations of indium content and quantum well (QW) width is also studied. A strong photoexcitation intensity dependence of the emission enhancement due to spectral runaway of the MQW emission from the resonance as carrier density increases is observed both in spatially integrated spectra and in the vicinity of a single nanoparticle.     

Optimization of Surface Plasmon Resonance Biosensor with Ag/Au Multilayer Structure and Fiber-Optic Miniaturization

In this paper, we report a novel wavelength interrogation-based surface plasmon resonance (SPR) system, in which a film of three Ag layers and three Au layers are alternately deposited on a Kretschmann configuration as sensing element. This multilayer film shows higher sensitivity for refractive index (RI) measurement by comparing with single Au layer structure, which is consistent with its theoretical calculation. A sensitivity range of 2056–5893 nm/RIU can be achieved, which is comparable to RI sensitivities of other wavelength-modulated SPR sensors. Compared with Ag film, this Ag/Au multilayer arrangement offers anti-oxidant protection. This SPR biosensor based on a cost-effective Ag/Au multilayer structure is applicable to the real-time detection of specific interactions and dissociation of low protein concentrations. To extend the application of this highly-sensitive metal film device, we integrated this concept on an optical fiber. The range of RI sensitivities with Ag/Au multilayer was 1847–3309 nm/RIU. This miniaturized Ag/Au multilayer-based fiber optic sensor has a broad application in chemical and biological sensing.     

Surface Plasmon-Enhanced Spontaneous Emission from InGaN/GaN Multiple Quantum Wells by Indium Nanoparticles Fabricated Using Nanosphere Lithography

Economic nanofabrication of Ag, Al, Au nanotriangle arrays and In nanoparticle arrays are demonstrated using nanosphere lithography. The sizes of the nanoparticles are precisely tuned when nanospheres with different diameters are used. Localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPR) of the nanoparticle arrays are observed to be strongly dependent on their sizes and the LSPR of In nanoparticle arrays with various sizes cover the whole visible spectrum. By placing In nanoparticle arrays near the InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs), enhanced spontaneous emission is observed when the LSPR of the In nanoparticles matches the emission wavelength of InGaN/GaN MQWs.     

Nanostructuring of Continuous Gold Film by Laser Radiation Under Surface Plasmon Polariton Resonance Conditions

The physical mechanisms of metallic nanoparticles formation by laser technology were studied. The system air/Au film/glass was irradiated by laser at the conditions of surface plasmon resonance. A surface electromagnetic wave was excited in Kretchmann configuration by the fundamental and second harmonics of the Q-switched YAG/Nd⁺³ laser with pulse power density close to the threshold of melting. Nanostructuring of Au film was observed only for the second harmonic (λ = 0.532 μm) irradiation at the surface plasmon polariton resonance (SPR) conditions. Estimations were done using the interference model of the differently directed plasmon polariton waves excited by a surface electromagnetic wave on the metal surface. It was shown that a regular pattern of locally heated spots can be formed in a metallic film by pulsed laser irradiation. The spatial distribution of this pattern is close to the period of interference. The observed effect of laser nanofragmentation is explained by the self-organization of plasmon polariton subsystem in the process of Au nanoparticles formation at high laser intensity levels. These methods open new possibilities for nanostructured surfaces formation utilizing simple self-organization processes.     

Sensitivity of Optical Fiber Sensor Based on Surface Plasmon Resonance: Modeling and Experiments

In this paper, surface plasmon resonance curves of an optical fiber-based sensor were investigated. From an experimental and theoretical perspective, the response curves were analyzed and discussed. Precisely, such curves were calculated by modeling the analyte/metallic layer interface using a multilayer system, including the effects of roughness. Then, the experimental response curves observed in solutions with different refractive indices were compared to the simulated curves. Good agreement was obtained with respect to the resonance peak location and the shape of the curves. Consequently, these results enabled us to predict the ideal functioning conditions of the sensor, i.e., the working parameters corresponding to the best sensitivities of detection.     

Molecular Study of P-Glycoprotein in Multidrug Resistance Using Surface Plasmon Resonance

P-Glycoprotein is an integral membrane protein which mediates the energy-dependent efflux of various antitumor agents from multidrug-resistant cancer cells. Surface plasmon resonance was used for the detection of P-glycoprotein after solubilization from drug-resistant and drug-sensitive Chinese hamster ovary cells and for the analysis of its interaction with cyclosporin A, a competitive inhibitor of drug efflux. Detection of P-glycoprotein relied on its binding to the monoclonal antibody C219 which was immobilized on a sensor chip. Binding of Zwittergent 3-14-solubilized P-glycoprotein to the antibody was concentration-dependent and reflected the relative abundance of P-glycoprotein in both cell lines. It was abolished when C219 was omitted or replaced by a rabbit anti-mouse IgG antibody and considerably reduced after precipitation of P-glycoprotein with wheat germ agglutinin. Preincubation of solubilized proteins with cyclosporin A increased the amount of protein bound to the antibody by approximately 30%. These results indicate that surface plasmon resonance is well suited to the detection of P-glycoprotein from biological samples and shows promise as a tool for the study of its interaction with different drugs.     

In Situ Optical Extinction Measurement for Locally Control of Surface Plasmon Resonance During Nanosecond Laser Irradiation of Silver Ion Exchanged Silicate Glass

Online UV/visible extinction measurement have been achieved during nanosecond Nd:YAG laser irradiation at 532 nm of a silver-exchanged silicate glass after each shot. We have explained the evolution of the integrated spectral evolution with the help of a few observed spots after the laser/glass interaction and completed them by optical and surface measurements. This optical method allows to in situ follow silver ions precipitation in nanoparticles (NPs) and the consequently surface plasmon resonance evolution (SPR). In this study, we focus on the interest of this method for one silver-exchanged soda-lime glass by direct observation of the sample surface. Scanning electron microscopy measurement and optical microscopy were used to identify the various ablation mechanisms. Profilometry was used to evaluate the material distribution and the surface roughness evolution (Rms parameter). Thus, we explain the silver NPs effect on glass matrix at various micrometric scales according to the deposited fluence and silver concentration.     

Surface Plasmon Resonance Study of Au Nanorod Structures Templated in Mesoporous Silicon

Au nanorods forming carpet-like structures have been fabricated by electrochemical methods in mesoporous silicon templates. The anodically grown monodisperse pores on Si (100) were used to cathodically grow the Au structures from complexated Au solutions. Such structures feature selective absorption of light in the visible/near infrared wavelength range that can be tuned by controlling the aspect ratio and dielectric surrounding media. In the present work, the visible light absorption of Au structures has been studied and correlated with the light absorption of ideal structures with increasing complexity. According to these simulations, the observed selective light absorption arises from the anisotropic surface plasmon resonance (SPR) of the rods and a secondary SPR of isolated Au nanoparticles adsorbed on the rods.     

Theoretical Study of the Local Surface Plasmon Resonance Properties of Silver Nanosphere Clusters

The local surface plasmon resonance properties in systems consisting of silver nanosphere clusters are studied by Green’s function. The extinction, absorption, and scattering efficiencies band of two, three, and more silver nanospheres clusters are discussed in detail. The clusters show new types of the local surface plasmon resonances compared with single silver nanosphere. Our results suggest that the resonances depend strongly on individual particles’ characteristics such as their shapes, gap distances, directions and polarizations of incident light waves, and the number of clusters. The spectrum shows that equilateral triangle nanospheres has a good absorption peak, while the better red-shifted with three aligned nanospheres. In addition, the distributions of electric field intensity for three and four touched silver nanospheres are also investigated. The study is useful to broaden the application scope of Raman spectroscopy and nanooptics.     

Determination of collagen type IV by Surface Plasmon Resonance Imaging using a specific biosensor

Serum collagen type IV (COLIV) is a promising tumor marker. High COLIV concentrations have been found in the serum of patients with colorectal, gastric, lung, liver and breast cancers. The aim of this work was to develop a biosensor for use with the Surface Plasmon Resonance Imaging (SPRI) technique for COLIV determination. The biosensor consists of glass covered with gold and immobilized monoclonal mouse anti-human collagen type IV antibody via cysteamine linker. The biosensor works selectively within a dynamic response range between 10 and 300 ng mL⁻¹, with LOD 2.4 ng mL⁻¹ and LOQ 8 ng mL⁻¹. The precision of determination is 4.7% at a 150 ng mL⁻¹ COLIV spike and 8.0% at a 20 ng mL⁻¹ spike, with recoveries of 101% and 106% respectively. A 100-fold excess of collagen I, albumin, laminin and fibronectin is tolerated. The average COLIV blood plasma concentration of healthy donors determined by the developed method was 69 ± 10 ng mL⁻¹, while the median of six results available in the literature was approximately 80 ng mL⁻¹. The average COLIV blood plasma concentration of breast cancer patients was 360 ± 68 ng mL⁻¹, showing the high potential of COLIV as a marker of this type of cancer.     

Effects of Surface Plasmon Coupling on the Whispering-Gallery Resonance in a Hexagonal Nanowire Cavity Structure

Plasmonics - The effects of surface plasmon (SP) coupling with the excitation radiating dipole on the behaviors of the whispering-gallery resonance (WGR) modes in a hexagonal GaN nanowire cavity...     

Development of an Internet Web Application for the Study of Surface Plasmon Resonance Spectroscopy

Plasmonics - An online web application was developed for the study of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) of different materials using angular and wavelength modulation. The present web application...     

Theoretical Study of Sensitivity and Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance of Ag-Dielectric Core-Shell Multi-layered Nanosphere

Localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPRs) of Ag-dielectric-Ag multi-layered nanoshell are studied by quasi-static approximation and plasmon hybridization theory. Absorption properties of multi-layered nanoshell with the silver core and nanoshell separated by a dielectric layer exhibit strong coupling between the core and nanoshell. The result shows absorption spectrum of LSPRS is influenced by the refractive index of surrounding medium, the dielectric constant of middle dielectric layer, the thickness of inner core radius and outer shell layer. LSPR shift of the longest wavelength \(\left |\omega _{-}^{-}\right >\) is red-shifted with increasing the inner core radius. It is interesting to find that longer wavelength \(\left |\omega _{-}^{+}\right >\) mode is mainly effected by the ratio constant of the surrounding medium refractive index ε ₄ to the middle layer dielectric constant ε ₂. \(\left |\omega _{-}^{+}\right >\) mode takes place a blue-shift with increasing inner core radius when ε ₂ > ε ₄, a red-shift when ε ₂ < ε ₄, and no-shifting when ε ₂ = ε ₄. However, the influence of dielectric layer radius to \(\left |\omega _{-}^{+}\right >\) mode shows the different property as that of increasing the inner core radius. The underlying mechanisms are analyzed with the plasmon hybridization theory and the distribution of induced charge interaction between the inner core and outer shell. In addition, the influence of core radius, middle dielectric layer radius and outer shell radius to sensitivity of Ag-dielectric-Ag multi-layered nanoshell are also reported, a higher sensitivity could be gotten by adjusting geometrical parameters. Our theoretical study could give an easy way to analyze properties of the core-shell nanosphere based on plasmon hybridization theory and the induced charge interaction, and usefully broaden the applications in nano-optics.     

Large Nonlinearity Enhancement of Ag/MEH-PPV Nanocomposite by Surface Plasmon Resonance at 1,550 nm

We experimentally demonstrate a large third-order nonlinear susceptibility for a nanocomposite made of poly[2-methoxy-5-(2-ethylhexyloxy)-1,4-phenylenevinylene] doped with silver nanoprisms at 1,550 nm, achieved based on nonlinearity enhancement associated with strong surface plasmon resonance. The nonlinear refractive index reaches −1.37 × 10⁻¹² m²/W, which is three orders of magnitude larger than that of pure poly[2-methoxy-5-(2-ethylhexyloxy)-1,4-phenylenevinylene]. An ultrafast response time of 18.7 ps is reached using fast energy transfer from excited states of organic molecules to silver nanoprisms. A low-power and ultrafast nanocomposite photonic crystal all-optical switching is also realized.     

Real-time label-free immunoassay of interferon-gamma and prostate-specific antigen using a Fiber-Optic Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance sensor

A Fiber-Optic Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance (FO LSPR) sensor was fabricated using spherical gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) on a flattened end-face of the optical fiber. The Au NPs were easily synthesized by the Turkevich method and were immobilized on the end-face of the optical fiber by using a self-assembled monolayer (SAM). In order to examine the possibility of its application as a biosensor for label-free immunoassays, the fabricated FO LSPR sensor was used for the detection of the antibody-antigen reaction of interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) and the limit of detection (LOD) was approximately 2pg/ml. Herein, The antibodies and bovine serum albumins (BSAs) were immobilized on the Au NPs by physisorption. Also, the FO LSPR sensor was used for the detection of a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and the LOD was 1pg/ml below. The fabricated FO LSPR sensor can be used for real-time label-free immunoassay having fast detection time, high resolution and sensitivity. In addition, the proposed sensor platform has the advantages of low cost, simple optical setup, remote sensing, simple fabrication, real-time detection, low sample volume, and potential application to in-vivo detection systems.     

Enhancement of Emission Efficiency of Deep-Ultraviolet AlGaN Quantum Wells Through Surface Plasmon Coupling with an Al Nanograting Structure

The enhancement of the internal quantum efficiency (IQE) of deep-ultraviolet Al _x Ga_1-x N/Al _y Ga_1-y N (x < y) quantum wells (QWs) by fabricating one-dimensional Al nanogratings on a QW structure for inducing surface plasmon (SP) coupling is demonstrated. Through temperature-dependent photoluminescence (PL) measurement, the enhancements of IQE in different emission polarizations are illustrated. Due to the small difference in energy band level between the heavy/light hole and split-off valence bands, the IQEs of the transverse electric- (TE-) and transverse magnetic- (TM-) polarized emissions are about the same. When emission polarization is perpendicular to Al-grating ridges, the SP resonance mode for coupling with the QWs is dominated by localized surface plasmon (LSP). When emission polarization is parallel with Al-grating ridges, the coupled SP resonance mode may mix LSP and SP polariton. In this polarization, LSP can be excited because of the width fluctuation of a grating ridge. When the excitation laser polarization is perpendicular to Al-grating ridges, the strong LSP resonance at the excitation laser wavelength leads to stronger excitation and hence higher IQE levels.     

Surface Plasmon Resonance Field-Enhanced Fluorescence Properties of Gold Quantum Dots on Polyelectrolyte Multilayers and Their H2O2 Sensor Application

Plasmonics - In this work, we investigate surface plasmon field-enhanced fluorescence (SPF) emission from gold quantum dots (AuQDs) on a polyelectrolyte multilayer ultrathin film deposited onto an...     

Ultra-High-Sensitive Sensor Based on Surface Plasmon Resonance Structure Having Si and Graphene Layers for the Detection of Chikungunya Virus

Chikungunya virus has been discovered in about 60 countries of the world. It leads to joint pain, joint swelling, headache, muscle pain, and fatigue of the human body. In this work, a surface plasmon resonance (SPR)based sensor is developed to detect chikungunya virus through normal and infected platelets and plasma blood cells. The proposed SPR-based sensor uses silicon and graphene layers coated over the base of a glass prism sputtered with a silver layer. The graphene layer has the advantage of enhancing the biomolecules adsorption on the metal layer. The silicon layer between silver and graphene enhances the sensor performance. The number of graphene layers along with the thicknesses of silicon and silver layers is optimized to get the highest sensitivity of the detector. To investigate the effect of the light source wavelength, simulations are performed for four different wavelengths. The highest sensitivities exhibited by the SPR-based sensor are 393 and 160 deg/RIU for the platelets and plasma cells, respectively.