Nonlinear Nanowire Close to a Truncated Metallic Film: a Step Toward Nanosized Light Sources

A controllable nanosized light source based on nonlinear interaction of light and a semiconductor nanowire is proposed. Surface plasmon polariton (SPP) waves with different frequencies propagate along the upper and lower surfaces of a truncated metallic film and are scattered at its end face. A nanowire, in that vicinity, is pumped by the scattered light, and new harmonics are generated via second-order nonlinear optical effects. Green's function surface integral equation method is exploited to numerically calculate the electric field, the magnetic field, and the power of the generated frequency components. Results show that the power of the generated harmonics depends on the position and radius of the nanowire, thickness of the metallic film, as well as the wavelength of the incident SPP waves. On the other hand, by controlling the phase difference between incident SPP waves having the same frequencies, it is possible to manipulate the electric field pattern and also to change the power of the generated harmonics.     

A Surface Plasmon Microcavity Between the Toroidal and Flat Metallic Surfaces

We consider the formation of the surface plasmon polariton (SPP) mode in the structure with a metallic torus and a metallic flat surface separated by a dielectric medium. The energy of the wave field is mainly concentrated in the dielectric medium at the vicinity of the minimum thickness of the gap between the metallic surfaces. The dependence of the resonant frequency on parameters of the structure was determined. The strongly localized SPP mode in the transverse direction contributes to the increase in the Purcell factor that is crucial for enhancement of the spontaneous emission rate.     

Tuning the Plasmon of Metallic Nanostructures: From Silver Nanocubes Toward Gold Nanoboxes

One of the most significant advances in nanoscience and nanotechnology was partially driven by plasmonic effect of some noble metal nanostructures with different shapes and sizes. By controlling the geometry of metal nanostructures, their surface plasmon resonance (SPR) peaks could be tuned from the visible to the near-infrared region with various applications in sensors, optoelectronic, nanomedicine, and specifically cancer therapy. In this study, we have prepared gold nanoboxes (NBs) using the galvanic replacement between Ag nanocubes (NCs) and aqueous gold solution. Ultraviolet visible (UVvis) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and transmitting electron microscopy (TEM) were used to characterize silver NCs and gold NBs. The primary silver NCs were synthesized by conventional polyol method at the presence of sodium sulfide to highly tune the shape and size of the NCs. Optimized cubic silver nanostructures were obtained at 90 μl of sodium sulfide injection into the solution. Moreover, the effect of quality of the cubic structure on the shape and uniformity of gold NBs was investigated. Gold NBs with hollow interior structure and SPR peak ranging from 480 to 800 nm were successfully obtained at different injection volumes of HAuCl₄ into the solution. It was demonstrated that increasing the volume of HAuCl₄ solution to about 3 mL can increase the pore number and size until the primary structure collapses into small pieces. It was also found that the concentration of gold NBs and the corresponding SPR peak intensities decrease due to pore size enhancement and decline of charge density on the surface of metal hollow nanostructures.     

Multiple Surface Plasmon Resonances in Compound Structure with Metallic Nanoparticle and Nanohole Arrays

The optical properties of a compound structure with metallic nanoparticle and nanohole arrays are numerically investigated by the means of finite-difference time domain method. We report on the observation of multi-valleys in the reflection spectra due to the excitation of surface plasmon (SP) resonant modes of the compound structure. Simulation results show that multiple SP resonances consist of surface plasmon polaritons on the gold film, localized surface plasmons on the nanoparticles, and coupling mode between them. These findings are important for applications utilizing multiple surface plasmon resonances.     

Surface Plasmon Resonances of Metallic Nanostars/Nanoflowers for Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering

We investigate theoretically the optical properties associated to plasmon resonances of metal nanowires with cross section given by low-order Chebyshev nanoparticles (like rounded-tip nanostars or nanoflowers). The impact of the nanoflower shape is analyzed for varying symmetry and deformation parameter through the spectral dependence of resonances and their corresponding near field distributions. Large field intensity enhancements are obtained at the gaps between petals, apart from the tips themselves, which make these nanostars/nanoflowers specially suitable to host molecules for surface-enhanced Raman scattering sensing applications.     

Light Humidity Sensor of Surface Plasmon Resonance by Symmetric Metal Film

The field of plasmonics has experienced a renaissance in recent years by providing a large variety of new physical effects and applications. Here, we demonstrate a light humidity sensor of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) by a symmetric metal film, which uses P polarised light of emergent He–Ne laser to stimulate SPR. Resonance angle change received by the spectrum detector can determine humidity via the relationship between humidity and effective refractive index. When the relatively short wavelengths are shown in the model, the evanescent wave penetration depth is shallow, resonance state is weak and energy loss is low. The opposite results are obtained, when the wavelength is long. Also, with increasing thickness, the resonance peak becomes acute, thereby indicating the improvement in detection accuracy. When the metal thickness of our model is 50 nm, the resonance peak of the reflection spectrum is narrower, accuracy is high and reflectivity is close to 0. By analysing the experimental results, the SPR resonance phenomenon is shown. The electromagnetic field energy is highly concentrated near the interface between the metal and SiO₂, which appears highly localized. The resolution of the structure can reach 0.37% RH (relative humidity), which is significantly more than the resolution of capacitive humidity sensor, i.e., resolution is usually 1% RH to 2% RH. The optical sensor of our development can provide a key device for long-distance transmission sensing, in special conditions such as low temperature.

     

Feasible Surface Plasmon Routing Based on the Self-Assembled InGaAs/GaAs Semiconductor Quantum Dot Located Between Two Silver Metallic Waveguides

Plasmonics - We proposed an experimentally feasible scheme of nano-plasmonic switch and quantum router via the single self-assembled InGaAs/GaAs semiconductor quantum dot (SQD) with a V-type...     

Surface Plasmon Resonance Imaging Sensors: A Review

Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) imaging sensors realize label-free, real-time, highly sensitive, quantitative, high-throughput biological interaction monitoring and the binding profiles from multi-analytes further provide the binding kinetic parameters between different biomolecules. In the past two decades, SPR imaging sensors found rapid increasing applications in fundamental biological studies, medical diagnostics, drug discovery, food safety, precision measurement, and environmental monitoring. In this paper, we review the recent advances of SPR imaging sensor technology towards high-throughput multi-analyte screening. Finally, we describe our multiplex spectral-phase SPR imaging biosensor for high-throughput biosensing applications.     

Eigenmode Decomposition of the Near-Field Enhancement in Localized Surface Plasmon Resonances of Metallic Nanoparticles

I present a direct and intuitive eigenmode method that evaluates the near-field enhancement around the surface of metallic nanoparticles of arbitrary shape. The method is based on the boundary integral equation (BIE) in the electrostatic limit. Besides the nanoparticle polarizability and the far-field response, the near-field enhancement around nanoparticles can be also conveniently expressed as an eigenmode sum of resonant terms. Moreover, the spatial configuration of the near-field enhancement depends explicitly on the eigenfunctions of both the BIE integral operator and of its adjoint. It has also established a direct physical meaning of the two types of eigenfunctions. While it is well known that the eigenfunctions of the BIE operator are electric charge modes, it is less known and used that the eigenfunctions of the adjoint represent the electric potential generated by the charge modes. For the enhanced spectroscopies, the present method allows an easy identification of hot spots which are located in the regions with maximum charge densities and/or regions with fast variations of the electric potential generated by the charge modes on the surface. This study also clarifies the similarities and the differences between the far-field and the near-field behavior of plasmonic systems. Finally, the analysis of concrete examples like the nearly touching dimer, the prolate spheroid, and the nanorod illustrate some modalities to improve the near-field enhancement.     

The Infrared (Far Terahertz) Generation by Nonlinear Interactions of Two Visible Laser Beams in a Metallic Background: Infrared Surface Plasmon Effect

This paper presents an investigation of infrared (IR) radiation generation by nonlinear interaction of two visible laser beams in a metallic background. Two laser beams of Gaussian and Laguerre Gaussian (LG) profiles and background metals such as silver, copper, gold, and aluminum are utilized for IR generation. Effects of laser beam characteristics and structural properties of metals on the evolution of IR electric field amplitude are examined. Considering laser frequencies in the non-transparent region give rises to generation of IR surface plasmon (IRSP). An optimized relation is proposed for achieving efficient surface plasmon waves on a metal surface.

     

Efficient and Directional Excitation of Surface Plasmon Polaritons by Oblique Incidence on Metallic Ridges

For many years, the search for efficient surface plasmon polariton (SPP) excitation mechanisms has been a recurring matter in the development of compact plasmonic devices. In this work, we excited SPPs illuminating a subwavelength metallic ridge with a focused spot to characterize the coupling efficiency by varying the incidence angle of the excitation beam from ??50 to 50°. The intensity distribution of the excited SPPs was measured using leakage radiation microscopy to determine the relative coupling efficiency in the wavelength interval from 740 to 840 nm. We modeled the excitation efficiency as a function of the incidence angle using a simple analytical diffraction model. Two ridges of different width (200 and 500 nm) were used to compare results and validate the model. The experimental results show a higher coupling efficiency at oblique incidence, where the coupling was enhanced by factors of 2× for the 500-nm-wide ridge, and 3× for the 200-nm-wide ridge, as well as unidirectional SPP excitation. The experimental results are in good agreement with the proposed model.     

Light Amplification with Low-Gain Material: Harvesting Harmonic Resonance Modes of Surface Plasmon Polaritons on a Magnetic Meta-Surface

We theoretically show that it is feasible to utilize harmonic resonance modes of surface plasmon polaritons on a magnetic meta-surface for light amplification with low-gain material. The required threshold and optimal gain strength for active layer can be substantially reduced to about one-tenth as compared with those utilizing fundamental resonance modes. The findings provide a simple and practical metamaterial approach for light amplification with most of the existing active media.     

Optimization on Plasmonic Lenses Based on Generation Efficiency of Surface Plasmon Polaritons at Metallic Nanoslit

The generation efficiency of surface plasmon polaritons at metallic nanoslit is theoretically analyzed, and a novel plasmonic lens with two semiannular nanoslits is proposed in this paper. Based on the analysis results, the focusing performance of the proposal is optimized with a maximum field intensity enhancement factor of 7.69 and the full width at half maximum is 132 nm (~0.2λ _i), far beyond theoretical diffraction limit. Meanwhile, some other classical plasmonic lenses are also optimized through improving generation efficiency of surface plasmon polaritons at nanoslit and the focusing performances are consequently greatly enhanced.     

Excitation and Optimization Modeling of Surface Plasmon Polaritons in a Concentric Circular Metallic Grating Film

Interaction behavior between surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) and Hankel-distributed diffracted waves (DWs) on a silver concentric circular grating film is studied using a rigorous coupled-wave technique for circular structure. It is shown that the numerical technique reveals the excitation characteristics of SPPs in the circular metal grating as well as provides an accurate calculation of SPP intensities for further optimization designs. Results show that the SPPs can be excited by various DWs through the control of wavelength and angle of the incident light. The most efficient excitation of SPPs from this circular metal grating structure can be obtained from the +1^st-order DW under a normal incidence with wavelength close to the grating period, and the optimal thickness and duty cycle of the grating are found to be 370 and 0.5 nm, respectively. It is shown that the optimized intensity of SPPs excited from circular metal grating can be higher than that from strip metal grating by over one order of magnitude.     

Compact Color Filter and Polarizer of Bilayer Metallic Nanowire Grating Based on Surface Plasmon Resonances

Surface plasmon resonances on bilayer aluminum nanowire gratings are studied in both theory and experiment. It is found that there are two kinds of surface plasmon on the bilayer metallic gating: longitudinal aluminum/dielectric/aluminum slit and lateral aluminum/dielectric interface waveguide mode. The surface plasmon waveguide mode resonance in the slits makes the grating act as a transverse magnetic (TM)-passing polarizer. With the lateral waveguide mode resonance, certain wavelengths of the incident TM light are translated to aluminum/air or aluminum/substrate waveguide light, and the grating acts as a color filter. With both resonances, the bilayer nanowire grating can be a compact-integrated polarizer and color filter.     

Surface Plasmon Coupling with Radiating Dipole for Enhancing the Emission Efficiency and Light Extraction of a Deep Ultraviolet Light Emitting Diode

Plasmonics - In this paper, we numerically investigated the emission characteristics of surface plasmon (SP)-enhanced deep ultraviolet light emitting diode (DUV-LED) by employing Al/Al2O3...     

Impact of Propagative Surface Plasmon Polaritons on the Electromagnetic Enhancement by Localized Gap Surface Plasmons Between Metallic Nanoparticles and Substrate

Plasmonics - The nanoparticle-on-mirror system as a surface-enhanced Raman scattering substrate is sufficient for single molecule detection and possesses advantages of high reproducibility and ease...     

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...     

Tunable Absorption of Light via Localized Plasmon Resonances on a Metal Surface with Interspaced Ultra-thin Metal Gratings

We studied optical reflection properties of complex metal (Ag) surfaces with close-interspaced ultra-thin metal gratings. Prominent reflection minima were observed corresponding to enhanced absorption of light. Our analysis convinced us that the period-dependent mode is ascribed to Bloch-wave-like resonances of surface plasmon waves at the overall effective metal surfaces, and the ridge-width-dependent mode to Fabry-Pérot-like resonances of localized surface plasmon waves in micro-/nanocavities defined by regions of the grating ridges. The latter resonance mode is shown highly tunable with variation of the grating ridge width. Such structures may be applied in spectrum resolvable photovoltaic devices, bio-sensing, and studying optical properties of cavity-coupled molecules or functional nanomaterials.