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At least 865 records · Page 48

Topological Nanocolloids with Facile Electric Switching of Plasmonic Properties

Combining topology and plasmonics paradigms in nanocolloidal systems may enable new means of pre-engineering desired composite material properties. Here we design and realize orientationally ordered assemblies of noble metal nanoparticles with genus-one topology and unusual long-range ordering mediated by their interactions with the surrounding nematic fluid host. Facile electric switching of these composites is reminiscent of that of pristine liquid crystals (LCs), but provides a means of reconfiguring the nanoparticle assembly and thus also the ensuing composite medium's optical properties. Our findings may lead to formation of new molecular-colloidal soft matter phases with unusual optical properties, as well as optical metamaterials.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Coupled surface plasmon–phonon polariton nanocavity arrays for enhanced mid-infrared absorption

Abstract Resonant optical cavities are essential components in mid-infrared applications. However, typical film-type cavities require multilayer stacks with a micron-thick spacer due to mid-infrared wavelengths, and their performance is limited by narrow frequency tunability and angular sensitivity. We propose and experimentally demonstrate the subwavelength-scale (≈ λ 0 /150) resonant nanocavity arrays that enhance the absorption spectrum of the device in the mid-infrared (10–12 microns) via excitation of coupled surface plasmon–phonon polaritons. The proposed metal–insulator–polar dielectric (gold–silicon–silicon carbide) structure supports a guided mode of the coupled surface polaritons in the lateral direction while vertically confining the mid-infrared wave within the 80 nm thick dielectric spacer. In particular, the subwavelength-scale (≈ λ 0 /10) gratings are imposed to form Fabry–Pérot cavity arrays displaying angle-insensitive and frequency-tunable absorption of up to 80% of the optical power in the mid-infrared. Our work should benefit diverse mid-infrared applications and novel designs of polariton-based photonic devices.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Plasmonic surface lattice resonances in nanoparticle arrays

This work reviews the literature and provides a detailed computational analysis of the optical properties of one- and two-dimensional arrays of silver and gold nanoparticles, with emphasis on surface lattice resonances (SLRs) that arise when localized plasmon resonances (LSPRs) in the nanoparticles couple to diffraction resonances that are determined by the interparticle spacing to give polariton modes in which the two types of excitations are coherently coupled. The computations are based on the coupled dipole approximation, which provides a nearly quantitative description of the extinction spectra for arrays of this type where the particles are well separated and not too large. The computations are used to determine many characteristics of SLRs associated with the lower polariton mode that is mostly photonic in nature, and we also study the upper polariton that is dominated by the LSPR response, as well as Rayleigh anomalies (RAs) that correspond to purely diffractive excitation. The calculations explore the sensitivity of these excitations to the directions of the incident wave and polarization vectors relative to the array axis, the effect of array spacing and number of particles in the array, and the effect of nanoparticle radius and background refractive indices. Details of the physical mechanisms involved in determining blue- and/or redshifts as structural parameters are varied is provided, with SLR’s being sensitive to far-field coupling, while LSPR’s can also be sensitive to near- and intermediatefield interactions that in some cases are similar to effects found in dye molecule aggregates.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗

Symposium NM09: Novel Approaches and Material Platforms for Plasmonics and Metamaterials

The goal of this symposium was to present through a series of invited lectures from world-leading experts in the field, an overview of the current state-of-the-art in nanophotonics over a broad swath of topics, ranging from metal-based plasmonics to dielectric species. It was focused on investigations into novel resonator designs and into alternative materials. Over the 10 years it has been held, this symposium has provided an excellent education forum to participating students and postdocs through the direct interaction with world-renowned researchers, the opportunity to present their research results in both poster and oral form, the full-day tutorial session before the conference, and in listening to the results of other research groups. DOE funding provided need-based travel support to students and invited speakers who had financial difficulties in participating in the MRS meeting. The organizers made every effort to publicize the available support and were strongly committed to encourage participation from under-represented groups including women and minorities. The organizers are grateful to DOE for its support.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Multifunctional hybrid Fe 2 O 3 -Au nanoparticles for efficient plasmonic heating

We describe the synthesis and properties of multifunctional Fe 2 O 3 -Au nanoparticles produced by a wet chemical approach and investigate their photothermal properties using laser irradiation. Here, the composite Fe 2 O 3 -Au nanoparticles retain the properties of both materials, creating a multifunctional structure with excellent magnetic and plasmonic properties.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗

Electronically Tunable Color Filter with Surface Plasmon Waves

Last year, I had reported a novel phenomenon of voltage-induced color-selective absorption with surface plasmons (Appl. Phys. Lett. 67, 2749)...A prototype ( of a tunable notch filter) has been built using liquid crystal as the EO material.

Surface↗

Surface Plasmon Tunable Color Filter and Projection Display

A novel projection display, based on a new phenomenon of voltage-induced color-selective absorption with surface plasmons, are able to generate bright image on a large screen with high efficiency. In addition, neither color filters or nor phosphors are needed to generate the color.

surface↗

Surface Plasmon Tunable Color Filter and Projection Display

A novel projection display, based on a new phenomenon of voltage-induced color-selective absorption with surface plasmons, are able to generate bright image on a large screen with high efficiency. In addition, neither color filters nor phosphors are needed to generate the color. With the incident beam of ±7° half cone angle, the color purity of this device can be as good as the CRT displays, and the contrast ratio can reach over 200:1.

projection↗

Spoof Plasmon Polaritons for NDE Applications an Experimental Demonstration

NASA is exploring the use of microwave spoof plasmon polaritons to detect defects in metallic structures. This work investigates the detection of simulated defects in the form of aluminum wires as small as 1.6 mm diameter and 2mm long that are placed in a grooved aluminum test article. The inclusions simulate manufacturing defects, and the sum of the delta impedance is shown to increase with increasing volume of added metal. A threshold value of 50Ω has been proposed for defect detection. In addition to detecting defects, the technique also estimates the volume of the defect.

Microwave↗

Spoof Plasmon Sensing for NDE Application

NASA is exploring the use of microwave spoof plasmon polaritons to detect defects in metallic structures. This work investigates the detection of simulated defects in the form of aluminum wires as small as 1.6 mm diameter and 2 mm long that are placed in a grooved aluminum test article. The inclusions simulate manufacturing defects, and the sum of the delta impedance is shown to increase with increasing volume of added metal. Based on the results, a threshold value of 50Ω has been proposed for defect detection. In addition to detecting defects, the technique also estimates the volume of the defect.

Microwave↗

Defect Detection in ISC Cylinder Using Spoof Plasmon Polaritons

NASA is exploring the use of microwave spoof plasmon polaritons to detect defects in integrally stiffened cylinders. This work investigates the detection of simulated defects in the form of aluminum wires as small as 10 mm long and 3.1 mm diameter that are placed in between stiffeners of an ISC. The wires simulate manufacturing inclusions defects, and the sum of the delta impedance is shown to increase with increasing volume of added metal.

spoof↗

Penta-Twinned Copper Nanorods: Facile Synthesis via Seed-Mediated Growth and Their Tunable Plasmonic Properties

When seed-mediated growth is used as a versatile approach to the synthesis of penta-twinned Cu nanorods with uniform diameters and controllable aspect ratios is reported. The success of this approach relies on our recent synthesis of uniform Pd decahedra, with sizes in the range of 6–20 nm. The Pd decahedral seeds can direct the heterogeneous nucleation and growth of Cu along the fivefold axis to produce nanorods with uniform diameters defined by the lateral dimension of the original seeds. Due to a large mismatch in the lattice constants between Cu and Pd (7.1%), the deposited Cu is forced to grow along one side of the Pd decahedral seed, generating a nanorod with an asymmetric distribution of Cu, with the Pd seed situated at one of the two ends. According to extinction spectra, the as-obtained Cu nanorods can be stored in water under the ambient conditions for at least six months without noticeable degradation. The resulting stability allows us to systematically investigate the size-dependent surface plasmon resonance properties of the penta-twinned Cu nanorods. With the nanorod transverse modes positioned at 560 nm, the longitudinal modes can be readily tuned from the visible to the near-infrared region by controlling the aspect ratio.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Fine golden rings: Tunable surface plasmon resonance from assembled nanorods in topological defects of liquid crystals

Unprecedented, reversible, and dynamic control over an assembly of gold nanorods dispersed in liquid crystals (LC) is demonstrated. The LC director field is dynamically tuned at the nanoscale using microscale ring confinement through the interplay of elastic energy at different temperatures, thus fine-tuning its core replacement energy to reversibly sequester nanoscale inclusions at the microscale. As a result, this leads to shifts of 100 nm or more in the surface plasmon resonance peak, an order of magnitude greater than any previous work with AuNR composites.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Millivolt Modulation of Plasmonic Metasurface Optical Response via Ionic Conductance

A plasmonic metasurface with an electrically tunable optical response that operates at strikingly low modulation voltages is experimentally demonstrated. The fabricated metasurface shows up to 30% relative change in reflectance in the visible spectral range upon application of 5 mV and 78% absolute change in reflectance upon application of 100 mV of bias. The designed metasurface consists of nanostructured silver and indium tin oxide (ITO) electrodes which are separated by 5 nm thick alumina. The millivolt-scale optical modulation is attributed to a new modulation mechanism, in which transport of silver ions through alumina dielectric leads to bias-induced nucleation and growth of silver nanoparticles in the ITO counter-electrode, altering the optical extinction response. This transport mechanism, which occurs at applied electric fields of 1 mV nm -1 , provides a new approach to use of ionic transport for electrical control over light–matter interactions.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Robustness of Optical Response for Self-Assembled Plasmonic Metamaterials with Morphological Disorder and Surface Roughness

Bottom-up fabrication of metallized biotemplated nanostructures to form specific plasmonic nanoresonators holds promise as a means of achieving large-scale optical metamaterials. However, in contrast to top-down methods, the stochastic growth of self-assembled nanoresonators is prone to significant disorder and surface roughness, which naturally raise an important question about the robustness of their resonant properties in terms of structural imperfections. An aggregated-random-sphere model is developed to mimic the nucleated growth of metallized DNA origami assembly, leading to meta-atoms with realistic, experimentally observed morphological disorder and surface roughness. Using the well-known split-ring-resonator (SRR) motif as an example, the resonant properties of meta-atoms under different levels of roughness are investigated and a strong tolerance of optical response against morphological disorder is revealed. It is found that in SRRs, even with dramatic roughness introduced, the expected resonances are still observed, despite broadening line shapes compared to ideal smooth structure. Only for extreme disorder, which causes drastic segmentation of SRRs, does the resonant response disappear. Finally, the demonstrations are very encouraging for the prospects of bottom-up fabrication toward versatile functional metamaterials and metadevices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Retarded Charge-Carrier Recombination in Photoelectrochemical Cells from Plasmon-Induced Resonance Energy Transfer

N-type metal oxides such as hematite (α-Fe 2 O 3 ) and bismuth vanadate (BiVO 4 ) are promising candidate materials for efficient photoelectrochemical water splitting; however, their short minority carrier diffusion length and restricted carrier lifetime result in undesired rapid charge recombination. In this paper, a 2D arranged globular Au nanosphere (NS) monolayer array with a highly ordered hexagonal hole pattern (hereafter, Au array) is introduced onto the surface of photoanodes comprised of metal oxide films via a facile drying and transfer-printing process. Through plasmon-induced resonance energy transfer, the Au array provides a strong electromagnetic field in the near-surface area of the metal oxide film. The near-field coupling interaction and amplification of the electromagnetic field suppress the charge recombination with long-lived photogenerated holes and simultaneously enhance the light harvesting and charge transfer efficiencies. Consequently, an over 3.3-fold higher photocurrent density at 1.23 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) is achieved for the Au array/α-Fe 2 O 3 . Furthermore, the high versatility of this transfer printing of Au arrays is demonstrated by introducing it on the molybdenum-doped BiVO 4 film, resulting in 1.5-fold higher photocurrent density at 1.23 V versus RHE. The tailored metal film design can provide a potential strategy for the versatile application in various light-mediated energy conversion and optoelectronic devices.

2D pattern array↗