ترغب بنشر مسار تعليمي؟ اضغط هنا

Intrinsic Optical Properties and Enhanced Plasmonic Response of Epitaxial Silver

161   0   0.0 ( 0 )
 نشر من قبل Yanwen Wu
 تاريخ النشر 2013
  مجال البحث فيزياء
والبحث باللغة English




اسأل ChatGPT حول البحث

Plasmonics offers an enticing platform to manipulate light at the subwavelength scale. Currently, loss represents the most serious challenge impeding its progress and broad impact towards practical technology. In this regard, silver (Ag) is by far the preferred plasmonic material at optical frequencies, having the lowest loss among all metals in this frequency range. However, large discrepancies exist among widely quoted values of optical loss in Ag due to variations in sample preparation procedures that produce uncontrollable grain boundaries and defects associated with additional loss. A natural question arises: what are the intrinsic fundamental optical properties of Ag and its ultimate possibilities in the field of plasmonics? Using atomically-smooth epitaxial Ag films, we extracted new optical constants that reflect significantly reduced loss and measured greatly enhanced propagation distance of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) beyond what was previously considered possible. By establishing a new benchmark in the ultimate optical properties of Ag, these results will have a broad impact for metamaterials and plasmonic applications.



قيم البحث

اقرأ أيضاً

We present a study of the optical response of compact and hollow icosahedral clusters containing up to 868 silver atoms by means of time-dependent density functional theory. We have studied the dependence on size and morphology of both the sharp plas monic resonance at 3-4 eV (originated mainly from $sp$-electrons), and the less studied broader feature appearing in the 6-7 eV range (interband transitions). An analysis of the effect of structural relaxations, as well as the choice of exchange correlation functional (local density versus generalized gradient approximations) both in the ground state and optical response calculations is also presented. We have further analysed the role of the different atom layers (surface versus inner layers) and the different orbital symmetries on the absorption cross-section for energies up to 8 eV. We have also studied the dependence on the number of atom layers in hollow structures. Shells formed by a single layer of atoms show a pronounced red shift of the main plasmon resonances that, however, rapidly converge to those of the compact structures as the number of layers is increased. The methods used to obtain these results are also carefully discussed. Our methodology is based on the use of localized basis (atomic orbitals, and atom-centered- and dominant- product functions), which bring several computational advantages related to their relatively small size and the sparsity of the resulting matrices. Furthermore, the use of basis sets of atomic orbitals also brings the possibility to extend some of the standard population analysis tools (e.g., Mulliken population analysis) to the realm of optical excitations. Some examples of these analyses are described in the present work.
We present an analytical model describing complex dynamics of a hybrid nonlinear system consisting of interacting carbon nanotubes (CNT) and a plasmonic metamaterial. Our model is based on the set of coupled equations, which incorporates well-establi shed density matrix formalism appropriate for quantum systems (CNT are described as a two level system) and harmonic-oscillator approach ideal for modelling sub-wavelength plasmonic and optical resonators. We show that the saturation nonlinearity of CNT increases multifold in the resonantly enhanced near field of a metamaterial. In the framework of our model, we discuss the effect of inhomogeneity of the CNT layer (band gap value distribution) on the nonlinearity enhancement. It is shown, that the Purcell effect is indistinguishable from the field enhancement and is described by the same phenomenological constant.
Transition metal oxide thin films show versatile electrical, magnetic, and thermal properties which can be tailored by deliberately introducing macroscopic grain boundaries via polycrystalline solids. In this study, we focus on the modification of th e magnetic and thermal transport properties by fabricating single- and polycrystalline epitaxial SrRuO3 thin films using pulsed laser epitaxy. Using epitaxial stabilization technique with atomically flat polycrystalline SrTiO3 substrate, epitaxial polycrystalline SrRuO3 thin film with crystalline quality of each grain comparable to that of single-crystalline counterpart is realized. In particular, alleviated compressive strain near the grain boundaries due to coalescence is evidenced structurally, which induced enhancement of ferromagnetic ordering of the polycrystalline epitaxial thin film. The structural variations associated with the grain boundaries further reduce the thermal conductivity without deteriorating the electronic transport, and lead to enhanced thermoelectric efficiency in the epitaxial polycrystalline thin films, compared with their single-crystalline counterpart.
Recently, studies have been carried out on attempts to combine surface-enhanced Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) substrates that can be based on either localized surface plasmon (LSP) or surface plasmon polaritons (SPP) structures. By combi ning these two systems, the drawbacks of each other can be solved. However, the manufacturing methods involved so far are sophisticated, labor-intensive, expensive, and also technically demanding. We propose a facile method for the fabrication of a flexible plasmonic nanoslit SERS sensor. We utilized the pattern on periodic optical disks (DVD-R) as a cheap substitute for printing the periodic pattern on PDMS with soft imprint lithography. Ag nanoslit (AgNS) was fabricated by serial bideposition using a dynamic oblique angle deposition (DOD) technique. The nanoslit structures were physically and optically characterized, and the experimental results were compared to the numerical simulation studies; Monte Carlo and the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulation. The Ag nanoslit structure showed an excellent SERS enhancement, and its biosensing capability was demonstrated by the sensing of bilirubin.
Silver, especially in the form of nanostructures, is widely employed as an antimicrobial agent in a large range of commercial products. The origin of the biocidal mechanism has been elucidated in the last decades, and most likely originates from silv er cation release due to oxidative dissolution followed by cellular uptake of silver ions, a process that causes a severe disruption of bacterial metabolism and eventually leads to eradication. Despite the large number of works dealing with the effects of nanosilver shape/size on the antibacterial mechanism and on the (bio)physical chemistry pathways that drive bacterial eradication, little effort has been devoted to the investigation of the silver NPs plasmon response upon interaction with bacteria. Here we present a detailed investigation of the bacteria-induced changes of the plasmon spectral and dynamical features after exposure to one of the most studied bacterial models, Escherichia Coli. Ultrafast pump-probe measurements indicate that the dramatic changes on particle size/shape and crystallinity, which stem from a bacteria-induced oxidative dissolution process, translate into a clear modification of the plasmon spectral and dynamical features. This study may open innovative new avenues in the field of biophysics of bio-responsive materials, with the aim of providing new and reliable biophysical signatures of the interaction of these materials with complex biological environments.
التعليقات
جاري جلب التعليقات جاري جلب التعليقات
سجل دخول لتتمكن من متابعة معايير البحث التي قمت باختيارها
mircosoft-partner

هل ترغب بارسال اشعارات عن اخر التحديثات في شمرا-اكاديميا