Detecting molecular vibrational modes of side chains and endpoints in nanoscale proteins with graphene plasmon

Monitoring the chemical and structural changes in protein side chains and endpoints by infrared(IR)spectroscopy is important for studying the chemical reaction and physical adsorption process of proteins.However, the detection of side chains and endpoints in nanoscale proteins is still challenging due to its weak IR response. Here, by designing a double layered graphene plasmon sensor on MgF_2/Si substrate in the IR fingerprint region, we detect the vibrational modes in side chains and endpoints(1397 cm~(-1) and 1458 cm~(-1)) of monolayer protein. The sensor could be applied on biochemistry to investigate the physical and chemical reaction of biomolecules.     

Ultra-compact graphene plasmonic filter integrated in a waveguide

Graphene plasmons have become promising candidates for deep-subwavelength nanoscale optical devices due to their strong field confinement and low damping. Among these nanoscale optical devices, band-pass filter for wavelength selection and noise filtering are key devices in an integrated optical circuit. However, plasmonic filters are still oversized because large resonant cavities are needed to perform frequency selection. Here, an ultra-compact filter integrated in a graphene plasmonic waveguide was designed, where a rectangular resonant cavity is inside a graphene nanoribbon waveguide. The properties of the filter were studied using the finite-difference time-domain method and demonstrated using the analytical model. The results demonstrate the band-pass filter has a high quality factor(20.36) and electrically tunable frequency response. The working frequency of the filter could also be tuned by modifying the cavity size. Our work provides a feasible structure for a graphene plasmonic nano-filter for future use in integrated optical circuits.     

石墨烯等离激元增强红外光谱

红外光谱能够精准反映分子振动的信息,是表征材料成分和结构的重要手段.但是纳米尺度材料与微米尺度红外光波长之间约三个数量级的尺寸失配导致两者之间相互作用十分微弱,无法直接进行红外光谱表征.因此如何获得微量纳米材料的红外光谱信息成为了近年来红外光谱领域面临的关键挑战.等离激元能够将光场压缩实现局域光场增强,从而增强光与物质的相互作用.其中石墨烯等离激元因其具有高光场压缩、电学动态可调和低本征衰减等优点,为表面增强红外光谱提供了重要的解决方案.本文首先从不同材料体系出发介绍了红外等离激元,在此基础上从石墨烯的基本性质出发总结石墨烯等离激元及其在表面增强红外光谱上的优势,并重点介绍了石墨烯等离激元增强红外光谱的最新进展和应用,包括单分子层生物化学探测、气体识别和折射率传感等.最后对石墨烯等离激元增强红外光谱的下一步发展方向和应用前景进行了展望.