Plasmon nanoruler for monitoring of transient interactions

Nanoplasmonics has been rapidly developing for the last 30 years and it finds applications in many areas, including medicine, biology, and chemistry. Plasmon nanoparticles are used in biosensing and genomics, for bioimaging of cell structures, for targeted delivery of drugs and photothermolysis of cancer cells. All these applications often require real‐time detection of nanoparticle position at the nanoscale making this problem highly relevant. We propose new far‐field method of real‐time detection of plasmon particles location by detecting the magnitude of localized surface plasmon resonance splitting. In contrast to the existing methods based on the shift of plasmon resonance central line, the suggested technique is sensitive to the surface, and allows detecting metal nanoparticle position relatively to internal interfaces such as cell walls or chemical phase boundaries. The presented numerical simulations are aimed on modelling of biological tissues environment and demonstrate the possibility of high accuracy detection of nanoparticle position. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

A theory of plasmon exciton coupling in insulators

A formalism is proposed to evaluate the coupling constant of excitons to longitudinal polarization waves in insulators. Coupling constant is proportional to the normalization factor of longitudinal excitation state wave function and is enhanced for plasmon more than that expected from oscillator strength. The result seems to explain plasmon replicas observed recently.     

Soft plasmon theory of the new high-temperature superconductors

The newly-discovered high-temperature superconductors are close to, but on the metallic side of, a Mott metal — insulator transition. The incipient Mott transition manifests itself as a tendency towards a charge density wave instability, characterized by wave vectors appropriate for Fermi-surface nesting. In La₂CuO₄, this charge-density wave is commensurate with the lattice, and leads to a structural transition to a non-metallic state. We show that in the new superconducting materials, this incipient instability causes a drastic softening of the plasmon modes at these wave vectors. Indeed, there is some experimental evidence for such soft plasmons in these materials. Although these modes have a much lower frequency than ordinary plasmons, it is still much higher than the Debye-cut-off phonon frequency. They are strongly coupled to the conduction electrons, and induce an electron - electron attraction in a way analogous to phonons. Moreover, the soft-plasmon wave vectors are automatically those required for Cooper pairing, since they connect points on the Fermi surface. The Debye-energy prefactor in the BCS expression for the transition temperature is replaced by the considerably larger plasmon energy. Furthermore the strength of the interaction will ensure that the exponential factor is not too small. Note that this mechanism will lead to zero isotope effect. We suggest that the Ba or La f-orbitals play an important role in softening these plasma modes and strengthening the electron - plasmon coupling. This would explain why the presence of Ba or La seems to be favourable for high-temperature superconductivity.     

Density effect and plasmon bremsstrahlung in the theory of plasmon excitation by large-angle scattered electrons

Experiments on plasmon excitation by electrons which scatter at large angles constitute one of the basic sources of information on plasmon in solids. These experiments provide spectra especially rich in detail, of electrons backscattered from targets having a comparatively perfect structure. Besides, these are the only experiments that are possible at low energies of incident electrons when no shooting of thin films can take place. In such experiments the lattice must absolutely be involved in the process of electron backscattering, since the plasmon cannot appreciably affect the direction of motion of electrons. However, the lattice not only causes the appearance of backscattered electrons, but can also affect the very process of plasmon excitation. In the present paper a theoretical treatment is given of the influence which the lattice exerts on the process of plasmon generation. This influence is displayed through two effects: the bremsstrahlung of plasmons and the density effect. These effects are due to the processes of either the plasmon emission beginning before the termination of the electron-lattice collision or the electron-lattice collision beginning before the termination of electron-plasmon collision event and to the interference of these processes. The most important result of the theory developed in the paper is that these effects lead to the broadening of the plasmon resonance line, which is of the same, or even greater, order of magnitude than that due to the traditional mechanisms.     

Pseudopotential theory of thek-dependent plasmon line width in simple metals

The nearly free electron pseudopotential theory is used to calculate thek-dependent plasmon linewidth that results from the decay of plasmons via interband transitions. The theory predicts the linewidth to be anisotropic in crystalline systems fork 0. Local field effects are included, but are found to give very small contribution. A detailed analysis of the behaviour of the linewidth of Al is given and very good agreement with recent experimental data is obtained.     

基于含时密度泛函理论的表面等离激元研究进展

纳米粒子的局域表面等离激元(LSP)由于其新颖的光学特性成为目前国内外研究的热点之一. 本文利用含时密度泛函理论(TDDFT)对金属团簇及石墨烯纳米结构中的等离激元激发及调制的物理本质进行了研究. 和宏观大小的材料相比, 由于纳米结构的尺寸和量子受限效应, 纳米结构的等离激元具有一些不同的特征. 在低能共振区, 光谱线发生展宽, 并且发生劈裂. 由于纳米单体间的电磁耦合作用, 使聚合的纳米结构表现出了与单体不同的光学性质. 这些结果为等离激元的调控提供了坚实的理论指导.     

Semianalytical theory of focusing synchrotron radiation by an arbitrary system of parabolic refracting lenses and the problem of nano-focusing

It has been shown that an arbitrary system of parabolic refracting lenses does not change the shape of the Gaussian wave function of a synchrotron radiation beam. Only three parameters of the wave function change, for which the recurrent formulas are derived. These formulas allow one to perform quickly and accurately the calculation of optical properties of an arbitrary system of lenses. The parameters of the radiation beam calculated by the developed method have been compared to the results of the theory of continuously refracting lens. It has been shown that both approaches give surprisingly close values. The problem of focusing the beam to a nanometer size is discussed. A two-lens system has been proposed, which can provide a five-fold increase in the number of photons inside the focus, although we failed to decrease the beam size.     

Semianalytical solution of the problem of converging shock waves

An approach to the determination of the self-similarity parameter in the problem of converging strong shock waves is suggested. This approach allows one to obtain analytical expressions that approximate the numerical solution. For adiabatic constants gamma = 6/5-7, the values of the obtained self-similarity parameter differ by <1% from the values determined by the numerical procedure. In addition, accurate analytical characteristics of the reflected shock wave are obtained.     

Pseudopotential theory of the width of the long wavelength plasmon in simple metals

The full width at half maximum (FWHM) of long wave-length plasmons in simple metals is derived in a form convenient for application. The line width is a measure of the strength of the pseudopotential, and very good agreement with recent experimental measurements is found for a representative set of nearly-free-electron (NFE) metals. The dispersion of the FWHM is also discussed.     

A time-dependent density functional theory investigation of plasmon resonances of linear Au atomic chains

We report theoretical studies on the plasmon resonances in linear Au atomic chains by using ab initio time-dependent density functional theory. The dipole responses are investigated each as a function of chain length. They converge into a single resonance in the longitudinal mode but split into two transverse modes. As the chain length increases, the longitudinal plasmon mode is redshifted in energy while the transverse modes shift in the opposite direction (blueshifts). In addition, the energy gap between the two transverse modes reduces with chain length increasing. We find that there are unique characteristics, different from those of other metallic chains. These characteristics are crucial to atomic-scale engineering of single-molecule sensing, optical spectroscopy, and so on.     

Semianalytical calculation of the Rouse dynamics of randomly branched polymers

We present a semianalytical approach to the determination of the dynamic properties of randomly branched polymers under the Rouse approximation. The principal procedure is based on examining an eigenvalue spectrum which represents the average dynamic behavior of various structures. The calculated spectra show that the eigenvalue distribution is random even within a single structure, which in turn produces a continuous spectrum of values for the entire class. The autocorrelation function for the square of the radius of gyration was calculated based on these spectra, which confirms that the dynamics are nonexponential as earlier reported. A universal stretched exponent is also found in this study.     

Ultrasensitive nanosensors based on localized surface plasmon resonances:From theory to applications

The subwavelength confinement feature of localized surface plasmon resonance(LSPR) allows plasmonic nanostructures to be functionalized as powerful platforms for detecting various molecular analytes as well as weak processes with nanoscale spatial resolution. One of the main goals of this field of research is to lower the absolute limit-of-detection(LOD)of LSPR-based sensors. This involves the improvement of(i) the figure-of-merit associated with structural parameters such as the size, shape and interparticle arrangement and,(ii) the spectral resolution. The latter involves advanced target identification and noise reduction techniques. By highlighting the strategies for improving the LOD, this review introduces the fundamental principles and recent progress of LSPR sensing based on different schemes including 1) refractometric sensing realized by observing target-induced refractive index changes, 2) plasmon rulers based on target-induced relative displacement of coupled plasmonic structures, 3) other relevant LSPR-based sensing schemes including chiral plasmonics,nanoparticle growth, and optomechanics. The ultimate LOD and the future trends of these LSPR-based sensing are also discussed.     

Semianalytical analysis of thermal effect in LD double-side-pumped rectangular laser crystal

A semianalytical method to analyze the thermal effect in a LD double-side-pumped rectangular laser crystal is put forward. Through the analysis of working characteristics of the laser crystal, a thermal model that matches actual situations of the laser crystal is established. General expressions of temperature field and thermal distortion field in the laser crystal can be obtained by a novel method to solve the heat conduction equation of orthotropic material. This semianalytical method can be used to calculate the temperature field and thermal distortion field in other LD double-side-pumped laser crystals and is applied to Nd:YVO₄ crystal in detail in this paper, and two methods of effectively reducing thermal distortion in the laser crystal are offered. Results show that a maximum temperature rise of 362.2 °C and a maximum thermal distortion of 5.55 μm are obtained in Nd:YVO₄ crystal when the output power of the two laser diodes are both 30 W. When the off-center distance is 0.6 mm, the maximum thermal distortion is reduced by 37.7%; when the thickness of the crystal is reduced from 2.0 mm to 1.4 mm, the maximum thermal distortion is reduced by 31.7%. Results in this paper can offer theoretical base for better solving thermal problems in laser system.     

Semianalytical thermal analysis of rectangle Nd:GGG in heat capacity laser

Based on the theory of anisotropy semianalytical thermal analysis, the temperature field of rectangle Nd:GGG heat capacity laser crystal is investigated. Through an analysis of the working characteristics of the heat capacity laser crystal, a thermal model of heat capacity laser crystal is established. Using a new method for the anisotropic medium heat conduction equation, a temperature field expression of rectangle Nd:GGG heat capacity laser crystal for pumping stage and cooling stage is obtained, respectively. These results show that when using the output power of 300 W LD end-pumped rectangle Nd:GGG crystal for 10 seconds, the maximum temperature rise in the center of the pump face is 180.18°C, and after stopping pumping for 100 seconds, the maximum temperature rise drops to 0.74%. These results from this work provide a theoretical basis for the optimized design of a LD end-pumped heat capacity laser.     

Semianalytical approach to short-wavelength dispersion and modal properties of photonic crystal fibers

Photonic crystal fibers made from arbitrary base materials are considered, and a unified semianalytical approach for the dispersion and modal properties is derived that applies to the short-wavelength regime. In particular, the dispersion and the effective index are calculated and compared with fully vectorial plane-wave simulations, and excellent agreement is found. Asymptotic results for the mode-field diameter and the V parameter are also calculated, and from the latter it is predicted that the fibers are endlessly single mode for a normalized airhole diameter smaller than 0.42, independently of the base material.     

Spoof plasmon hybridization

Plasmon hybridization between closely spaced nanoparticles yields new hybrid modes not found in individual constituents, allowing for the engineering of resonance properties as well as field enhancement capabilities of metallic nanostructure. Experimental verifications of plasmon hybridization have been thus far mostly limited to optical frequencies, as metals cannot support surface plasmons at longer wavelengths. Here, we introduce the concept of ‘spoof plasmon hybridization’ in highly conductive metal structures and investigate experimentally the interaction of localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPR) in adjacent metal disks corrugated with subwavelength spiral patterns. We show that the hybridization results in the splitting of spoof plasmon modes into bonding and antibonding resonances analogous to the molecular orbital rule and plasmonic hybridization in optical spectrum. These hybrid modes can be manipulated to produce enormous field enhancement (>5000) by tuning the separation between disks or alternatively, the disk size, which effectively changes the relative gap size. The impact of the radiation loss is considered to find out the optimum disk size that maximizes field enhancement capabilities. Our investigation not only extends the range of applicability of the hybridization model, but also provides insightful guidance to exporting the exciting applications associated with plasmon hybridization to lower spectral range.

     

Theory of the intersurfacedband plasmon

The dispersion relation of the intersurfacedband plasmon, i.e., collective excitation of the surface electrons of the clean or adsorbed surfaces, is investigated by the self-consistent field approach. The dispersion is predicted to start with the linear term in the wave number parallel to the surface, which will be helpful to distinguish the plasmon from the individual excitations. The sign of the dispersion and the depolarization shift depend on the polarization of the interband transition. The contribution of the plasmon to the electron energy loss cross section is given.