Fano resonances in complex plasmonic super-nanoclusters: The effect of environmental modifications on the LSPR sensitivity

In this study, gold nanodisk clusters in heptamer orientations as clusters were used to design a super-heptamer consisting of one central and six peripheral heptamers. We examined the position and movement of the plasmon and Fano resonances by sketching the spectral response of the superstructure for various nanodisk dimensions. The quality of the interference between the superradiant and subradiant plasmon resonance modes of the nanodisk clusters was found to depend strongly on the structural configuration and the refractive index of the environmental medium. We replaced the central heptamer with a nanodisk and probed the position of the Fano resonance by geometrically altering the nanodisk structure. Finally, the effect of the dielectric environment on the plasmon response of both of the studied structures was examined numerically and theoretically. The localized surface plasmon resonance sensitivity of the finite plasmonic structures to the presence of liquid substances was investigated and shown by plotting the linear figure of merit. The finite-difference time-domain method was used as a numerical tool to investigate the plasmon response of the structure.     

Ag-Al纳米球二聚体的光学性质研究

金属纳米材料因其表面等离子体共振特性而备受关注。异质结构的金属纳米材料的光学特性相比于同质结构因其材料的不同破坏了原有结构的对称性,对称性的破坏将引起光学性质的改变,相邻两个颗粒之间的相互作用会产生Fano共振。Fano共振是由异质纳米结构的表面等离子体共振耦合引起的,通过合理地调控表面等离子体共振的耦合,将进一步调控Fano共振的强度同时促使异质结构的电场增强特性和辐射特性得到进一步优化。受金银等贵金属的带间跃迁影响,金属铝纳米材料成为研究紫外-近紫外光区的表面等离子体共振研究最佳选择。采用有限时域差分方法研究了Ag-Al纳米球二聚体的光学特性。研究了Ag和Al纳米球组成的二聚体的吸收光谱与入射光偏振方向、纳米球半径、颗粒间距和介质折射率等几何结构及物理参数的关系,并深入讨论了二聚体的局域场分布规律;讨论了获取更高效的Fano共振光谱的方法。由于材料的对称性被破坏,异质二聚体的光学性质与同质二聚体明显不同,Ag-Al异质纳米球二聚体呈现出在紫外和可见光区的双Fano共振现象。Ag-Al二聚体表面等离子体互相耦合引起Fano共振从而导致表面等离子体的共振抑制和增强。研究结果对在紫外-可见光区的表面等离子体应用、纳米光学器件的设计与开发及基于表面等离子体共振的表面增强光谱、生物传感和检测研究等有一定参考价值。     

Tunable Fano resonances and plasmonic hybridization of gold triangle–rod dimer nanostructure

A gold dimer structure consisting of a notched triangle nanoslice and a rectangle nanorod is proposed to produce distinct Fano resonance. Owing to the coupling between the dipole plasmon mode of the nanorod and the dipole or quadrupole plasmon mode of the nanoslice, the extinction spectrum with a deep Fano dip is formed and can be well fitted by the Fano interference model for different geometry parameters. In addition, Fano resonance of the gold dimer nanostructure also intensely depends on the polarization direction of incident light. Moreover, Fano resonance of the triangle–rod trimer is also analyzed by adding another nanorod into the former dimer and exhibits the splitting of plasmonic resonant peak in high order coupling modes. The plasmonic hybridizations in these nanostructures have been analyzed for revealing the physical origin of the Fano resonance.     

含双挡板金属-电介质-金属波导耦合方形腔的独立调谐双重Fano共振特性

基于表面等离子激元在亚波长结构的传输特性,设计了一种含双挡板金属-电介质-金属波导耦合两个方形腔的结构.由F-P谐振腔产生的宽谱模式与两个方形谐振腔产生的两个窄谱模式发生干涉作用,形成了独立调谐的双重Fano共振,而且可以通过改变两个方形腔的大小及填充介质实现双重Fano共振的独立调谐.基于耦合模理论,定性分析了该结构产生双重Fano共振的机理.利用有限元仿真的方法,定量分析了结构参数对可独立调谐双重Fano共振和折射率传感特性的影响.结果表明,优化参数后该结构的灵敏度分别高达1020和1120 nm/RIU, FOM值分别高达3.59×10~5和1.17×10~6.该结构可为超快光开关、多功能高灵敏度传感器和慢光器件的光学集成提供有效的理论参考.     

Fano resonances in dipole-quadrupole plasmon coupling nanorod dimers

We theoretically investigate the plasmon coupling in metallic nanorod dimers. A pronounced dip is found in the extinction spectrum due to plasmonic Fano resonance, which is induced by destructive interference between the bright dipole plasmon of a short nanorod and the dark quadrupole plasmon of a long nanorod. This Fano interference can also be explained as the coupling between the bright and dark modes both supported by the whole dimer. The Fano resonance can be tuned by adjusting the spatial or spectral separation between two nanorods in the dimer.     

Fano-like resonance characteristics of asymmetric Fe_2O_3@Au core/shell nanorice dimer

A geometrical configuration of Fe2O3/Au core-shell nanorice dimer is proposed and its multipolar plasmon Fano- like resonance characteristics are theoretically investigated by generalizing the plasmon hybridization model of individual nanorice to the bright and dark modes of the nanorice dimer. Under the irradiation of polarization light, the extinction spectra of the nanorice dimer are numerically simulated by using the finite element method （FEM）. Our studies show that the Fano-like resonance of the nanorice dimer results in an asymmetric line shape of the Fano dip in the extinction spectrum which can be controlled by varying the structure parameters of the nanorice dimer. Meanwhile, there is a giant field enhancement at the gap between the two nanorices on account of the plasmonic coupling in the nanorice dimer. The aforementioned two characteristics of the nanorice dimer are useful for plasmon-induced transparency and localized surface plasmon resonance sensors.     

Wideband slow light achievement in MIM plasmonic waveguide by controlling Fano resonance

In this paper, we have investigated the characteristics of an asymmetric shaped Fano line in a metal–insulator–metal (MIM) plasmonic waveguide side coupled to two resonating stub structures. The spectral properties of Fano resonance are quite distinct due to the destructive interference between a two propagating plasmon modes. Two structural parameters are carefully adjusted: physical separation between both the resonating stubs and length of resonating stubs. By tailoring the separation between both the resonating structures, coupling between both the plasmon modes is controlled, and hence asymmetric nature of Fano line can be shaped accordingly. Resonance condition of Fano line can be tuned by scaling the length of stubs. A strong red shift in resonating wavelength with varying degree of asymmetry is observed, when length of resonating structures is increased. The sharp resonant peak, due to an asymmetric shaped Fano resonance is generally accompanied by large dispersion that results in reduction of group velocity of light near Fano resonance. By controlling the coupling between resonating stub, or by scaling the length of lower resonating stub, large value of group index (n_g = 75) and delay bandwidth product (DBP = 0.2533) is obtained. The structure can be modified to suit different applications in optical buffers, optical switches and nonlinear optics devices.     

内嵌银纳米棒圆形银缝隙结构中的法诺共振现象

应用时域有限差分算法系统地研究了内嵌银纳米棒圆形银缝隙结构的透射特性. 由于倾斜银纳米棒破坏了圆形腔原有的对称稳态磁场分布, 该系统中产生了法诺共振现象. 此外, 透射光谱强烈地依赖于纳米棒的倾斜角度和纳米棒的形貌参数. 这些结果有助于设计复合结构滤波器, 满足特定的滤波需要. 关键词： 表面等离极化激元 法诺共振 时域有限差分算法     

Enhancement of GaAs/InGaAs quantum well emission by disordered gold nanoparticle arrays

Coupling effect of surface plasmon (SP) with InGaAs/GaAs QW emission is demonstrated experimentally. The SP resonance is generated by disordered arrays of Au nanodisks on the InGaAs/GaAs QW surface. More than twofold enhancement in QW PL is observed. Theoretical simulations also indicated that the disordered arrays of Au structures enlarged the cone angle for which light can be radiated out. The larger angle enhances the PL intensity.     

D3h和D4h等离激元超分子的Fano共振光谱的 子集合分解解释

针对D_3h和D_4h对称构型金属纳米多颗粒集合即等离激元超分子表面等离激元共振光谱的子集合分解及其相对应的Fano共振光谱低谷的产生机理, 本文运用群论的方法做出了详细的分析研究. 运用与群论中求解分子简正振动模式类似的方法, 推导证实了在线偏振光入射时, D_nh环形多颗粒只有2个电偶极表面等离激元共振模式, 增加中心颗粒会使模式增加1个. 对D_3h和D_4h等离激元超分子的表面等离激元共振模式进行不可约表示基向量正交分解分析表明, Fano共振光谱低谷是由于两个起主要作用的相邻模式包含有共同的正交基向量, 并形成相消干涉而产生. 这进一步验证了Fano共振光谱低谷的起源除传统观点(即源自于宽频超辐射亮模式和窄频低辐射暗模式之间的耦合)之外的另一种解释视角.     

Tunable Fano resonances in heterogenous Al–Ag nanorod dimers

We theoretically investigate the plasmonic coupling in heterogenous Al–Ag nanorod dimers. A pronounced Fano dip is found in the extinction spectrum produced by the destructive interference between the bright dipole mode from a short Al nanorod and the dark quadrupole mode from a long Ag nanorod nearby. This Fano resonance can be widely tuned in both wavelength and amplitude by varying the rod dimensions and end geometry, the separation distance and the local dielectric environment. The Al–Ag heterogeneous nanorod dimer shows a high sensitivity to the surrounding environment with a local surface plasmon resonance figure of merit of 7.0, which enables its promising applications in plasmonic sensing and detection.     

Light transmission properties of double-overlapped annular apertures

We investigate the light transmission properties of double-overlapped annular apertures in a silver film with the three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain method. It has been found that the transmission peaks are attributed to the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of nanocavities and the surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) of the nanoparticles. The peaks of the LSPR are blueshifted when the overlapping distance is increased. Moreover, a Fano-type resonance appears in the transmitted spectral response with an appropriate overlapping distance, which is elucidated as the hybridization results of the SPPs of the nanoparticles. The number and position of the Fano resonance can be tuned through varying the overlapping distance and other geometric parameters.     

High-resolution surface plasmon resonance sensor based on linewidth-optimized nanohole array transmittance

A high spectral resolution, 2D nanohole-array-based surface plasmon resonance sensor that operates at normal or near normal incidence--facilitating high spatial resolution imaging--is presented. The angular and spectral transmittance of the structure is modified from a Fano type to a pure Lorentzian line shape with a parallel and orthogonal polarizer-analyzer pair. This change leads to a linewidth narrowing that maximizes the sensor resolution, which we show to be of O(10(-5)) refractive index units (RIU). We estimate the potential of this system of O(10(-6)) RIU under optimal conditions.     

阴极荧光在表面等离激元研究领域的应用

表面等离激元以其独特的光学性质广泛应用于纳米尺度的局域电磁场增强、超高分辨成像及微弱光电探测.阴极荧光是电子与物质相互作用而产生的光学响应,利用电子束激发金属纳米结构能够实现局域等离激元共振,并在亚波长尺度实现对共振模式的调控,具有超高空间分辨的成像特点.阴极荧光探测通常结合扫描电子显微镜或透射电子显微镜而实现,目前己被应用于表面等离激元的探测及共振模式的分析.本文从阴极荧光物理机理出发,综述了单一金属纳米结构和金属耦合结构的等离激元共振模式阴极荧光研究进展,并总结了阴极荧光与角分辨、时间分辨以及电子能量损失谱等关键技术相结合的应用,进一步分析了其面临的关键问题,最后展望了阴极荧光等离激元研究方向.     

A polarization-insensitive plasmonic SECARS substrate with multiple hot spots

A plasmonic substrate providing high, reproducible and stable Raman signals should be highly desirable for the development of surface enhanced coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy (SECARS). In this work, we theoretically present a design of SECARS substrate consisting of five different-sized gold nanodisks and investigate its enhancement properties under different excitation polarizations by using finite element method. The numerical results reveal that the pentamer supports a polarization-independent Fano-resonant scattering spectrum due to its symmetric geometrical arrangement. Multiple electromagnetic hot spots produced by the Fano resonance are overlapped spatially at three characteristic frequencies involved in SECARS process. Consequently, the theoretically estimated overall enhancement factor (EF) of SECARS nearly keeps the same order of magnitude up to ～10¹⁴ for any horizontally excitation polarizations, and the relative root mean square error of the logarithm of the overall EF (Log₁₀EF) is less than 2%. Giant and polarization-insensitive SECARS enhancements enable the pentamer structure to be promising for plasmonic substrates in SECARS as well as other enhanced nonlinear optical process.     

铝基银纳米阵列制备及其紫外-可见-近红外光吸收特性

基于阳极氧化铝模板,采用真空蒸镀技术,制备了高度有序的周期性银纳米球阵列.阵列几何结构参数调控实验发现,通过控制蒸镀厚度,可实现对阵列中银纳米球尺寸(直径)和间距的有效调控,进而有效实现对紫外-可见-近红外各波段吸收峰位和峰宽的调制.吸收光谱测试显示,该纳米阵列在紫外、可见和近红外波段都具有明显的电磁波吸收特性.时域有限差分理论模拟结合实验分析不同波段光吸收特性的物理机制,紫外超窄强吸收为银、铝介电环境非对称诱发的法诺共振,可见波段吸收源自于银纳米粒子局域表面等离子体共振,近红外波段强吸收为银纳米球阵列表面晶格共振所激发.     

X-两环结构的光学特性研究

提出了一种X-两环的金属周期性阵列结构,该结构由两个同心圆环包围中心X型构成.利用时域有限差分算法研究了该结构的光学特性.计算表明,当光入射到金属表面时,能够在结构中产生法诺共振现象,并在不同的位置下产生共振谷.同时,共振谷的出现又明显依赖于结构的相对参数(X的臂长、内外环的距离、内外环宽度、周期、环数、X所呈的角度),从而可以通过调节结构的相对参数来实现对结构的共振强度及共振谷位置的调控.另外,进一步分析了在不同环境折射率条件下该结构共振谷的变化规律,可以得出该结构也对周围的环境折射率有着较高的敏感度,最高可达1300 nm/RIU.结果表明,该结构在环境折射率传感器及某些光子器件的应用方面有着潜在的价值.     

Modulation of Fano resonances in symmetry-broken gold-SiO2-gold nanotube dimers

Fano resonances in the symmetry-broken gold-SiO2-gold(BGSG)nanotubes and the associated dimers have been investigated based on the finite element method.In the BGSG nanotube,the symmetry breaking induced the interactions of the inner gold core and outer gold nanoshell plasmons of all multipolar orders and hence the red-shifts of the plasmon resonance modes and the enhanced quadrupole mode peaks were observed.The interference of the quadrupole mode peak with the subradiant dipole mode caused a Fano-dip in the scattering spectrum.By increasing the core offset-value in the BGSG nanotube,the Fano dip with low energy showed a red-shift and became deeper.Unexpectedly the plasmon coupling between a GSG nanotube and a BGSG nanotube can lead to two strong Fano dips in the scattering spectra of the dimer.It was further noted that the thin side of the BGSG nanotube located at two sides of the dimer gap can lead to the strong near-field coupling between two BGSG nanotubes and hence a deeper and broader Fano dip.     

Double-layered nanoparticle stacks for spectro-electrochemical applications

Here we present a surface based on double-layered nanoparticle stacks suitable for spectro-electrochemical applications. The structure is formed on a continuous gold layer by a two-dimensional periodic array of stacks of gold and tantalum pentoxide nanodisks. Reflection spectra in the visible wavelength region showed the multiple-resonant nature of surface plasmon (SP) excitations in the nanostructure, which is in good agreement with simulations based on a finite-difference-time-domain method. The multiple SP resonances can be tuned to various wavelength regions, which are required for simultaneous enhancement at excitation and emission wavelengths. Cyclic voltammetry measurements on the nanostructure proved the applicability of electrochemical methods involving interfacial redox processes.