A visible-near infrared tunable waveguide based on plasmonic gold nanoshell

A tunable plasmonic waveguide via gold nanoshells immerged in a silica base is proposed and simulated by using the finite difference time-domain （FDTD） method. For waveguides based on near-field coupling, transmission frequencies can be tuned in a wide region from 660 to 900 nm in wavelength by varying shell thicknesses. After exploring the steady distributions of electric fields in these waveguides, we find that their decay lengths are about 5.948-12.83 dB/1000 nm, which is superior to the decay length （8.947 dB/1000 nm） of a gold nanosphere plasmonic waveguide. These excellent tunability and transmittability are mainly due to the unique hollow structure. These gold nanoshell waveguides should be fabricated in laboratory.     

亚波长尺度下混合等离子泄漏模式激光

由于光存在衍射极限,因此传统方法不能实现亚波长尺度下的激光激射.为了打破这一衍射极限,本文设计了金属-介电层-半导体堆叠结构来实现深亚波长尺度下的激光激射,并讨论了相关结构对模式传播的影响.结构设计上,采用低介电常数金属银作为衬底、10?nm厚的LiF作为介电层、具有六边形截面的半导体纳米线ZnO作为高介电常数层,采用...     

Low-threshold ZnO random lasing in a homojunction diode with embedded double heterostructure

An electrically pumped random laser diode was fabricated with a MgZnO/ZnO/MgZnO double heterostructure embedded in a ZnO pn junction. Gain can be achieved at very low-threshold current owing to exciton processes. Light closed loops are formed by random multiple scattering on vertical column boundaries in the thin film. The tilted and rough mesa edge planes serve as refraction mirrors, giving rise to surface emission.     

基于银纳米链的马赫-曾德干涉仪结构的生物传感器

优化了一种基于表面等离激元银纳米链的马赫-曾德干涉式传感结构.该结构由参考臂、传感臂及纳米线波导构成.纳米线波导由银纳米线包裹一定厚度的硅来构成.引入两条银纳米链分别作为马赫-曾德干涉仪的参考臂和传感臂,并研究所设计结构的传输特性,通过降低传输损耗以提高所设计结构的精确度与灵敏度.相比于两条完全相同的银纳米线作为参考臂和传感臂的情况,在参考臂和传感臂改为银纳米链后,传输特性有明显提高,单位长度损耗明显降低.这是由于银纳米链中的单元结构之间的长程/库仑相互作用增强了结构中的电磁场,进而降低了传输损耗.将两条银纳米链的晶格常数设置为不同的情况,研究发现,在特定的银包硅纳米线的宽度与某些占空比下,含有非对称的银纳米链结构的单位传输损耗小于含有对称的银纳米链结构.由此可以知道,具有小损耗的银纳米颗粒链可以弥补大损耗的银纳米颗粒链的传输损失.利用这个特点,进一步优化设计结构,将一侧银纳米链改为纳米线.改变另一侧银纳米链的晶格常数与占空比,可以发现大多数情况下,这类结构传输特性优于含有两条银纳米链以及含有两条银纳米线的结构.本文的设计结构可以大幅减小传统的马赫-曾德干涉仪的传输损耗,且在结构的制备...     

Low-threshold lasing in stimulated Raman lasers with nanosecond pumping

We have studied the conditions resulting in maximum lowering of the excitation threshold for pulsed stimulated Raman (SRS) lasers. It has been shown theoretically that in order to achieve the lowest possible values of laser radiation pulse energy needed to excite lasing in SRS lasers, we need high reflection of the cavity mirrors and low losses at the wavelength of the 1st Stokes component, high reflection of the output mirror at the wavelength of the pump radiation, and also matching of the confocal parameters for the exciting laser radiation and the cavity with each other and with the length of the Raman-active medium. The experimentally achieved excitation threshold for an SRS laser based on a barium nitrate crystal was 6 μJ, which quantitatively corresponds well to the calculation results. Lasing of up to five Stokes components simultaneously occurred. The efficiency for conversion of the laser radiation to one component was as high as 39%. __________ Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 75, No. 2, pp. 284–290, March–April, 2008.     

Low-threshold lasing of a Rhodamine dye solution embedded with nanoparticle fractal aggregates

The spectral and temporal emission properties of a Rhodamine (Rh) dye solution embedded with nanoparticle fractal aggregates are studied. An experiment on the pump-power density dependence of Rh emission spectra shows that the lasing threshold of a Rh6G solution embedded with TiO(2) nanoparticle fractal aggregates is significantly reduced compared with that of a neat dye solution. The mechanism of this reduction in lasing threshold is discussed, together with the lasing properties of narrow bandwidth and short duration.     

Ultrawide-bandwidth slow-light system based on THz plasmonic graded metallic grating structures

We explore a novel mechanism for slowing down THz waves based on metallic grating structures with graded depths, whose dispersion curves and cutoff frequencies are different at different locations. Since the group velocity of spoof surface plasmons at the cutoff frequency is extremely low, THz waves are actually stopped at different positions for different frequencies. The separation between stopped waves can be tuned by changing the grade of the grating depths. This structure offers the advantage of reducing the speed of the light over an ultrawide spectral band, and the ability to operate at various temperatures, but demands a stringent requirement for the temperature stability.     

Optical interaction in a plasmonic metallic particle chain coupled to a metallic film

We study the coupling of localized surface plasmon and surface plasmon polariton modes in a system composed of a metallic nanoparticle chain imbedded in a dielectric–metal–dielectric substrate. The results show the influence of outside parts and imbedded parts of particles on the interaction between localized surface plasmon and surface plasmon polariton modes. An enhancement can be observed in our structure. This kind of the structure has a very promising candidate for biosensing and surface enhanced spectroscopy applications.     

Low-threshold lasing at the edge of a photonic stop band in cholesteric liquid crystals

Low-threshold lasing is observed at the edge of the stop band of a one-dimensional structure-a dye-doped cholesteric liquid-crystal film. The mode closest to the edge has the lowest lasing threshold. The rates of spontaneous and stimulated emission are suppressed within the stop band and enhanced at the band edge. The ratio of right to left circularly polarized spontaneous emission is in good agreement with calculated density of photon states.     

Local temperature pattern in plasmonic gold nanoshell: tuning the heat generation

Under quasi-steady-state conditions, we investigated the photo-heat conversion in a gold nanoshell by calculating the local equilibrium temperature distribution. In a thinner gold shell, the hot spots take place near the poles of both shell-surrounding and core-shell interface, perpendicularly to the incident field. In a thicker gold shell, the hot spots only take place near the core-shell interface. The maximum local temperature also depends greatly on the core media and shell thickness. Optimal heat generation can be obtained with small core dielectric constant and thin shell thickness. The mechanism of this local heating distribution is explained by the local field enhancement that is induced by the plasmon coupling.     

Broadband mode converter and multiplexer based on dielectric-loaded plasmonic waveguides

We theoretically demonstrate a broadband mode converter and multiplexer based on plasmonic waveguides loaded with structured dielectrics. The proposed device can realize conversions between a fundamental TM₀ mode and a first order TM₁ mode, as well as (de)multiplex them with another TM₀ mode. Our design exhibits as wide as 400 nm bandwidth and as short as 6~7 μm coupling length. This work has potential application in high density photonic integrated devices for both computing and communication applications.     

Low-threshold optical parametric oscillations in a whispering gallery mode resonator

In whispering gallery mode (WGM) resonator light is guided by continuous total internal reflection along a curved surface. Fabricating such resonators from an optically nonlinear material one takes advantage of their exceptionally high quality factors and small mode volumes to achieve extremely efficient optical frequency conversion. Our analysis of the phase-matching conditions for optical parametric down-conversion (PDC) in a spherical WGM resonator shows their direct relation to the sum rules for photons' angular momenta and predicts a very low parametric oscillation threshold. We realized such an optical parametric oscillator (OPO) based on naturally phase-matched PDC in lithium niobate. We demonstrated a single-mode, strongly nondegenerate OPO with a threshold of 6.7 μW and linewidth under 10 MHz. This work demonstrates the remarkable capabilities of WGM-based OPOs.     

Effects of dielectric core and embedding medium on plasmonic coupling of gold nanoshell arrays

The effects of the dielectric core and the dielectric embedding medium separately on transmission spectra and plasmon resonance properties of gold nanoshell arrays were investigated by using the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) theory. It is found that when the hollow nanoshell arrays are placed in air, the wide photonic band gap becomes narrower as the core dielectric constant increases. On the contrary, when the nanoshell arrays with dielectric core are placed in the dielectric medium, the photonic band gap becomes wider. Furthermore, increasing core or medium dielectric constant leads to a redshift of the transmission spectra due to the polarization of the dielectric. Based on the electric field distributions, we also clearly show that the plasmon properties of the nanoshell arrays are strongly influenced by the presence of the dielectric.     

基于纳米天线的多通道高强度定向表面等离子体波激发

设计了一种带有纳米天线的金属微腔结构, 以实现高强度表面等离子的定向激发. 在利用双狭缝结构实现表面等离子体波定向激发的基础上, 分别结合共振增强和干涉相长原理, 在传统结构的入射端面上添加纳米天线结构, 并增加狭缝通道数, 实现了定向激发的表面等离子体波的能量增强. 基于纳米天线的多通道高强度定向表面等离子体波激发装置结构简单, 系统紧凑, 并能够有效提高定向传播的表面等离子体波的能量密度和传播距离, 其对微纳光学传输和高密度光学集成领域等方面的研究具有重要意义.     

Atomistic simulation analysis of the effects of void interaction on void growth and coalescence in a metallic system

Material deformation caused by the interaction between defects is a significant factor of material fracture failure. The present study employs molecular dynamics simulations of single-void and double-void crystalline Ni atomic systems to investigate inter-void interactions. Furthermore, simulations showing the evolution of dislocations for three different crystallographic orientations are conducted to study the void growth and coalescence. The simulations also consider the effect of the radius of the secondary void on dislocation evolution. The results show that double-void systems are more prone to yield than single-void systems. Further microstructural analysis indicates that the interaction between voids is realized by dislocation reactions. The simulation results of the dislocation evolution of the three orientations reveal that a relationship exists between the evolution of the dislocation density and the stress-strain curve. At the initial stage of dislocation, the dislocation grows slowly, and consists of Shockley partial dislocation. The dislocation growth rate then increases significantly in the sharply declining stage of the stress-strain curve, where most of dislocations are Shockley partial dislocation. Analysis of the dislocation length during the overall simulation indicates that the dislocation length of the [110] orientation is the longest, followed by that of the [111] orientation and the [100] orientation, which has the shortest dislocation length.     

Induced electric fields and plasmonic interactions between a metallic nanotube and a thin metallic film

We have numerically simulated the induced electric fields and the plasmonic interactions of a metallic nanotube near a thin metallic film. Our study shows that the energies and intensities of the plasmon resonances depend strongly on the aspect ratio (the ratio of the inner to outer radius) of the nanotube as well as the separation between the center of the nanotube and the upper surface of the metallic film and the thickness of the film. The enhancement of the induced electric field of this system reaches ...     

Photo-pumped lasing from low density self-assembled InGaAs/GaAs quantum dots within a high-Q vertical cavity

A high-Q cavity containing three layers of self-assembled InGaAs/GaAs quantum dots has been prepared. Emission occurs in the wavelength range 1275–1285 nm over the wafer surface. We have observed lasing thresholds in the power-in-versus-power-out characteristics, with associated changes in the angular emission profile, when the structure is optically pumped CW at 300 K. At high pump powers spectrally resolved lateral modes are seen in the emission spectra of a planar cavity and this is discussed in terms of the index change induced by the pump laser.     

Tunable THz wave absorption by graphene-assisted plasmonic metasurfaces based on metallic split ring resonators

Journal of Nanoparticle Research - La(Ni0.75W0.25)O3 perovskite oxide was prepared via the sol–gel Pechini route. The pure crystalline phase was verified via X-ray diffraction measurements...     

Towards controlled coupling between a high-Q whispering-gallery mode and a single nanoparticle

We discuss our recent experiments that aim at the realization of coupling between a nano-emitter that is placed at the extremity of a sharp glass-fiber tip and a high-Q whispering-gallery mode. We quantify the influence of the tip using different probes and modes of a microsphere with different quality factors and mode extensions. Our measurements show that a micron-sized tip results in a substantial perturbation of the modes. On the contrary, by using a tip of diameter about 100 nm it should be possible to couple a nanoparticle to the most-confined modes of a microsphere without spoiling quality factors even as high as 10⁸. Received: 10 August 2001 / Revised version: 17 October 2001 / Published online: 23 November 2001     

Guided mode lasing in ZnO nanorod structures

Quasi-two-dimensional arrays of nearly parallel hexagonal ZnO nanorods and a three-dimensional cylindrical microstructure consisting of ZnO nanorods have been grown by low pressure chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and carbothermal evaporation technologies, respectively. The technology ensures high optical quality of the produced nanostructures so as to act as a gain medium for stimulated emission in the ultraviolet spectral region in combination with high quality factor laser resonators. Multiple sharp lasing peaks were realized from the produced structures under nanosecond pulse optical excitation. The lasing peaks display successive onset and saturation with increasing excitation power density in accordance with the lasing behavior of guided modes in ZnO nanorods. The produced structures are expected to find applications in integrated nanoscale optoelectronics, photonics, and sensor technologies.