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.     

表面等离激元的聚焦与波导增强

近年来,表面等离激元学（plasmonics）已经形成一个新的学科热点.电子在金属与介质界面的集体振荡行为形成一种元激发——表面等离激元（surface plasomon polariton,SPP）.由于其具有特殊的耦合与传播性质,与SPP相关的器件设计与应用成为目前纳米光子学领域的国际前沿研究方向.文章介绍了利用微...     

十字结构银纳米线的表面等离极化激元分束特性

金属纳米线波导可以将光局域在亚波长尺度内传播, 在纳米光子集成回路方面有着重要的作用. 本文应用有限元方法, 研究了十字结构银纳米线的表面等离极化激元分束特性. 结果表明, 不同模式的表面等离极化激元在十字结构三个分支的输出依赖于端面的几何结构参数. 此外, 研究还发现由于不同模式表面等离极化激元叠加, 在十字结构的分支上出现了周期性电场分布.     

表面等离激元——机理、应用与展望

等离激元光子学(plasmonics)的研究内容是金属纳米结构独特的光学性质及其应用.随着纳米科技的进步,等离激元光子学已经迅速发展成为一门新兴学科,在生物、化学、能源、信息等领域具有重要的应用前景.文章主要介绍表面等离激元(surface plasmons,SPs)的一些基本物理性质,包括局域的表面等离激元(localized surface plas-mon,LSP)和传导的表面等离激元(propagating surface plasmon polariton,SPP),文章还介绍了表面等离激元的几个重要的应用方向,例如生物/化学传感器、表面等离激元激光、光开关器件以及表面等离激元光逻辑运算,等等.     

基于电光聚合物的表面等离激元调制器

基于电光聚合物,提出了一种结构简单,尺寸小,效率高的表面等离激元(SPP)调制器.该调制器采用M-Z干涉仪结构的金属波导,金属周围是均匀极化后的电光聚合物,通过在金属波导两臂间加电压对聚合物折射率进行调制,折射率调制再通过M-Z干涉仪结构转化为对金属波导中SPP强度的调制. 通过求解金属波导附近的电场分布,并结合SPP场分布的特点,在理论上说明了这种结构可以通过外加电压有效地调制金属波导输出端SPP的强度,调制所需的半波电压约为2.8V. 关键词： 表面等离激元 电光调制 电光聚合物     

表面增强光学力与光操纵研究进展

金属纳米结构在光激发下产生的表面等离激元,可导致亚波长光场局域、近场增强等效应,在表面增强光谱、超灵敏传感、微流控芯片、光学力等方面有重要的应用.对于光学力而言,首先,由于表面等离激元共振及其导致的电场增强对于入射波长、几何结构等具有较强的依赖性,而光学力又与电场分布密切相关,所以可利用光镊(会聚光束)来操纵或筛选金属纳米颗粒;其次,入射光激发金属纳米颗粒聚集体后,在间隙形成的较大的近场增强和梯度,也可看作一种"等离激元镊",用于操纵其他颗粒;最后,当入射光的偏振改变甚至为新型光束的情况下,光学操纵将具有更高的自由度.本文首先简要介绍了表面等离激元增强光学力的计算;之后围绕光镊作用于等离激元金属纳米颗粒,等离激元镊作用于其他颗粒,与偏振、新型光场或手性结构相关的等离激元光学力这三个方面,综述了近年来表面等离激元金属纳米颗粒光学力和光操纵的一些新进展;最后提出了表面增强光学力与光操纵的若干研究趋势.     

径向偏振光束激发的金属纳米球-纳米圆盘间隙模式等离激元共振光谱特性研究

提出了一种可用于表面增强拉曼测量的基于金属纳米圆盘上方放置金属纳米球颗粒构成的金属纳米结构，其在径向偏振光束激发下，由于金属纳米圆盘的呼吸模式表面等离激元共振的作用，可以形成纵向电场有效增强的间隙模式等离激元共振。对此进行了有限元模拟计算研究，计算结果证明该间隙模式的纵向电场分量相对于径向偏振入射光的有效激发横向电场分量增强了100倍以上。为了更清晰地展现这种新型纳米结构的光谱特性以及表面电场分布特征，同时对单个金属纳米圆盘，单个金属纳米球，金属薄膜，金属纳米球-金属薄膜这几种纳米结构在同一个模拟计算框架下进行了计算以及比较分析。由于可以把金属纳米球类比为金属探针的尖端，所提出的新型间隙模式也有望在针尖型拉曼增强中得到应用。     

金属纳米球-纳米圆盘结构中表面等离激元共振模式的电磁场增强研究

表面等离激元自诞生以来已有一百多年的历史,并逐渐形成了一门新的学科——表面等离激元光子学.位于金属纳米结构中的局域表面等离激元可产生非常显著的近表面电场增强,并成功应用于诸多研究领域当中,而对局域表面等离激元与外界入射光中磁场的相互作用的研究则相对较少.该研究在前期已有的研究基础之上模拟计算了金属纳米球-纳米圆盘结构间...     

C_(60)富勒烯二聚物的等离激元激发

基于含时密度泛函理论,研究了C60富勒烯二聚物的等离激元激发.当两个C60分子靠近,分子之间的间隙较大,通过电容性相互作用时,二聚物的低能等离激元共振模式随着间隙的减小发生红移.进一步减小间隙时,由于电子的隧穿,C60富勒烯二聚物的等离激元共振模式发生了改变,长程电荷转移激发模式形成.与金属纳米结构二聚物不同,当再继续减小间隙时,长程电荷转移激发模式没有发生蓝移,而是继续红移.在可见光范围内,C60富勒烯二聚物有很强的吸收光谱.     

基于表面等离子激元波导透射性能的环形滤波器设计

当前对表面等离子体激元(SPP)耦合性能及其传播的研究已成为这一领域急需改进的课题。为了进一步使SPP纳米器件成为可能,利用SPP波导结构设计了一种表面等离子体激元环形滤波器,建立了SPP波导结构传输模型和金属光栅SPP传输模型。透射率仿真分析表明,透射率会随着金属薄膜厚度的变化而变化,当金属薄膜厚度降低时,透射带宽会明显变窄,且透射的峰值也会降低。滤波器结构仿真结果表明,滤波器具有很强的消光效果,在具有有效谐振频率的同时可以更好地实现阻碍非谐振频率。该研究对纳米等离子激元器件的实际应用具有一定的理论和实际意义。     

Propagating anti-symmetrically coupled plasmons generation by electron beams

Propagating anti-symmetrically coupled plasmons that usually cannot be excited with incident light and radiate to far field can be efficiently generated by electron beams. An electron beam is proposed as a practical propagating anti-symmetrically coupled plasmon source due to that it couples differently to the surface plasmons than free radiation. Specifically, whispering-gallery anti-symmetrically coupled plasmons with the character of symmetrical coupled dipoles are excited by an electron beam in a nested ringlike waveguide, which is consistent with the dispersion of electron excited plasmons in an infinite-long nanowire pair.     

Electrical excitation of surface plasmons

We exploit a plasmon mediated two-step momentum down-conversion scheme to convert low-energy tunneling electrons into propagating photons. Surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) propagating along an extended gold nanowire are excited on one end by low-energy electron tunneling and are then converted to free-propagating photons at the other end. The separation of excitation and outcoupling proves that tunneling electrons excite gap plasmons that subsequently couple to propagating plasmons. Our work shows that electron tunneling provides a nonoptical, voltage-controlled, and low-energy pathway for launching SPPs in nanostructures, such as plasmonic waveguides.     

New Plasmon Waveguides Composed of Twin Metal Wedges with a Nano Gap

We have numerically shown the existence of coupled wedge plasmons (CWPs) which propagates along a nano gap of a twin metal wedge. The CWPs are formed by wedge plasmons which can interact with each other. The dispersion relations of the wavenumber, propagation distance, and beam area of CWPs, are described and show that the characteristics of CWPs are similar to those of wedge plasmons and of gap plasmons. We also propose a new plasmon waveguide composed of twin metal wedges with a nano gap.     

The influence of wire shape on surface plasmon mode distribution

The influence of the nanowire shape on the excitation of surface plasmon polaritons at metallic nanowire arrays is studied numerically. For a system of silver nanowires housed on a polymer substrate, nanowires with rectangular and elliptical cross sections are compared. It was found that in the case of rectangular nanowires the excitation efficiency is higher for surface plasmons at the polymer–metal interface than for surface plasmons at the air–metal interface. Conversely, in the case of elliptical nanowires the air–metal plasmon modes are stronger. Further, it is noted that the nanowire shape directly influences the position of the surface plasmon resonance.     

Subwavelength propagation and localization of light using surface plasmons: A brief perspective

Surface plasmons at the metal–dielectric interface have emerged as an important candidate to propagate and localize light at subwavelength scales. By tailoring the geometry and arrangement of metallic nanoarchitectures, propagating and localized surface plasmons can be obtained. In this brief perspective, we discuss: (1) how surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) and localized surface plasmons (LSPs) can be optically excited in metallic nanoarchitectures by employing a variety of optical microscopy methods; (2) how SPPs and LSPs in plasmonic nanowires can be utilized for subwavelength polarization optics and single-molecule surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) on a photonic chip; and (3) how individual plasmonic nanowire can be optically manipulated using optical trapping methods.     

Investigation of intrinsic plasmon energy losses associated with the Fe 1s core level in metallic iron

A recently developed Cu Kα₁ (hν = 8047.8 eV) X-ray source/ESCA300 electron spectrometer combination has been used to investigate the intrinsic plasmon energy losses associated with the Fe 1s core level (binding energy = 7111 eV) in metallic iron. The surface and bulk intrinsic plasmon energy losses were separated and it was found that using the theoretically calculated extrinsic energy loss cross-section to represent the bulk intrinsic energy loss cross-section gave an overall intrinsic loss probability which is approximately the same as if a Lorentzian type cross-section is used. However, this approach does not separate the surface and bulk intrinsic losses properly and is not a good approximation for peak shape analysis in the near peak region. A more realistic approximation is provided by using a Lorentzian type energy loss cross-section to represent the bulk intrinsic energy losses. It has also been shown that for the Fe 1s core level of metallic iron the probability that a photoelectron will suffer an intrinsic energy loss is higher at the surface than in the bulk. Also for this core level the excitation probability for the intrinsic plasmons is greater than that of the extrinsic plasmons. Hence ignoring the intrinsic plasmons would cause considerable error in peak shape analysis in the near peak region.     

Adiabatic nano-focusing of plasmons by sharp metallic wedges

In this paper, we demonstrate the possibility of efficient adiabatic nano-focusing of plasmons by a sharp triangular metal wedge. The geometrical optics approach and the approximation of continuous electrodynamics are used for the analysis. In particular, it is demonstrated that both the phase and group velocities of an incident anti-symmetric (with respect to the magnetic field) plasmon tend to zero at the tip of the wedge, and the plasmon adiabatically slows down, eventually dissipating in the metal. Typically, the amplitude of the plasmon significantly increases near the wedge tip, but this increase is finite even in the absence of dissipation in the metal. The dependence of the local field enhancement near the tip on structural parameters, dissipation in the metal, angle of incidence, etc., is analyzed in this paper. It is also shown that an anti-symmetric film plasmon can effectively be guided by a triangular metal wedge, forming a wedge plasmon mode that is localized near the tip of the wedge and propagates along this tip. A new existence condition for these localized wedge plasmons is derived and discussed. PACS 78.67.-n; 68.37.Uv; 73.20.Mf     

Terahertz radiation from interaction between an electron beam and a planar surface plasmon structure

The possibility of an electron beam exciting surface plasmons in conducting metal is discussed in this paper. A planar perfect-structure with subwavelength holes is proposed. The phenomenon that mimicking surface plasmon waves can be excited and amplified by an electron beam is proved theoretically and numerically. The mechanism of transmission through a subwavelength hole array is exploited to enhance the interaction between the electron beam and the mimicking surface plasmons.     

环形狭缝腔阵列光学特性的研究

设计了一种六角密排的二维环形纳米腔阵列结构, 利用时域有限差分算法对该结构的光学特性进行了探究. 仿真结果表明, 在线性偏振光入射时, 环形腔内可以形成多重圆柱形表面等离激元谐振, 谐振波长的个数和大小与环形腔的结构参数相关. 根据透、反射光谱, 电场矢量的模式分布及截面电荷密度的分布, 谐振波长处形成圆柱形表面等离激元, 谐振波长处入射光能量大部分在环形腔内损耗, 此时反射率为极小值, 环形腔内的电场增强效应为极大值(光强增强可达1065倍). 谐振波长与环形腔的结构参数(狭缝内径、狭缝外径、膜厚、环境介质折射率、金属的材质)相关, 通过调节结构参数, 谐振波长在350–2000 nm范围内可调. 通过对比相同结构参数的单个环形腔和环形腔阵列的仿真结果, 周期排布对环形腔内的圆柱形表面等离激元吸收峰位置影响不明显. 该结构反射光谱对入射光电矢量偏振方向不敏感. 谐振波长的可调控性对于表面拉曼增强和表面等离激元共振传感器的设计与优化具有指导性意义, 且应用于折射率传感器时灵敏度可达1850 nm/RIU.     

Design of terahertz beam splitter based on surface plasmon resonance transition

According to the resonance transition between propagating surface plasmon and localized surface plasmon, we demonstrate a design of beam splitter that can split terahertz wave beams in a relatively broad frequency range. The transmission properties of the beam splitter are analyzed utilizing the finite element method. The resonance transition between two kinds of plasmons can be explained by a model of coherent electron cloud displacement.