Plasmonic nanoparticles and their analytical applications: A review

Plasmonic nanoparticles (NPs) have been reviewed herein for their fascinating optical properties in a wide spectral range and for their various applications. The surface plasmon resonance (SPR) bands of metal NPs can be tuned from visible to near infrared region by varying the shape of the metal NPs. As a result, the tuning of the SPR band over a spectral range is possible by making plasmonic NPs of different shapes. This review emphasizes fundamental studies of plasmonic NPs and nanocomposites with well-defined and controlled shapes that have several analytical applications such as molecular detection and determination in different fields. This review describes how oxidative etching and kinetic control can be utilized to manipulate the shape and optical properties of NPs. This review also describes the specific examples of the sensing applications of the localized surface plasmon resonance studies in which the researchers use both wavelength shift and surface-enhanced Raman scattering sensing to detect the molecules of chemical and biological relevance. The review ends with a perspective of the field, identifying the main challenges to be overcome and suggesting areas where the most promising developments are likely to happen in future.     

金属材料延性对其薄膜-柔性基底结构延展性的影响

自由金属薄膜轴向拉伸时的极限伸长率一般约为1%～2%,而沉积在具有一定厚度和刚度的柔性基底上的金属薄膜伸长率可能大大增加,因此此类复合结构在柔性电子器件中有较好的应用前景。采用有限元法对不同延性的薄膜-基底结构拉伸变形至其颈缩断裂过程进行了模拟,研究材料延性对其薄膜-基底延展性的影响。将内聚力模型运用到金属薄膜的断裂研究中,通过改变内聚力模型参数来模拟具有不同延性的金属薄膜。计算结果表明,脆性膜-基结构的延展性与相应的自由金属薄膜相当,而当材料延性较好时,柔性基底能起到抑制颈缩的发展,从而使膜-基结构的整体延展性得到大幅度增加,说明薄膜材料本身的延性对薄膜-基底结构的延展性具有很大影响。     

高导无氧铜杆高应变率拉伸下的颈缩与断裂

采用Hopkinson拉伸实验装置和一种高速拉伸断裂实验新装置,对高导无氧铜(OFHC)杆件进行了一系列高应变率拉伸断裂试验.实验结果表明,局部化的断裂应变随拉伸速度增大并不明显增大,其断裂位置有随机性.存在一种临界拉伸速度,当冲击拉伸速度大于此值时,断裂即发生在冲击拉伸端附近,杆的其它部分几乎无应变.采用典型的Johnson-Cook本构关系,使用LS-DYNA程序进行一系列数值模拟,提出颈缩处直径收缩率达极值的颈缩失效判据,由此计算所得的局部化颈缩应变及断裂位置与试验回收结果有一定差别.     

Localized states of flattened quantum elliptic rings and their optical properties

A flattened elliptic ring containing an electron is studied. The emphasis is placed on clarifying the effect of the flattening. The localized states are classified into four types according to their inherent nodes. When the ring becomes more flattened, the total probability of dipole absorption of each state is found to be reduced. Furthermore, each spectral line of absorption is found to shift towards red and may split into a few lines, and these lines as a whole become more diffusive.     

Propagation of a localized wavepacket in a metamaterial with a negative index of refraction

Propagation properties of electromagnetic waves in a medium with a negative index of refraction are investigated. A model of a physical signal that combines simultaneously qualities of both a spatially-localized beam and a wavepacket was used as the incident wave. Such a choice was necessary because of the strong frequency dispersion of metamaterials in the spectral region with a negative index of refraction. An approximate analytical solution was derived that describes the propagation dynamics of such a signal through a slab made of material showing simultaneously a negative dielectric permittivity and magnetic permeability. Presented at the XIIIth International Conference “Physics of Pulse Discharges in Condensed Media,” August 21–25, 2007, Nikolaev, Ukraine. __________ Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 75, No. 2, pp. 187–193, March–April, 2008.     

Activation of silicon quantum dots for emission

The emission of silicon quantum dots is weak when their surface is passivated well. Oxygen or nitrogen on the surface of silicon quantum dots can break the passivation to form localized electronic states in the band gap to generate active centers where stronger emission occurs. From this point of view, we can build up radiative matter for emission. Emissions of various wavelengths can be obtained by controlling the surface bonds of silicon quantum dots. Our experimental results demonstrate that annealing is important in the treatment of the activation, and stimulated emissions at about 600 and 700 nm take place on active silicon quantum dots.     

3D-assembled Ag nanowires for use in plasmon-enhanced spectroscopic sensors

Surface plasmon-enhanced spectroscopic sensors for fluorescence and Raman spectroscopy use high-density metallic nanostructures to strongly enhance the light–matter interaction. In this contribution, we will review the processes by which three-dimensional (3D) multilayered Ag nanowires assemble from one-dimensional Ag nanowires and their plasmon-enhanced sensing applications, giving emphasis to the physical mechanism underlying the plasmon-enhanced spectroscopy. In particular, we discuss the practical aspects of 3D porous and flexible plasmonic platforms used for spectroscopic sensing applications. Combining a portable spectrometer with a low-cost but highly sensitive and flexible plasmonic substrate is potentially useful for on-site chemical analysis in the contexts of environmental monitoring, food safety, forensic science, and point-of-care healthcare medical diagnostics.     

Enhanced Device Performances of Blue‐Emitting PLEDs Coupled with Silver‐Nanoicosahedrons

Silver‐nanoicosahedron particles (AgNIPs) are produced by chemical reduction and photochemical methods and doped into the hole transport layer (HTL) or emissive layer (EML) of blue‐emitting polymer light‐emitting diodes (PLEDs) to improve their luminous efficiency. The optimal distributed‐densities of the AgNIPs are determined from current density–voltage–luminance measurements at different doping concentrations. The AgNIP dopant doses that maximize the average luminous efficiency of the proposed PLED are 6.71 µg cm^?2 in EML (achieving 3.48 cd A^?1) and 6.88 µg cm^?2 in HTL (achieving 3.35 cd A^?1). Although the luminous efficiencies of the blue‐emitting PLEDs fabricated by both doping methods are not significantly different, the maximum plasmonic enhancement (around 30‐fold) of the blue‐emitting PLED with AgNIPs in EML is red‐shifted to the green region (≈530 nm in the electroluminescence spectrum), seriously degrading the luminescent monochromaticity of the blue‐emitting PLED. The maximum plasmonic enhancement (around 33‐fold) of blue‐emitting PLED with AgNIPs in HTL occurred at 430 nm, overlapping the localized surface‐plasmon resonance extinctions of the AgNIPs in HTL (425 nm), thus favoring the enhancement of fluorescence emission. Therefore, to enhance the large‐area emission of blue‐emitting PLEDs, the AgNIPs should be doped in the HTL rather than the EML.     

Extended State to Localization in Random Aperiodic Chains

The electronic states in Thus-Morse chain （TMC） and generalized Fibonacci chain （GFC） are studied by solving eigenequation and using transfer matrix method. Two model Hamiltonians are studied. One contains the nearest neighbor （n.n.） hopping terms only and the other has additionally next nearest neighbor （n.n.n.） hopping terms. Based on the transfer matrix method, a criterion of transition from the extended to the localized states is suggested for CFC and TMC. The numerical calculation shows the existence of both extended and localized states in pure aperiodic system. A random potential is introduced to the diagonal term of the Hamiltonian and then the extended states are always changed to be localized. The exponents related to the localization length as a function of randomness are calculated. For different kinds of aperiodic chain, the critical value of randomness for the transition from extended to the localized states are found to be zero, consistent with the case of ordinary one-dimensional systems.     

The influence of hole shape on enhancing transmission through subwavelength hole arrays

The extraordinary light transmission through a 200-nm thick gold film when passing through different subwavelength hole arrays is observed experimentally. The sample is fabricated by electron beam lithography and reactive ion etching system. A comparison between light transmissions shows that the hole shape changing from rectangular to diamond strongly affects the transmission intensity although both structures possess the same lattice constant of 600,nm. Moreover, the position of the transmission maximum undergoes a spectral red-shift of about 63,nm. Numerical simulations by using a transfer matrix method reproduce the observed transmission spectrum quite well.