Graphene-protected copper and silver plasmonics

Effective Propagation of Surface Plasmon Polaritons on Graphene-Protected Single-Crystalline Silver Films

Silver (Ag) is a promising material for manipulation of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs), due to its optical and electrical properties; however, the intrinsic properties are easily degraded by surface corrosion under atmospheric conditions, restricting its applications in plasmonics. Here, we address this issue via single-crystalline Ag films protected with graphene layers and demonstrate effective propagation of SPPs on the graphene-protected Ag films. Single-crystalline Ag films with atomically flat surfaces are prepared by epitaxial growth; graphene layers are then transferred onto the Ag films. The propagation lengths of SPPs on the graphene-protected Ag films are measured, and their variations under corrosive conditions are investigated. The initial SPP propagation lengths for the bare Ag films are very long (about 50 μm in the wavelength range 550-700 nm). However, the values decrease significantly (11-13 μm) under corrosive conditions. On the contrary, the double-layer-graphene-protected Ag films exhibit SPP propagation lengths of about 23 μm and retain over 90% (21-23 μm) of the propagation lengths even after exposure to corrosive conditions, guaranteeing the reliability of Ag plasmonic devices. This approach can encourage extending the application of the graphene-metal hybrid structure and thus developing Ag plasmonic devices.

Ag-Cu mixed phase plasmonic nanostructures fabricated by shadow nanosphere lithography and glancing angle co-deposition

By combining shadow nanosphere lithography with a glancing angle co-deposition technique, mixed-phase Ag-Cu triangular nanopatterns and films were fabricated. They were prepared at different compositions with respect to Ag from 100% to 0% by changing the relative deposition ratio of each metal. Characterizations by ellipsometry, energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, and x-ray diffraction revealed that the thin films and nanopatterns were composed of small, well-mixed Ag and Cu nano-grains with a diameter less than 20 nm, and their optical properties could be described by an effective medium theory. All compositions of the nanopattern had the same shape, but showed tunable localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) properties. In general, the LSPR of the nanopatterns redshifted with decreasing composition. Such a relation could be fitted by an empirical model based on the bulk theory of alloy plasmonics. By changing the colloidal template and the material deposited, this fabrication technique can be used to produce other alloy plasmonic nanostructures with predicted LSPR wavelengths.

Nanoscale Chemical and Electrical Stabilities of Graphene-covered Silver Nanowire Networks for Transparent Conducting Electrodes

The hybrid structure of Ag nanowires (AgNWs) covered with graphene (Gr) shows synergetic effects on the performance of transparent conducting electrodes (TCEs). However, these effects have been mainly observed via large-scale characterization, and precise analysis at the nanoscale level remains inadequate. Here, we present the nanoscale verification and visualization of the improved chemical and electrical stabilities of Gr-covered AgNW networks using conductive atomic force microscopy (C-AFM), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) combined with the gas cluster ion beam (GCIB) sputtering technique. Specifically by transferring island Gr on top of the AgNW network, we were able to create samples in which both covered and uncovered AgNWs are simultaneously accessible to various surface-characterization techniques. Furthermore, our ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulation elucidated the specific mechanistic pathway and a strong propensity for AgNW sulfidation, even in the presence of ambient oxidant gases.

Enhancing the Surface Sensitivity of Metallic Nanostructures Using Oblique-Angle-Induced Fano Resonances

Surface sensitivity is an important factor that determines the minimum amount of biomolecules detected by surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensors. We propose the use of oblique-angle-induced Fano resonances caused by two-mode coupling or three-mode coupling between the localized SPR mode and long-range surface plasmon polariton modes to increase the surface sensitivities of silver capped nanoslits. The results indicate that the coupled resonance between the split SPR (−k_SPR) and cavity modes (two-mode coupling) has a high wavelength sensitivity for small-angle incidence (2°) due to its short decay length. Additionally, three-mode coupling between the split SPR (−k_SPR), substrate (+k_Sub) and cavity modes has a high intensity sensitivity for large-angle incidence due to its short decay length, large resonance slope and enhanced transmission intensity. Compared to the wavelength measurement, the intensity measurement has a lower detectable (surface) concentration below 1 ng/ml (0.14 pg/mm²) and is reduced by at least 3 orders of magnitude. In addition, based on the calibration curve and current system noise, a theoretical detection limit of 2.73 pg/ml (0.38 fg/mm²) can be achieved. Such a surface concentration is close to that of prism-based SPR with phase measurement (0.1–0.2 fg/mm² under a phase shift of 5 mdeg).

Optical Relaxation Time Enhancement in Graphene-Passivated Metal Films

Due to the small skin depth in metals at optical frequencies, their plasmonic response is strongly dictated by their surface properties. Copper (Cu) is one of the standard materials of choice for plasmonic applications, because of its high conductivity and CMOS compatibility. However, being a chemically active material, it gets easily oxidized when left in ambient environment, causing an inevitable degradation in its plasmonic resonance. Here, for the first time, we report a strong enhancement in the optical relaxation time in Cu by direct growth of few-layer graphene that is shown to act as an excellent passivation layer protecting Cu surface from any deterioration. Spectroscopic ellipsometry measurements reveal a 40-50% reduction in the total scattering rate in Cu itself, which is attributed to an improvement in its surface properties. We also study the impact of graphene quality and show that high quality graphene leads to an even larger improvement in electron scattering rate. These findings are expected to provide a big push towards graphene-protected Cu plasmonics.

Graphene-Silver-Induced Self-Polarized PVDF-Based Flexible Plasmonic Nanogenerator Toward the Realization for New Class of Self Powered Optical Sensor

Plasmonic characteristics of graphene-silver (GAg) nanocomposite coupled with piezoelectric property of Poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) have been utilized to realize a new class of self-powered flexible plasmonic nanogenerator (PNG). A few layer graphene has been prepared in a facile and cost-effective method and GAg doped PVDF hybrid nanocomposite (PVGAg) is synthesized in a one-pot method. The PNG exhibits superior piezoelectric energy conversion efficiency (∼15%) under the dark condition. The plasmonic behavior of GAg nanocomposite makes the PNG highly responsive to the visible light illumination that leads to ∼50% change in piezo-voltage and ∼70% change in piezo-current, leading to enhanced energy conversion efficiency up to ∼46.6%. The piezoelectric throughput of PNG (e.g., capacitor charging performance) has been monitored during the detection of the different wavelengths of visible light illumination and showed maximum selectivity to the green light. The simultaneous mechanical energy harvesting and visible-light detection capabilities of the PNG are attractive for futuristic self-powered optoelectronic smart sensors and devices.

3D plasmonic crystal metamaterials for ultra-sensitive biosensing

We explore the excitation of plasmons in 3D plasmon crystal metamaterials and report the observation of a delocalized plasmon mode, which provides extremely high spectral sensitivity (>2600 nm per refractive index unit (RIU) change), outperforming all plasmonic counterparts excited in 2D nanoscale geometries, as well as a prominent phase-sensitive response (>3*10⁴ deg. of phase per RIU). Combined with a large surface for bioimmobilization provided by the 3D matrix, the proposed sensor architecture promises a new important landmark in the advancement of plasmonic biosensing technology.

Spatial control of direct chemical vapor deposition of graphene on silicon dioxide by directional copper dewetting

A non-manual, controllable and wafer-scale method for the spatial control of direct graphene synthesis onto silicon dioxide by controlled dewetting and evaporation of copper.

Noble metal plasmonic nanostructure related chromisms

Chromisms related to noble metal nanostructures are classified and discussed.

Mechanical tearing of graphene on an oxidizing metal surface

Graphene, the thinnest possible anticorrosion and gas-permeation barrier, is poised to transform the protective coatings industry for a variety of surface applications. In this work, we have studied the structural changes of graphene when the underlying copper surface undergoes oxidation upon heating. Single-layer graphene directly grown on a copper surface by chemical vapour deposition was annealed under ambient atmosphere conditions up to 400 °C. The onset temperature of the surface oxidation of copper is found to be higher for graphene-coated foils. Parallel arrays of graphene nanoripples are a ubiquitous feature of pristine graphene on copper, and we demonstrate that these form crucial sites for the onset of the oxidation of copper, particularly for ∼0.3-0.4 μm ripple widths. In these regions, the oxidation proceeds along the length of the nanoripples, resulting in the formation of parallel stripes of oxidized copper regions. We demonstrate from temperature-dependent Raman spectroscopy that the primary defect formation process in graphene involves boundary-type defects rather than vacancy or sp(3)-type defects. This observation is consistent with a mechanical tearing process that splits graphene into small polycrystalline domains. The size of these is estimated to be sub-50 nm.

Compact Shielding of Graphene Monolayer Leads to Extraordinary SERS-Active Substrate with Large-Area Uniformity and Long-Term Stability

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) can significantly boost the inherently weak Raman scattering signal and provide detailed structural information and binding nature of the molecules on the surface. Despite the long history of this technology, SERS has yet to become a sophisticated analytical tool in practical applications. A major obstacle is the absence of high-quality and stable SERS-active substrate. In this work, we report a monolayer graphene-shielded periodic metallic nanostructure as large-area uniform and long-term stable SERS substrate. The monolayer graphene acting as a corrosion barrier, not only greatly enhanced stability, but also endowed many new features to the substrate, such as alleviating the photo-induced damages and improving the detection sensitivity for certain analytes that are weakly adsorbed on the conventional metallic substrates. Besides, our fabrication strategy were also capable of fabricating the reproducible SERS sensing spots array, which may serve as a promising high-throughput or multi-analyte sensing platform. Taken together, the graphene-shielded SERS substrate holds great promise both in fundamental studies of the SERS effect and many practical fields.

Single-Layer Graphene as a Barrier Layer for Intense UV Laser-Induced Damages for Silver Nanowire Network

Single-layer graphene (SLG) has been proposed as the thinnest protective/barrier layer for wide applications involving resistance to oxidation, corrosion, atomic/molecular diffusion, electromagnetic interference, and bacterial contamination. Functional metallic nanostructures have lower thermal stability than their bulk forms and are therefore susceptible to high energy photons. Here, we demonstrate that SLG can shield metallic nanostructures from intense laser radiation that would otherwise ablate them. By irradiation via a UV laser beam with nanosecond pulse width and a range of laser intensities (in millions of watt per cm(2)) onto a silver nanowire network, and conformally wrapping SLG on top of the nanowire network, we demonstrate that graphene "extracts and spreads" most of the thermal energy away from nanowire, thereby keeping it damage-free. Without graphene wrapping, the radiation would fragment the wires into smaller pieces and even decompose them into droplets. A systematic molecular dynamics simulation confirms the mechanism of SLG shielding. Consequently, particular damage-free and ablation-free laser-based nanomanufacturing of hybrid nanostructures might be sparked off by application of SLG on functional surfaces and nanofeatures.

Long-Term Passivation of Strongly Interacting Metals with Single-Layer Graphene

The long-term (>18 months) protection of Ni surfaces against oxidation under atmospheric conditions is demonstrated by coverage with single-layer graphene, formed by chemical vapor deposition. In situ, depth-resolved X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy of various graphene-coated transition metals reveals that a strong graphene-metal interaction is of key importance in achieving this long-term protection. This strong interaction prevents the rapid intercalation of oxidizing species at the graphene-metal interface and thus suppresses oxidation of the substrate surface. Furthermore, the ability of the substrate to locally form a passivating oxide close to defects or damaged regions in the graphene overlayer is critical in plugging these defects and preventing oxidation from proceeding through the bulk of the substrate. We thus provide a clear rationale for understanding the extent to which two-dimensional materials can protect different substrates and highlight the key implications for applications of these materials as barrier layers to prevent oxidation.

Hybrid graphene plasmonic waveguide modulators

The unique optical and electronic properties of graphene make possible the fabrication of novel optoelectronic devices. One of the most exciting graphene characteristics is the tunability by gating which allows one to realize active optical devices. While several types of graphene-based photonic modulators have already been demonstrated, the potential of combining the versatility of graphene with subwavelength field confinement of plasmonic waveguides remains largely unexplored. Here we report fabrication and study of hybrid graphene-plasmonic waveguide modulators. We consider several types of modulators and identify the most promising one for telecom applications. The modulator working at the telecom range is demonstrated, showing a modulation depth of >0.03 dB μm(-1) at low gating voltages for an active device area of just 10 μm(2), characteristics which are already comparable to those of silicon-based waveguide modulators while retaining the benefit of further device miniaturization. Our proof-of-concept results pave the way towards on-chip realization of efficient graphene-based active plasmonic waveguide devices for optical communications.

Highly Sensitive and Selective Sensor Chips with Graphene-Oxide Linking Layer

The development of sensing interfaces can significantly improve the performance of biological sensors. Graphene oxide provides a remarkable immobilization platform for surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensors due to its excellent optical and biochemical properties. Here, we describe a novel sensor chip for SPR biosensors based on graphene-oxide linking layers. The biosensing assay model was based on a graphene oxide film containing streptavidin. The proposed sensor chip has three times higher sensitivity than the carboxymethylated dextran surface of a commercial sensor chip. Moreover, the demonstrated sensor chips are bioselective with more than 25 times reduced binding for nonspecific interaction and can be used multiple times. We consider the results presented here of importance for any future applications of highly sensitive SPR biosensing.

Super-narrow, extremely high quality collective plasmon resonances at telecom wavelengths and their application in a hybrid graphene-plasmonic modulator

We present extremely narrow collective plasmon resonances observed in gold nanostripe arrays fabricated on a thin gold film, with the spectral line full width at half-maximum (fwhm) as low as 5 nm and quality factors Q reaching 300, at important fiber-optic telecommunication wavelengths around 1.5 μm. Using these resonances, we demonstrate a hybrid graphene-plasmonic modulator with the modulation depth of 20% in reflection operated by gating of a single layer graphene, the largest measured so far.

Science and technology roadmap for graphene, related two-dimensional crystals, and hybrid systems

We present the science and technology roadmap for graphene, related two-dimensional crystals, and hybrid systems, targeting an evolution in technology, that might lead to impacts and benefits reaching into most areas of society. This roadmap was developed within the framework of the European Graphene Flagship and outlines the main targets and research areas as best understood at the start of this ambitious project. We provide an overview of the key aspects of graphene and related materials (GRMs), ranging from fundamental research challenges to a variety of applications in a large number of sectors, highlighting the steps necessary to take GRMs from a state of raw potential to a point where they might revolutionize multiple industries. We also define an extensive list of acronyms in an effort to standardize the nomenclature in this emerging field.

Systematic study on the sensitivity enhancement in graphene plasmonic sensors based on layer-by-layer self-assembled graphene oxide multilayers and their reduced analogues

The use of graphene in conventional plasmonic devices was suggested by several theoretic research studies. However, the existing theoretic studies are not consistent with one another and the experimental studies are still at the initial stage. To reveal the role of graphenes on the plasmonic sensors, we deposited graphene oxide (GO) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) thin films on Au films and their refractive index (RI) sensitivity was compared for the first time in SPR-based sensors. The deposition of GO bilayers with number of deposition L from 1 to 5 was carried out by alternative dipping of Au substrate in positively- and negatively charged GO solutions. The fabrication of layer-by-layer self-assembly of the graphene films was monitored in terms of the SPR angle shift. GO-deposited Au film was treated with hydrazine to reduce the GO. For the rGO-Au sample, 1 bilayer sample showed a higher RI sensitivity than bare Au film, whereas increasing the rGO film from 2 to 5 layers reduced the RI sensitivity. In the case of GO-deposited Au film, the 3 bilayer sample showed the highest sensitivity. The biomolecular sensing was also performed for the graphene multilayer systems using BSA and anti-BSA antibody.

Improved chemical stability of silver by selective distribution of silver particles on reduced graphene oxide nanosheets

The chemical stability of silver particles on RGO was greatly improved by choosing a suitable sequence of “deoxygenation” and “deposition”.

Localized surface plasmon resonance of Cu nanoparticles by laser ablation in liquid media

Expanding localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) properties of colloidal copper nanoparticles by laser ablation in liquid (LAL) operated in ambient conditions were reported. The results may aid the application of copper LSPR in optical catalysis and detection devices.