Plasmons in nanoscale and atomic-scale systems

Quantum-Size Effects in Ultra-Thin Gold Films on Pt(111) Surface

We calculate, within the density-functional theory, the atomic and electronic structure of the clean Pt(111) and Au(111) surfaces and the nML-Au/Pt(111) systems with n varying from one to three. The effect of the spin-orbital interaction was taken into account. Several new electronic states with strong localization in the surface region were found and discussed in the case of clean surfaces. The Au adlayers introduce numerous quantum well states in the energy regions corresponding to the projected bulk band continuum of Au(111). Moreover, the presence of states resembling the true Au(111) surface states can be detected at n = 2 and 3. The Au/Pd interface states are found as well. In nML-Au/Pt(111), the calculated work function presents a small variation with a variation of the number of the Au atomic layer. Nevertheless, the effect is significantly smaller in comparison to the s-p metals.

Plasmon localization by adatoms in gold atomic wires on Si(775)

Self-organized gold chains on vicinal Si(111) surfaces represent prototype examples of quasi-one-dimensional objects that are stabilized by hybridization with Si surface states. Their plasmons contain important information about the unoccupied bandstructure close to the Fermi level. Using Si(775)-Au as an example, we report here the modifications of the plasmon dispersion by the simple atomic adatom species H and O. Using a combination of low energy electron diffraction and high-resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy, we study the interconnection between plasmonic excitation and the corresponding local surface structure. Both adsorbates do not destroy metallicity, but, similar to Si(553)-Au, atomic hydrogen enhances dimerization of the Au chains, which at small concentrations counteracts the disorder introduced by random adsorption. This effect, most likely caused by electron donation of H to the surface states, is missing in case of adsorbed oxygen, so that only the effect of disorder is observed. For both adsorbates increasing disorder as a function of adsorbate concentration finally results in plasmon localization and opening of a band gap.

Nonlinear Dark-Field Imaging of One-Dimensional Defects in Monolayer Dichalcogenides

One-dimensional defects in two-dimensional (2D) materials can be particularly damaging because they directly impede the transport of charge, spin, or heat and can introduce a metallic character into otherwise semiconducting systems. Current characterization techniques suffer from low throughput and a destructive nature or limitations in their unambiguous sensitivity at the nanoscale. Here we demonstrate that dark-field second harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy can rapidly, efficiently, and nondestructively probe grain boundaries and edges in monolayer dichalcogenides (i.e., MoSe₂, MoS₂, and WS₂). Dark-field SHG efficiently separates the spatial components of the emitted light and exploits interference effects from crystal domains of different orientations to localize grain boundaries and edges as very bright 1D patterns through a Čerenkov-type SHG emission. The frequency dependence of this emission in MoSe₂ monolayers is explained in terms of plasmon-enhanced SHG related to the defect's metallic character. This new technique for nanometer-scale imaging of the grain structure, domain orientation and localized 1D plasmons in 2D different semiconductors, thus enables more rapid progress toward both applications and fundamental materials discoveries.

Dark-Field Scattering and Local SERS Mapping from Plasmonic Aluminum Bowtie Antenna Array

On the search for the practical plasmonic materials beyond noble metals, aluminum has been emerging as a favorable candidate as it is abundant and offers the possibility of tailoring the plasmonic resonance spanning from ultra-violet to the infrared range. In this letter, in combination with the numerical electromagnetic simulations, we experimentally study the dark-field scattering spectral mapping of plasmonic resonance from the free-standing Al bowtie antenna arrays and correlate their strong nearfield enhancement with the sensing capability by means of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy. The spatial matching of plasmonic and Raman mapping puts another step to realize a very promising application of free-standing Al bowtie antennas for plasmonic sensing.

A MEMS-Based Quad-Wavelength Hybrid Plasmonic-Pyroelectric Infrared Detector

Spectrally selective detection is of crucial importance for diverse modern spectroscopic applications such as multi-wavelength pyrometry, non-dispersive infrared gas sensing, biomedical analysis, flame detection, and thermal imaging. This paper reports a quad-wavelength hybrid plasmonic-pyroelectric detector that exhibited spectrally selective infrared detection at four wavelengths-3.3, 3.7, 4.1, and 4.5 μm. The narrowband detection was achieved by coupling the incident infrared light to the resonant modes of the four different plasmonic perfect absorbers based on Al-disk-array placed on a Al₂O₃-Al bilayer. These absorbers were directly integrated on top of a zinc oxide thin film functioning as a pyroelectric transducer. The device was fabricated using micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) technology to optimize the spectral responsivity. The proposed detector operated at room temperature and exhibited a responsivity of approximately 100-140 mV/W with a full width at half maximum of about 0.9-1.2 μm. The wavelength tunability, high spectral resolution, compactness and robust MEMS-based platform of the hybrid device demonstrated a great advantage over conventional photodetectors with bandpass filters, and exhibited impressive possibilities for miniature multi-wavelength spectroscopic devices.

Dual-band in situ molecular spectroscopy using single-sized Al-disk perfect absorbers

We propose antenna-enhanced infrared vibrational spectroscopy by adopting single-sized Al disks on Al2O3-Al films fabricated by colloidal-mask lithography. The precisely designed plasmonic resonator with dual-band perfect absorption (DPA) shows strongly-enhanced nearfield intensity and polarization independence, at both resonances, providing a powerful antenna platform for the multi-band vibrational sensing. As a proof of concept, we experimentally apply the plasmonic DPAs in bond-selective dual-band infrared sensing of an ultrathin polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) film, simultaneously amplifying two representative vibrational bands (asymmetric C-H stretching of CH3 at 2962 cm-1 and CH3 deformation of Si-CH3 at 1263 cm-1) by surface-enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy (SEIRA). The plasmonic DPA was successfully adopted for the in situ monitoring of reaction kinetics, by recording the spectral changes in C-H stretching and Si-CH3 deformation modes of a 10 nm PDMS elastomer, which are selectively enhanced by the two antenna resonances, during its gelation process. Our systematic study of the SEIRA spectra has demonstrated mode splitting and a clear avoided-crossing in the dispersion curve as a function of resonance frequency of DPA, manifesting itself as a promising basis for future polaritonic devices utilizing the hybridization between the molecular vibrational states and the enhanced light field.

Anisotropic 2D metallicity: plasmons in Ge(1 0 0)-Au

The low-energy plasmonic excitations of the Ge(0 0 1)-Au close to one monolayer coverage of Au were investigated by momentum-resolved high resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy. A very weak plasmonic loss was identified dispersing along the chain direction of the [Formula: see text] formed at these Au coverages. The measured dispersion was compared with the Tomonaga-Luttinger-liquid (TLL) model and with a model for an anisotropic Fermi liquid. Using the TLL model both for single and arrays of wires, no consistent picture turned up that could describe all available data. On the contrary, a quasi-one-dimensional model of a confined 2D electron gas gave a satisfactorily consistent description of the data. From these results for the collective low-energy excitations we conclude that the Ge(0 0 1)-Au system is reasonably well described by a strongly anisotropic 2D Fermi liquid, but is incompatible with a TLL.

Stacked Gold Nanodisks for Bimodal Photoacoustic and Optical Coherence Imaging

Herein, we report on biological imaging nanoprobes: physically synthesized gold nanodisks that have inherent optical advantages-a wide range of resonant wavelengths, tunable ratio of light absorption-to-scattering, and responsiveness to random incident light-due to their two-dimensional circular nanostructure. Based on our proposed physical synthesis where gold is vacuum deposited onto a prepatterned polymer template and released from the substrate in the form of a nanodisk, monodisperse two-dimensional gold nanodisks were prepared with independent control of their diameter and thickness. The optical benefits of the Au nanodisk were successfully demonstrated by the measurement of light absorbance of the nanodisks and the application of stacked nanodisks, where a smaller sized Au nanodisk was laid atop a larger nanodisk, as bimodal contrast agents for photoacoustic microscopy and optical coherence tomography.

Electrically Excited Plasmonic Nanoruler for Biomolecule Detection

Plasmon-based sensors are excellent tools for a label-free detection of small biomolecules. An interesting group of such sensors are plasmonic nanorulers that rely on the plasmon hybridization upon modification of their morphology to sense nanoscale distances. Sensor geometries based on the interaction of plasmons in a flat metallic layer together with metal nanoparticles inherit unique advantages but need a special optical excitation configuration that is not easy to miniaturize. Herein, we introduce the concept of nanoruler excitation by direct, electrically induced generation of surface plasmons based on the quantum shot noise of tunneling currents. An electron tunneling junction consisting of a metal-dielectric-semiconductor heterostructure is directly incorporated into the nanoruler basic geometry. With the application of voltage on this modified nanoruler, the plasmon modes are directly excited without any additional optical component as a light source. We demonstrate via several experiments that this electrically driven nanoruler possesses similar properties as an optically exited one and confirm its sensing capabilities by the detection of the binding of small biomolecules such as antibodies. This new sensing principle could open the way to a new platform of highly miniaturized, integrated plasmonic sensors compatible with monolithic integrated circuits.

Aspect-ratio driven evolution of high-order resonant modes and near-field distributions in localized surface phonon polariton nanostructures

Polar dielectrics have garnered much attention as an alternative to plasmonic metals in the mid- to long-wave infrared spectral regime due to their low optical losses. As such, nanoscale resonators composed of these materials demonstrate figures of merit beyond those achievable in plasmonic equivalents. However, until now, only low-order, phonon-mediated, localized polariton resonances, known as surface phonon polaritons (SPhPs), have been observed in polar dielectric optical resonators. In the present work, we investigate the excitation of 16 distinct high-order, multipolar, localized surface phonon polariton resonances that are optically excited in rectangular pillars etched into a semi-insulating silicon carbide substrate. By elongating a single pillar axis we are able to significantly modify the far- and near-field properties of localized SPhP resonances, opening the door to realizing narrow-band infrared sources with tailored radiation patterns. Such control of the near-field behavior of resonances can also impact surface enhanced infrared optical sensing, which is mediated by polarization selection rules, as well as the morphology and strength of resonator hot spots. Furthermore, through the careful choice of polar dielectric material, these results can also serve as the guiding principles for the generalized design of optical devices that operate from the mid- to far-infrared.

Lateral electronic screening in quasi-one-dimensional plasmons

The properties of one-dimensional (1D) plasmons are rather unexplored. We investigated the plasmonic collective excitations, measured as one-dimensional plasmon dispersions with electron energy loss spectroscopy, highly resolved both in energy and lateral momentum, for both phases of Au induced chains on stepped Si(553) substrates. We observe 1D dispersions that are strongly influenced by the lateral chain width and by the interchain coupling. Indications for the existence of two different plasmons originating from two surface bands of the systems are given for the low coverage phase.

Metallic Properties of the Si(111) - 5 × 2 - Au Surface from Infrared Plasmon Polaritons and Ab Initio Theory

The metal-atom chains on the Si(111) - 5 × 2 - Au surface represent an exceedingly interesting system for the understanding of one-dimensional electrical interconnects. While other metal-atom chain structures on silicon suffer from metal-to-insulator transitions, Si(111) - 5 × 2 - Au stays metallic at least down to 20 K as we have proven by the anisotropic absorption from localized plasmon polaritons in the infrared. A quantitative analysis of the infrared plasmonic signal done here for the first time yields valuable band structure information in agreement with the theoretically derived data. The experimental and theoretical results are consistently explained in the framework of the atomic geometry, electronic structure, and IR spectra of the recent Kwon-Kang model.

Detecting secondary structure and surface orientation of helical peptide monolayers from resonant hybridization signals

Hybridization of dominant vibrational modes with meta-surface resonance allows detection of both structural changes and surface orientations of bound helical peptides. Depending on the resonance frequency of meta-molecules, a red- or blue- shift in peptide Amide-I frequency is observed. The underlying coupling mechanism is described by using a temporal coupled mode theory that is in very good agreement with the experimental results. This hybridization phenomenon constitutes the basis of many nanophotonic systems such as tunable coupled mode bio-sensors and dynamic peptide systems driven by infrared signals.

Monitoring the presence of ionic mercury in environmental water by plasmon-enhanced infrared spectroscopy

We demonstrate the ppt-level single-step selective monitoring of the presence of mercury ions (Hg²⁺) dissolved in environmental water by plasmon-enhanced vibrational spectroscopy. We combined a nanogap-optimized mid-infrared plasmonic structure with mercury-binding DNA aptamers to monitor in-situ the spectral evolution of the vibrational signal of the DNA induced by the mercury binding. Here, we adopted single-stranded thiolated 15-base DNA oligonucleotides that are immobilized on the Au surface and show strong specificity to Hg²⁺. The mercury-associated distinct signal is located apart from the biomolecule-associated broad signals and is selectively characterized. For example, with natural water from Lake Kasumigaura (Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan), direct detection of Hg²⁺ with a concentration as low as 37 ppt (37 × 10⁻¹⁰%) was readily demonstrated, indicating the high potential of this simple method for environmental and chemical sensing of metallic species in aqueous solution.

Angstrom-scale distance dependence of antenna-enhanced vibrational signals

The resonantly enhanced near-field of micrometer-sized gold antennas has been probed with Angstrom-scale resolution. In situ surface-enhanced infrared spectroscopic vibrational signals of carbon monoxide (CO) layers cold-condensed on the antennas in ultrahigh-vacuum conditions are compared to the signals of CO layers with corresponding thicknesses on a flat gold surface. Vibrational signals of CO as well as the shift of the plasmonic resonance frequency were used to analyze the distance dependence of the near-field. The signal enhancement induced by the antennas not only decays monotonically from the surface but, in contrast to classical near-field models, shows a maximum between 10 and 15 Å and decays also toward the surface of the antenna. This effect is attributed to the spill-out of the electron wave function, as expected from quantum mechanical calculations.

Exchange and correlation effects on density excitation spectra of metallic quantum wires at finite temperature

We have studied the effect of exchange and correlations on the density excitation spectra of metallic quantum wires at finite temperature. The correlations are treated by incorporating the first-order self and exchange contributions into the random-phase approximation (RPA). Numerical results are presented for the spectra of the density response function and the plasmon dispersion for the gold wire on Si(557) substrate-a system studied recently by Nagao et al. (2006 Phys. Rev. Lett. 97 116802) for plasmons using electron energy loss spectroscopy. Our results for plasmons are found to agree with the experimental data. Though the first-order correction is small at currently accessible wire parameters, it becomes significant with increasing coupling parameter r(s). The effect of temperature on plasmons is found to be small for the wire system investigated experimentally. However, temperature has a significant effect on the spectra of the response function. We have also calculated the static structure factor, the pair-correlation function and the correlation energy at zero temperature in the first-order theory to check its applicability in dealing with correlations. Results are compared directly with the available Monte Carlo simulation data. It is found that the static correlation functions improve significantly over the RPA with the increase of r(s). On the other hand, the correlation energy shows very good agreement for r(s) ≤ 5 and wire widths b ≥ a(0). For smaller b, the agreement is good up to relatively smaller r(s).

Infrared spectroscopic and electron microscopic characterization of gold nanogap structure fabricated by focused ion beam

Using infrared spectroscopy of plasmonic resonances and mapping of elemental composition and structure, we investigated the correlation between optical and structural properties of nanometre-scale gaps in gold nanorod dimers fabricated by electron beam lithography (EBL) and focused ion beam (FIB) milling. In spite of their very similar scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images, a fully cut nanogap and a shallower cut with slight imperfection near the gap region were clearly distinguished by their strongly different infrared plasmonic resonance behaviour. The differences in the infrared spectra are related to different structural and chemical results from elaborated cross-sectional transmission electron micrographs and energy dispersive x-ray spectrometry (EDX) mapping of the gap region.