Unleashing Plasmonics

释放等离激元

• 批准号: EP/K041150/1
• 负责人: William Barnes
• 金额: $ 52.94万
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF EXETER
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2014 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=EP%2FK041150%2F1
• 关键词: Unleashing; Plasmonics

The exploitation of plasmonics to control light at the nanoscale is an exciting prospect, but suffers from a serious bottle-neck, that of losses due to absorption. Plasmonics involves using nanostructured metallic materials to manipulate light deep into the sub-wavelength regime. The same metals that allow this unprecedented level of control also absorb some of the light, and it is this absorption that is at the root of the problem. The addition of gain materials is widely seen as one of the few ways to overcome these losses. However, progress is slow, the underlying physics is still far from clear. In this project we will conduct a series of novel experiments to establish the foundations of a proper understanding of the interaction between plasmonics light amplifying materials. Our longer term aim is to provide the understanding that will be needed if the absorption bottleneck is to be overcome, thereby allowing the full power of plasmonics to be unleashed.Just as a bell can be struck to produce a certain ringing note, so light impinging on a metallic nanoparticle can make the electrons in the metal ring. This ringing mode, known as a plasmon mode, occurs at optical frequencies and is at the heart of plasmonics. Just as a ringing bell has a certain note, the ringing electrons interact strongly with light of a certain colour, the specific colour depending on the size, shape and the optical environment around the particle. Crucially, the motion of the electrons binds the light tightly to the surface of the particle, confining and enhancing the light in nanoscale regions well beyond the diffraction limit, where it may interact very strongly with molecules, quantum dots etc.. Much excitement has been generated in the past couple of years by demonstrations of lasing using plasmonic (metallic) nano-cavities. Metallic nanoparticles that support plasmon modes were coated with dye molecules that, when excited, can amplify light. The strong interaction between plasmons and molecules means that when one of the excited molecules releases its stored energy, rather than emerging as a photon, the energy instead appears in the form of a plasmon mode associated with the metal nanoparticle. This plasmon may then trigger other excited molecules to release their energy as plasmons, leading to an avalanche of plasmons.Despite the excitement generated by this recent demonstration, the underlying physics is poorly understood. An alternative lasing paradigm - random lasing - offers a fresh approach to exploring this new field. In a traditional laser amplification is achieved through the use of a cavity; by contrast, in a random laser, multiple scattering from a random arrangement of nanoparticles embedded in the gain material is used to control the amplification. Random lasing offers a straightforward way to probe some of the key questions about how plasmon modes and gain materials interact. In this project we will synthesize a range of dielectric and metallic nanoparticles, including some doped with light-emitting molecules capable of amplifying light. We will then make colloids from these particles, and will investigate how the random lasing behaviour they exhibit depends on, and may be controlled by, the plasmon resonances associated with the metallic nanoparticles. Comparison of our results with appropriate theoretical models will allow us to explore the underlying physics. The focus of our investigation will be to better understand how gain materials modify plasmon modes. Our results will be of interest to a wide range of scientific and technological communities including; nanophotonics, metamaterials, light scattering, optical communications, imaging and bio-photonics.

对纳米级控制光的剥削是一个令人兴奋的前景，但由于吸收而遭受了严重的瓶颈损失。血浆涉及使用纳米结构的金属材料来操纵深入次波长状态的光。允许这种前所未有的控制水平的同样的金属也吸收了一些光，正是这种吸收才是问题的根源。增加增益材料被广泛视为克服这些损失的几种方法之一。但是，进步很慢，基础物理学仍然远非清晰。在这个项目中，我们将进行一系列新型实验，以确定对等离子体光放大材料之间相互作用的正确理解的基础。我们的长期目的是提供理解，如果要克服吸收瓶颈，则需要释放等离子间的全部功能。就可以敲出铃铛以产生一定的铃声，因此在金属环上的金属纳米颗粒上的光损害可以在金属环中产生电子。这种称为等离子体模式的铃声发生在光频率上，是等离子原料的核心。正如铃声有一定的音符一样，铃声电子与一定颜色的光强烈相互作用，具体颜色取决于粒子周围的大小，形状和光学环境。至关重要的是，电子的运动将光紧密结合到粒子的表面，限制和增强了纳米级区域的光线，远远超出了衍射极限，在这种情况下，它可能与分子，量子点等相互作用。将支持等离子体模式的金属纳米颗粒涂有染料分子，这些分子在激发时会放大光。等离子与分子之间的强相互作用意味着，当一个激发分子释放其存储的能量而不是作为光子出现时，能量以与金属纳米颗粒相关的等离子模式的形式出现。然后，该等离子体可能会触发其他激发分子以释放其作为等离子的能量，从而导致雪崩。另一种激光范式 - 随机激光 - 为探索这个新领域提供了一种新的方法。在传统的激光器中，通过使用腔体实现；相比之下，在随机激光器中，嵌入在增益材料中的纳米颗粒的随机排列中的多个散射用于控制扩增。随机激光提供了一种直接的方法，可以探究有关等离子模式和获得材料如何相互作用的一些关键问题。在这个项目中，我们将合成一系列介电和金属纳米颗粒，其中包括一些能够放大光的发光分子。然后，我们将从这些颗粒中制成胶体，并将研究其表现出的随机激光行为如何取决于和可能由与金属纳米颗粒相关的等离子体共振。将结果与适当的理论模型进行比较将使我们能够探索潜在的物理学。我们调查的重点将是更好地了解获取材料如何修改等离子体模式。我们的结果将吸引各种科学和技术社区，包括：纳米植物，超材料，光散射，光学通信，成像和生物光谱学。

项目成果

Plasmonic surface lattice resonances in arrays of metallic nanoparticle dimers

• DOI: 10.1088/2040-8978/18/3/035005
• 发表时间: 2016-03-01
• 期刊: JOURNAL OF OPTICS
• 影响因子: 2.1
• 作者: Humphrey, A. D.;Barnes, W. L.
• 通讯作者: Barnes, W. L.

Surface Lattice Resonances in Plasmonic Arrays of Asymmetric Disc Dimers

• DOI: 10.1021/acsphotonics.5b00727
• 发表时间: 2016-04-01
• 期刊: ACS PHOTONICS
• 影响因子: 7
• 作者: Humphrey, Alastair D.;Meinzer, Nina;Barnes, William L.
• 通讯作者: Barnes, William L.

Plasmonic Surface Lattice Resonances: A Review of Properties and Applications.

• DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.8b00243
• 发表时间: 2018-06-27
• 期刊: Chemical reviews
• 影响因子: 62.1
• 作者: Kravets VG;Kabashin AV;Barnes WL;Grigorenko AN
• 通讯作者: Grigorenko AN

Excitonic surface lattice resonances

激子表面晶格共振

• DOI: 10.1088/2040-8978/18/8/085004
• 发表时间: 2016
• 期刊: Journal of Optics
• 影响因子: 2.1
• 作者: Humphrey A

Hybridized exciton-polariton resonances in core-shell nanoparticles

核-壳纳米颗粒中的混合激子-极化子共振

• DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.1609.04932
• 发表时间: 2016
• 作者: Gentile M