Dynamic tuning of plasmon-exciton coupling in arrays of nanodisk-J-aggregate complexes

Resonant coupling of molecular excitons and optical anapoles in silicon nanosphere-J-aggregate heterostructures under vector beam illumination

Resonant excitation of high-index dielectric nanostructures and their coupling with molecular excitons provide great opportunities for engineering adaptable platforms for hybrid functional optical devices. Here, we numerically calculate resonance coupling of nonradiating anapole states to molecular excitons within silicon nanosphere-J-aggregate heterostructures under illumination with radially polarized cylindrical vector beams. The results show that the resonance coupling is accompanied by a scattering peak around the exciton transition frequency, and the anapole state splits into a pair of anticrossing eigenmodes with a mode splitting energy of ≈200m e V. We also investigate the resonance coupling as a function of the J-aggregate parameters, such as thickness, exciton transition linewidth, and oscillator strength. Resonant coupling of the anapole states and J-aggregate heterostructures could be a promising platform for future nanophotonic applications such as in information processing and sensing.

Theoretical Models, Preparation, Characterization and Applications of Cyanine J-Aggregates: A Minireview

Cyanines are one of the few kinds of molecules whose absorbance and emission can be shifted in a broad spectral range from the ultraviolet to the near infrared. They can easily transform into J-aggregates with narrow absorption and emission peaks, along with a redshift in their spectra. This mini-review presents cyanine dyes and their J-aggregates and discusses their structure and spectral properties that illustrate their specificities. We summarize the theoretical and experimental state of the art on cyanine J-aggregates and their applications, also laying the groundwork for cyanine J-aggregates synthesis and characterization methods.

Preparation of Photoswitchable Polyacrylic Nanocomposite Fibers Containing Au Nanorods and Spiropyran: Optical and Plasmonic Properties

Photoswitchable nanofibers and nanocomposite fibers containing plasmonic nanoparticles have attracted a great deal of interest in optical and plasmonic devices. Herein, photoswitchable poly(methyl methacrylate-co-vinylimidazole-co-spiropyran ethyl acrylate) (MVSP) and its copolymer with butyl acrylate (MBVSP) were prepared via emulsion polymerization, and the corresponding nanofibers (MVSP@NF and MBVSP@NF) and nanocomposite fibers (MVSP/Au@NF and MBVSP/Au@NF) containing AuNRs were fabricated through electrospinning. FTIR and ¹H NMR analyses confirmed the progress of the copolymerization reaction. The morphology of the prepared nanofibers containing AuNRs with an aspect ratio of 2.5 was identified by SEM and TEM techniques. The inclusion of vinylimidazole into the copolymer chains resulted in well-dispersed AuNRs. Photoisomerization studies revealed a higher photochromic efficiency for MBVSP@F (reflective intensity of 37.4%) with respect to MVSP@NF (reflective intensity of 62.5%) because of the greater flexibility of the chains. In addition, the presence of AuNRs in the nanocomposite fibers with high absorptivity intensified the photochromic properties for both samples. The polarization-dependent plasmonic band of AuNRs was switched between 650 and 634 nm through the photoisomerization of nonpolar SP to polar MC reversibly for MVSP/Au@NF. This displacement was just 4 nm for MBVSP/Au@NF, owing to the limited coupling between AuNRs and MC isomers. Besides, the capability of both nanocomposite fibers for reversible optical patterning was investigated by fast write-erase cycles. Enhanced photofatigue resistance in those fibers and the photomodulation of the plasmonic band of AuNRs using SP to MC isomerization revealed their promising potential for optical patterning and on-demand real-time plasmonic devices.

Manifestation of the anisotropic properties of the molecular J-aggregate shell in the optical spectra of plexcitonic nanoparticles

The theoretical studies of light absorption and scattering spectra of the plexcitonic two-layer triangular nanoprisms and three-layer nanospheres are reported. The optical properties of such metal-organic core-shell and core-double-shell nanostructures were previously explained within the framework of pure isotropic models for describing their outer excitonic shell. In this work, we show that the anisotropy of the excitonic shell permittivity can drastically affect the optical spectra of such hybrid nanostructures. This fact is confirmed by directly comparing our theory with some available experimental data, which cannot be treated using conventional isotropic shell models. We have analyzed the influence of the shell anisotropy on the optical spectra and proposed a type of hybrid nanostructure that seems the most convenient for experimental observation of the effects associated with the anisotropy of the excitonic shell. A strong dependence of the anisotropic properties of the J-aggregate shell on the material of the intermediate spacer layer is demonstrated. This allows proposing a new way to effectively control the optical properties of metal-organic nanostructures by selecting the spacer material. Our results extend the understanding of physical effects in optics of plexcitonic nanostructures to more complex systems with the anisotropic and multi-excitonic properties of their molecular aggregate shell.

Strongly coupled exciton-plasmon nanohybrids reveal extraordinary resistance to harsh environmental stressors: temperature, pH and irradiation

Hybridized plexcitonic states have unique properties which have been widely studied in recent decades in many research fields targeted at both fundamental science and innovative applications. However, to make these applications come true one needs to ensure the stabilization and preservation of electronic states and optical transitions in hybrid nanostructures, especially under the influence of external stressors, in regimes, that have not yet been comprehensively investigated. The present work shows that the nanohybrid system, composed of plasmonic nanoparticles and J-aggregates of organic molecules, displays outstanding resistance to harsh environmental stressors such as temperature, pH and strong light irradiation as well as demonstrates long-term stability and processability of the nanostructures both in weak and strong coupling regimes. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the physicochemical properties of plexcitonic nanoparticles and may find important implications for the development of potential applications in optoelectronics, optical imaging and chemo-bio-sensing and, in general, in the field of optical materials science.

Tunable Fano Resonance and Plasmon-Exciton Coupling in Single Au Nanotriangles on Monolayer WS2 at Room Temperature

Tunable Fano resonances and plasmon-exciton coupling are demonstrated at room temperature in hybrid systems consisting of single plasmonic nanoparticles deposited on top of the transition metal dichalcogenide monolayers. By using single Au nanotriangles (AuNTs) on monolayer WS₂ as model systems, Fano resonances are observed from the interference between a discrete exciton band of monolayer WS₂ and a broadband plasmonic mode of single AuNTs. The Fano lineshape depends on the exciton binding energy and the localized surface plasmon resonance strength, which can be tuned by the dielectric constant of surrounding solvents and AuNT size, respectively. Moreover, a transition from weak to strong plasmon-exciton coupling with Rabi splitting energies of 100-340 meV is observed by rationally changing the surrounding solvents. With their tunable plasmon-exciton interactions, the proposed WS₂ -AuNT hybrids can open new pathways to develop active nanophotonic devices.

Bright Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering with Fluorescence Quenching from Silica Encapsulated J-Aggregate Coated Gold Nanoparticles

Plexitonic nanoparticles offer variable optical properties through tunable excitations, in addition to electric field enhancements that far exceed molecular resonators. This study demonstrates a way to design an ultrabright surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) signal while simultaneously quenching the fluorescence background through silica encapsulation of the semiconductor-metal composite nanoparticles. Using a multistep approach, a J-aggregate-forming organic dye is assembled on the surface of gold nanoparticles using a cationic linker. Excitonic resonance of the J-aggregate-metal system shows an enhanced SERS signal at an appropriate excitation wavelength. Further encapsulation of the decorated particles in silica shows a significant reduction in the fluorescence signal of the Raman spectra (5× reduction) and an increase in Raman scattering (7× enhancement) when compared to phospholipid encapsulation. This reduction in fluorescence is important for maximizing the useful SERS enhancement from the particle, which shows a signal increase on the order of 10⁴ times greater than J-aggregated dye in solution and 24 times greater than Oxonica S421 SERS tag. The silica layer also serves to promote colloidal stability. The combination of reduced fluorescence background, enhanced SERS intensity, and temporal stability makes these particles highly distinguishable with potential to enable high-throughput applications such as SERS flow cytometry.

Ultrafast fluorescent decay induced by metal-mediated dipole-dipole interaction in two-dimensional molecular aggregates

Two-dimensional molecular aggregate (2DMA), a thin sheet of strongly interacting dipole molecules self-assembled at close distance on an ordered lattice, is a fascinating fluorescent material. It is distinctively different from the conventional (single or colloidal) dye molecules and quantum dots. In this paper, we verify that when a 2DMA is placed at a nanometric distance from a metallic substrate, the strong and coherent interaction between the dipoles inside the 2DMA dominates its fluorescent decay at a picosecond timescale. Our streak-camera lifetime measurement and interacting lattice-dipole calculation reveal that the metal-mediated dipole-dipole interaction shortens the fluorescent lifetime to about one-half and increases the energy dissipation rate by 10 times that expected from the noninteracting single-dipole picture. Our finding can enrich our understanding of nanoscale energy transfer in molecular excitonic systems and may designate a unique direction for developing fast and efficient optoelectronic devices.

Tailored Surfaces/Assemblies for Molecular Plasmonics and Plasmonic Molecular Electronics

Molecular plasmonics uses and explores molecule-plasmon interactions on metal nanostructures for spectroscopic, nanophotonic, and nanoelectronic devices. This review focuses on tailored surfaces/assemblies for molecular plasmonics and describes active molecular plasmonic devices in which functional molecules and polymers change their structural, electrical, and/or optical properties in response to external stimuli and that can dynamically tune the plasmonic properties. We also explore an emerging research field combining molecular plasmonics and molecular electronics.

Mode Modification of Plasmonic Gap Resonances Induced by Strong Coupling with Molecular Excitons

Plasmonic cavities can be used to control the atom-photon coupling process at the nanoscale, since they provide an ultrahigh density of optical states in an exceptionally small mode volume. Here we demonstrate strong coupling between molecular excitons and plasmonic resonances (so-called plexcitonic coupling) in a film-coupled nanocube cavity, which can induce profound and significant spectral and spatial modifications to the plasmonic gap modes. Within the spectral span of a single gap mode in the nanocube-film cavity with a 3 nm wide gap, the introduction of narrow-band J-aggregate dye molecules not only enables an anticrossing behavior in the spectral response but also splits the single spatial mode into two distinct modes that are easily identified by their far-field scattering profiles. Simulation results confirm the experimental findings, and the sensitivity of the plexcitonic coupling is explored using digital control of the gap spacing. Our work opens up a new perspective to study the strong coupling process, greatly extending the functionality of nanophotonic systems, with the potential to be applied in cavity quantum electrodynamic systems.

Silver Nanodisk Monolayers with Surface Coverage Gradients for Use as Optical Rulers and Protractors

Colloidal silver nanodisks (AgNDs) are assembled into a monolayer with a coverage density gradient (CDG) on the surface of flat and cylindrical substrates using the Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) technique. Compressing the LB monolayers during transfer to the substrates causes the CDG assembly of the AgNDs. By functionalizing the AgNDs with poly(ethylene glycol), it is possible to control their order inside the LB monolayer assembly by changing the deposition surface pressure. Well-separated AgNDs, 2D aggregates with different numbers of particles, and highly packed 2D arrays are formed as the deposition surface pressure is increased. Localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) spectra collected at different separation distances from the highest coverage spot (HCS) of the CDG AgND arrays on a flat substrate are blue-shifted, and the shift increases systematically upon increasing the distance. The relationship among the LSPR peak position, the peak intensity at a fixed wavelength, and the corresponding separation distance from the HCS is fitted exponentially. A similar systematic blue shift in the LSPR spectrum of the CDG AgND monolayer on a cylindrical substrate is obtained when the substrate is rotated at different angles relative to the HCS. The fabricated CDG AgND monolayers can potentially be used for optically measuring distances and angles.

Dual Strong Couplings Between TPPS J-Aggregates and Aluminum Plasmonic States

We report on the spectral properties of strong coupling between the localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPRs) of aluminum (Al) nanostructures and tetraphenylporphyrin tetrasulfonic acid hydrate (TPPS) J-aggregates. Because of their wide spectral range of LSPR bands from ultraviolet to near-infrared wavelengths by controlling structural size, Al nanodisks can realize strong coupling with different excitons of TPPS J-aggregates. The Rabi splitting energies of the excitons based on Soret and Q bands are 300 and 180 meV, respectively. In addition to extinction spectrum, we have also measured an excitation spectrum to determine the essential absorption of the hybrid states and successfully confirmed a shoulder peak corresponding to a lower branch of hybrid states. In Al nanorod systems, strong coupling with two excitons can also be selectively induced by merely rotating the polarization of the incident light, which constituted a simple platform for the dynamic control of exciton/plasmon coupling states.

Rabi Splitting in Photoluminescence Spectra of Hybrid Systems of Gold Nanorods and J-Aggregates

We experimentally and theoretically investigate the interactions between localized plasmons in gold nanorods and excitons in J-aggregates under ambient conditions. Thanks to our sample preparation procedure we are able to track a clear anticrossing behavior of the hybridized modes not only in the extinction but also in the photoluminescence (PL) spectra of this hybrid system. Notably, while previous studies often found the PL signal to be dominated by a single mode (emission from so-called lower polariton branch), here we follow the evolution of the two PL peaks as the plasmon energy is detuned from the excitonic resonance. Both the extinction and PL results are in good agreement with the theoretical predictions obtained for a model that assumes two interacting modes with a ratio between the coupling strength and the plasmonic losses close to 0.4, indicative of the strong coupling regime with a significant Rabi splitting estimated to be ∼200 meV. The evolution of the PL line shape as the plasmon is detuned depends on the illumination wavelength, which we attribute to an incoherent excitation given by decay processes in either the metallic rods or the J-aggregates.

Regioselective Localization and Tracking of Biomolecules on Single Gold Nanoparticles

Selective localization of biomolecules at the hot spots of a plasmonic nanoparticle is an attractive strategy to exploit the light-matter interaction due to the high field concentration. Current approaches for hot spot targeting are time-consuming and involve prior knowledge of the hot spots. Multiphoton plasmonic lithography is employed to rapidly immobilize bovine serum albumin (BSA) hydrogel at the hot spot tips of a single gold nanotriangle (AuNT). Regioselectivity and quantity control by manipulating the polarization and intensity of the incident laser are also established. Single AuNTs are tracked using dark-field scattering spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy to characterize the regioselective process. Fluorescence lifetime measurements further confirm BSA immobilization on the AuNTs. Here, the AuNT-BSA hydrogel complexes, in conjunction with single-particle optical monitoring, can act as a framework for understanding light-molecule interactions at the subnanoparticle level and has potential applications in biophotonics, nanomedicine, and life sciences.

Strong Coupling between ZnO Excitons and Localized Surface Plasmons of Silver Nanoparticles Studied by STEM-EELS

We investigated the strong coupling between the excitons of ZnO nanowires (NWs) and the localized surface plasmons (LSPs) of individual Ag nanoparticles (NPs) by monochromated electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) in an aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) instrument. The EELS results confirmed that the hybridization of the ZnO exciton with the LSPs of the Ag NP created two plexcitons: the lower branch plexcitons (LPs) with a symmetrical dipole distribution and the upper branch plexcitons (UPs) with an antisymmetrical dipole distribution. The spatial maps of the LP and UP excitations reveal the nature of the LSP-exciton interactions. With decreasing size of the Ag NP the peak energies of the LPs and UPs showed a blue-shift and an anticrossing behavior at the ZnO exciton energy was observed. The coupled oscillator model explains the dispersion curve of the plexcitons and a Rabi splitting energy of ∼170 meV was deduced. The high spatial and energy resolution STEM-EELS approach demonstrated in this work is general and can be extended to study the various coupling interactions of a plethora of metal-semiconductor nanocomposite systems.

Multiple hybridized resonances of IR-806 chromonic molecules strongly coupled to Au nanorods

Strong coupling of plasmons and molecules generates intriguingly hybridized resonance. The IR-806 molecule is a near-infrared cyanine liquid crystal dye with multiple molecular bands and its tunable absorption spectrum varies dramatically with concentration. In this article, we investigate multiple hybridized resonances of the Au nanorods (AuNRs) strongly coupled to IR-806 molecules. Five hybridized resonance peaks are observed in the extinction spectra of the AuNR@IR-806 hybrids. Two resonance peaks at approximately 840 and 912 nm in the hybrids are reported for the first time. The dependence of the multiple hybridized peaks on the bare plasmon resonance wavelength of AuNRs and the molecular concentration is also demonstrated. The observations presented herein provide a plasmon-molecule coupling route for tuning optical responses of liquid crystal molecules.

Shape-controlled synthesis of hybrid nanomaterials via three-dimensional hydrodynamic focusing

Shape-controlled synthesis of nanomaterials through a simple, continuous, and low-cost method is essential to nanomaterials research toward practical applications. Hydrodynamic focusing, with its advantages of simplicity, low-cost, and precise control over reaction conditions, has been used for nanomaterial synthesis. While most studies have focused on improving the uniformity and size control, few have addressed the potential of tuning the shape of the synthesized nanomaterials. Here we demonstrate a facile method to synthesize hybrid materials by three-dimensional hydrodynamic focusing (3D-HF). While keeping the flow rates of the reagents constant and changing only the flow rate of the buffer solution, the molar ratio of two reactants (i.e., tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) and HAuCl4) within the reaction zone varies. The synthesized TTF-Au hybrid materials possess very different and predictable morphologies. The reaction conditions at different buffer flow rates are studied through computational simulation, and the formation mechanisms of different structures are discussed. This simple one-step method to achieve continuous shape-tunable synthesis highlights the potential of 3D-HF in nanomaterials research.

Plasmonic band gap engineering of plasmon-exciton coupling

Controlling plasmon-exciton coupling through band gap engineering of plasmonic crystals is demonstrated in the Kretschmann configuration. When the flat metal surface is textured with a sinusoidal grating only in one direction, using laser interference lithography, it exhibits a plasmonic band gap because of the Bragg scattering of surface plasmon polaritons on the plasmonic crystals. The contrast of the grating profile determines the observed width of the plasmonic band gap and hence allows engineering of the plasmonic band gap. In this work, resonant coupling between the molecular resonance of a J-aggregate dye and the plasmonic resonance of a textured metal film is extensively studied through plasmonic band gap engineering. Polarization dependent spectroscopic reflection measurements probe the spectral overlap occurring between the molecular resonance and the plasmonic resonance. The results indicate that plasmon-exciton interaction is attenuated in the band gap region along the grating direction.

Absorption enhancement of molecules in the weak plasmon-exciton coupling regime

We report on the experimental and theoretical investigations of enhancing the optical absorption of organic molecules in the weak plasmon-exciton coupling regime. A metal-organic hybrid structure consisting of dye molecules embedded in the polymer matrix is placed in close vicinity to thin metal films. We have observed a transition from a weak coupling regime to a strong coupling one as the thickness of the metal layer increases. The results indicate that absorption of the self-assembled J-aggregate nanostructures can be increased in the weak plasmon-exciton coupling regime and strongly quenched in the strong coupling regime. A theoretical model based on the transfer-matrix method qualitatively confirms the experimental results obtained from polarization-dependent spectroscopic reflection measurements.

Ultrastrong plasmon-exciton coupling in metal nanoprisms with J-aggregates

In this Letter, ultrastrong plasmon-exciton coupling in an Ag nanoprism-J-aggregate hybrid nanostructure is reported. A localized surface plasmon wavelength of Ag nanoprisms is tunable starting from 400 to 1100 nm. Because of the large electric field localization at the corners of the nanoprisms, the observed Rabi splitting energy is higher than the previously reported Rabi splitting energies using metal nanoparticles. A giant Rabi splitting energy of more than 400 meV corresponding to ~19% of the j-band energy has been observed, thus indicating the ultrastrong coupling regime. The hybrid nanostructure of nanoprism-J-aggregate is easy to prepare in large quantities and it can be uniformly assembled on solid substrates.

Approaching the strong coupling limit in single plasmonic nanorods interacting with J-aggregates

We studied scattering and extinction of individual silver nanorods coupled to the J-aggregate form of the cyanine dye TDBC as a function of plasmon – exciton detuning. The measured single particle spectra exhibited a strongly suppressed scattering and extinction rate at wavelengths corresponding to the J-aggregate absorption band, signaling strong interaction between the localized surface plasmon of the metal core and the exciton of the surrounding molecular shell. In the context of strong coupling theory, the observed “transparency dips” correspond to an average vacuum Rabi splitting of the order of 100 meV, which approaches the plasmon dephasing rate and, thereby, the strong coupling limit for the smallest investigated particles. These findings could pave the way towards ultra-strong light-matter interaction on the nanoscale and active plasmonic devices operating at room temperature.

Near-field mediated plexcitonic coupling and giant Rabi splitting in individual metallic dimers

Strong coupling between resonantly matched localized surface plasmons and molecular excitons results in the formation of new hybridized energy states called plexcitons. Understanding the nature and tunability of these hybrid nanostructures is important for both fundamental studies and the development of new applications. We investigate the interactions between J-aggregate excitons and single plasmonic dimers and report for the first time a unique strong coupling regime in individual plexcitonic nanostructures. Dark-field scattering measurements and finite-difference time-domain simulations of the hybrid nanostructures show strong plexcitonic coupling mediated by the near-field inside each dimer gap, which can be actively controlled by rotating the polarization of the optical excitation. The plexciton dispersion curves, obtained from coupled harmonic oscillator models, show anticrossing behavior at the exciton transition energy and giant Rabi splitting ranging between 230 and 400 meV. These energies are, to the best of our knowledge, the largest obtained on individual hybrid nanostructures.

Spectral and directional reshaping of fluorescence in large area self-assembled plasmonic-photonic crystals

Spectral and directional reshaping of fluorescence from dye molecules embedded in self-assembled hybrid plasmonic-photonic crystals has been examined. The hybrid crystals comprise two-dimensional hexagonal arrays of dye-doped dielectric nanospheres, capped with silver semishells. Comparing the reshaped fluorescence spectra with measured transmission/reflection spectra and numerical calculations reveals that the spectral and directional reshaping of fluorescence is the result of its coupling to photonic crystal Bloch modes and to void plasmons localized inside the silver caps.

Molecular plasmonics for biology and nanomedicine

The optical excitation of surface plasmons in metal nanoparticles leads to nanoscale spatial confinement of electromagnetic fields. The confined electromagnetic fields can generate intense, localized thermal energy and large near-field optical forces. The interaction between these effects and nearby molecules has led to the emerging field known as molecular plasmonics. Recent advances in molecular plasmonics have enabled novel optical materials and devices with applications in biology and nanomedicine. In this article, we categorize three main types of interactions between molecules and surface plasmons: optical, thermal and mechanical. Within the scope of each type of interaction, we will review applications of molecular plasmonics in biology and nanomedicine. We include a wide range of applications that involve sensing, spectral analysis, imaging, delivery, manipulation and heating of molecules, biomolecules or cells using plasmonic effects. We also briefly describe the physical principles of molecular plasmonics and progress in the nanofabrication, surface functionalization and bioconjugation of metal nanoparticles.

Magnetism in gold nanoparticles

Gold nanoparticles currently elicit an intense and very broad research activity because of their peculiar properties. Be it in catalysis, optics, electronics, sensing or theranostics, new applications are found daily for these materials. Approximately a decade ago a report was published with magnetometry data showing that gold nanoparticles, most surprisingly, could also be magnetic, with features that the usual rules of magnetism were unable to explain. Many ensuing experimental papers confirmed this observation, although the reported magnetic behaviours showed a great variability, for unclear reasons. In this review, most of the experimental facts pertaining to "magnetic gold" are summarized. The various theories put forth for explaining this unexpected magnetism are presented and discussed. We show that despite much effort, a satisfying explanation is still lacking and that the field of hypotheses should perhaps be widened.

Mechanically Tuning the Localized Surface Plasmon Resonances of Gold Nanostructure Arrays

We report the fabrication of metal nanostructures on a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrate by transferring polystyrene beads onto PDMS substrate followed by metal deposition. Experimentally tuning the plasmon resonance of the metal nanostructures was demonstrated by stretching the patterned PDMS substrate. The distance between adjacent nanodisks affects the coupling between the disks, leading to a repeatable and reversible shift in the spectrum. The device can be valuable in many applications such as bio/chemical sensing, reconfigurable optics, and the study of coupled resonances.

Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Study on Graphene-Coated Metallic Nanostructure Substrates

Graphene, which has a linear electronic band structure, is widely considered as a semimetal. In the present study, we combine graphene with conventional metallic surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates to achieve higher sensitivity of SERS detection. We synthesize high-quality, single-layer graphene sheets by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and transfer them from copper foils to gold nanostructures, i.e., nanoparticle or nanohole arrays. SERS measurements are carried out on methylene blue (MB) molecules. The combined graphene nanostructure substrates show about threefold or ninefold enhancement in the Raman signal of MB, compared with the bare nanohole or nanoparticle substrates, respectively. The difference in the enhancement factors is explained by the different morphologies of graphene on the two substrates with the aid of numerical simulations. Our study indicates that applying graphene to SERS substrates can be an effective way to improve the sensitivity of conventional metallic SERS substrates.

Scalable manufacturing of plasmonic nanodisk dimers and cusp nanostructures using salting-out quenching method and colloidal lithography

Localization of large electric fields in plasmonic nanostructures enables various processes such as single-molecule detection, higher harmonic light generation, and control of molecular fluorescence and absorption. High-throughput, simple nanofabrication techniques are essential for implementing plasmonic nanostructures with large electric fields for practical applications. In this article we demonstrate a scalable, rapid, and inexpensive fabrication method based on the salting-out quenching technique and colloidal lithography for the fabrication of two types of nanostructures with large electric field: nanodisk dimers and cusp nanostructures. Our technique relies on fabricating polystyrene doublets from single beads by controlled aggregation and later using them as soft masks to fabricate metal nanodisk dimers and nanocusp structures. Both of these structures have a well-defined geometry for the localization of large electric fields comparable to structures fabricated by conventional nanofabrication techniques. We also show that various parameters in the fabrication process can be adjusted to tune the geometry of the final structures and control their plasmonic properties. With advantages in throughput, cost, and geometric tunability, our fabrication method can be valuable in many applications that require plasmonic nanostructures with large electric fields.

Optical response of supported gold nanodisks

It is shown that the ellipsometric spectra of short range ordered planar arrays of gold nanodisks supported on glass substrates can be described by modeling the nanostructured arrays as uniaxial homogeneous layers with dielectric functions of the Lorentz type. However, appreciable deviations from experimental data are observed in calculated spectra of irradiance measurements. A qualitative and quantitative description of all measured spectra is obtained with a uniaxial effective medium dielectric function in which the nanodisks are modeled as oblate spheroids. Dynamic depolarization factors in the long-wavelength approximation and interaction with the substrate are considered. Similar results are obtained calculating the optical spectra using the island-film theory. Nevertheless, a small in-plane anisotropy and quadrupolar coupling effects reveal a very complex optical response of the nanostructured arrays.

Incident-angle-modulated molecular plasmonic switches: a case of weak exciton-plasmon coupling

We have designed an angularly tunable plasmonic system that consists of Au nanodisks in combination with molecules of photoswitchable resonance, spiropyran, to gain new insights into weak exciton-plasmon couplings. In the weak exciton-plasmon coupling regime, switching molecular resonance can induce localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) peak shifts due to the change in the refractive index of the molecular materials. On the basis of the angle-resolved spectroscopic study of the nanodisk-spiropyran system both with and without UV irradiation, we reveal an unusual "zigzag" curve for the LSPR peak shifts (due to the photoswitching of the molecular resonance) as a function of the original LSPR peak wavelength. A further theoretical analysis attributes the "zigzag" curve to two significant competing effects that depend on the incident angle of the probe light: plasmon-enhanced molecular resonance absorption and LSPR sensitivity to the surroundings' refractive index.

All-Optical Modulation of Localized Surface Plasmon Coupling in a Hybrid System Composed of Photo-Switchable Gratings and Au Nanodisk Arrays

We conduct a real-time study of all-optical modulation of localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) coupling in a hybrid system that integrates a photo-switchable optical grating with a gold nanodisk array. This hybrid system enables us to investigate two important interactions: 1) LSPR-enhanced grating diffraction, and 2) diffraction-mediated LSPR in the Au nanodisk array. The physical mechanism underlying these interactions was analyzed and experimentally confirmed. With its advantages in cost-effective fabrication, easy integration, and all-optical control, the hybrid system described in this work could be valuable in many nanophotonic applications.

Holographically Fabricated Dye-Doped Nanoporous Polymers as Matrix for Laser Desorption/Ionization Mass Spectrometry

We report laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry using a dye-doped nanoporous polymer matrix. The nanoporous polymer matrix was fabricated through a holographic interference patterning technique. The periodically aligned nanopores in the resulting polymer matrix produced a high surface-to-volume ratio that facilitates the homogeneous cocrystallization of the matrix and an analyte (i.e., peptide in this demonstration). To generate nanostructures with further enhanced functionalities, dyes were also incorporated into the photopolymer. We demonstrate that by using the dye-doped nanoporous polymer matrix, we can identify peptides with an enhanced signal from the peptides and decreased noise from the ion fragmentation. These results indicate that the dye-doped nanoporous polymer matrix we use here can be a promising platform for laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry.