Dark plasmonic mode based perfect absorption and refractive index sensing

Perfect Absorption and Refractive-Index Sensing by Metasurfaces Composed of Cross-Shaped Hole Arrays in Metal Substrate

Achieving perfect electromagnetic wave absorption with a sub-nanometer bandwidth is challenging, which, however, is desired for high-performance refractive-index sensing. In this work, we theoretically study metasurfaces for sensing applications based on an ultra-narrow band perfect absorption in the infrared region, whose full width at half maximum (FWHM) is only 1.74 nm. The studied metasurfaces are composed of a periodic array of cross-shaped holes in a silver substrate. The ultra-narrow band perfect absorption is related to a hybrid mode, whose physical mechanism is revealed by using a coupling model of two oscillators. The hybrid mode results from the strong coupling between the magnetic resonances in individual cross-shaped holes and the surface plasmon polaritons on the top surface of the silver substrate. Two conventional parameters, sensitivity (S) and figure of merit (FOM), are used to estimate the sensing performance, which are 1317 nm/RIU and 756, respectively. Such high-performance parameters suggest great potential for the application of label-free biosensing.

Gap-mode excitation, manipulation, and refractive-index sensing application by gold nanocube arrays

The challenges in fabricating two-dimensional metallic nanostructures over large areas, which normally involve expensive and time-consuming nanofabrication techniques, have severely limited the exploration of the related applications based on plasmon-induced effects. Here, we cost-efficiently prepared large-area Au nanocube arrays (NCAs) using only the electrostatic forces between colloidal Au nanocubes and polyelectrolyte layers. This method provides a flexible way for obtaining controlled Au NCAs with various fill fractions and single-cube sizes. When the Au NCAs were arranged to be coupled with a continuous Au film, the plasmonic gap mode could be excited and manipulated, leading to significant and tunable light absorbance from the visible to the near-infrared parts of the spectrum. Besides, the as-prepared Au NCAs were used to construct a prototype refractive-index (RI) sensor, which exhibited excellent stability and sensitivity over 560 nm per RI unit.

Radiation of Dynamic Toroidal Moments

Dynamic toroidal dipoles, a distinguished class of fundamental electromagnetic sources, receive increasing interest and participate in fascinating electrodynamic phenomena and sensing applications. As described in the literature, the radiative nature of dynamic toroidal dipoles is sometimes confounded, intermixing with static toroidal dipoles and plasmonic dark modes. Here, we elucidate this issue and provide proof-of-principle experiments exclusively on the radiation behavior of dynamic toroidal moments. Optical toroidal modes in plasmonic heptamer nanocavities are analyzed by electron energy loss spectroscopy and energy-filtered transmission electron microscopy supported by finite-difference time-domain numerical calculations. Additionally, their corresponding radiation behaviors are experimentally investigated by means of cathodoluminescence. The observed contrasting behaviors of a single dynamic toroidal dipole mode and an antiparallel toroidal dipole pair mode are discussed and elucidated. Our findings further clarify the electromagnetic properties of dynamic toroidal dipoles and serve as important guidance for the use of toroidal dipole moments in future applications.

Real-Time Tunable Colors from Microfluidic Reconfigurable All-Dielectric Metasurfaces

Structural colors arising from all-dielectric nanostructures are very promising for high-resolution color nanoprinting and high-density optical storage. However, once the all-dielectric nanostructures are fabricated, their optical performances are usually static or change slowly, significantly limiting the practical applications in advanced displays. Herein, we experimentally demonstrate the real-time tunable colors with microfluidic reconfigurable all-dielectric metasurfaces. The metasurface is composed of an array of TiO₂ nanoblocks, which are embedded in a polymeric microfluidic channel. By injecting solutions with a different refractive index into the channel, the narrow band reflection peak and the corresponding distinct colors of a TiO₂ metasurface can be precisely controlled. The transition time is as small as 16 ms, which is orders of magnitude faster than the current techniques. By varying the lattice size of TiO₂ metasurfaces, the real-time tunable colors are able to span the entire visible spectrum. Meanwhile, the injection and ejection of solvent have also shown the capability of the erasion and the restoration of information encoded in TiO₂ metasurfaces. The combination of all-dielectric nanostructures with microfluidic channels shall boost their applications in functional color display, banknote security, anticounterfeiting, and point-of-care devices.

Polarization-insensitive and wide-incident-angle optical absorber with periodically patterned graphene-dielectric arrays

A polarization-insensitive and angle-independent graphene absorber (GA) with periodically patterned grating is demonstrated. A periodic nanocavity composed of multilayer subwavelength grating and metal substrate supports a strongly localized mode inside the cavity, where the mode helps to absorb more electromagnetic waves. The proposed GA exhibits polarization-insensitive behavior and maintains the high absorption above 90% within a wide range of incident angle (more than 80°). We attribute the high absorption to the excitation of the cavity mode resonance and magnetic resonance for the transverse electric and transverse magnetic polarizations, respectively. The proposed GA has potential applications in the design of various devices, such as optical modulators or tunable absorption filters because of its remarkable angle-insensitive absorption performance.