A study of two-photon florescence in metallic nanoshells

Optical bistability in a heterodimer composed of a quantum dot and a metallic nanoshell

We theoretically explore the conditions for generating optical bistability (OB) in a heterodimer comprised of a semiconductor quantum dot (SQD) and a metallic nanoshell (MNS). The MNS is made of a metallic nanosphere as a core and a dielectric material as a shell. For the specific hybrid system considered, the bistable effect appears only if the frequency of the pump field is equal to (or slightly less than) the exciton frequency for a proper shell thickness. Bistability phase diagrams, when plotted, show that the dipole-induced bistable region can be greatly broadened by changing the shell thickness of the MNS in a strong exciton-plasmon coupling regime. In particular, we demonstrate that the multipole polarization not only narrows the bistable zone but also enlarges the corresponding thresholds for a given intermediate scaled pumping intensity. On the other hand, when the SQD couples strongly with the MNS, the multipole polarization can also significantly broaden the bistable region and induce a great suppression of the FWM (four-wave mixing) signal for a fixed shell thickness. These interesting findings offer a fresh understanding of the bistability conditions in an SQD/MNS heterodimer, and may be useful in the fabrication of high-performance and low-threshold optical bistable nanodevices.

Optical quantum yield in plasmonic nanowaveguide

We have developed a theory of the quantum yield for plasmonic nanowaveguide where the cladding layer is made of an ensemble of quantum dots and the core layer consists of an ensemble of metallic nanoparticles. The bound states of the confined probe photons in the plasmonic nanowaveguide are calculated using the transfer matrix method based on the Maxwell equations. It is shown that the number of bound states in the nanowaveguide depends on the dielectric properties of the core and cladding layers. The surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) produced by the metallic nanoparticles interacts with the excitons of the quantum dots. The radiative and nonradiative linewidths of excitons in the quantum yield are calculated using the quantum mechanical perturbation theory. We have found that the quantum yield decreases as the dipole-dipole interaction between metallic nanoparticles increases. We have also calculated the photoluminescence and found that the enhancement in photoluminescence is due to the SPPs coupling. On the other hand, the quenching in the photoluminescence is due to the quantum yield. We compared our theory with experiments of a nanowaveguide where the core is fabricated from Ag- nanoparticles and the cladding is fabricated from the perovskite quantum dots. A good agreement between theory and experiments is found. Our analytical expressions of the quantum yield and photoluminescence can be used by experimentalists to proforma new types of experiments and for inventing new types of nanosensors and nanoswitches.

A Review of Many-Body Interactions in Linear and Nonlinear Plasmonic Nanohybrids

In this review article, we discuss the many-body interactions in plasmonic nanohybrids made of an ensemble of quantum emitters and metallic nanoparticles. A theory of the linear and nonlinear optical emission intensity was developed by using the many-body quantum mechanical density matrix method. The ensemble of quantum emitters and metallic nanoparticles interact with each other via the dipole-dipole interaction. Surfaces plasmon polaritons are located near to the surface of the metallic nanoparticles. We showed that the nonlinear Kerr intensity enhances due to the weak dipole-dipole coupling limits. On the other hand, in the strong dipole-dipole coupling limit, the single peak in the Kerr intensity splits into two peaks. The splitting of the Kerr spectrum is due to the creation of dressed states in the plasmonic nanohybrids within the strong dipole-dipole interaction. Further, we found that the Kerr nonlinearity is also enhanced due to the interaction between the surface plasmon polaritons and excitons of the quantum emitters. Next, we predicted the spontaneous decay rates are enhanced due to the dipole-dipole coupling. The enhancement of the Kerr intensity due to the surface plasmon polaritons can be used to fabricate nanosensors. The splitting of one peak (ON) two peaks (OFF) can be used to fabricate the nanoswitches for nanotechnology and nanomedical applications.

Discussions of Fluorescence in Selenium Chemistry: Recently Reported Probes, Particles, and a Clearer Biological Knowledge

In this review from literature appearing over about the past 5 years, we focus on selected selenide reports and related chemistry; we aimed for a digestible, relevant, review intended to be usefully interconnected within the realm of fluorescence and selenium chemistry. Tellurium is mentioned where relevant. Topics include selenium in physics and surfaces, nanoscience, sensing and fluorescence, quantum dots and nanoparticles, Au and oxide nanoparticles quantum dot based, coatings and catalyst poisons, thin film, and aspects of solar energy conversion. Chemosensing is covered, whether small molecule or nanoparticle based, relating to metal ion analytes, H2S, as well as analyte sulfane (biothiols-including glutathione). We cover recent reports of probing and fluorescence when they deal with redox biology aspects. Selenium in therapeutics, medicinal chemistry and skeleton cores is covered. Selenium serves as a constituent for some small molecule sensors and probes. Typically, the selenium is part of the reactive, or active site of the probe; in other cases, it is featured as the analyte, either as a reduced or oxidized form of selenium. Free radicals and ROS are also mentioned; aggregation strategies are treated in some places. Also, the relationship between reduced selenium and oxidized selenium is developed.