Modulating the temporal dynamics of nonlinear ultrafast plasmon resonances

Spatio-temporal control of ultrafast plasmon resonances has gained research interest in recent years because of their tremendous implications in nonlinear optics and ultrafast quantum technology. In particular, the lifetime of ultrashort plasmon oscillations has become a debatable subject in recent experimental and theoretical studies to fulfill the future challenges concerning their effective employment in the vast applications of the plasmonic industry. Here, we examined the temporal properties of nonlinear plasmonic modes in metal nanostructures by interacting them with quantum objects in the weak coupling regime in order to distinguish it from the fundamental plasmonic mode. First of all, we present an analytical description of nonlinear ultrafast dynamics of localized surface plasmon resonances when the second harmonic plasmon mode interacts with long-lived dark mode or quantum emitter. Later, the coupled plasmonic system is realized in two different ways to control the lifetime of second harmonic mode by coupling, i) driven mode to dark mode (or long lifetime quantum emitter) ii)itself to dark mode (or long lifetime quantum emitter). The driven-dissipative dynamics are solved through a numerical technique governing the spatial and temporal changes in the second harmonic plasmonic response supported by AuNP. Finally, the lifetime enhancement of nonlinear plasmon mode is manifested by performing FDTD simulations for a nonlinear plasmonic system of Au nanoparticles coupled with a long lifetime quantum emitter

All-Optical Control of Ultrafast Plasmon Resonances in the Pulse-Driven Extraordinary Optical Transmission

Understanding the ultrafast processes at their natural-time scale is crucial for controlling and manipulating nanoscale optoelectronic devices under light-matter interaction. Here, we demonstrate that ultrafast plasmon resonances, attributed to the phenomenon of Extraordinary Optical Transmission (EOT), can be significantly modified by tuning the spectral and temporal properties of the ultrashort light pulse. In this scheme, all-optical active tuning governs spatial and temporal enhancement of plasmon oscillations in the EOT system without device customization. We analyze the spectral and temporal evolution of the system through two approaches. First, we develop a theoretical framework based on the coupled harmonic oscillator model, which analytically describes the dynamics of plasmon modes in the coupled and uncoupled state. Later, we compare the evolution of the system under continuous wave and pulsed illumination. Further, we discuss time-resolved spectral and spatial dynamics of plasmon modes through 3D-FDTD simulation method and wavelet transform. Our results show that optical tuning of oscillation time, intensity, and spectral properties of propagating and localized plasmon modes yields a 3-fold enhancement in the EOT signal. The active tuning of the EOT sensor through ultrashort light pulses pave the way for the development of on-chip photonic devices employing high-resolution imaging and sensing of abundant atomic and molecular systems

Voltage-controlled extraordinary optical transmission in the visible regime

Control of components in integrated photonic circuits is crucial in achieving programmable devices. Operation bandwidth of a plasmonic device cannot be generally tuned once it is manufactured, especially in the visible regime. Here, we demonstrate the electrical control of such a device for extraordinary optical transmission~(EOT) in the visible regime. (i) Operation frequency of the EOT device can be tuned via a bias voltage applied through nanowires. (ii) Or, at a given frequency, the EOT signal (normalized to the incident field) can be tuned continuously, e.g., between $10^{-4}$ and $0.4$. This corresponds to a 3-orders of magnitude modulation depth. We utilize Fano resonances induced by a quantum emitter~(QE) that is embedded into the nanoholes. The external bias-voltage tunes QE's resonance. We also discuss the lifetime extensions of surface plasmon polaritons as a response to an ultra-short optical pulse. Our proposed method provides the active electronic control of EOT signal which makes it a feasible and compact element in integrated photonic circuits, for bio-sensing, high resolution imaging, and molecular spectroscopy applications

Single-molecule-resolution ultrafast near-field optical microscopy via plasmon lifetime extension

A recent study shows that: when a long lifetime particle is positioned near a plasmonic metal nanoparticle, lifetime of plasmon oscillations extends, but, "only" near that long-life particle [PRB 101, 035416 (2020)]. Here, we show that this phenomenon can be utilized for ultrahigh (single-molecule) resolution ultrafast apertureless (scattering) SNOM applications. We use the exact solutions of 3D Maxwell equations. We illuminate a metal-coated silicon tip, a quantum emitter (QE) placed on the tip apex, with a femtosecond laser. The induced near-field in the apex decays rapidly except in the vicinity of the sub-nm-sized QE. Thus, the resolution becomes solely limited by the size of the QE. As positioning of a QE on the tip apex is challenging, we propose the use of a newly-discovered phenomenon; stress-induced defect formation in 2D materials. When a monolayer, e.g., transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) is transferred to the AFM tip, the tip indentation of 2D TMD originates a defect-center located right at the sharpest point of the tip; that is exactly at its apex. Moreover, the resonance of the defect is tunable via a voltage applied to the tip. Our method can equally be used for background-noise-free nonlinear imaging and for facilitating single-molecule-size chemical manipulation

Silent-enhancement of multiple Raman modes via tuning optical properties of graphene nanostructures

Raman scattering signal can be enhanced through localization of incident field into sub-wavelength hot-spots through plasmonic nano-structures (Surface-enhanced Raman scattering-SERS). Recently, further enhancement of SERS signal via quantum objects are proposed by [1] without increasing the hot-spot intensity (\textit{silent-enhancement}) where this suggestion prevents the modification of vibrational modes or the breakdown of molecules. The method utilizes path interference in the non-linear response of Stokes-shifted Raman modes. In this work, we extend this phenomenon to tune the spectral position of \textit{silent-enhancement} factor where the multiple vibrational modes can be detected with a better signal-to-noise ratio, simultaneously. This can be achieved in two different schemes by employing either (i) graphene structures with quantum emitters or (ii) replacing quantum emitters with graphene spherical nano-shell in \cite{Postaci2018}. In addition, the latter system is exactly solvable in the steady-state. These suggestions not only preserve conventional non-linear Raman processes but also provide flexibility to enhance (silently) multiple vibrational Raman modes due to the tunable optical properties of graphene

Ultra-large actively tunable photonic band gaps via plasmon-analog of index enhancement

We present a novel method for active continuous-tuning of a band gap which has a great potential to revolutionize current photonic technologies. We study a periodic structure of x and y-aligned nanorod dimers. Refractive index of a y-polarized probe pulse can be continuously-tuned by the intensity of an x-polarized auxiliary (pump) pulse. Order of magnitude index-tuning can be achieved with a vanishing loss using the plasmon-analog of refractive index enhancement [Phys. Rev. B 100, 075427 (2019)]. Thus, a large band gap can be created from a non-existing gap via the auxiliary pulse. We also present a "proof of principle" demonstration of the phenomenon using numerical solutions of Maxwell equations. The new method, working for any crystal dimensions, can also be utilized as a linear photonic switch operating at tens of femtoseconds

Green Synthesis and the formation kinetics of silver nanoparticles in aqueous Inula Viscosa extract

In this study, we present the production of silver nanoparticles in aqueous Inula Viscosa extract by the green synthesis approach at room temperature. The structural, morphological properties as well as formation kinetics of the synthesized silver nanoparticles were characterized by UV-VIS, STEM, XRD, Raman and FTIR measurements. Mono-dispersed and very stable silver nanoparticles with size of 15$\pm$5 nm and face-centered cubic crystal structure were synthesized in aqueous Inula Viscosa extract. The kinetic studies of silver nanoparticles formation in Inula Viscosa extract show that silver nanoparticle formation reaction reached the equilibrium within 24 h and fit in the first-order reaction kinetics. The results clearly show that the size of fabricated nanoparticles is independent on the dynamical formation process since the reaction time and initial silver ion concentration did not affect on size and morphology of the produced particles