Plasmonic atoms and plasmonic molecules

The proposed paradigm of plasmonic atoms and plasmonic molecules allows one to describe and predict the strongly localized plasmonic oscillations in the clusters of nanoparticles and some other nanostructures in uniform way. Strongly localized plasmonic molecules near the contacting surfaces might become the fundamental elements (by analogy with Lego bricks) for a construction of fully integrated opto-electronic nanodevices of any complexity and scale of integration.Comment: 30 pages, 16 figure

Lifetime of the surface magnetoplasmons in metallic nanoparticles

We study the influence of an external magnetic field on the collective electronic excitations in metallic nanoparticles. While the usual surface plasmon corresponding to the collective oscillation of the electrons with respect to the ionic background persists in the direction parallel to the magnetic field, the components in the perpendicular plane are affected by the field and give rise to two collective modes with field-dependent frequencies, the surface magnetoplasmons. We analyze the decay of these collective excitations by their coupling to particle-hole excitations and determine how their lifetimes are modified by the magnetic field. In particular, we show that the lifetime of the usual surface plasmon is not modified by the magnetic field, while the lifetime of the two surface magnetoplasmons present a weak magnetic-field dependence. Optical spectroscopy experiments are suggested in which signatures of the surface magnetoplasmons may be observed.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures; published versio

Effects of the Electronic Structure, Phase Transition and Localized Dynamics of Atoms in the Formation of Tiny Particles of Gold

In addition to the self-governing properties, tiny metallic colloids are the building blocks of larger particles. This topic has been a subject of many studies. Tiny particles of different sizes developed under three different experiments are discussed in this work. The development of a tiny-sized particle depends on the attained dynamics of atoms. When atoms of the compact monolayer assembly bind by a nanoenergy packet, the developed tiny-sized particle elongates atoms of arrays into the structures of smooth elements at the solution surface. The impinging electron streams at a fixed angle can elongate the already elongated atoms of arrays. Travelling photons along the interface influence the modified atoms. Gold atoms can also develop different tiny particles inside the solution. In addition to the dynamics of atoms, miscellaneous factors can contribute in the development of such tiny particles. Atoms in the form of tiny clusters can also amalgamate to develop a tiny-sized particle. In the third kind of tiny particle, amalgamated atoms can bind by executing electron dynamics. However, not all of the atoms can bind by the electron dynamics. This study very concisely highlights the fundamental process of developing a variety of tiny particles in which electronic structure, phase transition and localized dynamics of gold atoms influence the structure. The study targets the specific discussion that how atoms of tiny-sized particles bind, and how travelling photons along the air-solution interface influence their structure. Several possibilities may be opened through pulse-based process to develop engineered materials

Quantum Plasmonics

Quantum plasmonics is an exciting subbranch of nanoplasmonics where the laws of quantum theory are used to describe light–matter interactions on the nanoscale. Plasmonic materials allow extreme subdiffraction confinement of (quantum or classical) light to regions so small that the quantization of both light and matter may be necessary for an accurate description. State-of-the-art experiments now allow us to probe these regimes and push existing theories to the limits which opens up the possibilities of exploring the nature of many-body collective oscillations as well as developing new plasmonic devices, which use the particle quality of light and the wave quality of matter, and have a wealth of potential applications in sensing, lasing, and quantum computing. This merging of fundamental condensed matter theory with application-rich electromagnetism (and a splash of quantum optics thrown in) gives rise to a fascinating area of modern physics that is still very much in its infancy. In this review, we discuss and compare the key models and experiments used to explore how the quantum nature of electrons impacts plasmonics in the context of quantum size corrections of localized plasmons and quantum tunneling between nanoparticle dimers. We also look at some of the remarkable experiments that are revealing the quantum nature of surface plasmon polaritons

Plasmonics: Localization and guiding of electromagnetic energy in metal/dielectric structures

We review the basic physics of surface-plasmon excitations occurring at metal/dielectric interfaces with special emphasis on the possibility of using such excitations for the localization of electromagnetic energy in one, two, and three dimensions, in a context of applications in sensing and waveguiding for functional photonic devices. Localized plasmon resonances occurring in metallic nanoparticles are discussed both for single particles and particle ensembles, focusing on the generation of confined light fields enabling enhancement of Raman-scattering and nonlinear processes. We then survey the basic properties of interface plasmons propagating along flat boundaries of thin metallic films, with applications for waveguiding along patterned films, stripes, and nanowires. Interactions between plasmonic structures and optically active media are also discussed