37 research outputs found
Resonant coupling between localized plasmons and anisotropic molecular coatings in ellipsoidal metal nanoparticles
We present an analytic theory for the optical properties of ellipsoidal
plasmonic particles covered by anisotropic molecular layers. The theory is
applied to the case of a prolate spheroid covered by chromophores oriented
parallel and perpendicular to the metal surface. For the case that the
molecular layer resonance frequency is close to being degenerate with one of
the particle plasmon resonances strong hybridization between the two resonances
occur. Approximate analytic expressions for the hybridized resonance
frequencies, their extinction cross section peak heights and widths are
derived. The strength of the molecular - plasmon interaction is found to be
strongly dependent on molecular orientation and suggest that this sensitivity
could be the basis for novel nanoparticle based bio/chemo-sensing applications.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figure
Diffuse Surface Scattering in the Plasmonic Resonances of Ultra-Low Electron Density Nanospheres
Localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPRs) have recently been identified in
extremely diluted electron systems obtained by doping semiconductor quantum
dots. Here we investigate the role that different surface effects, namely
electronic spill-out and diffuse surface scattering, play in the optical
properties of these ultra-low electron density nanosystems. Diffuse scattering
originates from imperfections or roughness at a microscopic scale on the
surface. Using an electromagnetic theory that describes this mechanism in
conjunction with a dielectric function including the quantum size effect, we
find that the LSPRs show an oscillatory behavior both in position and width for
large particles and a strong blueshift in energy and an increased width for
smaller radii, consistent with recent experimental results for photodoped ZnO
nanocrystals. We thus show that the commonly ignored process of diffuse surface
scattering is a more important mechanism affecting the plasmonic properties of
ultra-low electron density nanoparticles than the spill-out effect.Comment: 19 pages, 5 figures. Accepted for publication in The Journal of
Physical Chemistry Letter
Surface scattering contribution to the plasmon width in embedded Ag nanospheres
Nanometer-sized metal particles exhibit broadening of the localized surface
plasmon resonance (LSPR) in comparison to its value predicted by the classical
Mie theory. Using our model for the LSPR dependence on non-local surface
screening and size quantization, we quantitatively relate the observed plasmon
width to the nanoparticle radius and the permittivity of the surrounding
medium . For Ag nanospheres larger than 8 nm only the non-local
dynamical effects occurring at the surface are important and, up to a diameter
of 25 nm, dominate over the bulk scattering mechanism. Qualitatively, the LSPR
width is inversely proportional to the particle size and has a nonmonotonic
dependence on the permittivity of the host medium, exhibiting for Ag a maximum
at . Our calculated LSPR width is compared with recent
experimental data.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures. Accepted for publication in Optics Expres
Plasmonic glasses: Optical properties of amorphous metal-dielectric composites
Plasmonic glasses composed of metallic inclusions in a host dielectric medium are investigated for their optical properties. Such structures characterized by short-range order can be easily fabricated using bottom-up, self-organization methods and may be utilized in a number of applications, thus, quantification of their properties is important. We show, using T-Matrix calculations of 1D, 2D, and 3D plasmonic glasses, that their plasmon resonance position oscillates as a function of the particle spacing yielding blue-and redshifts up to 0.3 eV in the visible range with respect to the single particle surface plasmon. Their properties are discussed in light of an analytical model of an average particle's polarizability that originates from a coupled dipole methodology
Resource efficient plasmon-based 2D-photovoltaics with reflective support
For ultrathin (similar to 10 nm) nanocomposite films of plasmonic materials and semiconductors, the absorptance of normal incident light is typically limited to about 50%. However, through addition of a non-absorbing spacer with a highly reflective backside to such films, close to 100% absorptance can be achieved at a targeted wavelength. Here, a simple analytic model useful in the long wavelength limit is presented. It shows that the spectral response can largely be characterized in terms of two wavelengths, associated with the absorber layer itself and the reflective support, respectively. These parameters influence both absorptance peak position and shape. The model is employed to optimize the system towards broadband solar energy conversion, with the spectrally integrated plasmon induced semiconductor absorptance as a figure of merit. Geometries optimized in this regard are then evaluated in full finite element calculations which demonstrate conversion efficiencies of up to 64% of the Shockley-Queisser limit. This is achieved using only the equivalence of about 10 nanometer composite material, comprising Ag and a thin film solar cell layer of a-Si, CuInSe2 or the organic semiconductor MDMO-PPV. A potential for very resource efficient solar energy conversion based on plasmonics is thus demonstrated
Wounds as probes of electrical properties of skin
We have built a model where we use a wound as a probe of the
dielectric properties of skin. In this way one is able to infer infor-
mation about skin dielectric properties in situ. We introduce the
notion of a skin electrochemical capacitor. This gives good
agreement with recent measurements for the electric potential
landscape around a wound. Possible diagnostic consequences are
briefly touched upon
A Mechanism for Cutting Carbon Nanotubes with a Scanning Tunneling Microscope
We discuss the local cutting of single-walled carbon nanotubes by a voltage
pulse to the tip of a scanning tunneling microscope. The tip voltage (~3.8 eV) is the key physical quantity in the cutting process. After
reviewing several possible physical mechanisms we conclude that the cutting
process relies on the weakening of the carbon-carbon bonds through a
combination of localized particle-hole excitations induced by inelastically
tunneling electrons and elastic deformation due to the electric field between
tip and sample. The carbon network releases part of the induced mechanical
stress by forming topological defects that act as nucleation centers for the
formation of dislocations that dynamically propagate towards bond-breaking.Comment: 7 pages, 6 postscript figures, submitted to PR