Near-field Electrical Detection of Optical Plasmons and Single Plasmon Sources

Photonic circuits can be much faster than their electronic counterparts, but they are difficult to miniaturize below the optical wavelength scale. Nanoscale photonic circuits based on surface plasmon polaritons (SPs) are a promising solution to this problem because they can localize light below the diffraction limit. However, there is a general tradeoff between the localization of an SP and the efficiency with which it can be detected with conventional far-field optics. Here we describe a new all-electrical SP detection technique based on the near-field coupling between guided plasmons and a nanowire field-effect transistor. We use the technique to electrically detect the plasmon emission from an individual colloidal quantum dot coupled to an SP waveguide. Our detectors are both nanoscale and highly efficient (0.1 electrons/plasmon), and a plasmonic gating effect can be used to amplify the signal even higher (up to 50 electrons/plasmon). These results enable new on-chip optical sensing applications and are a key step towards "dark" optoplasmonic nanocircuits in which SPs can be generated, manipulated, and detected without involving far-field radiation.Comment: manuscript followed by supplementary informatio

A synthesis of cloud condensation nuclei counter (CCNC) measurements within the EUCAARI network

Cloud condensation nuclei counter (CCNC) measurements performed at 14 locations around the world within the European Integrated project on Aerosol Cloud Climate and Air Quality interactions (EUCAARI) framework have been analysed and discussed with respect to the cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) activation and hygroscopic properties of the atmospheric aerosol. The annual mean ratio of activated cloud condensation nuclei (N-CCN) to the total number concentration of particles (N-CN), known as the activated fraction A, shows a similar functional dependence on supersaturation S at many locations - exceptions to this being certain marine locations, a free troposphere site and background sites in south-west Germany and northern Finland. The use of total number concentration of particles above 50 and 100 nm diameter when calculating the activated fractions (A(50) and A(100), respectively) renders a much more stable dependence of A on S; A(50) and A(100) also reveal the effect of the size distribution on CCN activation. With respect to chemical composition, it was found that the hygroscopicity of aerosol particles as a function of size differs among locations. The hygroscopicity parameter kappa decreased with an increasing size at a continental site in south-west Germany and fluctuated without any particular size dependence across the observed size range in the remote tropical North Atlantic and rural central Hungary. At all other locations kappa increased with size. In fact, in Hyytiala, Vavihill, Jungfraujoch and Pallas the difference in hygroscopicity between Aitken and accumulation mode aerosol was statistically significant at the 5% significance level. In a boreal environment the assumption of a size-independent kappa can lead to a potentially substantial overestimation of N-CCN at S levels above 0.6 %. The same is true for other locations where kappa was found to increase with size. While detailed information about aerosol hygroscopicity can significantly improve the prediction of N-CCN, total aerosol number concentration and aerosol size distribution remain more important parameters. The seasonal and diurnal patterns of CCN activation and hygroscopic properties vary among three long-term locations, highlighting the spatial and temporal variability of potential aerosol-cloud interactions in various environments.Peer reviewe