Cooling Dynamics of a Gold Nanoparticle in a Host Medium Under Ultrafast Laser Pulse Excitation: A Ballistic-Diffusive Approach

We present a numerical model allowing to determine the electron and lattice temperature dynamics in a gold nanoparticle under subpicosecond pulsed excitation, as well as that of the surrounding medium. For this, we have used the electron-phonon coupling equation in the particle with a source term linked with the laser pulse, and the ballistic-diffusive equations for heat conduction in the host medium. Our results show that the heat transfer rate from the particle to the matrix is significantly smaller than the prediction of Fourier's law. Consequently, the particle temperature rise is much larger and its cooling dynamics is much slower than that obtained using Fourier's law, which is attributed to the nonlocal and nonequilibrium heat conduction in the vicinity of the nanoparticle. These results are expected to be of great importance for interpreting pump-probe experiments performed on single nanoparticles or nanocomposite media

Thermal Excitation of Broadband and Long-range Surface Waves on SiO 2 Submicron Films

We detect thermally excited surfaces waves on a submicron SiO 2 layer, including Zenneck and guided modes in addition to Surface Phonon Polaritons. The measurements show the existence of these hybrid thermal-electromagnetic waves from near-(2.7 $\mu$m) to far-(11.2 $\mu$m) infrared. Their propagation distances reach values on the order of the millimeter, several orders of magnitude larger than on semi-infinite systems. These two features, spectral broadness and long range propagation, make these waves good candidates for near-field applications both in optics and thermics due to their dual nature.Comment: Applied Physics Letters, American Institute of Physics, 201

Photothermal Properties of Gold Nanoparticles

International audienc

Photothermal properties of gold nanoparticles

International audienc

Photo-induced ultrafast optical and thermal responses of gold nanoparticles

PARIS-BIUSJ-Biologie recherche (751052107) / SudocSudocFranceF

Nonthermal model for ultrafast laser-induced plasma generation around a plasmonic nanorod

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Large and Ultrafast Optical Response of a One-Dimensional Plasmonic-Photonic Cavity

International audienceThe resonant coupling of a localized surface plasmon mode and a cavity mode in a photonic crystal has been recently shown to strongly tailor the stationary optical response of gold nanoparticles. Here, we demonstrate that this can be further exploited for controlling light on an ultrashort time scale. The stationary and ultrafast optical responses of such a plasmonic-photonic cavity are investigated numerically. We show that the transient photo-induced change of the optical transmittance of a bare nanocomposite thin film can be amplified up to 60 times once resonantly coupled to the cavity mode in the hybrid device, despite the degradation of this mode due to absorption losses. In addition, different all-optical, ultrafast, efficient, and reversible photonic functions (increase or decrease of the signal intensity, transient spectral shift of the cavity mode) can be achieved depending on the spectral position of the transmitted mode tuned by varying the angle of incidence. The transient modification of the signal intensity is predicted to reach about 300 % after a subpicosecond rise time when the defect mode matches the plasmon resonance

Thermal response of nanocomposite materials under pulsed laser excitation

The optical properties of nanocomposite materials made of matrix-embedded noble metal nanoparticles strongly depend on thermal effects from different origins. We propose a classical model describing the energy exchanges within the nanoparticles and between the latter and the surrounding dielectric host subsequent to a light pulse absorption. This model, which accounts for the thermal interactions between neighboring particles, allows us to calculate numerically the temperature dynamics of the electrons, metal lattice and matrix as functions of particle size, and metal concentration of the medium, whatever be the pulsed excitation temporal regime. It is illustrated in the case of Au:SiO2 materials under femtosecond and nanosecond pulse excitation. It is shown that, in the femtosecond regime, the heat transfer to the matrix cannot be neglected beyond a few picosecond delay from which particle size and metal concentration play a significant role in the electron relaxation. In the nanosecond regime, these morphologic parameters influence crucially the material thermal behavior with the possibility of generating a thermal lens effect. The implications in the analysis of experimental results regarding both the electron relaxation dynamics and the nonlinear optical properties are also discussed. Finally, a method to adapt the model to the case of thin nanocomposite film is proposed