Mechanical deformation sensor based on plasmonic nanoparticles

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10317341-B2
Application number	US-201615545855-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 28, 2016
Priority date	Feb 2, 2015
Publication date	Jun 11, 2019
Grant date	Jun 11, 2019

Abstract

An apparatus ( 517 ) comprising first and second plasmonic nanoparticles ( 502 a, 502 b ) connected to one another by a deformable member ( 518 ), the first and second plasmonic nanoparticles each configured to exhibit a respective plasmon resonance when exposed to incident electromagnetic radiation ( 203 ), wherein, in a first configuration, the first and second plasmonic nanoparticles are in sufficient proximity to one another that their respective plasmon resonances can interact to produce a resulting plasmon resonance, and wherein mechanical deformation of the deformable member causes a variation in the relative position of the plasmonic nanoparticles to a second configuration to produce a detectable change in the resulting plasmon resonance of the first configuration which can be used to determine said mechanical deformation.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An apparatus comprising first plasmonic nanoparticles, second plasmonic nanoparticles, and one or more further plasmonic nanoparticles each configured to exhibit a respective plasmon resonance when exposed to incident electromagnetic radiation, the first, second and one or more further plasmonic nanoparticles arranged such that each plasmonic nanoparticle is connected to an adjacent plasmonic nanoparticle by a deformable member, the deformable member connecting one pair of adjacent plasmonic nanoparticles is formed of a different material relative to the deformable member connecting another pair of adjacent plasmonic nanoparticles such that each deformable member is configured to undergo a different type of mechanical deformation relative to an adjacent deformable member dependent on the material composition of each deformable member, respectively,
wherein, in a first configuration, when two adjacent nanoparticles are in sufficient proximity to one another their respective plasmon resonances can interact to produce a resulting plasmon resonance, and
wherein mechanical deformation of the deformable member causes a variation in the relative position of the respective adjacent plasmonic nanoparticles to a second configuration to produce a detectable change in the resulting plasmon resonance of the first configuration which can be used to determine said mechanical deformation.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein one of the deformable members is one or more of a stretchable and compressible member configured to allow the proximity of the respective adjacent plasmonic nanoparticles to be increased or decreased between the first and second configurations by the mechanical deformation, respectively.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein one of the deformable members is a flexible member configured to allow the relative orientation of the respective adjacent plasmonic nanoparticles to be varied between the first and second configurations by the mechanical deformation.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein one of the deformable members is configured to undergo expansion between the first and second configurations on absorption of an analyte species from the surrounding environment, and wherein detection of the corresponding change in the resulting plasmon resonance can be used to determine said expansion and hence the presence of the analyte species.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the deformable members comprises a substrate on which the adjacent plasmonic nanoparticles are supported.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the deformable members are interpositioned between the respective adjacent plasmonic nanoparticles.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein at least one pair of adjacent plasmonic nanoparticles are spaced apart from one another by a gap in the first configuration.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first second and one or more further plasmonic nanoparticles each have a long axis and a short axis, and wherein the long axis of at least one plasmonic nanoparticle is collinear with the long axis of an adjacent plasmonic nanoparticle in the first configuration.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the incident electromagnetic radiation is polarized along a predefined polarization axis, and wherein the apparatus is configured such that the long axes of the adjacent plasmonic nanoparticles are aligned substantially parallel to the polarization axis of the incident electromagnetic radiation in the first configuration.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the size, shape and material of the first, second and further plasmonic nanoparticles are configured such that that they exhibit their respective plasmon resonances when exposed to one or more of ultraviolet, visible and infrared radiation.

11. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the deformable members comprises a reversibly deformable material.

12. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the mechanical deformation of the deformable members is caused by different stimuli including one or more of thermal expansion and deformation caused by one or more of acceleration, magnetic fields and acoustic pressure.

13. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the deformable members comprises one or more of a foam, a cross-linked polymer, a DNA lattice, an elastomer and a block copolymer.

14. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first, second and one or more further plasmonic nanoparticles have one or more of the same size, shape and material as one another.

15. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first, second and one or more further plasmonic nanoparticles comprise one or more of nanorods, nanowires and nanotubes.

16. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first, second and one or more further plasmonic nanoparticles comprise one or more of a noble metal, gold, platinum, silver and aluminum.

17. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the different types of mechanical deformation comprise tensile, compressive, bending and shearing strain.

18. A method of forming an apparatus, the method comprising:
connecting first, second and one or more further plasmonic nanoparticles to one another by deformable members such that each plasmonic nanoparticle is connected to an adjacent plasmonic nanoparticle using a deformable member, the deformable member connecting one pair of adjacent plasmonic nanoparticles being formed of a different material relative to the deformable member connecting another of adjacent plasmonic nanoparticles such that the deformable member connecting one pair of adjacent plasmonic nanoparticles is configured to monitor a different type of mechanical deformation than the deformable member connecting another pair of adjacent plasmonic nanoparticles, the first, second and further plasmonic nanoparticles each configured to exhibit a respective plasmon resonance when exposed to incident electromagnetic radiation,
wherein, in a first configuration, when adjacent plasmonic nanoparticles are in sufficient proximity to one another their respective plasmon resonances can interact to produce a resulting plasmon resonance, and
wherein mechanical deformation of a deformable member causes a variation in the relative position of the respective adjacent plasmonic nanoparticles to a second configuration to produce a detectable change in the resulting plasmon resonance of the first configuration which can be used to determine said mechanical deformation.

19. A method of using an apparatus,
the apparatus comprising first, second and one or more further plasmonic nanoparticles each configured to exhibit a respective plasmon resonance when exposed to incident electromagnetic radiation, the first, second and one or more further plasmonic nanoparticles arranged such that each plasmonic nanoparticle is connected to an adjacent plasmonic nanoparticle by a deformable member, the deformable member connecting one pair of adjacent plasmonic nanoparticles includes a different material composition to the deformable member connecting another pair of adjacent plasmonic nanoparticles such that each deformable member included in the apparatus is configured to undergo a different type of mechanical deformation, wherein, in a first configuration, the adjacent nanoparticles are in sufficient proximity to one another that their respective plasmon resonances can interact to produce a resulting plasmon resonance, and wherein mechanical deformation of a deformable member causes a variation in the relative position of the respective adjacent pla

Assignees

• Lyten Inc

Inventors

• Harris Nadine
• White Richard
• Astley Michael

Classifications

• G01N21/3581

  using far infrared light; using Terahertz radiation · CPC title

• G01N21/658

  enhancement Raman, e.g. surface plasmons · CPC title

• G01N21/554 Primary

  detecting the surface plasmon resonance of nanostructured metals, e.g. localised surface plasmon resonance · CPC title

• G01N21/4133

  Refractometers, e.g. differential · CPC title

• G01N21/3563

  for analysing solids; Preparation of samples therefor · CPC title