Enhanced photoluminescence from plasmonic apparatus with two resonant cavity wavelengths

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9715159-B1
Application number	US-201715434914-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	Feb 16, 2017
Priority date	Jun 27, 2016
Publication date	Jul 25, 2017
Grant date	Jul 25, 2017

Abstract

Embodiments include a gain system and method. The system includes a gain medium with a plurality of plasmonic apparatus. Each plasmonic apparatus includes a substrate having a first plasmonic surface, a plasmonic nanoparticle having a second plasmonic surface, and a dielectric-filled gap between the first plasmonic surface and the second plasmonic surface. A plasmonic cavity is created by an assembly of the first plasmonic surface, the second plasmonic surface, and the dielectric-filled gap, and has a first fundamental wavelength λ 1 and second fundamental wavelength λ 2 . Fluorescent particles are located in the dielectric-filled gap. Each fluorescent particle has an absorption spectrum at the first fundamental wavelength λ 1 and an emission spectrum at the second fundamental wavelength λ 2 . An excitation applied to the gain medium at the first fundamental wavelength λ 1 produces an amplified electromagnetic wave emission at the second resonant wavelength λ 2 .

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A plasmonic apparatus comprising:
a substrate having a first negative-permittivity layer comprising a first plasmonic surface;
a plasmonic nanoparticle having a base with a second negative-permittivity layer comprising a second plasmonic surface;
a dielectric-filled gap between the first plasmonic surface and the second b plasmonic surface, the dielectric filled including a non-linear optical dielectric material; and
a plasmonic cavity created by an assembly of the first plasmonic surface, the second plasmonic surface, and the dielectric-filed gap, and having a spectrally separated first fundamental resonant cavity wavelength λ 1 and second fundamental resonant cavity wavelength λ 2 .

2. The plasmonic apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the second fundamental resonant cavity wavelength λ 2 is a harmonic of the first fundamental resonant cavity wavelength λ 1 .

3. The plasmonic apparatus of claim 1 , wherein second resonant cavity wavelength λ 2 is a 3 rd harmonic of the first fundamental resonant cavity wavelength λ 1 .

4. The plasmonic apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first fundamental resonant cavity wavelength λ 1 is a harmonic of the second fundamental resonant cavity wavelength λ 2 .

5. The plasmonic apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising:
a plurality of particles located in the dielectric-filled gap, each particle of the plurality of particles having an absorption spectrum including the first fundamental resonant cavity wavelength λ 1 and an emission spectrum including the second resonant cavity wavelength λ 2 .

6. The plasmonic apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the plurality of particles includes a plurality of fluorescent particles.

7. The plasmonic apparatus of claim 5 , wherein each particle of the plurality of particles has an absorption spectrum including the first fundamental resonant cavity wavelength λ 1 and a 3 rd harmonic nonlinearity with an emission spectrum including the second resonant cavity wavelength λ 2 .

8. The plasmonic apparatus of claim 5 , wherein each particle of the plurality of particles has an emission spectrum including the first fundamental resonant cavity wavelength λ 1 and a 3 rd harmonic nonlinearity with an absorption spectrum including the second resonant cavity wavelength λ 2 .

9. The plasmonic apparatus of claim 5 , wherein each particle of the plurality of particles has an absorption peak at a wavelength substantially aligned with the first fundamental resonant cavity wavelength λ 1 and an emission peak at a wavelength substantially aligned with the second resonant cavity wavelength λ 2 .

10. The plasmonic apparatus of claim 5 , wherein each particle of the plurality of particles has an emission peak at a wavelength substantially aligned with the first fundamental resonant cavity wavelength λ 1 and an absorption peak at a wavelength substantially aligned with the second resonant cavity wavelength λ 2 .

11. The plasmonic apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the dielectric-filled gap is uniformly filled with the particles.

12. The plasmonic apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the dielectric material of the dielectric-filled gap is doped with the particles.

13. The plasmonic apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the non-linear optical dielectric material includes a non-linear optical crystal.

14. The plasmonic apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first fundamental resonant cavity wavelength λ 1 is a function of a first dimensional characteristic of the plasmonic nanoparticle and the second fundamental resonant cavity wavelength λ 2 is a function of a second dimensional characteristic of the plasmonic nanoparticle.

15. A method comprising:
directing a first electromagnetic beam having a first wavelength λ 1 at a plasmonic apparatus; and
emitting a second electromagnetic beam having at a second wavelength λ 2 from the plasmonic apparatus, the second electromagnetic beam having a lower quantum energy level than the first electromagnetic beam,
the plasmonic apparatus comprising:
a substrate having a first negative-permittivity layer comprising a first plasmonic surface;
a plasmonic nanoparticle having a base with a second negative-permittivity layer comprising a second plasmonic surface;
a dielectric-filled gap between the first plasmonic surface and the second plasmonic surface; and
a plasmonic cavity created by an assembly of the first plasmonic surface, the second plasmonic surface, and the dielectric-filled gap, and having a spectrally separated first fundamental resonant cavity wavelength λ 1 and second fundamental resonant cavity wavelength λ 2 .

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the plasmonic apparatus includes:
a plurality of particles located in the dielectric-filled gap, each particle of the plurality of particles having an absorption spectrum including the first fundamental resonant cavity wavelength λ 1 and an emission spectrum including the second fundamental resonant cavity wavelength λ 2 .

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the plurality of particles includes a plurality of fluorescent particles.

18. The method of claim 15 , wherein the first electromagnetic beam has at least a 2× higher quantum energy level than the second electromagnetic beam.

19. The method of claim 15 , wherein the first electromagnetic beam has at least a 3× higher quantum energy level than the second electromagnetic beam.

20. The method of claim 15 , wherein the first electromagnetic beam has at least a 5× higher quantum energy level than the second electromagnetic beam.

21. The method of claim 15 , wherein the first electromagnetic beam is a harmonic of the second electromagnetic beam.

22. The method of claim 15 , wherein the first electromagnetic beam is a 3 rd harmonic of the second electromagnetic beam.

23. A plasmonic nanoparticle dimer comprising:
a first plasmonic nanoparticle having a base with a first negative-permittivity layer comprising a first plasmonic surface;
a second plasmonic nanoparticle having a base with a second negative-permittivity layer comprising a second plasmonic surface;
dielectric-filled gap between the first plasmonic outer surface and the second plasmonic outer surface, a dielectric material of the dielectric-filed gap including a non-linear optical dielectric material;
a plasmonic cavity created by an assembly of the first plasmonic surface, the second plasmonic surface, and the dielectric-filled gap, and having a spectrally separated first fundamental resonant cavity wavelength λ 1 and second fundamental resonant cavity wavelength λ 2 .

24. The plasmonic nanoparticle dimer of claim 23 , further comprising:
a plurality of particles located in the dielectric-filled gap, each particle of the plurality of particles having an absorption spectrum including the first fundamental resonant cavity wavelength λ 1 and an emission spectrum including the second fundamental resonant cavity wavelength λ 2 .

25. The plasmonic nanoparticle dimer of claim 23 , further comprising:
a plurality of particles located in the dielectric-filled gap, each particle of the plurality of particles having an emission spectrum including the first fundamental resonant cavity wavelength λ 1 and an absorption spectrum including the second fundamental resonant cavity wavelength λ 2 .

26. The plasmonic nanoparticle dimer of claim 23 , wherein the plurality of particles includes a plurality of fluorescent particles.

Assignees

• Elwha Llc

Inventors

• Akselrod Gleb M
• Hyde Roderick A
• Ishikawa Muriel Y
• Kare Jordin T
• Mikkelsen Maiken H
• Pan Tony S
• Smith David R
• Tegreene Clarence T
• Urzhumov Yaroslav A
• Whitmer Charles
• Wood Jr Lowell L
• Wood Victoria Y H

Classifications

• B82Y20/00

  Nanooptics, e.g. quantum optics or photonic crystals · CPC title

• G02F1/353 Primary

  Frequency conversion, i.e. wherein a light beam is generated with frequency components different from those of the incident light beams · CPC title

• G02F2202/36

  Micro- or nanomaterials · CPC title

• G02B5/008

  Surface plasmon devices (diffractive gratings with a pitch less than or comparable to the wavelength G02B5/1809; surface plasmons in integrated optics G02B6/1226; optical analysis of materials by means of surface plasmons G01N21/553) · CPC title

• G02F2203/10

  plasmon · CPC title