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Measurement of Scattering Nonlinearities from a Single Plasmonic Nanoparticle
Published on: January 3, 2016
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Third-harmonic-upconversion enhancement from a single semiconductor nanoparticle coupled to a plasmonic antenna.
Heykel Aouani1, Mohsen Rahmani1, Miguel Navarro-Cía2
11] The Blackett Laboratory, Department of Physics, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK [2].
Nature Nanotechnology
|March 11, 2014
Summary
Researchers enhanced light upconversion using a hybrid nanodevice. A semiconductor nanoparticle in a plasmonic gold dimer achieved significant third-harmonic generation, boosting efficiency for applications like bioimaging.
Area of Science:
- Nanophotonics
- Nonlinear Optics
- Materials Science
Background:
- Efficient light upconversion is crucial for applications like bioimaging and photovoltaics.
- Nanoscale light upconversion is challenging due to phase-matching limitations.
- Plasmonic nanostructures offer potential but suffer low conversion efficiencies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To enhance third-harmonic generation (THG) in semiconductor nanoparticles.
- To develop a hybrid nanodevice for efficient nanoscale light upconversion.
- To explore THG emission for near-field intensity probing.
Main Methods:
- Coupling an indium tin oxide nanoparticle within a plasmonic gold dimer.
- Utilizing the plasmonic dimer as an optical antenna to confine light.
- Investigating THG enhancement and effective third-order susceptibility.
Main Results:
- Achieved up to 10(6)-fold THG enhancement compared to isolated nanoparticles.
- Demonstrated an effective third-order susceptibility of 3.5 × 10(3) nm V(-2).
- Reached a conversion efficiency of 0.0007% for THG.
Conclusions:
- The hybrid nanodevice significantly boosts nonlinear light upconversion at the nanoscale.
- This approach overcomes limitations of isolated nanostructures and macroscopic crystals.
- The THG emission can serve as a sensitive probe for localized optical fields.
