Effect of plasmon-enhancement on photophysics in upconverting nanoparticles

Surface plasmon polaritons (SPP) waves have been shown to significantly affect the near-field photophysical phenomenon. In particular, strong Coulombic interactions can enhance nearby non-linear optics and energy transfer process, while SPP waves also affect other photophysical processes like quenching observed in fluorescent and excitonic systems. Here, using different plasmonic substrates, we show the effect of plasmon-enhancement on quenching, phonon-assisted non-radiative decay, weak Purcell effect or electromagnetic field enhancement, and energy transfer rates of upconverting doped-lanthanide nanoparticles. While the resonant plasmons enhance the local electromagnetic field and the rate of energy transfer leading to enhanced upconversion photoluminescence of infrared radiation to visible light, it can also increase the quenching and non-radiative decay rates of photoexcited electron-hole pairs leading to losses and lower efficiency. These results can guide the design of optimized substrate geometry for using surface plasmons to modulate the photophysics in other applications too.