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Strong Coupling between Surface Plasmon Polaritons and Molecular Vibrations.
H Memmi1, O Benson1, S Sadofev1
1Institut für Physik, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Newtonstrasse 15, 12489 Berlin, Germany.
Physical Review Letters
|April 8, 2017
Summary
We achieved strong coupling between light and molecular vibrations in a novel organic-inorganic hybrid material. This plasmonic hybrid structure shows potential for advanced chemistry and optoelectronics applications.
Area of Science:
- Plasmonics
- Molecular Spectroscopy
- Materials Science
Background:
- Surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) are light-driven electron oscillations on metal surfaces.
- Coupling SPPs with molecular vibrations can create new hybrid states with unique optical properties.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the strong coupling between SPPs and molecular vibrations in an organic-inorganic plasmonic hybrid structure.
- To characterize the resulting hybrid states and their dependence on material properties.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of a hybrid structure with a ketone-based polymer on a silver layer.
- Analysis of attenuated-total-reflection (ATR) spectra to study the dispersion relation.
Main Results:
- Observed an anticrossing in the dispersion relation near the carbonyl stretch vibration.
- Measured an energy splitting of up to 15 meV between the upper and lower polariton branches.
- Found that the splitting depends on molecular layer thickness and saturates for thick films.
Conclusions:
- Demonstrated strong coupling in a novel organic-inorganic plasmonic hybrid system.
- The observed hybrid state has significant potential for applications in chemistry and optoelectronics.