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Updated: Jun 4, 2025
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Utilization of Plasmonic and Photonic Crystal Nanostructures for Enhanced Micro- and Nanoparticle Manipulation
Published on: September 27, 2011
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Half-wave nanolasers and intracellular plasmonic lasing particles.
Sangyeon Cho1,2, Nicola Martino1,2, Seok-Hyun Yun3,4,5
1Wellman Center for Photomedicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Nature Nanotechnology
|January 2, 2025
Summary
Researchers developed novel nanolasers, achieving lasing action in the smallest possible cavity modes. These plasmonic nanolasers offer potential for advanced cellular imaging and optical barcoding applications.
Area of Science:
- Optics and Photonics
- Nanotechnology
- Materials Science
Background:
- Laser miniaturization is limited by cavity mode volume, with the ultimate goal being sub-wavelength dimensions.
- Localized surface plasmons (LSPs) and surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) are key phenomena in nanoscale light manipulation.
- Achieving lasing in the lowest-order cavity mode is crucial for highly efficient, miniaturized laser devices.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce and demonstrate nanolasers operating in the lowest-order LSP or half-cycle SPP modes.
- To explore strong coupling between plasmonic materials (gold) and semiconductor gain media (InGaAsP).
- To investigate the lasing dynamics and potential applications of these sub-wavelength lasers.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of plasmonic nanolasers with dimensions from 170 to 280 nm.
- Utilizing strong coupling between gold and InGaAsP in the near-infrared spectrum.
- Employing a quasi-continuous-level semiconductor laser model to analyze lasing dynamics under optical pumping.
- Demonstrating lasing in isolated gold-coated semiconductor discs within biological cells.
Main Results:
- Nanolasers achieved lasing in the lowest-order localized surface plasmon (LSP) or half-cycle surface plasmon polariton (SPP) modes.
- Strong coupling between gold and InGaAsP enabled single-mode, diffraction-limited emission.
- The developed nanolasers operate in the near-infrared (1,000-1,460 nm) and support only the lowest-order dipolar mode.
- Higher-order lasing was demonstrated in live biological cells using fabricated gold-coated semiconductor discs.
Conclusions:
- Plasmonic nanolasers operating in lowest-order modes represent a significant step towards ultimate laser miniaturization.
- These nanolasers are promising for applications such as multi-colour imaging and optical barcoding in cellular environments.
- The demonstrated strong coupling and lasing dynamics provide a foundation for future nanoscale light-emitting devices.
