Substrate-induced hybridization of plasmon modes in the composite nanostructure of nanodisk array/thin film for spectrum modulation.

Hybridization coupling among plasmon modes is an effective approach to manipulate near-field properties thus optical spectral shapes of plasmonic nanostructures. Generally, mode hybridization coupling is achieved by modifying the topography and dimensions of nanostructures themselves, with few concerns about substrate-induced manipulation. Herein, we propose a composite nanostructure consisting of a gold (Au) nanodisk array and a thin Au film supported by a dielectric substrate.

Near-infrared surface plasmon resonance sensor with a graphene-gold surface architecture for ultra-sensitive biodetection.

Binding behaviors of proteins are important for applications in the field of biochemistry. Though a standard assay has a favorable limit of detection (LOD), it is mainly limited to indirect observation via fluorescence labeling. We reported and demonstrated a novel label-free sensing approach based on a near-infrared (NIR) surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensing chip modified with a graphene-gold surface architecture in this paper.

Electromagnetically Induced Transparency-Like Effect by Dark-Dark Mode Coupling.

Electromagnetically induced transparency-like (EIT-like) effect is a promising research area for applications of slow light, sensing and metamaterials. The EIT-like effect is generally formed by the destructive interference of bright-dark mode coupling and bright-bright mode coupling. There are seldom reports about EIT-like effect realized by the coupling of two dark modes.

Bidirectional band-switchable nano-film absorber from narrowband to broadband.

We propose a switchable perfect absorber with broadband and narrowband absorption based on alternating dielectric and metal nano-film structures in this paper. The lithography-free pattern is equipped with polarization insensitivity, good ductility and manufacturability, which has great significance in practical device development and applications. The quasi-complete selective absorption of incident light can be originated from asymmetric Fabry-Perot resonance, which combines the destructive interference in dielectric layers with inherent absorption in metal layers.

Thymine-Functionalized Gold Nanoparticles (Au NPs) for a Highly Sensitive Fiber-Optic Surface Plasmon Resonance Mercury Ion Nanosensor.

Mercury ion (Hg) is considered to be one of the most toxic heavy metal ions. Once the content of Hg exceeds the quality standard in drinking water, the living environment and health of human beings will be threatened and destroyed. Therefore, the establishment of simple and efficient methods for Hg ion detection has important practical significance.

Freestanding bilayer plasmonic waveguide coupling mechanism for ultranarrow electromagnetic-induced transparency band generation.

Strong electromagnetic coupling among plasmonic nanostructures paves a new route toward efficient manipulation of photons. Particularly, plasmon-waveguide systems exhibit remarkable optical properties by simply tailoring the interaction among elementary elements. In this paper, we propose and demonstrate a freestanding bilayer plasmonic-waveguide structure exhibiting an extremely narrow transmission peak with efficiency up to 92%, the linewidth of only 0.

Plasmonic hybridization generation in self-aligned disk/hole nanocavities for multi-resonance sensing.

Plasmonic nanostructures have proven an extensive practical prospect in ultra-sensitive label-free biomolecule sensing due to their nanoscale localization and large near-field enhancement. Here, we demonstrate a photonic plasmonic hybridization in the self-aligned disk/hole nanocavity array under two specific cases of nanogap and nanooverlap achieved by adjusting pillar height embedded into hole. The proposed disk/hole arrays in above two cases exhibit three hybridized modes with extremely high absorption, mainly arising from the in-phase (bonding) and out-of-phase (antibonding) coupling of dipolar modes of their parent disk and hole.

Au nanoparticles as label-free competitive reporters for sensitivity enhanced fiber-optic SPR heparin sensor.

A label-free Au NPs-enhanced surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor was developed for the ultrasensitive detection of heparin based on competitive adsorption behavior of heparin and Au NPs on the poly (dimethyl-diallylammonium chloride) (PDDA)-modified optical fiber surface and the corresponding change in the resonance wavelength of SPR. Due to the high affinity between heparin and PDDA, the present senor shows good analytical performance with respect to heparin detection. Two obvious advantages of the proposed heparin sensor over other reported methods are: its much wider linear concentration range (10-10 g/mL) and lower limit of detection (0.

Numerical Investigation on Multiple Resonant Modes of Double-Layer Plasmonic Grooves for Sensing Application.

A high-performance multi-resonance plasmonic sensor with double-layer metallic grooves is theoretically constructed by introducing a polymethyl methacrylate groove with a numerical simulation method. Multiple resonance wavelengths can be generated at the oblique incidence, and the number and feature of resonant mode for sensing detection is different for various incident angles. Specifically, at the incident angle of 30°, the reflection spectrum exhibits two resonant dips, in which the dip at the wavelength of 1066 nm has an extremely narrow line width of ~4.

Electromagnetically induced transparency in an all-dielectric nano-metamaterial for slow light application.

Slow light technique has significant potential applications in many contemporary photonic device developments for integrated all-optical circuit, such as buffers, regenerators, switches and interferometers. In this paper, we present an efficient coupling mechanism of an electromagnetically induced transparency like (EIT-like) effect in an all-dielectric nano-metamaterial. This EIT-like effect is generated by destructive interference between a radiative Fabry-Perot (FP) mode and a dark waveguide (WG) mode, which is based on a combined structure of a dielectric grating and multilayer films.

Near-Field Enhancement and Polarization Selection of a Nano-System for He-Ne Laser Application.

In this paper, we focus on transmission behavior based on the single aperture with a scatter. Both the near-field enhancement and polarization selection can be achieved numerically with a proposed nano-system under He-Ne laser wavelength. The nano-system consists of an Ag antenna, a wafer layer, an Ag film with an aperture and a dielectric substrate.

Hybrid Nanodisk Film for Ultra-Narrowband Filtering, Near-Perfect Absorption and Wide Range Sensing.

The miniaturization and integration of photonic devices are new requirements in the novel optics field due to the development of photonic information technology. In this paper, we report that a multifunctional layered structure of Au, SiO₂ and hexagonal nanodisk film is advantageous for ultra-narrowband filtering, near-perfect absorption and sensing in a wide refractive index (RI) region. This hexagonal nanostructure presented two remarkable polarization independent plasmon resonances with near-zero reflectivity and near-perfect absorptivity under normal incidence in the visible and near-infrared spectral ranges.

Mercaptopyridine-Functionalized Gold Nanoparticles for Fiber-Optic Surface Plasmon Resonance Hg Sensing.

As a highly toxic heavy metal ion, divalent mercuric ion (Hg) is one of the most widely diffused and hazardous environmental pollutants. In this work, a simple, portable, and inexpensive fiber-optic sensor based on surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect was developed for Hg detection, which takes advantage of 4-mercaptopyridine (4-MPY)-functionalized Au nanoparticles (Au NPs/4-MPY) as a signal amplification tag. Based on the coordination between Hg and nitrogen in the pyridine moiety, we developed the sensor by self-assembling 4-MPY on Au film surfaces to capture Hg and then introducing Au NPs/4-MPY to generate a plasmonic coupling structure with the configuration of nanoparticle-on-mirror.

Refractory Ultra-Broadband Perfect Absorber from Visible to Near-Infrared.

The spectral range of solar radiation observed on the earth is approximately 295 to 2500 nm. How to widen the absorption band of the plasmonic absorber in this range has become a hot issue in recent years. In this paper, we propose a highly applicable refractory perfect absorber with an elliptical titanium nanodisk array based on a silica⁻titanium⁻silica⁻titanium four-layer structure.

Fiber-optic surface plasmon resonance glucose sensor enhanced with phenylboronic acid modified Au nanoparticles.

A highly sensitive surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor is reported for glucose detection using self-assembled p-mercaptophenylboronic acid (PMBA) monolayer on Au coated optical fibers. The cis-diol group of saccharides, such as for glucose, interacted with the self-assembled PMBA monolayers on the optical fibers, but the low molecular mass of glucose is insufficient for measuring a significant shift in SPR wavelength. The response for glucose was thus enhanced with Au nanoparticles (Au NPs) modified with 2-aminoethanethiol (AET) and PMBA.

Micro-capillary-based self-referencing surface plasmon resonance biosensor for determination of transferrin.

A novel self-referencing surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensor for detection of transferrin is demonstrated using a micro-capillary as the sensing element. The biosensor employs the SPR mode as a measuring signal and the Fabry-Perot (FP) mode as a referencing signal. The SPR mode is generated in the gold film that is coated on the outside of the capillary; instead, the FP mode is excited in the capillary, which is filled with de-ionized water.

Narrow-band wavelength tunable filter based on asymmetric double layer metallic grating.

In this paper, the optical properties of asymmetric double layer metallic gratings are presented theoretically. The asymmetric structure is achieved by two main factors: one corresponding to moving alternatively metal nanowires of the top layer metallic grating, the other corresponding to possessing different thickness of the top and down layer metallic gratings. Our proposed structure shows one remarkable narrow-band transmission dip at normal incidence, which is distinct different from that of symmetric structure.