Imaging of Antiferroelectric Dark Modes in an Inverted Plasmonic Lattice.

Plasmonic lattice nanostructures are of technological interest because of their capacity to manipulate light below the diffraction limit. Here, we present a detailed study of dark and bright modes in the visible and near-infrared energy regime of an inverted plasmonic honeycomb lattice by a combination of Au focused ion beam lithography with nanometric resolution, optical and electron spectroscopy, and finite-difference time-domain simulations. The lattice consists of slits carved in a gold thin film, exhibiting hotspots and a set of bright and dark modes.

An Inverted Honeycomb Plasmonic Lattice as an Efficient Refractive Index Sensor.

We present an efficient refractive index sensor consisting of a heterostructure that contains an Au inverted honeycomb lattice as a main sensing element. Our design aims at maximizing the out-of-plane near-field distributions of the collective modes of the lattice mapping the sensor surroundings. These modes are further enhanced by a patterned SiO layer with the same inverted honeycomb lattice, an SiO spacer, and an Au mirror underneath the Au sensing layer that contribute to achieving a high performance.

Geometric frustration in a hexagonal lattice of plasmonic nanoelements.

We introduce the concept of geometric frustration in plasmonic arrays of nanoelements. In particular, we present the case of a hexagonal lattice of Au nanoasterisks arranged so that the gaps between neighboring elements are small and lead to a strong near-field dipolar coupling. Besides, far-field interactions yield higher-order collective modes around the visible region that follow the translational symmetry of the lattice.

Arrays of suspended silicon nanowires defined by ion beam implantation: mechanical coupling and combination with CMOS technology.

We present the fabrication, operation, and CMOS integration of arrays of suspended silicon nanowires (SiNWs). The functional structures are obtained by a top-down fabrication approach consisting in a resistless process based on focused ion beam irradiation, causing local gallium implantation and silicon amorphization, plus selective silicon etching by tetramethylammonium hydroxide, and a thermal annealing process in a boron rich atmosphere. The last step enables the electrical functionality of the irradiated material.

Self-oriented Ag-based polycrystalline cubic nanostructures through polymer stabilization.

This paper presents the study of the dynamics of the formation of polymer-assisted highly-orientated polycrystalline cubic structures (CS) by a fractal-mediated mechanism. This mechanism involves the formation of seed Ag@Co nanoparticles by InterMatrix Synthesis and subsequent overgrowth after incubation at a low temperature in chloride and phosphate solutions. These ions promote the dissolution and recrystallization in an ordered configuration of pre-synthetized nanoparticles initially embedded in negatively-charged polymeric matrices.