Enhanced transmission in microwave arrays of periodic sub-wavelength apertures

In this paper we have conclusively proven that the "enhanced" optical transmission through a periodic array of sub-wavelength holes in metal films (Ebbessen's experiment) is the result of the array periodicity. This work has overturned the commonly accepted theory that the surface plasmons were responsible for the transmission enhancement. It was demonstrated that the reflectance, transmittance and frequency selectivity of the multilayered arrays can be efficiently modified by the aperture shapes.

Near-field distribution of optical transmission of periodic subwavelength holes in a metal film

Optical transmission of a two-dimensional array of subwavelength holes in a metal film has been numerically studied using a differential method. Transmission spectra have been calculated showing a significant increase of the transmission in certain spectral ranges corresponding to the excitation of the surface polariton Bloch waves on a metal surface with a periodic hole structure. Under the enhanced transmission conditions, the near-field distribution of the transmitted light reveals an intensity enhancement greater than 2 orders of magnitude in localized (similar to 40 nm) spots resulting from the interference of the surface polaritons Bragg scattered by the holes in an array.

Electronically controlled surface plasmon dispersion and optical transmission through metallic hole arrays using liquid crystal.

The enhanced optical properties of metal films periodically perforated with an array of sub-wavelength size holes have recently been widely studied in the field of surface plasmon optics. The ability to design the optical transmission of such nanostructures, which act as plasmonic crystals, by varying their geometrical parameters gives them great flexibility for numerous applications in photonics, opto-electronics, and sensing. Transforming these passive optical elements into devices that may be actively controlled has presented a new challenge. Here, we report on the realization of an electrically controlled nanostructured optical system based on the unique properties of surface plasmon polaritonic crystals in contact with a liquid crystal (LC) layer. We discuss the effect of LC layer modulation on the surface plasmon dispersion, the related optical transmission and the underlying mechanism. The reported effect may be used to achieve active spectral tuneability and switching in a wide range of applications.

Optical transmission of periodic annular apertures in metal film on high-refractive index substrate: The role of the nanopillar shape

The influence of annular aperture parameters on the optical transmission through arrays of coaxial apertures in a metal film on high refractive index substrates has been investigated experimentally and numerically. It is shown that the transmission resonances are related to plasmonic crystal effects rather than frequency cutoff behavior associated with annular apertures. The role of deviations from ideal aperture shape occurring during the fabrication process has also been studied. Annular aperture arrays are often considered in many applications for achieving high optical transmission through metal films and understanding of nanofabrication tolerances are important. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics.

Optical transmission through single subwavelength apertures using prism coupled input of laser light of annular intensity profile

Light transmission through a single subwavelength aperture in a silver film is examined with a novel input configuration comprising an annular laser beam of variable diameter that is prism-coupled to the back face of the silver. Transmission peaks driven by excitation of the back-face surface plasmon mode or by the aperture resonance itself are separately observed. For both cases, comparison of films with and without a front-face, circular grating implies significantly more efficient coupling from the aperture fields to the front-face surface plasmon than directly to free radiation. (c) 2007 Optical Society of America.

Optical transmission properties and electric field distribution of interacting 2D silver nanorod Arrays

Silver nanorods have been grown by electrodeposition into thin film porous alumina templates (AAO). Optical transmission measurements using p-polarized incident white light shows clear plasmon resonance extinction peaks. We successfully model the dependence on angle in incidence of extinction peak height and position using a multiple-multipoles (MMP) approach with the different spectral features being clearly associated with the effective electric field distribution and coupling between individual nanorods.

Light tunneling via resonant surface plasmon polariton states and the enhanced transmission of periodically nanostructured metal films: An analytical study

An analytical treatment of optical transmission through periodically nanosructured metal films capable of supporting surface-plasmon polaritons is presented. The optical properties of such metal films are governed by surface polariton behavior in a periodic surface structure forming a surface polaritonic crystal. Due to different configurations of the electromagnetic field of surface polariton modes, only states of even Brillouin zones are responsible for the optical transmission enhancement at normal incidence. The transmission enhancement is related to photon tunneling via resonant states of surface polariton Bloch modes in which the energy buildup takes place. Surface polariton states of at least one of the film interfaces contribute to the transmission resonance which occurs due to tunnel coupling between photons and surface polaritons on the opposite interfaces. Under double-resonance conditions, resonant tunneling between surface polariton states of both interfaces is achieved, which leads to further enhancement of the transmission efficiency. The double-resonance conditions occur not only in the case of a film in symmetric environment but can also be engineered for a film on a substrate. Light tunneling via surface polariton states can take place directly through a structured metal film and does not necessarily require holes in a film.

Optical bistability in nonlinear surface-plasmon polaritonic crystals

Nonlinear optical transmission through periodically nanostructured metal films (surface-plasmon polaritonic crystals) has been studied. The surface polaritonic crystals have been coated with a nonlinear polymer. The optical transmission of such nanostructures has been shown to depend on the control-light illumination conditions. The resonant transmission exhibits bistable behavior with the control-light intensity. The bistability is different at different resonant signal wavelengths and for different wavelengths of the control light. The effect is explained by the strong sensitivity of the surface-plasmon mode resonances at the signal wavelength to the surrounding dielectric environment and the electromagnetic field enhancement due to plasmonic excitations at the controlled light wavelengths.

Metamaterials Nanosensor for Label-free Analysis of Conformation and Molecular Interaction of Biomolecules

Analysis of molecular interaction and conformational dynamics of biomolecules is of paramount importance in understanding of their vital functions in complex biological systems, disease detection, and new drug development. Plasmonic biosensors based upon surface plasmon resonance and localized surface plasmon resonance have become the predominant workhorse for detecting accumulated biomass caused by molecular binding events. However, unlike surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), the plasmonic biosensors indeed are not suitable tools to interrogate vibrational signatures of conformational transitions required for biomolecules to interact. Here, we show that plasmonic metamaterials can offer two transducing channels for parallel acquisition of optical transmission and sensitive SERS spectra at the biointerface, simultaneously probing the conformational states and binding affinity of biomolecules, e.g. G-quadruplexes, in different environments (Fig. 1). We further demonstrate the use of the metamaterials for fingerprinting and detection of arginine-glycine-glycine domain of nucleolin, a cancer biomarker which specifically binds to a G-quadruplex, with the picomolar sensitivity. The dual-mode nanosensor will significantly contribute to unraveling the complexes of the conformational dynamics of biomolecules as well as to improving specificity of biodetection assays.

Engineering of Vis-NIR Metamaterials towards Revolutionary Ultrasensitive and Versatile Plasmonic Biosensors

By enabling subwavelength light localization and strong electromagnetic field enhancement, plasmonic biosensors have opened up a new realm of possibilities for a broad range of chemical and biological sensing applications owing to their label-free and real-time attributes. Although significant progress has been made, many fundamental and practical challenges still remain to be addressed. For instance, the plasmonic biosensors are nonselective sensing platforms; they are not well-suited to provide information regarding conformation or chemical fingerprint of unknown biomolecules. Furthermore, tunability of the plasmonic resonance in visible frequency regime is still limited; this will prevent their efficient and reproducible exploitation in single-molecule sensitivity. Here, we show that by engineering geometry of plasmonic metamaterials,1 consisting of periodic arrays of artificial split-ring resonators (SRRs), the plasmonic resonance of metamaterials could be tuned to visible-near infrared regimes (Vis-NIR) such that it allows parallel acquisition of optical transmission and highly surface-enhanced Raman (SERS) spectra from large functionalized SRR arrays. The Au SRRs were designed in form of alphabet letters (U, V, S, H, Y) with various line width (from 80 to 30 nm). By tailoring their size and shape, plasmonic resonance wavelength of the SRRs could be actively tuned so that it gives the strongest SERS effect under given excitation energy and polarization for biological and organic molecules. On the other hand, the plasmonic tunability was also achieved for a given SRR pattern by tuning the laser wavelength to obtain the highest electromagnetic field enhancement. The geometry- and laser-tunable channels typically provide an electromagnetic field enhancement as high as 20 times. This will provide the basis of versatile and multichannel devices for identification of different conformational states of Guanine-rich DNA, detection of a cancer biomarker nucleolin, and femtomolar sensitivity detection of food and drink additives. These results show that the tunable Vis-IR metamaterials are very versatile biosensing platforms and suggest considerable promise in genomic research, disease diagnosis, and food safety analysis.

Metamaterials-Based Label-Free Nanosensor for Conformation and Affinity Biosensing

Analysis of molecular interaction and conformational dynamics of biomolecules is of paramount importance in understanding of their vital functions in complex biological systems, disease detection, and new drug development. Plasmonic biosensors based upon surface plasmon resonance and localized surface plasmon resonance have become the predominant workhorse for detecting accumulated biomass caused by molecular binding events. However, unlike surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), the plasmonic biosensors indeed are not suitable tools to interrogate vibrational signatures of conformational transitions required for biomolecules to interact. Here, we show that highly tunable plasmonic metamaterials can offer two transducing channels for parallel acquisition of optical transmission and sensitive SERS spectra at the biointerface, simultaneously probing the conformational states and binding affinity of biomolecules, e.g. G-quadruplexes, in different environments. We further demonstrate the use of the metamaterials for fingerprinting and detection of arginine-glycine-glycine domain of nucleolin, a cancer biomarker which specifically binds to a G-quadruplex, with the picomolar sensitivity.

Fabrication and optical properties of gold nanotube arrays

Arrays of gold nanotubes with polypyrrole cores were grown on glass substrates by electrodeposition into thin film porous alumina templates. Measurements of optical transmission revealed strong extinction peaks related to plasmonic resonances, which were sensitive to the polarization state and angle of incidence. On prolonging the electrodeposition of gold, the polypyrrole core became fully encapsulated and this had a dramatic effect on the optical properties of the arrays, which was rationalized by finite element simulation of the local field intensities resulting from plasmon excitation.

VLT FORS2 comparative transmission spectroscopy: Detection of Na in the atmosphere of WASP-39b from the ground

We present transmission spectroscopy of the warm Saturn-mass exoplanet WASP-39b made with the Very Large Telescope (VLT) FOcal Reducer and Spectrograph (FORS2) across the wavelength range 411-810nm. The transit depth is measured with a typical precision of 240 parts per million (ppm) in wavelength bins of 10nm on a V = 12.1 magnitude star. We detect the sodium absorption feature (3.2-sigma) and find evidence for potassium. The ground-based transmission spectrum is consistent with Hubble Space Telescope (HST) optical spectroscopy, strengthening the interpretation of WASP-39b having a largely clear atmosphere. Our results demonstrate the great potential of the recently upgraded FORS2 spectrograph for optical transmission spectroscopy, obtaining HST-quality light curves from the ground.