ABSTRACT
The coherent exchange of optical near fields between two neighbouring dipoles plays an essential role in the optical properties, quantum dynamics and thus the function of many naturally occurring and artificial nanosystems. These interactions are challenging to quantify experimentally. They extend over only a few nanometres and depend sensitively on the detuning, dephasing and relative orientation (that is, the vectorial properties) of the coupled dipoles. Here, we introduce plasmonic nanofocusing spectroscopy to record coherent light scattering spectra with 5 nm spatial resolution from the apex of a conical gold nanotaper. The apex is excited solely by evanescent fields and coupled to plasmon resonances in a single gold nanorod. We resolve resonance energy shifts and line broadenings as a function of dipole distance and relative orientation. We demonstrate how these phenomena arise from mode couplings between different vectorial components of the interacting optical near fields, specifically from the coupling of the nanorod to both transverse and longitudinal polarizabilities of the taper apex.
ABSTRACT
Porous nanosponges, percolated with a three-dimensional network of 10 nm sized ligaments, recently emerged as promising substrates for plasmon-enhanced spectroscopy and (photo)catalysis. Experimental and theoretical work suggests surface plasmon localization in some hot-spot modes as the physical origin of their unusual optical properties, but so far the existence of such hot-spots has not been proven. Here we use scattering-type scanning near-field nanospectroscopy on individual gold nanosponges to reveal spatially and spectrally confined modes at 10 nm scale by recording local near-field scattering spectra. High quality factors of individual hot-spots of more than 40 are demonstrated, predicting high Purcell factors up to 106. The observed field localization and enhancement make such nanosponges an appealing platform for a variety of applications ranging from nonlinear optics to strong-coupling physics.
ABSTRACT
We present a novel colloidal quantum dot (CQD)/ZnO whispering gallery mode microcavity composite. The whispering gallery mode emission of the CQDs induced by the ZnO microcavity is realized. The resonant properties of the composite optical cavities are systematically investigated, and the obtained results are supported by finite element method simulations. The work presents a new research platform to study light-matter interactions in such a composite microcavity.
ABSTRACT
We present and investigate a novel approach towards broad-bandwidth near-field scanning optical spectroscopy based on an in-line interferometer for homodyne mixing of the near field and a reference field. In scattering-type scanning near-field optical spectroscopy, the near-field signal is usually obscured by a large amount of unwanted background scattering from the probe shaft and the sample. Here we increase the light reflected from the sample by a semi-transparent gold layer and use it as a broad-bandwidth, phase-stable reference field to amplify the near-field signal in the visible and near-infrared spectral range. We experimentally demonstrate that this efficiently suppresses the unwanted background signal in monochromatic near-field measurements. For rapid acquisition of complete broad-bandwidth spectra we employ a monochromator and a fast line camera. Using this fast acquisition of spectra and the in-line interferometer we demonstrate the measurement of pure near-field spectra. The experimental observations are quantitatively explained by analytical expressions for the measured optical signals, based on Fourier decomposition of background and near field. The theoretical model and in-line interferometer together form an important step towards broad-bandwidth near-field scanning optical spectroscopy.
ABSTRACT
We have developed a novel but simple approach to obtain ZnO microcombs with parallelogram stems and elongated hexagonal branches. We found that the present elongated hexagonal microcavity exhibited quite different features for its optical resonant modes due to the broken hexagonal symmetry. The resonant mode evolution of such microcavity was investigated systemically by using a spatially resolved spectroscopic technique. Theoretical analyses based on the plane wave mode and FEM simulations agreed well with the experimental results. We believe that our research allows us to have a deeper understanding of the controllable growth of novel optical cavities and the shape-dependent optical resonant modes.
ABSTRACT
A novel ZnO microwire optical resonator with a parallelogram cross-section is fabricated, which can effectively control the light field in two dimensions. Wave-guided Fabry-Pérot modes with different polarizations are directly observed and further investigated systematically. Such a ZnO optical resonator offers another building block for the development of optoelectronic devices.
