Abstract
Surface Lattice Resonances in Self-Assembled Gold Nanoparticle Arrays: Impact of Lattice Period, Structural Disorder, and Refractive Index on Resonance Quality
Ekaterina Ponomareva, Kirsten Volk, Paul Mulvaney, and Matthias Karg
Langmuir, 36, 45, 13601–13612 (2020)
doi: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.0c02430
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Surface lattice resonances are optical resonances composed of hybridized plasmonic and diffractive modes. These collective resonances occur in periodic arrays of plasmonic nanoparticles with wavelength-scale interparticle distances. The appearance and strength of surface lattice resonances strongly depend on the single particle localized surface plasmon resonance and its spectral overlap with the diffractive modes of the array. Coupling to in-plane orders of diffraction is also strongly affected by the refractive index environment and its symmetry. In this work, we address the impact of the interparticle distance, the symmetry of the refractive index environment, and structural imperfections in self-assembled colloidal monolayers on the plasmonic–diffractive coupling. For this purpose, we prepared hexagonally ordered, nonclose packed monolayers of gold nanoparticles using a fast and efficient, interface-mediated, colloidal self-assembly approach. By tuning the thickness and deformability of the polymer shells, we were able to prepare monolayers with a broad range of interparticle distances. The optical properties of the samples were studied experimentally by UV–Vis spectroscopy and theoretically by finite difference time domain simulations. The measured and simulated spectra allow a comprehensive analysis of the details of electromagnetic coupling in periodic plasmonic arrays. In particular, we identify relevant criteria required for surface lattice resonances in the visible wavelength range with optimized quality factors in self-assembled monolayers.
Collective excitation of periodic arrays of metallic nanoparticles by coupling localized surface plasmon resonances to grazing diffraction orders leads to surface lattice resonances with narrow line width. These resonances may find numerous applications in optical sensing and information processing. Here, a new degree of freedom of surface lattice resonances is experimentally investigated by demonstrating handedness‐dependent excitation of surface lattice resonances in arrays of chiral plasmonic crescents. The self‐assembly of particles used as mask and modified colloidal lithography is applied to produce arrays of planar and 3D gold crescents over large areas. The excitation of surface lattice resonances as a function of the interparticle distance and the degree of order within the arrays is investigated. The chirality of the individual 3D crescents leads to the formation of chiral lattice modes, that is, surface lattice resonances that exhibit optical activity.