Laser light produces complex nanostructures
The researchers started with a layer of disordered nanoparticles of gold or silver on a membrane of nanometre thickness. The patterning is a consequence of several transformations of the light, which finally results in partial melting and moving of the nanoparticles.
First, the light is caught by the particles, resulting in resonant swinging back and forth of the particle electrons (so called localized plasmon resonances). This specific excitation gives rise to scattering and coupling of electromagnetic energy into trapped, waveguided modes of the thin membrane. The edges of the membrane cause a standing wave pattern to be formed.
The end result is hot and cold zones of a specific periodicity on the membrane surface, and if the laser light energy is high enough, the field energy in the hot zones is high enough to melt and move the gold particles. All of this occurs within a few nanoseconds or even faster, and the resulting patterns have dimensions that can be both smaller and larger than the laser wavelength.
The results demonstrate that complex nanostructured systems can be fabricated and manipulated by a single laser pulse. In addition, the study shows in a very concrete manner that assemblies of optically active nanoparticles can be used to trap light in a waveguide (membrane or fibre) with nanometer dimensions.
The researchers have shown that the pattern can be controlled by varying several parameters: the laser light angle, wavelength and polarization, as well as the membrane thickness and the type of particles on the membrane. The discovery contributes to the understanding of the fundamental interaction between light and matter.
Most read news
Other news from the department science
Get the analytics and lab tech industry in your inbox
From now on, don't miss a thing: Our newsletter for analytics and lab technology brings you up to date every Tuesday. The latest industry news, product highlights and innovations - compact and easy to understand in your inbox. Researched by us so you don't have to.