Colloidal-quantum-dot spasers and plasmonic amplif
Post# of 22456
Stephan J.P. Kress, Jian Cui, Patrik Rohner, David K. Kim, Felipe V. Antolinez, Karl-Augustin Zaininger, Sriharsha V. Jayanti, Patrizia Richner, Kevin M. McPeak, Dimos Poulikakos, David J. Norris
(Submitted on 29 Nov 2016)
Colloidal quantum dots are robust, efficient, and tunable emitters now used in lighting, displays, and lasers. Consequently, when the spaser, a laser-like source of surface plasmons, was first proposed, quantum dots were specified as the ideal plasmonic gain medium. Subsequent spaser designs, however, have required a single material to simultaneously provide gain and define the plasmonic cavity, an approach ill-suited to quantum dots and other colloidal nanomaterials. Here we develop a more open architecture that decouples the gain medium from the cavity, leading to a versatile class of quantum-dot-based spasers that allow controlled generation, extraction, and manipulation of plasmons. We first create high-quality-factor, aberration-corrected, Ag plasmonic cavities. We then incorporate quantum dots via electrohydrodynamic printing18,19 or drop-casting. Photoexcitation under ambient conditions generates monochromatic plasmons above threshold. This signal is extracted, directed through an integrated amplifier, and focused at a nearby nanoscale tip, generating intense electromagnetic fields. This spaser platform, deployable at different wavelengths, size scales, and geometries, can enable more complex on-chip plasmonic devices.
https://arxiv.org/abs/1611.09792