Ultrafast dephasing of surface plasmon excitation in metal nanoparticles

Christian Hendrich; Torsten Ziegler; Johannes Bosbach; Tigran Vartanyan; Frank Hubenthal; Frank Traeger

doi:10.1117/12.533183

16 June 2004 Ultrafast dephasing of surface plasmon excitation in metal nanoparticles

Christian Hendrich, Torsten Ziegler, Johannes Bosbach, Tigran Vartanyan, Frank Hubenthal, Frank Traeger

Proceedings Volume 5352, Ultrafast Phenomena in Semiconductors and Nanostructure Materials VIII; (2004) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.533183
Event: Integrated Optoelectronic Devices 2004, 2004, San Jose, CA, United States

Abstract

Surface plasmon excitation in metal nanoparticles has found great interest in the past. This collective oscillation of the conduction electrons can be stimulated with light and is characterized by resonances, whose positions depend on the material, the dimensions and the dielectric surrounding of the particles. Recently, the investigation of the ultrafast dephasing time T₂ and of the decay mechanisms of surface plasmon excitation have become of particular importance, an essential reason being that T₂ is proportional to the enhancement factor of the electric field in the vicinity of the nanoparticle surface. This enhancement plays a key role in a great variety of applications. The present paper presents an overview of our recent experiments on the ultrafast decay of surface plasmon excitation, in particular by using a technique that allows us to measure the homogeneous line widths of surface plasmon resonances in the presence of inhomogeneous broadening and thus determine T₂. The method is based on persistent spectral hole burning in the absorption profiles of supported metal nanoparticles by nanosecond laser pulses. The technique has been systematically applied to silver and, more recently, to gold nanoparticles on different substrates. Size and shape dependent dephasing times ranging from 2.6 to 15 fs have been extracted from the experimental results using a theoretical model. The values reflect the reduced dimensions of the nanoparticles and we conclude that additional damping mechanisms, in particular surface scattering and chemical interface damping, come into play.

Citation Download Citation

Christian Hendrich, Torsten Ziegler, Johannes Bosbach, Tigran Vartanyan, Frank Hubenthal, and Frank Traeger "Ultrafast dephasing of surface plasmon excitation in metal nanoparticles", Proc. SPIE 5352, Ultrafast Phenomena in Semiconductors and Nanostructure Materials VIII, (16 June 2004); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.533183

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available