Interactions of Organic Fluorophores with Plasmonic Surface Lattice Resonances
type: CreativeWork
description: It is common knowledge that metals, alloys and pure elements alike, are lustrous and reflective, the more so when a metal surface is flat, polished, and free from oxidation and surface fouling. However, some metals reflect visible light, in the 380 nm to 740 nm range of wavelengths, much more strongly than others. In particular, some metals reflect wavelengths in certain portions of the ultraviolet (UV), visible, and near-infrared (NIR) regime, let us say 200 nm to 2000 nm, while absorbing light strongly in other segments of this range. There are several factors that account for this difference between various metals. For a particular metal, its absorbance and reflectance (and, for thin films, transmittance) at various wavelengths are a function of the metal electronic band structure. Metals that have both an abundance of mobile (“free”) valence electrons and an abundance of vacant states in the valence band are able to support propagating oscillations in the free-electron density, much like sound waves in air, which are referred to as plasma oscillations, which are essentially pressure waves in the “plasma” or gas of free electrons in the solid metal. When described as quasiparticles in a manner analogous to phonons (lattice vibrations, propagating oscillations in the positions of atomic nuclei), these electron-density oscillations are referred to as plasmons, specifically volume or bulk plasmons when they exist and propagate in a continuous three-dimensional metal space. In principle, all metals have free electrons and partially occupied valence bands, so all metals ought to support plasmons to some extent, but the strength of the oscillations is greater in some metals (metals with large valence band occupancy and a high density of states at the Fermi level) than in others, and the metals with the strongest plasma oscillations are known as “plasmonic” metals. In terms of pure elements, the most plasmonic metals are, canonically, copper, silver, and gold. But there…
abstract: It is common knowledge that metals, alloys and pure elements alike, are lustrous and reflective, the more so when a metal surface is flat, polished, and free from oxidation and surface fouling. However, some metals reflect visible light, in the 380 nm to 740 nm range of wavelengths, much more strongly than others. In particular, some metals reflect wavelengths in certain portions of the ultraviolet (UV), visible, and near-infrared (NIR) regime, let us say 200 nm to 2000 nm, while absorbing light strongly in other segments of this range. There are several factors that account for this difference between various metals. For a particular metal, its absorbance and reflectance (and, for thin films, transmittance) at various wavelengths are a function of the metal electronic band structure. Metals that have both an abundance of mobile (“free”) valence electrons and an abundance of vacant states in the valence band are able to support propagating oscillations in the free-electron density, much like sound waves in air, which are referred to as plasma oscillations, which are essentially pressure waves in the “plasma” or gas of free electrons in the solid metal. When described as quasiparticles in a manner analogous to phonons (lattice vibrations, propagating oscillations in the positions of atomic nuclei), these electron-density oscillations are referred to as plasmons, specifically volume or bulk plasmons when they exist and propagate in a continuous three-dimensional metal space. In principle, all metals have free electrons and partially occupied valence bands, so all metals ought to support plasmons to some extent, but the strength of the oscillations is greater in some metals (metals with large valence band occupancy and a high density of states at the Fermi level) than in others, and the metals with the strongest plasma oscillations are known as “plasmonic” metals. In terms of pure elements, the most plasmonic metals are, canonically, copper, silver, and gold. But there…
author: Collison, Robert J
keywords: Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics, Condensed Matter Physics, Inorganic Chemistry, Materials Chemistry, Optics, Organic Chemistry, Quantum Physics, Excitons, Plasmonics, Optics and Photonics, Photocatalysis, Photovoltaics, Energy Transfer
date published: 2021-02-01T08:00:00Z
date modified: 2026-07-24T02:00:04Z
provider: City University of New York - Graduate Center
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York