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Intrinsic luminescence blinking from plasmonic nanojunctions

Author

Listed:
  • Wen Chen

    (Laboratory of Quantum and Nano-Optics)

  • Philippe Roelli

    (Laboratory of Quantum and Nano-Optics
    Laboratory of Photonics and Quantum Measurements)

  • Aqeel Ahmed

    (Laboratory of Quantum and Nano-Optics)

  • Sachin Verlekar

    (Laboratory of Quantum and Nano-Optics)

  • Huatian Hu

    (Wuhan University)

  • Karla Banjac

    (Max Planck-EPFL Laboratory for Molecular Nanoscience)

  • Magalí Lingenfelder

    (Max Planck-EPFL Laboratory for Molecular Nanoscience)

  • Tobias J. Kippenberg

    (Laboratory of Photonics and Quantum Measurements)

  • Giulia Tagliabue

    (Laboratory of Nanoscience for Energy Technologies)

  • Christophe Galland

    (Laboratory of Quantum and Nano-Optics)

Abstract

Plasmonic nanojunctions, consisting of adjacent metal structures with nanometre gaps, can support localised plasmon resonances that boost light matter interactions and concentrate electromagnetic fields at the nanoscale. In this regime, the optical response of the system is governed by poorly understood dynamical phenomena at the frontier between the bulk, molecular and atomic scales. Here, we report ubiquitous spectral fluctuations in the intrinsic light emission from photo-excited gold nanojunctions, which we attribute to the light-induced formation of domain boundaries and quantum-confined emitters inside the noble metal. Our data suggest that photoexcited carriers and gold adatom - molecule interactions play key roles in triggering luminescence blinking. Surprisingly, this internal restructuring of the metal has no measurable impact on the Raman signal and scattering spectrum of the plasmonic cavity. Our findings demonstrate that metal luminescence offers a valuable proxy to investigate atomic fluctuations in plasmonic cavities, complementary to other optical and electrical techniques.

Suggested Citation

  • Wen Chen & Philippe Roelli & Aqeel Ahmed & Sachin Verlekar & Huatian Hu & Karla Banjac & Magalí Lingenfelder & Tobias J. Kippenberg & Giulia Tagliabue & Christophe Galland, 2021. "Intrinsic luminescence blinking from plasmonic nanojunctions," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-9, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:12:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-021-22679-y
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-22679-y
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    Cited by:

    1. Robert Lemasters & Manoj Manjare & Ryan Freeman & Feng Wang & Luka Guy Pierce & Gordon Hua & Sergei Urazhdin & Hayk Harutyunyan, 2024. "Non-thermal emission in gap-mode plasmon photoluminescence," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-8, December.

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