Performance Enhancements on the Plasmon-Enhanced Organic Light-Emitting Diodes, Biosensors, and Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy Templates through Diffractively Coupled Surface Lattice Resonances

Plasmonic effects in metallic nanoparticles (LSPR) have the potential to enhance the performance of sensing and lighting devices operating at the macro and nanoscale. In particular, when they are periodically assembled in an array, distinct physical and chemical properties occur beyond their individual units. The collective coupling between metal nanoparticles in the array introduces sharp and intense plasmonic resonance, the so-called surface lattice resonances (SLR), which is in contrast to the broad localized resonances of single nanoparticles. The sharp peak is potentially useful for refractive-index (RI) biosensor to improve the figure of merits (FOM) of the sensing device. Moreover, nanoparticles with SLR exhibit strongly enhanced optical fields within the subwavelength in the vicinity of the nanoparticle unit cells. These intense electromagnetic fields can be used to manipulate nanoscale processes, such as optical spectroscopy and solid-state lighting devices. In addition, the diffractive coupling of the SLR effect can potentially be expanded out-of-plane by introducing a transparent thin-film layer on the top or bottom of the nanoparticles. In this project, we proposed a novel substrate platform based on the plasmonic nanoparticle arrays for the development of high-performance RI biosensor, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), and organic light-emitting diodes (OLED). First, we develop analytical forms to provide a fast approach with acceptable accuracy for initial exhaustive surveys before dealing with more detailed calculations using numerical simulations. Based on the analytical and numerical approaches, we experimentally establish the fundamentals LSPR feature through periodic nanoparticle arrays. Subsequently, we produce sharper resonances by introducing the SLR effect and a transparent Fabry-Perot (FP) cladding layer. These two components provide the newly sharp resonances arising from the in-plane and out of plane diffractive couplings of the nanoparticle LSPR and the lattice array, respectively. Through these mechanisms, we proposed three different scenarios of optical platforms, namely LSPR+FP, LSPR+SLR, and LSPR+SLR+FP. The proposed designs offer significance performances, including the high Q-factor resonance, large extinction efficiency, and improved biosensing FOM. We employ the first two factors as a design guide to provide substrate platforms for SERS and OLED, and the latter factor is used for a RI-based sensing platform. Additionally, the plasmonic material used is aluminum, which not only enables a low-cost plasmonic material but also offers plasmon resonances that are adjustable from the near-infrared to the ultraviolet spectral regimes. Moreover, the nanoparticle structure proposed here also provides a relatively easy preparation method compared to the conventional metamaterial nanostructured because it is insensitive to the particular detailed structure. The platform has great potential for practical application for its high FOM, high Q-factor, broad working wavelength, and ease of high-throughput fabrication.Expected impact in this project:- A comprehensive study on the high-Q plasmonics from the near-infrared to the ultraviolet light regions.- The fabrication of highly sensitive and robust SLR-based RI biosensor.- The development of high field-enhancement and low-cost SERS substrates alternative to the conventional noble metals- Industrially compatible high-performance blue-OLED designs, which are potential for patent applications of the configurations.

Project ID:PB10907-3121
External Project ID:MOST109-2221-E182-063-MY3