Waveguiding and Plasmon Resonances in Two-Dimensional Photonic Lattices of Gold and Silver Nanowires

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates the fabrication of high-quality triangular lattices of gold and silver nanowires that can trap light and support plasmon resonances, enabling potential sub-wavelength imaging applications.

Contribution

It introduces a method to create large-scale, high-quality nanowire lattices with precise geometries for optical trapping and plasmonic studies.

Findings

Nanowire arrays support specific plasmon resonances.

Structures can trap light effectively.

Potential for sub-wavelength imaging applications.

Abstract

We report the fabrication of triangular lattices of parallel gold and silver nanowires of high optical quality, with diameters down to 500 nm and length-to-diameter ratios as high as 100,000. The nanowires are supported by a silica glass matrix and are disposed around a central solid glass core, i.e., a missing nanowire. These cm-long structures make it possible to trap light within an array of nanowires and characterize the plasmon resonances that form at specific optical frequencies. Such nanowire arrays have many potential applications, e.g., to imaging on the sub-wavelength scale.