Mutually enhancing light emission between plasmonic nanostructures and fluorescent emitters

TL;DR

This study demonstrates a mutual enhancement of light emission between plasmonic nanostructures and fluorescent emitters, combining experimental assembly and theoretical modeling to reveal the underlying mechanisms.

Contribution

It introduces a hybrid system of nanodiamond and gold nanoparticle, showing mutual emission enhancement and providing a theoretical framework for understanding the interaction.

Findings

Emission from gold nanoparticles increased after coupling with nanodiamonds

Both plasmonic coupling and dielectric nanoantenna effects contribute to emission enhancement

Experimental assembly and theoretical analysis confirm mutual enhancement mechanism

Abstract

We demonstrate that the fluorescent emitters can increase light emission from the plasmonic nanostructures in turn. With the help of atomic force microscopy, a hybrid system consisting of a fluorescent nanodiamond and a gold nanoparticle was assembled step-by-step for in situ optical measurements. We found that the emission from the nanoparticle increased compared with that before coupling. The interaction between plasmonic nanostructures and fluorescent emitter was understood as an entity based on the concept of a quantized optical cavity by considering the nanodiamond and the nanoparticle as a two-level energy system and a nanoresonator, respectively. The theoretical calculations reveal that both the plasmonic coupling effect and the dielectric nanoantenna effect contribute to the enhancement of light emission from the gold nanoparticles.