Digital electric field induced switching of plasmonic nanorods using an electro-optic fluid fiber

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates rapid, digital electric field-induced switching of plasmonic nanorods within an electro-optic fiber, achieving submicrosecond response times and enabling advanced remote sensing and signaling capabilities.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method for fast, digital control of nanorod orientation in an all-fiber device, surpassing thermal diffusion limitations.

Findings

Achieved submicrosecond switching times.

Successfully aligned nanorods in 110 nanoseconds.

Enabled digital control of nanorod states.

Abstract

We demonstrate the digital electric field induced switching of plasmonic nanorods between 1 and 0 orthogonal aligned states using an electro-optic fluid fiber component. We show by digitally switching the nanorods, that thermal rotational diffusion of the nanorods can be circumvented, demonstrating an approach to achieve submicrosecond switching times. We also show, from an initial unaligned state, that the nanorods can be aligned into the applied electric field direction in 110 nanoseconds. The high-speed digital switching of plasmonic nanorods integrated into an all-fiber optical component may provide novel opportunities for remote sensing and signaling applications.