Thermal Control of Plasmonic Surface Lattice Resonances

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a simple, reversible method to tune plasmonic surface lattice resonances by changing the ambient temperature, enabling adjustable photonic devices with high quality factors.

Contribution

The study introduces a novel approach to tune SLRs via symmetry breaking through temperature control of the surrounding dielectric environment.

Findings

Temperature changes of 10°C significantly increase the quality factor from 400 to 750.

Symmetry breaking enables reversible and precise tuning of SLR properties.

Method allows for potential ultrafast modification of plasmonic resonances.

Abstract

Plasmonic metasurfaces exhibiting collective responses known as surface lattice resonances (SLRs) show potential for realizing tunable and flat photonic components for wavelength-selective processes, including lasing and optical nonlinearities. However, post-fabrication tuning of SLRs remains challenging, limiting the applicability of SLR-based components. Here, we demonstrate how the properties of high quality factor SLRs are easily modified by breaking the symmetry of the nanoparticle surroundings. We break the symmetry by changing the refractive index of the overlying immersion oil simply by controlling the ambient temperature of the device. We show that already modest temperature changes of 10{\deg}C can increase the quality factor of the investigated SLR from 400 to 750. Our results demonstrate accurate and reversible modification of the properties of the SLRs, paving the way towards tunable SLR-based photonic devices. On a more general level, our results demonstrate how symmetry breaking of the surrounding dielectric environment can be utilized for efficient and potentially ultrafast modification of the SLR properties.