Accurate Transfer of Individual Nanoparticles onto Single Photonic Nanostructures

TL;DR

This paper introduces a precise, high-throughput method for transferring individual metallic nanoparticles onto photonic nanostructures, enabling advanced device fabrication for enhanced light-matter interactions.

Contribution

A novel soft lithography-based technique for accurate, parallel transfer of nanoparticles onto photonic structures, improving device assembly and performance.

Findings

Enhanced light-matter interaction confirmed by Raman spectroscopy

High accuracy and throughput in nanoparticle placement

Potential applications in sensing, spectroscopy, and signal processing

Abstract

Controlled integration of metallic nanoparticles (NPs) onto photonic nanostructures enables realization of complex devices for extreme light confinement and enhanced light-matter interaction. This can be achieved combining Nanoparticle-on-Mirror (NPoM) nanocavities with the light manipulation capabilities of micron-scale metallic antennas and/or photonic integrated waveguides. However, metallic nanoparticles are usually deposited via drop-casting, which prevents their accurate positioning. Here we present a methodology for precise transfer and positioning of individual NPs onto different photonic nanostructures. The method is based on soft lithography printing that employs elastomeric stamp-assisted transfer of individual NPs onto a single nanostructure. It can also parallel imprint many individual NPs with high throughput and accuracy in a single step. Raman spectroscopy confirms enhanced light-matter interactions in the resulting NPoM-based devices. Our method mixes top-down and bottom-up nanofabrication techniques and shows the potential of building complex photonic nanodevices for applications ranging from enhanced sensing and spectroscopy to signal processing.