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Mode matching in multiresonant plasmonic nanoantennas for enhanced second harmonic generation

Nature Nanotechnology volume 10, pages 412–417 (2015)Cite this article

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Abstract

Boosting nonlinear frequency conversion in extremely confined volumes remains a challenge in nano-optics research1, but can enable applications in nanomedicine2, photocatalysis3 and background-free biosensing4. To obtain brighter nonlinear nanoscale sources, approaches that enhance the electromagnetic field intensity and counter the lack of phase matching in nanoplasmonic systems are often employed5,6,7,8. However, the high degree of symmetry in the crystalline structure of plasmonic materials (metals in particular) and in nanoantenna designs strongly quenches second harmonic generation5. Here, we describe doubly-resonant single-crystalline gold nanostructures with no axial symmetry9 displaying spatial mode overlap at both the excitation and second harmonic wavelengths. The combination of these features allows the attainment of a nonlinear coefficient for second harmonic generation of ∼5 × 10–10 W–1, enabling a second harmonic photon yield higher than 3 × 106 photons per second. Theoretical estimations point toward the use of our nonlinear plasmonic nanoantennas as efficient platforms for label-free molecular sensing.

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Figure 1: Working principle and design of the mode-matched SHG antenna.
Figure 2: Nanofabricated ultrasmooth antennas with tailored geometry.
Figure 3: Single nanostructure scattering spectra as a function of antenna geometry.
Figure 4: Confocal maps and characterization of SHG from the tunable antenna array.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank V. Kumar and T. Zandrini for valuable help and R. Sapienza for stimulating discussions. M.C., M.F., C.D.A. and A.L. acknowledge support from Fondazione Cariplo through the project SHAPES (2013-0736). G.C. acknowledges support from the EC through the Graphene Flagship project (CNECT-ICT-604391). This work was performed in the context of the European COST Action MP1302 Nanospectroscopy.

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Author notes

  1. Xiaofei Wu

    Present address: Present addresses: Ultrafast Nanooptics Group – Department of Physics – Experimental Physics III, University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstraße 30, Bayreuth 95447, Germany,

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Physics Department, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo Da Vinci 32, Milano, 20133, Italy

    Michele Celebrano, Milena Baselli, Paolo Biagioni, Giulio Cerullo, Roberto Osellame, Lamberto Duò, Franco Ciccacci & Marco Finazzi

  2. Nano-Optics & Biophotonics Group – Department of Physics – Experimental Physics 5, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, Würzburg, 97074, Germany

    Xiaofei Wu, Swen Großmann & Bert Hecht

  3. Department of Information Engineering, University of Brescia, Via Branze 38, Brescia, 25123, Italy

    Andrea Locatelli & Costantino De Angelis

  4. Institute for Photonics and Nanotechnologies (IFN)-CNR, Piazza Leonardo Da Vinci 32, Milano, 20133, Italy

    Giulio Cerullo & Roberto Osellame

Authors
  1. Michele Celebrano
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Contributions

M.C. and M.F. conceived the project. X.W. and B.H. fabricated the sample. S.G. and B.H. performed linear spectroscopy. M.C., M.B. and P.B. performed linear and nonlinear microscopy experiments and FDTD simulations. A.L. and C.D.A. performed FEM simulations. G.C. and R.O. designed and optimized the nonlinear excitation set-up. M.C. and M.F. analysed the data and co-wrote the manuscript. L.D. and F.C. supervised the project. All authors discussed the results and participated in manuscript preparation.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michele Celebrano.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Celebrano, M., Wu, X., Baselli, M. et al. Mode matching in multiresonant plasmonic nanoantennas for enhanced second harmonic generation. Nature Nanotech 10, 412–417 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2015.69

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