Purcell enhancement can be realized using hyperbolic metamaterials (HMMs) composed of alternating metal/dielectric multilayers of subwavelength thickness. By adjusting the filling fraction of the metal layer, this structure possesses an effective hyperbolic dispersion and can access to epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) with one of the principal components of the permittivity tensor passes through zero. The unique property theoretically yields a large local density of state (LDOS) enabling to support a high Purcell factor and enhanced spontaneous emission rate of a quantum emitter in the vicinity. However, the property of the fabricated HMM deviates from the ideal characteristics estimated by effective medium theory (EMT) due to the finite thickness of the unit cell. Therefore, the actual LDOS and Purcell factor reduce significantly. Additionally, the outcoupling of the high-k waves from HMM remains challenging. It relies on small-area nanostructure due to the incapability of large-area nanofabrication. In this paper, we experimentally and theoretically study the effect of the unit cell thickness in Ag/ITO HMMs on the enhancement of QD emission. The study on 320 nm thick HMM formed by three different unit cell thicknesses ranging from 80 to 20 nm suggested that the Purcell factor increases as the unit cell thickness decreases. We also demonstrate a large-area outcoupling method using self-assembled nanoparticle monolayer to promote the detectable QD emission in the far field. A maximum enhancement factor of ~40 was observed by incorporating the nanoparticle monolayer. This enhancement technique and large-area outcoupling will find applications in display and biosensing.
MicroLED display is emerging as a candidate to drive a new generation of display technology. Full-color microLED based on carbon-dots (CDs) and blue microLED utilizes photoluminescence (PL) of blue-excited red and green emission CDs to achieve large coverage of color gamut and low power consumption. There is a high demand to develop costeffective technologies to enhance CD emission and minimize blue excitation light leakage through the CD layer. Here we demonstrate the use of plasmonic nanoparticles to enhance multicolor CDs in the emitting layer of microLED while suppressing the transmission of blue excitation. Silver nanoparticles are known to have surface plasmon resonances in or close to the blue range. Blue excitation over an emitting layer formed by the mixture of CDs and metal nanoparticles leads to excitation enhancement of CDs and thus the increased quantum efficiency. We studied the emitting layers fabricated by dispersing a mixture of 30 nm silver nanoparticles and CDs at various ratios and obtained a maximum enhancement factor of ~8. The metal nanoparticles also absorbed the blue excitation and reduced the leakage of blue light. Fluorescence lifetime measurements showed negligible changes in the CD emission rate with and without the presence of metal nanoparticles. The analysis implies that the enhanced CD PL is a result of excitation enhancement rather than Purcell effect. This technique offers a low-cost, effective approach to improve the performance of microLED displays.
Molecular beacon (MB) probe is a fluorophore-labeled oligonucleotide and has been widely used in biological analysis and medical diagnostics by detecting DNA or RNA with specific sequences. The MB initially folds into a loop shape that brings the fluorophore close to a quencher for fluorescence quenching. It opens up upon the binding of target DNA that separates the fluorophore from the quencher to allow fluorescence emission. In this paper, we experimentally demonstrate the use of a silver open-ring nanostructure array (ORA) to enhance both fluorescence emission and quenching of MBs for highly sensitive DNA detection. The ORA displays a broadband resonance spectrum to enhance both the excitation and emission of fluorophores. The fluorescence enhancement is highly dependent on the distance between nanostructure and fluorophore. The couplings of the fluorescence emission and the external excitation with the proximate plasmonic nanostructure result in coherent electron oscillations that in turn act as secondary excitation of the fluorophore in a ~10 nm separation distance, leading to fluorescent enhancement. The resonance feature of ORA also improved the Förster resonance energy transfer between the fluorophore and ORA in an even shorter separation distance that promotes the fluorescence quenching. The enhanced fluorescence emission and quenching amplified the on-off ratio of the detection signal. The sensor was integrated into a microfluidic chamber to handle microliter-volume analyte and achieved a ~300 fM detection limit, an equivalent 360 zmol in a 1.2 μL analyte volume, superior to the detection on plane silver surfaces.
Enhanced photoluminescence (PL) of quantum dots (QD) in visible range using plasmonic nanostructures has potential to advance several photonic applications. The enhancement effect is, however, limited by the light coupling efficiency to the nanostructures. Here we demonstrate experimentally a new open-ring nanostructure (ORN) array 100 nm engraved into a 200 nm thick silver thin film to maximize light absorption and, hence, PL enhancement at a broadband spectral range. The structure is different from the traditional isolated or through-hole split-ring structures. Theoretical calculations based on FDTD method show that the absorption peak wavelength can be adjusted by their period and dimension. A broadband absorption of about 60% was measured at the peak wavelength of 550 nm. The emission spectrum of CdSe/ZnS core-shell quantum dots was chosen to match the absorption band of the ORN array to enhance its PL. The engraved silver ORN array was fabricated on a silver thin film deposited on a silicon substrate using focus ion beam (FIB) patterning. The device was characterized by using a thin layer of QD water dispersion formed between the ORN substrate and a cover glass. The experimental results show the enhanced PL for the QD with emission spectrum overlapping the absorption band of ORN substrate and quantum efficiency increases from 50% to 70%. The ORN silver substrate with high absorption over a broadband spectrum enables the PL enhancement and will benefit applications in biosensing, wavelength tunable filters, and imaging.
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