Phys.org March 2, 2022
An international team of researcher (the Netherlands, Japan) designed, constructed, and analyzed a tunable device combining nano-particle arrays that support collective surface lattice resonances (SLRs) with liquid crystals. By leveraging the tunability of liquid crystals and the effect of the refractive index of the environment on SLRs, the optical response of the array can be controlled electrically by switching between states in the liquid crystal. The resulting rapid and reversible spectral tuning gives users a large degree of control over SLR wavelength. Because of narrow collective resonances the changes in refractive index that can be induced with the liquid crystal are sufficient to shift the resonance almost its full width. Despite being delocalized with respect to the individual nanoparticles, the hybrid plasmonic-photonic modes of SLRs exhibit large enhancements of the electric field intensity. The work has promise for a wide range of applications, including nanolasers and extremely sensitive nano-sized biosensors…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Schematic representation of the device with planar LC… Credit: Journal of Applied Physics, Volume 131, Issue 8, 20 January 2022Â