Localized Surface Plasmons Selectively Coupled to Resonant Light in Tubular Microcavities.

Vertical gold nanogaps are created on microtubular cavities to explore the coupling between resonant light supported by the microcavities and surface plasmons localized at the nanogaps. Selective coupling of optical axial modes and localized surface plasmons critically depends on the exact location of the gold nanogap on the microcavities, which is conveniently achieved by rolling up specially designed thin dielectric films into three-dimensional microtube cavities. The coupling phenomenon is explained by a modified quasipotential model based on perturbation theory. Our work reveals the coupling of surface plasmon resonances localized at the nanoscale to optical resonances confined in microtubular cavities at the microscale, implying a promising strategy for the investigation of light-matter interactions.

Multiplexed label-free optical biosensor for medical diagnostics.

This paper describes a new multiplexed label-free biosensor. The detection technology is based on nanostructured gold-polymer surfaces. These surfaces support surface plasmon resonance modes that can be probed by a miniaturized optical setup. The optical characterization of the sensing chip shows the sensitivity and the limit-of-detection to refractive index changes. Moreover, by studying the progressive adhesion of molecular monolayers of polyelectrolytes, the decay of the plasmonic mode electric field above the surface has been reconstructed. A multiplexed label-free biosensing device is then described and characterized in terms of sensitivity, lateral resolution, and sensitivity to a model biological assay. The sensitivity in imaging mode of the device is of the order of 10-6 refractive index units, while the measured lateral resolution is 6.25 µm within a field of view of several tenths of mm2, making the instrument unique in terms of multiplexing capability. Finally, the proof-of-concept application of the technology as a point-of-care diagnostic tool for an inflammatory marker is demonstrated.

Photoactive rolled-up TiO2 microtubes: fabrication, characterization and applications†Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c4tc00796dClick here for additional data file.

Because of its unique properties, titania (TiO2) represents a promising candidate in a wide variety of research fields. In this paper, some of the properties and potential applications of titania within rolled-up nanotechnology are explored. It is shown how the structural and optical properties of rolled titania microtubes can be controlled by properly tuning the microfabrication parameters. The rolling up of titania films on different sacrificial layers and containing different shapes, achieving a control on the diameter of the fabricated titania microtubes, is presented. In order to obtain the more photoactive crystalline form of titania, one during-fabrication and two post-fabrication methods are demonstrated. Interesting applications in the fields of photocatalysis and photonics are suggested: the use of titania rolled-up microtubes as micromotors and optical microresonators is presented.

Cobalt nanocluster-filled carbon nanotube arrays: engineered photonic bandgap and optical reflectivity.

Perfect vertically aligned and periodically arranged arrays of multidielectric heterostructures are ideal platforms both for photonic crystals and photonic bandgap materials. Carbon nanotubes grown inside anodic alumina templates form a novel class of heterostructured materials ideally suited for building such platforms. By engineering metallic (cobalt) nanoclusters inside the nanotubes, we present a novel method for tailoring the photonic bandgap as well as the magnitude of the reflectivity in these systems. We present spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) and reflectivity measurements to investigate the effect of the presence of cobalt clusters on the optical response of multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWNT) grown in anodized alumina template. The real (ε(1)) and imaginary (ε(2)) part of the pseudodielectric function of the MWNT and Co-MWNT system have been studied in a wide energy range (1.4-5 eV). We found that the cobalt filling modifies the electronic structure of the nanotubes, suggesting that the insertion of the clusters leads to a semiconductor behavior. Angle-resolved reflectivity measurements further show that the metal filling drastically enhances the optical response up to 2 orders of magnitude.