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Numerical study of nanoparticle sensors based on the detection of the two-photon-induced luminescence of gold nanorod antennas

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Abstract

We investigate numerically the modification of the nonlinear optical properties of a nanoantenna in the trapping of nanoparticles (NPs) by using both the discrete dipole approximation method and the finite-difference time-domain technique. The nanoantenna, which is formed by two gold nanorods (GNRs) aligned end to end and separated by a small gap, can emit strong two-photon-induced luminescence (TPL) under the excitation of a femtosecond laser light which is resonant with its longitudinal surface plasmon resonance. In addition, the excited antenna can stably trap small NPs which in turn induce modifications in the emitted TPL. These two features make it a promising candidate for building highly sensitive detectors for NPs of different materials and sizes. It is demonstrated that sensors built with antennas possess higher sensitivities than those built with single GNRs and nanorod-based antennas are more sensitive than nanoprism-based antennas. In addition, it is found that the trapping probability for a second NP is significantly reduced for the antenna with a trapped NP, implying that trapping of NPs may occur sequentially. A relationship between the TPL of the system (antenna + NP) and the optical potential energy of the NP is established, enabling the extraction of the information on the optical potential energy and optical force by recording the TPL of the system. It is shown that the sequential trapping and releasing of NPs flowing in a microfluid channel can be realized by designing two different antennas arranged closely.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 51171066 and 11374109), the Ministry of Education of China (Grant No. 20114407110002), and the project for high-level professionals in the universities of Guangdong province, China. Q.-F. Dai would like to thank the Guangzhou science and technology project (Grant No. 2011J2200080).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Nanophotonic Functional Materials and Devices, School of Information and Optoelectronic Science and Engineering, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, China

    Zaoshan Huang, Qiaofeng Dai & Sheng Lan

  2. School of Chemistry and Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, China

    Shaolong Tie

Authors
  1. Zaoshan Huang
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  2. Qiaofeng Dai
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  3. Sheng Lan
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  4. Shaolong Tie
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Correspondence to Sheng Lan.

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Huang, Z., Dai, Q., Lan, S. et al. Numerical study of nanoparticle sensors based on the detection of the two-photon-induced luminescence of gold nanorod antennas. Plasmonics 9, 1491–1500 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11468-014-9768-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11468-014-9768-2

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