Perspective Article - (2015) Volume 6, Issue 3

Photon-Plasmon Coupling from Rare-Earth Ions and Localized Surface Plasmon

Rivera VAG1,2*, Messaddeq Y2 and Marega E Jr1
1São Carlos Institute of Physics, USP, Caixa Postal-369, 13560-970, São Carlos – SP, Brazil
2Center for Optics, Photonics and Lasers (COPL), Laval University, 2375 rue de la Terrasse, Quebec (Qc), Canada
*Corresponding Author: Rivera VAG, Center for Optics, Photonics and Lasers (COPL), Laval University, 2375 Rue De La Terrasse, Quebec (Qc), Canada, Tel: 1-418-656-2131 Email:

Plasmonics is an exciting and promising edge research, which can join electronics and photonics at nanoscale by providing us an actual solution to the problems of nanoscale integration and data transferrate. Such research area is so-called nanophotonics, one of the most promising frontiers of knowledge, from not only a scientific but also a technology strategy, dealing the light-matter interaction below the diffraction limit [1,2] and may potentially revolutionize the telecommunications, integrating optical, and sensing areas.

Rare-earth-ions (REI)s are, from our point view, the most promising elements because of their unique characteristics, such as their magnetic, luminescent, and electrochemical properties [1]. They suit newly emerging devices for their greater efficiency, high speed, greater durability, and their miniaturization potential. In this route, nanophotonics is not only about nanodevices, it is also about new ways of sculpting the flow of light by means of plasmonic nanostructures that exhibiting fascinating optical properties which we are learning to manipulate the quantum states of a REI and control its electromagnetic radiation at the nanoscale. With innumerable practical applications in telecommunication, clean energy, biophotonics, and medical testing.

In fact, surface plasmon (SP) can create evanescent fields penetrating the metal surface, up to several micrometers into the substrate r. Within this distance, a single REI represented by a twolevel system with an electronic transition, can create an electromagnetic field that may strongly interact with SP, creating induced surface plasmons (ISPs) at the metal–dielectric interface. The frequency of these ISPs corresponds to the emission frequency of the REI, consequently, their emissions have the same spectral shape and are highly polarized as a result of induced polarization from the localized SP (LSP) [1,3]. Collective photon-plasmon interactions could have either a positive or negative impact for a specific electronic transition REI and depends on the efficiency of the coupling [2]. In this manner, we have the ability to engineer a way to counteract the losses in metal, modulate the down/up-conversion emission of the REIs [2-4], and control the polarization/phase of the REIs emission with applicability in areas afore-cited.

In Figure 1, we present a roadmap highlighting some exciting and as-yet-unexplored topics related to these points, with the promise of achieving the next stage of research in REIs and LSP coupling with a very fruitful and productive future.

nanomedicine-nanotechnology-a-roadmap-based-interactions

Figure 1: A roadmap based on the interactions of LSP with REIs. Three big areas are highlighted owing to their technological importance and benefits to society.

References

  1. Gaponenko SV (2010) Introduction to Nanophotonics. Cambridge University Press, USA.
  2. Rivera VAG, Silva OB, Ledemi Y, Messeddeq Y, Marega Jr. E (2015) Collective plasmon modes in gain media. Quantum Emitters and Plasmonic Nanostructures Series 25: 28.
  3. Rivera VAG, El-Amraoui M, Ledemi Y (2014) Expanding broadband emission in the near-IR via energy transfer between Er 3+–Tm 3+ co-doped tellurite-glasses. J Lumin 145: 787-792.
  4. Rivera VAG, Ledemi Y, El-Amraoui M, Messaddeq Y, Marega Jr. E (2014) Control of the radiative properties via photon-plasmon interaction in Er3+-Tm3+-codopedtellurite glasses in the near infrared region. Opt Exp 22: 21122-21136.
Citation: Rivera VAG, Messaddeq y, Marega EJr (2015) Photon-Plasmon Coupling from Rare-Earth Ions and Localized Surface Plasmon. J Nanomed Nanotechnol 6:283.

Copyright: © 2015 Rivera VAG, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.