Probing of sub-picometer vertical differential resolutions using cavity plasmons.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 29476088.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-018-03227-7 and PMC identifier 5824809.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Plasmon rulers can be used for resolving ultrasmall environmental, dimensional, and material changes owing to their high sensitivity associated with a light-scattering spectral shift in response to changes in the separation between plasmonic nanostructures. Here, we show, in several experimental setups, how cavity plasmons in a metal nanowire-on-mirror setup can be used to probe vertical dimensional changes with sub-picometer differential resolutions using two carefully chosen material systems. Specifically, we monitor the dielectric layer thickness changes in response to growth using atomic-layer deposition and to thermal expansion, demonstrating a sensitivity of 14-nm spectral shift per Ångström thickness change and 0.58 pm of vertical differential resolution, respectively. The findings confirm theoretical predictions and highlight the potential use of cavity plasmons in some ultrasensitive sensing applications.