Coupling between plasmonic nanostructures and molecules.
© 2011 EPFL
Excitation and Reemission of Molecules near Realistic Plasmonic Nanostructures.
Plasmonic nanostructures were already used in the Middle-ages to produce some of the strong colors used in stained-glass windows. Today they are coupled with molecules to create biosensors with unprecedented sensitivity. In a recent Nano Letters article, the group of Prof. Olivier Martin (NAM - Nanophotonics & Metrology Laboratory) has investigated the coupling between realistic plasmonic nanoparticles and molecular emitters. Numerical experiments show that for certain applications choosing a realistic geometry closely resembling the actual nanostructure is imperative, an idealized simulation geometry yielding significantly different results.