Large optical birefringence by anisotropic silver nanocomposites

Abstract

A large optical birefringence of oriented Ag nanoellipsoids embedded in silica was measured using an ellipsometric technique. The two main surface plasmon resonances associated with the axes of the ellipsoid were tuned, allowing us to quantify the light transmission through the samples when placed and rotated between crossed and parallel polarizers. This birefringence can be physically associated with the selective optical absorption of one component of the linear polarization of the incident light with respect to the anisotropic axis of the sample, depending on the wavelength used to perform the measurement.

Linear and Nonlinear Optical Properties of Aligned Elongated Silver Nanoparticles Embedded in Silica

“…According to what has been shown above and to our previous results Reyes-Esqueda et al, 2008), the nanocomposites thus fabricated show uniaxial symmetry. However, although the metallic anisotropic nanoparticles are all oriented in the same direction, as shown in Figs.…”

“…By following Fig. 11 and its discussion, we can perform the necessary measurements to obtain these three elements, show the anisotropy of the nonlinear optical properties of the nanocomposites, and therefore their usefulness for straightforward nonlinear applications, as we have already shown for linear optical properties Reyes-Esqueda et al, 2008). Then, we measured the P-scan transmitted and the scalar self-diffracted intensities while varying the angular position of the nanocomposites according to Fig.…”

Plasmonic Optical Properties and Applications of Metal Nanostructures

“…On the other hand, when all the nanoparticles in a system are oriented in the same direction, it is possible to distinguish between the different resonances by using polarized light. [44] The orientation of the nanoparticles means a macroscopic anisotropy that can be related to optical birefringence [125,126] and, under some circumstances, to optical noncentrosymmetry, giving rise to nonlinear optical properties [127].…”

Zn nanoparticles irradiated with swift heavy ions at low fluences: Optically-detected shape elongation induced by nonoverlapping ion tracks

“…[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] Here we summarize early discussion of the elongation mechanism, while any decisive mechanisms have yet to be proposed. D'Orleans et al 7 pointed out that the lattice temperature of smaller NPs increases to a greater extent based on the thermal spike model.…”