Nonlinear optical dynamics of glass-embedded silver nanoparticles

Abstract

The nonequilibrium carrier dynamics in Ag nanoparticles was explored by femtosecond optical pump-probe spectroscopy. Metal-dielectric nanocomposite materials containing Ag nanoparticles of different sizes were prepared by thermal treatment of aluminophosphate glasses. The ultrafast relaxation dynamics of the electron scattering on the 10 À13 -10 À12 sec scale shows sizeand pump power-dependent properties. The two-photon absorption process in nanoparticles of different sizes is discussed. The laser-induced coherent vibrations of nanoparticles were observed in transient transmission experiments.

Supersaturation-Driven Optical Tuning of Ag Nanocomposite Glasses for Photonics: An In Situ Optical Microspectroscopy Study

“…By comparing the theoretical results with experiments where the size of Ag NPs embedded in dielectric hosts was determined by electron microscopy, the authors [21] were able to justify the use of the SPR peak spectral position for assigning a particle radius in the 10-50-nm range. Such size estimation method has been previously employed for the 4Ag/Sn glass under study which allowed for evaluating the effect of Ag NP incorporation on optical absorption and luminescence [11] and nonlinear optical dynamics [17] in the nanocomposites. In the present work, the SPR peak positions of the 4Ag/Sn glass samples have been also observed to redshift consistently beyond 410 nm, with increasing holding time during HT at fixed temperature.…”

“…Glass hosts based on phosphate matrices are exceptionally attractive for well-designed applications due to their high metal solubility [1,[16][17][18]. A system proposed in the literature for ultrafast nonlinear optics consists of a phosphate-based glass matrix doped with SnO along with a noble metal, which upon HT produces spherical metallic NPs, with the consequential enhanced third-order nonlinear susceptibility χ (3) of the nanocomposite [1,9,16,17].…”

“…A system proposed in the literature for ultrafast nonlinear optics consists of a phosphate-based glass matrix doped with SnO along with a noble metal, which upon HT produces spherical metallic NPs, with the consequential enhanced third-order nonlinear susceptibility χ (3) of the nanocomposite [1,9,16,17]. In this context, an aluminophosphate glass matrix has been recently proposed for silver NP inclusion [11].…”

“…In this context, an aluminophosphate glass matrix has been recently proposed for silver NP inclusion [11]. Linear and nonlinear optical properties of the material have been assessed [9,11,17]. Yet, the dependence of material optical properties on the dopants' concentration in connection with Ag NP formation and growth processes during HT remains largely unexplored.…”

Interfacial Effects in the Relaxation Dynamics of Silver Nanometal-Glass Composites Probed by Transient Grating Spectroscopy

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] Due to the significance of these studies from a fundamental standpoint, metal NP properties have been examined in a wide range of environments, including glass hosts. In fact, composite materials consisting of small metal particles embedded in a dielectric host are the subject of increasing interest due to their potential utilization in photonics.…”